We were walking into a community that was directly built into a city trash dump.
The smells hit me and I willed my facial expressions to remain neutral even though all I felt was disgust. It was like climbing down into a dumpster and closing the lid. I looked around and saw people living their lives as “normal” in the middle of all this. Kids were running up and down trash mounds playing tag, barefoot. A mom was rummaging for food among pizza boxes as her little girl waited patiently. Two kids were digging out all the plastic and bagging it, I assume to recycle in hopes of a few coins.
As we kept walking, we had to wade through water and cross “muddy” areas that were basically a little dirt mixed with a lot of liquid from all the trash… you know the rancid liquid that sometimes leaks out of the bottom of your trash bag if you fill it too full? That liquid. A sea of it.
We had gained a following of kids who kept touching the outside of our food container and pushing their little faces against it to see inside. Then, Pastor pointed to the area he wanted us to set up the feeding. About 20 feet away there was a concrete ledge, also completely covered in trash. It was off the “beaten path” so there was alot of “fresh trash.” As I walked toward the feeding spot, flies were swarming everywhere, landing on my feet and legs that were now coated with trash juice. There were so many thoughts that flooded my mind. We need a “clean” area to serve the food. Does he really want us to stop and feed here? Can I stand here and serve food with all these flies attacking me and the smells making me nauseas?
Then the kids started coming from all directions. There was one line for boys and one for girls. We started our feeding in the usual, organized way: first rice, then a piece of spam, then ketchup (they love ketchup in their rice!). I was serving the spam. When I looked up after what seemed like a couple minutes, the number of kids had tripled and there were more coming from all directions. There was chaos that lasted about 20 minutes where empty plates, bowls, and cups were shoved in my face from every side (as they broke line and formed a small mob instead), kids knocking each other down trying to get there first, several failed attempts from people trying to get them back in organized lines, and being instructed by Pastor to cut one piece of spam into 3 pieces so it would feed more kids. And tears. Yep, there were tears in the middle of all this chaos. The reality hit me these children were starving. And their life was survival of the fittest. Get food at all costs.
I don’t think anything like this can be rationalized in our human minds. I would love for God to feed every hungry child in the world and remove them from these harmful and disgusting situations. Why doesn’t He? I don’t know. And no one knows the answers to these tough questions. What I am thankful for is that He sent a man to this dump in Manila 10+ years ago and placed it on his heart to start a feeding program there. I’m thankful that these children are hearing about Jesus and that they have a hope and a future— even if they don’t see it until Heaven. I’m thankful that somehow these precious kiddos have joy in the midst of their circumstance. I know I’m not the answer and didn’t solve a single thing when I walked through that trash dump… but what it did in my heart reminds me that I’m called to more. I am living with more than enough, and instead of being stalled by all the questions, I want to love with action. I can do more. Can you?
