The other day we were given the opportunity to visit a dump here in Telgucigalpa. We planned to hand out spaghetti and spend time talking and praying for the people who live and work there. The dump was something I’ve never experienced before. As we began uphill on the bus to the dump the smell started to come into the bus. A smell so awful, I don’t know how to describe it. There were many vultures circling overhead while people were rummaging through trash.
I was a bit intimidated to get off the bus and be surrounded by all men from their early 20’s to middle aged. I spotted a woman and her daughter in the distance and decided to seek them out with my teammate Kristen. We attempted to make conversation but they were a bit stand offish. They were covered in dirt and the girl had two different pairs of shoes on her feet. We prayed for them and then joined two other girls to go up to other women. we met another woman who, when asked what her dream was, responded she wanted to be clean. As we prayed for her she cried and I couldn’t help but tear up myself seeing the conditions in which she lived. She sat there on tires with trash everywhere around her. we prayed for another girl who was 19 and pregnant. And another woman who had 5 children and a hurt foot. She said if her foot didn’t better she would not be able to feed her family.
I was introduced to a 6 year old girl whose name was also Maria. She was adorable and so full of joy. Her sister, Kathryn was 10 and had a smile on her face every time I looked at her. Being that I have very little Spanish skills our conversation was limited. I tried to think of anything I could say to her so I told her I have a cousin her age and that I like silly bandz too. Thankfully I still remember every clapping game I ever learned in elementary school and tried to teach her some of the songs.
The whole experience was all so surreal. My heart broke for them. I had to shower when I came back to our living corridors, my clothes reeked of the dump. it was then that I remembered the woman’s dream of being clean. And how it was so easy for me to get the dirt and smell off of me, but the people at the dump can’t do that. They are stuck. These are the moments I realize how thankful I need to be for everything I have when those people have nothing but trash. Literally.
The dump (Photo credit: Ashley Edwards)
Kristen and I after just praying for two people. (Photo Credit:Ashley Edwards)
Photo Credit: Ashley Edwards
