People's need is, unfortunately, so often bound up with deceit. As a city minister, this didn't dissuade me from dealing with need -- rather to thoroughly check for deceit. But some deceit was too cunning. A refugee asked the Church to pay for two three-month courses. In general, we were favourable towards courses, because they were one of the best ways of restoring people to a normal life. The course itself checked out as genuine. I said, "We’ll cover the three-month certificate. Show me that, and we’ll cover another three months." A few months later, the refugee brought me the three-month certificate. I asked our secretary to check it out. It was a forgery. I suspected the refugee. I said, "This is a forgery, and here is why ..." He looked stunned. Then he put his head down and cried and cried. It was not the refugee who was at fault. Someone had been posing as an instructor, for a genuine course.
No comments:
Post a Comment