Teen pregnancy and abortions. You'd never know abortion was illegal here. Or pirated movies, but that one doesn't concern me as deeply. Hasn't anyone here ever heard of birth control? Or abstinence, for that matter? I feel nauseous thinking about recent news in this field from my neighbors. Since when did abortion become a normal part of a teenage girl's life?

And no wonder people stay poor. If you opt out of the abortion, you're a mom before you finish high school, and that's the end of any hope of economic change for the family. Forget a high school diploma, much less college. The girl is now stuck in a lifetime of 48-hr/week jobs that pay $60/month. And no time to raise this small creature that entered the world at the "wrong" time.

The whole thing makes me angry and sick and very, very sad.

Reading comprehension. Today was the 68th day I've sat down to read the Bible with a certain someone. Afterwards we answer 2-3 questions. It's exhausting. To give her the benefit of the doubt, I'm assuming the problem is reading comprehension and not plain lack of intelligence. Regardless, I'm getting tired of either trying to draw out the right answer or pretending the answer is right when it's clearly 100 miles off base.

I'm not talking about tough questions, here. The question says, for example, "Where was Paul?" The text says, "As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ." After a long time reading and re-reading, she says, "Oh! He was in the palace!" Well, yes, I suppose that's true, but I have to go on to point out that he was in prison in the palace. I imagine she is perhaps spending her time scanning the text for a word that indicates a place but not actually reading and digesting what the sentence says. And this is only the beginning.

Tomorrow I am going to start working through the same booklet with two other women in town (of the same age). I'm curious to see how they do, to see if it's just this person or if I should fault the Peruvian education system. Teaching in a Charlotte public high school for 3 years was a real wake-up call. I realized quickly that humans are not nearly as smart as I thought they were. I'm glad that I had that stepping stone before coming here, because Puerto Supe is a whole new level of intellectual poverty.

Reading over this post, I see that I sound arrogant and bitter. It wouldn't be the first time, I guess. Pray that my heart would be softened by love and humility, and that in my frustration, I would fight for the people and not against them. I want to live out what I read with this woman today, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Philippians 2:3-4)

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