A group of four of us had the opportunity to work the night shift at the city dump, in Peru. As soon as this opportunity came up the Lord spoke one word to my heart, Yes. So I agreed with no knowledge of what that night would look like. We were picked up at 10 p.m. and taken to the house below to rest for 2 hours before we headed to work. The man that we worked the shift with gave up his bed just so we could have somewhere to lay our heads. He literally had nothing. Missing floor boards, the celling was only partially covered , a foam pad for a bed and a few clothes laying around are the only things that filled his home. Yet, he didnt hesistate to offer all he had to us. I was humbled.
The Lord continued to speak four words over my heart, the least of these. ” Whatever you did for the one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me ” – Matthew 25:40
The house we stayed in is on the left. Look at the fort on the right with the blue tarp…that is where one of the men that we worked with sleeps. That is his home.
At midnight we were taken to the middle of the dump where we waited until the first trash truck arrived. We quickly learned the system of the trash that gets dumped, it is divided into several piles and each one belongs to a different worker. For the next four hours we dug through trash. Every bag had to be ripped open and gone through to find any recyclables that we could. Note this is a country that does not flush toilet paper….so we went through every used toilet paper in hopes of finding something recyclable. Not only used toilet paper but diapers, left over food and even countless cow heads were all things we dug through. I can even count the cow heads and even their intestines that I had to toss into the “really trash” pile. I stood there throwing a cow head to the pile with my protective gloves over and I looked over to a man with his bear hands going through the same trash, contemplating if the bread he found was good to eat. As we dug into the endless trash bags it began to rain really hard. These man, women and even kids are digging through peoples trash at 3 a.m. in the pouring rain and yet I never heard one complaint. I have complained about even having to take the trash out in the rain. Again I was humbled.
One man in particular that we worked with took us under his wings for the night. As a recent believer, he willingly opened his heart. He had been working in the dump for over 25 years. He started at age 7, when his parents brought him, in hopes to make more money to provide for their family. One persons wage at the dump is not enough to support an entire family so it is very common for the kids to even drop out of school to work. The kids will come to help their parents and before you know it, 20 years have passed and they are now bringing their own kids in to work. This generational cycle is hard to witness. Its one that I so desperately want to see broken. Not even because of the work they are doing but because of the sickness and death this job is bringing. Their lungs are being filled with countless toxins.
My heart broke as our new friend began to share more of his heart. He said he has tried to leave the dump but their was no other work so he had to return. He had to do it for his daughters. One of his daughters was a very sick when she was born. She had 9 surgery’s all before she was 9 months. What did her dad do? Worked three shifts at the dump in one day. His love is selfless. He loves with the love of the Father. The breaking of my heart didn’t stop there. It continued as he shared all the things his eyes had seen, digging through the trash since he was 7. My heart skipped a beat as he told us that he has found countless babies. My heart still aches as I hear his voice talking about the precious babies he found buried in trash. He said he will call the police but they will only come for the big babies and will leave the little ones in his hands. He says he takes them to the cemetery that is right across from the dump and gives them a proper burial. We went to visit this cemetery. I saw so many graves of little babies and they are still covered in trash.
Even now, I am in tears. The Lord is opening my eyes to so much. Now what? What do I with all that He is showing me. I live a life of an overflow of things. Lord how do you want me to live differently. I dont know why but you have blessed me with so much. I do know that it is for your name and glory. How can I use all that I have for your glory? How can I give you back what you have given me? All that I have is YOURS. Transform my heart Lord. Cleanse my heart. Wash away my flesh.
As I was leaving the cemetery, I looked over a brick wall and saw this grave.
This grave speaks LIFE in the mist of a very dark place. How beautiful is the tree and grass planted! When I saw this the Lord spoke, that is me. I am LIFE. His heart is not sickness and death but LIFE. He gave his life so that we may have life. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy: I have come that they may have life and have it in the full” – Jesus.
