Is it worth the money?

I'm hearing a fair amount of buzz around the wisdom of spending money to send lay people to a small village on the banks of the Nile as opposed to cutting a cheque and sending it to an organization already doing the work we're thinking of doing. Great question; valid concern; debatable every which way.

I was fortunate to have been in this same area in August 2007. During that trip, there was no organization helping out where we stayed and visited. The latrines would not have been built; the families would not have received the mosquito nets and other supplies provided and they would have never known that there are people almost a world away who care about their plight. There were no organizations to support; there was no one to whom a cheque could be sent...at least not where we were working and where our group will be returning next week. Simply cutting a cheque would have usurped the opportunity for us to serve and to better understand the needs there and what we can do to help, if only in a small and short term way. Billions of dollars have been invested throughout Africa with, at best, mixed results. Dollars on their own don't necessarily accomplish much.

There's no way to calculate the ROI on such an initiative in terms of the impact we had on those we helped or the changes that occurred in each of our lives because of the first hand experience of extending a bit of love, concern, a smile and compassion, as well as some urgently needed and very practical help, to a group of people living isolated and desperate lives. How does one put a price on the friendships established and the hope that was engendered by a perhaps feeble but heartfelt effort to help the poor, the orphans and the widows. Something tells me that God isn't nearly as concerned or preoccupied with the money spent as we are. Not that the responsible use of money isn't important. It's just that I think He's a lot more focused on our hearts.