You want to Give Me Money?

At first I didn’t think I had heard her right. This is a poor woman, but I thought I heard her say that she wanted to give me money! But then she started to talk about how times are hard and there isn’t a lot of money. She mentioned how she really wants to have a carpenter build a table and chairs for their house. I must have just misheard her. This is the preamble for asking for money, not giving money. She must be asking me for money.

Peeling green bananas to fry

So I checked, “You want to give me money?” “Yes!” she quickly confirmed as she pulled an 100 euro bill from her pocket. She had already paid the carpenter the first part of the money, but she didn’t want to pay him the rest until he finished the work.

You may be wondering right now, “But why is she giving the money to you?”

This is where the the fact that times are hard and there isn’t a lot of extra money around comes into play. She knows that in her house that 100 euros will disappear. There are too many things that people want or even need. Whether it is herself or her family members, someone will use that money. If someone asked her if she had any money, she would have to say ‘yes’ and then the money would be gone. Because of culture and relationship, she couldn’t easily say that she was saving that money for something else.

Our boys on teammate's roof

So this poor woman was giving me 100 euros for safe-keeping.

The islands are still a cash society. Shops don’t accept credit or bank cards and most islanders still don’t have bank accounts.

It can be a real problem, because even islanders inclined to save have trouble holding onto money. I remember coming to the islands and an older worker pointed to all the construction projects. All over the islands were half finished houses in various stages, some just a foundation, some walls with no roof, others just lacking doors and windows. But the curious thing was that there was no active work being done. With some you could even see that moss was collecting or cement bricks were deteriorating. “That is the island bank!” the worker told us.

Most islanders want to build or improve their homes, but they can’t get the money all at once, so as soon as they get a larger sum, they do a bit of building. Even if they have no idea when they will get more money, they may start a foundation or have some cement bricks made. It might seem like the smarter thing would be to wait until they had enough money to complete the entire building project, but the islands are poor and they know that the money can’t sit around as you wait or else it won’t be around when you want it.

From rooftop- can you see some unfinished construction?

It’s possible that just a few years down the road that this could change. I could see it change quickly. There are more banks advertising with ATM’s and bank cards. Perhaps trust in banks will grow to the point that all islanders will start using them. 

But for now, we took our poor friend’s money. We put it in an envelope and wrote her name on it and tucked it someplace safe. For now, I guess we’re her bank!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We continue to enjoy having our daughter home with us and spending time together as a family.  We continue to get lots of great opportunities to share the good news during this month of fasting.  This past week we were invited by some new island friends to break the fast with them and we had a wonderful time.


PRAYERS REQUESTED
There has been a new push among our island family to be more united, work together and pray for one another.  May this desire for greater unity see much fruit.  Our daughter will return to her school in mainland Africa this week.  Unfortunately one of the interisland planes is out for repairs, so she has to leave us a day earlier than expected. Pray for her safe return and for all our hearts as we say goodbye.  The month of fasting will come to an end this weekend.  It ends with the biggest holiday of the year that includes going and greeting all your neighbors and friends. May we be good neighbors, shining brightly during this time of festivity and joy. One of our teammates arrived yesterday after weeks away, another arrives later this week after months away— pray for the transition back into island life and work.  One new island brother has faced scrutiny from his family— pray for him as he as shared with his father that he could stand strong and have a positive impact on his family.