Lessons from the Amarelinho

The amarelinho is the little yellow bus that runs through the slum. Although the bus line has a number (103), everyone simply refers to it as the amarelinho, or "little yellow". Riding on the amarelinho is an adventure in itself, like a R$0.55 rollercoaster ride that actually gets you where you're going. Though, depending on the time of day and how off-schedule the buses are running, you will likely be standing for this ride, but don't worry, if that is the case, you will likely be packed in enough that you won't fly around much!

There are now a couple of newer amarelinho buses with a slightly new design. God has been speaking to me a lot through analogies lately, using simple, tangible examples to represent a bigger lesson. This happened the first time I got on one of these new amarelinho buses. They may look more chic, but someone seriously errored in the new design. Perhaps they thought that using slightly larger seats would make the bus ride more comfortable, but they obviously didn't consider that by making the aisle smaller, it is nearly impossible to squeeze past others standing, and given that the bus only has one door in the front to both enter and exit, that is a challenge. The seats are also staggered so there is not a straight aisle, making it challenging to get through. As I boarded this bus during the morning rush of people heading to work, I couldn't help but thinking that whoever thought of this new design had obviously never riden on the amarelinho before! A five year old kid from the slum could have come up with a more practical design!

The bigger lesson: this is what happens when people from the outside try to fix problems they know nothing about. Well-intentioned people often try to do things to help those more in need, but they can't do it apart from the input of those very people, because they are the ones who best know their own situation and they can come up with the best answers to how to address it.

I was reminded of this lesson this morning as I was reading through my old journal entries since arriving in Brazil for the first time. (I'm currently on my 5th journal since arriving - I jot down struggles, questions, lessons learned, things God speaks to me, etc. then I can look back to make sure I don't forget it and to see how much I have learned and grown.) A month or so after arriving in Brazil the first time, I wrote: "Looking for answers to questions regarding the roots of poverty - the best place to be is with the poor so I can learn their stories and begin to gain an understanding of their situation before trying to improve it." There is a kind of learning that comes from knowing people that you can't get from books. Some problems can be better understood when they are witnessed and experienced firsthand. And often the best answers and solutions come from those most familiar with the problems.