I had decided to write a monthly newsletter for LoveroftheLeast.com but then I rememberd a blog I had started right before Thanksgiving. The newsletter will feature a Lover of the Least, real people, not radio of TV personalities, that I have had the privilege to meet over the past 40 years. I chose Dianne to be the first featured missionary and I thought it was a perfect fit for this blog....... Why did Jesus choose poverty over wealth?
Why would the Father choose to send his Son to earth in poverty? Why not make Him a real Prince born into royalty with great inheritance and earthly wealth? Along with this wealth would come great power and authority where He could rule without rival or confrontation. His lifestyle would include all the pleasures and comforts of the world with no limits to material wealth including land, jewels, precious metals, real estate, slaves, governments and every creature comfort. He would have been admired and viewed as the epitome of success and highly respected and feared by kings, rulers, presidents and governments around the world.
Why not make him a man of great power and wealth like Donald Trump or Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs or Jack Dorsey or Tim Cook or Pope Francis? All men of great power and influence and knowledge.
Have you ever thought of why the Father chose utter poverty in an animal barn to bring the Savior? And why he never chose the life of the men mentioned above for the Son of God?
Is this lifestyle and view on wealth supposed to be an example for His followers? Read the short story of Dianne from the slums of Bangkok. She seems to be leaning in that direction.......... with her life.
Brothers of Grace and fellow Lovers of The Least:
I have decided that I will feature a missionary once a month that I have had the privilege to meet. Like many of you, over the years, I have had the opportunity to meet some incredible people on the mission field starting with the incredible Don Rulison who introduced me to Maken and Narola Sanglir. And of course, most of you know, this meeting changed my and Linda’s lives for the past 22+ years by introducing us to a level of global servanthood and sacrifice we had never seen.
Today, I am sharing my experience with Dianne, an Aussie who worked with UNOH in the largest slum in Bangkok. I followed Dianne around Khlong Toei one day watching her speak to the elderly sick woman in the pic below with Narola. I will never forget how genuinely concerned she was with this woman’s health and well being. Her kindness and love for this woman was expressed in her taking the time to stop and listen to this dear woman. I watched Dianne meet with neighborhood children and give them a drink and a kind word. I was impressed with her genuine kindness and humble, low key attitude to serve and live in this dirty, filthy, smelly slum in this small two room shack. As you can see by the photo, she sleeps on a small mat in the small upstairs bedroom. She is standing in front of her shack with Stephen Sanglir, oldest son of Maken and Narola.
I was also impressed with Dianne’s simple life and lack of a desire for materialism. She left her two daughters in Australia a few years back to join UNOH and live among the poor in Khlong Toei…….. kinda like…. Ah………. Maybe, sorta like……. WELL…… Jesus might have done! I can’t even remember what Dianne did in Australia as a career before she retired to LIVE the Gospel of Jesus in Khlong Toei. I was that overwhelmed with her mission and ministry and commitment. But I do remember that she asks no one for support and never will. She is 100% self supporting.
Now Dianne would probably be embarrassed that I am sharing my time with her. She is not flashy or self absorbed! It is NOT about her. But as far as I am concerned…… Dianne is a Rock Star! She is the real deal on the mission field and I count it an honor to have met her.
Blessings…….KJ
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