How do you relate to the people among whom you live and work, when your income is 30 or 40 times greater than theirs? If your income is around $3,500 a month, and theirs is around $100, how do you relate?
And then we missionaries take pictures of "them" to use in our fund raising. Doesn't seem fair, does it? I know because I have done this. The mission organization encourages this. Check out some of the current missionary web sites.
UPDATE OCTOBER XXXX: Recently I found a picture of myself on a website which promoted a mission project about which I had, and still have, strong objections. The public relations people who put the piece together obviously didn't know who was on the picture, probably it was in the file folder and looked like a good picture to use in illustrating the story. The picture was taken years ago and had nothing to do with the project it was promoting. I had not been asked if they could use my picture, and they obviously didn't know how I felt about the inappropriate project the picture was promoting.
UPDATE FOUR MONTHS LATER: Believe it or not, that same picture was used again last month to raise money in XXXXX for a mission project in XXXX. I have yet to be asked permission for the use of my picture to promote a project about which I have serious concerns.
Well, that got me to thinking. How about all the pictures I used, and still use. Did I get permission from all those people to use their images for my purposes? I am certain the pictures moved donors to contribute, the money flowed in, and it actually became harder and harder to relate.
We make an attempt to keep the picture and the story anonymous. That is good, no need to use real names. But why do we keep the result of the picture, the funds received, secret from those on the pictures?
Maybe this shows how hard it is to relate. Should missionaries put their cameras away?