As a strong supporter of Mennonite Central Committee, I was glad to read “A real, live, piggy bank” (Dec. 23), which describes the joy of a Ugandan family over the gift of a pig that produced numerous litters and helped them improve their lot in life. What I find disturbing is that we well-to-do North Americans can read this feel-good piece without embarrassment over the glaring disparities between our way of life and that of our neighbors in the Global South. 

A similar example in the same issue is that of believers in a drought-stricken region of Ethiopia joyfully celebrating the baptism of 120 people in a hand-dug baptistry and with water people carried six miles in plastic jugs. 

Jesus would feel at home in either of these scenarios. We, with our lavishly furnished homes, state-of-the-art worship facilities and Caribbean cruise vacations, would find them intolerable. 

Harvey Yoder, Harrisonburg, Va.