In the DUMPs…Part II

You know that feeling of
just passing through, seeing a person and praying for them once and heading on
your way? The one that leaves you
feeling like you were just another person stopping by for a second in their
life, leaving you wondering if they really know how much you care and love
them?

Well, that may be the case
here again, but I am so thankful for the opportunity to go back to the dumps a
second time, bringing people who have never been before, to visit those I sat
with and prayed for Monday, my new friends, families. Molly
and Seth were the ones who had gone with me before but weren’t able to come the second
time so Traday, Renee, Caitlin, and Caitlin’s mom (Jill), joined me as I
introduced them to the friends I had made on Monday while walking through. I got to share my excitement and love for
these people with them and their story since I had already talked to them about
it before.

When I saw my them again,
I think they were surprised that I decided to come back to them specifically since I had already prayed for them on Monday. It was so good to talk to them more, pray
for them, and let some of the others from our squad be apart of it as
well. There were a few
mis-communications between Pastor Manuel and us as we both speak very little of
each other’s languages, but it was kind of funny, gave us a laugh, and we eventually
figured it all out.

The first person we visited
was a lady named Rosa. She was so willingly and calmly washing all
the family’s clothes by hand when we walked up. She was older and still had young kids all around her. One thing I noticed right away was how many
flies were around. The few flies around
me bothered me so much even for those few minutes, but the 100’s on her didn’t
seem to phase her because that is normal for her. It broke my heart. As we were talking, we found out she has
lived there for over 20 years. She asked
if we could pray for her health and pain in her joints. So, several of us prayed over her in English
and Manuel prayed for her and her family in Spanish. She seemed not sure what to think of us when
we first walked but before we left, she was smiling 🙂. We got to
play with the kids a bit which they of course were really excited about. Rosa was
such as sweet lady and seemed to be content with her simple lifestyle.

The second visit we made was with my friends Coni (the mother), Jacqueline, Rafael (the nephew), Samanty,
Joseling, and Jacquin. When I first
arrived, there were only three of them there, but slowly others started to
arrive. I was able to introduce my new
friends and share this family’s story with the other World Racers. They explained that one of the girls was with
her father working at the lake and others were finishing school work. I told them God had put them on my heart and
I was excited to be able to see them again.  Coni told me that one of her daughter’s is an
artist so we found the artists in our group and it was neat to have that
bond. Then she said that one of the
others likes to paint pictures and another enjoys math. It was fun to talk with those who had similar
talents and interests. They welcomed our
prayer and it felt like I had known them forever; they truly are my new
friends.

Our next stop was with my
friend Jariana. Last time we visited
her, she told us that her husband wanted a divorce and we prayed over her, her
marriage, and family. She is one of the
sweetest ladies ever and she glows with such peace even through her tough
circumstances. After much translation,
mis-understanding, and more talking and then laughing, we eventually figured
out that we had huge things to celebrate…her husband had decided to stay with
her and work things out! So, we praised
God together and prayed that the enemy would have no place there. We talked with her for a bit longer and
played with her little boy and girl. Afterward, she showed us some pictures of her husband and of their
children growing up and it was apparent their daughter loved to look at
pictures. She was proud of her family
and the joy she had on her face, showed thanks to God for what He is doing in her family.

Next, we went to a family I
had not met yet. It was a family of ALL
girls! There were more than seven women
and girls living in that little house together. When we walked up we were greeted with hugs from at least two girls with
huge smiles. It was great! There was a 16 year old who was 8 months
pregnant and a mother who had just had a little baby girl. A small ten year old popped her head out from
behind the curtain where she was bathing. She hurried to get dressed so she could come greet us as well. We were able to tell them that they were
beautiful women created in God’s image and that God loves them. We found out they had been living in that
house for several years already. The
older women and teenagers seemed to be very calm and mature. I could tell the children were well taken
care of by how they changed a diaper, brushed another’s hair, and hugged
another one almost all at the same time! The younger ones were excited to show off their newest baby sister and
eager for us to take pictures of them all. They were so much for to be around and most of all I LOVED seeing their
huge smiles. They don’t have much at
all, and the younger ones may not even know it, but they are so happy just to
be alive!

Before we left, I bought
some crackers and bananas from Jariana’s own little shop. It is very common for people all over central
America to have their own shops to make a little money for thief family. I couldn’t believe how much I got for a
dollar! It blew me away. I thanked her a lot and as we headed out, I
stopped by Coni’s house and gave her the crackers and bananas and all of them
were so thankful to me for it and excited to receive them. It was sad to say good-bye, but I was
thankful for a second opportunity to see them.

I have so much to learn from
each person I talked to there in the dump. I want to be grateful like they are and content with life the way they
are. I want to live simply and be okay
with that. I want to share and give my
‘things’ away like they do. I don’t want
my possessions to have a hold on me. I
want to praise God the way do.   I want
to love life the way they do. So little,
yet so at peace, so grateful, and so filled with joy. I have a lot to learn from them…Thank you
Jesus for allowing me to be right here right now where I can pray for people
you love so much. Thank you for allowing
me to love them. Thank you for using
them to teach me even the simplest of things, yet some of the hardest things to
do. Thank you Jesus…