She awoke yesterday morning to find that her husband had abandoned her, and he took their money. As she peered through the refrigerator door she noticed only ice cubes and wondered what she was going to use to prepare breakfast for her children.

She is scheduled to leave prison tomorrow. Will her child be receptive to her arrival back home? Where will she live to call home? This is a rural area, there are no buses or taxis; where will she get a car? How will she feed her family? Will her community accept her again?

He suffered through the tragic loss of his son in an auto accident, and now his wife has died, and the final blow was the loss of his business. Three tragic losses in one short year. Where will he turn? No money, no family, no job. What will become of him?

These are situations that have happened to our neighbors here in northeastern NC. Perhaps you wonder about others you know who find themselves faced with situations that have landed them in poverty Our “invisible” neighbors are all around us and many times we are too busy to notice that our neighbors are in need; they are invisible to us. They attend church with us, as well as sit right next to us in school and the doctor’s office.

CBF and WMU of NC have teamed together to offer a very special weekend to explore poverty ministry with emphasis on rural poverty. Invisible Neighbors Poverty Retreat will be held at Union Mission, Roanoke Rapids, NC on March 1-2. It is 24 hours of discussion, experiences, and service ministry to the poor in Halifax County NC. To learn more go to : http://www.wmunc.org/Do/PovertySimulationExperienceTraining/tabid/7086/language/en-US/Default.aspx

We look forward to exploring with you!

LaCount and Anna Anderson