The alleviation of poverty is difficult because poverty is more than just being financially broke. It’s about brokenness in every aspect of life. Perhaps the most profound brokenness is to meaningful relationships. PCN’s GOSO program, in partnership with you, embodies the Wendell Berry quote below. Our Get Out and Stay Out (of poverty) program is about possibilities, developing trust and understanding. When our families are in relationship with volunteers and the local church the program helps disconnected people groups, whether birthed on this soil or refugees, feel the freedom to live in peace in their community. Our Work Life program helps our students understand that we were made to work. There is freedom in working. Our Faith and Finance classes teaches our students how mastery over money (including giving) also brings freedom and glory to God. But the most powerful results that we’ve seen is in the knowledge we are learning from each other.
We are learning that we need each other. And that is changing lives on both sides of the socio-economic divide.
This week as we graduated students from our Work Life program we witnessed a new birth in joy as our students are finding their strengths and through that they are seeing joy in working and not the drudgery formerly associated with their work. And as we said goodbye to Work Life until mid-October, Faith and Finances began this week with 17 students and 13 allies and mentors. Praise God!
