We teach in rural, largely illiterate communities.  While there is much variation since we have worked with over 1000 communities, the average community has food for 6-9 months a year. Beyond that time, they are forced to scavenge for food. Schools are typically limited and most children only attend a few years, dropping out during planting and harvest seasons. The communities have no sanitation or clean water and very little basic health knowledge. Farming is done using traditional methods, often throwing seed and then ignoring the fields until harvest time. Marriages are often arranged and seen primarily as a means to procreate, with most families having 6-10 children. All communities have a church, although the strength and size of that church varies. In some areas, the whole community has been “saved” when an evangelist visited years ago.  However, they only have a vague awareness of who Jesus is and show little sign of a true conversion.