Slumdog Ordinary

Many of you have seen the movie Slumdog Millionaire. It is the story of a young boy named Jamal who comes out of the slums of India to win the top prize on a television game show. He uses his "street" knowledge to answer all his questions. It is a feel good movie with great music and a compelling storyline. It won Academy Awards. And it is fiction.

Today we walked the streets of the Mukuru slum, if you can call them streets. They are broad paths of dirt and concrete filled with mud and debris ... and lots and lots of people. More than 1/2 million residents call this home and have created a community that defies logic and reason. Children smiled and played. Friends gathered together to talk about whatever. Vendors had goods displayed for sale. Some of the "shops" even proudly displayed signs complete with phone numbers, made possible by the crude telephone lines strung to the delapidated shacks.

All of this in the midst of extreme squalor that is impossible to describe in a few words or illustrate with a few pictures. But there are lessons to learn.

Contentment is a condition of the heart, not the product of one's environment. The little children singing for joy in the 12' x 15' "church" testified to this reality. They don't know the deplorable condition of their lives ... but they understand the blessing of daily bread.

Sometimes a select few are annointed for greatness to serve those left behind. This was almost the story of Jamal. I believe it will be the story of some of these children who find their way to the Neema Orphan Village. We don't know who they are ... and it doesn't mean that the children left behind are any less significant. They can still find contentment in the chaos.

As a final note, some of the children sang the Lord's Prayer for us. I wondered if they knew any other prayers. Probably not. But then again, they probably don't need anything else.

"... for thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, forever. Amen."