Who Is My Neighbor?

By Matt Schultz

About a year ago, my two housemates and I discovered that one of our new neighbors was pregnant. She was a 20-year-old immigrant, single, did not speak English, had very little money and was afraid to tell her family or anyone else about the pregnancy. By the time we realized the predicament she was in, she was already 5 months pregnant and had not been to the hospital yet.

James 2:15-17 says, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."

We had no choice but to help. There was a life (or actually 2 lives) at stake and if something wasn't done, both would be at great risk. It would have been an easy situation to avoid by saying, "We don't have time" (which we didn't), "We don't know how to help" (which we didn't), or "It's her fault she is in this situation" (which it was).

Being single and without children, we really had no idea how to help her, but we began with the idea that we would have faith and hope in the God who is our Father and her Father as well. We believed that this faith would have to be worked out in small steps as we learned what it meant to persevere along with her. We talked to people in the local community as well as at Central Presbyterian Church and our house church to see how people could help. Faith, hope and prayer were a very important part of, but only as a complement to, the community in action that was beginning to build around her.

We were able to find a 90% hardship discount for the medical bills. A fundraising party was thrown to pay for the initial expenses. A support community gathered around her to give her a large baby shower. Some of those new friends even spent the night with her in the hospital during the 30-hour labor. The church was able to support her living expenses for the first couple months after the birth.

What had started all of that is, we had chosen to help. What we did not know at the time is that we would also be gaining a short spunky friend who likes motorbikes and who always finds the sweetest ways to show her appreciation. We were instigators/organizers with will and compassion. Wisdom, community, friendship and the ability to help developed along the way.