Take a couple of minutes and watch the video above and you will get a glimpse into what I was blessed to see and be a small part in.
That video brings tears to my eyes. And I know that you, just watching it, can’t truly get the full feel all that I experienced. Though the quality of the video was great, it just doesn’t do it justice.
The first week I was in Trujillo, I did construction on-site for Inca Link. It was a sweaty and exhausting week. All we knew is that we were helping to build an orphanage, which, don’t get me wrong, is really wonderful, but– once we saw the kids that were going to be living there- now that was humbling and beautiful on so many levels.
The second week of ministry, we went to the garbage dump. That stirred up a thousand emotions and thoughts. My mind hadn’t ever wrapped itself around the fact that trash has to go somewhere. But where? The children that I met lived in that garbage. They ate from the piles of disgusting leftover trash. I was so sad to see their parents that work at the dump all day (by collecting plastic bottles and cans from the rubble to sell. They make maybe 5 soles [around 2 American dollars] a day). Talk about being so humbled. And realizing how much I take for granted in the United States. This week was emotionally draining, as I had to see these things.
But the thing that I really want to share with you is the secret that I found at the dump. There was so much beauty amongst the ruble and trash. Though these children are living in filth, trash and smoke, they are filled with life.
The first day working with the children at the dump, they found some glitter and sprinkled in all over me! It was so cool (if you don’t know, sparkles are one of my favorite things in the entire world). I let them go crazy and put it all over my arms. I braided their hair, which felt as though it hadn’t been washed in weeks. But what I saw as I looked at these dirty kids with filthy clothes and messy hair was only beauty. I heard laughter. I saw smiles. I felt love. Love that God had for each of them.
Before we went to the garbage dump, my team prayed that God would give us His eyes and heart as we went there. He did. We saw the people there as He sees them. We hugged them tightly as He does. It was so beautiful.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. –Ecclesiastes 3:11a
I think that the time for the people at the garbage dump is now. The last day that I was there, we planted a tree. Think of that. A tree in the middle of a garbage dump in the desert. It's so symbolic of life and growth. God is doing some wonderful things there. He is moving in powerful and wonderful ways to get these children to the orphanage to know Him better. He is overflowing beauty and love of that place.
I am so blessed that I got to see God's people through His eyes and find beauty in the least expected place. I pray that God continues to give me His eyes and heart for His people.
