“Lord, do I have to go out there?” This was my question as our bus pulled up to the garbage dump where we were to minister yesterday. I knew we were going to a dump site where we would serve spaghetti, tortillas and water, and share the love of Christ with people who lived and worked in the dump…I knew it would be a dirty and difficult experience. But, I really didn’t have any idea of what we were walking into. As the bus wound up the dirt road the smell hit me. As we pulled up to the hub of the dump I was overwhelmed not just by the smell, but also by what I saw out of the window. There was trash everywhere. There were also people everywhere…men, women, pregnant women, children, elderly…walking and sitting and laying IN THE TRASH. There were cows and dogs grazing in the trash. There were vultures circulating above and flies everywhere.
“Lord, do I have to go out there?”
My “task” was to step out of that bus for about one and a half hours, love those people to the best of my ability, and then leave…It felt doable because I knew I had a shower, soap and clean clothes waiting for me back at Zion’s Gate.
“I can do this.”
I stepped out of the bus and asked my friend Majil if she wanted to come with me to talk with some people who caught my eye. As we made our way over to them we stepped carefully because there was trash and sludge everywhere…I tried not to imagine the reason for the less-than-dry ground. It was windy so I repeatedly kicked off plastic trash bags that flew up and caught on my legs.
Majil and I were well received by the men and women we walked up to. They were patient with my Spanish. They answered our questions and listened to our story of why we are here in Honduras and there with them. Majil and I spent most of our time talking with two of the men: Victor Manuel and Ernie. We talked about God and both men said they believed in Jesus. We talked about how this life is difficult, but that this life is also short and that we have the hope of a better future in Heaven with God. They said that they don’t go to church, but I reminded them that God is not in the church building but in their hearts and that they can talk to Him anytime they want to through prayer. We asked if we could pray for them and they agreed. I prayed my second-ever prayer in Spanish over them!
A touching moment with Victor Manuel and Ernie was when one of the big trash trucks pulled up…typically at that point everyone runs up to the truck with their bags to pull out whatever “materials” they can use to eat or sell…we asked Victor Manuel and Ernie if they needed to go, but they remained sitting and apparently wanted to keep talking to us. I supposed they figured another trash truck would come…after all, they were not going to leave in one hour…that dump, for whatever reason, is their life…every day. It doesn’t seem fair. I don’t understand…but, I cling to the justice, hope, and future I know is to come for Victor Manuel, Ernie, and all who call on the name of the Lord.
