Man
this place.
This video shares a a little bit of my feelings and emotions since being here but doesn’t quite do it justice.
These are some of our pictures and even though they are good they can’t adequately portray this place.
A river but also a trash can…
river housing
treasure hunt
Most of the children are dirty, naked, and hungry
This is the charcoal factory… you can’t breathe but yet they do day in and day out
At first I couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t take it all in. I felt like I was in a horror movie and that maybe it would all just go away in a couple hours. But walking outside you are hit with the smells, the faces, the houses. I can’t remove it. It is real. These are their lives. They don’t just get to leave in a month. They dig through the trash for food and valuables(aluminum cans). The little ones walk around with no clothes or shoes on. They are covered in dirt, lice and they have sores on their little bodies. The older children sell themselves for money to pay for school projects… this is their reality.
Can you believe it? I wouldn’t believe it unless I was here. I am touching these little guys. I hold their hands and dance around the trash filled ground with them. I watch as the women love and serve us in hopes they can get some food because they have none. I gather the children in lines so they can receive their first hot hardy meal in who knows how long. I walk by the men who sleep all day and drink all night and gamble in between. I hear, I see, I smell, and taste.
But…there is hope.
So much hope. I couldn’t see it at first but then the Lord opened my eyes. He is on the move here. The believers are rising up! Their faith is real. He is igniting fires all around us. These people are genuine. They get it. The gospel is alive in them and they are doing huge things with the fact that Jesus died for them. With or without us the pastor feeds these children, they visit the poorest of the poor and tell them about the saving grace found in JESUS! They go to the hospitals and feed the patients who can’t afford to eat. They go and care for the least of these. The churches here are multiplying. Jesus is moving and it’s incredibly humbling to be apart!
I can’t love these kids well and sometimes my flesh doesn’t want to get dirty or hold hands that are wet with who knows what on them. It’s part of the imperfect love I have in and of myself. But the Lord is breaking me. He told me He is tenderizing my heart. He is changing the rhythm to beat like His.
Jesus, may my heart beat for what makes your heart beat. May your love abound in my heart to fill all the brokenness and overflow into the lives of everyone I come in contact with. May my heart be tender, moldable and teachable. Lord may I continually lay down my life for you. May I get over my stinkin self and get uncomfortable. Lord my flesh screams to stay cozy in what is known and safe but my spirit knows I need the danger of depending more on you.
