So it’s month 2 of the Race and I know you’re all eager to hear about what new ministries I’m getting involved in and what new experiences I’ll be having this coming month in Peru. So here it is!
We made it into Trujillo, Peru about a week ago now. It was a long journey as we took two 12-hour bus rides to get from Quito to Trujillo, but I’m glad to say that we made it safely and with relative ease (there were some stressful times, but nothing too unbearable). It was sad to leave Ecuador, but I’m excited for all God has in store in Peru!
So far Peru has been a lot different than Ecuador, at least for my team. Almost everything about my experience so far has been different: good, but different. In Ecuador, I was in the jungle; in Peru, I’m in a desert/dusty environment where it hardly rains (although day 2 of our stay it rained and we had leaky roofs…not fun). In Ecuador, my team was isolated from the rest of the squad (except for team Luminous); in Peru, my whole squad is at the same location (which is really good as I get to grow closer to other people on my squad, but it also brings its share of challenges). In Ecuador, I was in a relatively safe area where we could walk around by ourselves in the community without being too fearful; in Peru, we are in a dangerous area where we can’t go outside the walls of the compound my squad is staying at unless we are with a local (they even said that there has been a history of violence in the area, especially against white people; mother don’t worry, I’m still alive haha).
Ministry is also looking a little different this month. We are still working with the same organization that we were partnering with in Ecuador, IncaLink (which is awesome because all of the contacts/people we’ve met through the organization have been awesome and so encouraging and fun to live alongside). I just love the heart they have for the Lord and the vision they have for furthering God’s Kingdom. Each week this month we will be partnering with a different type of ministry that IncaLink has in Trujillo. Ministries range from construction to sand-boarding/sports ministry to day-care ministry to ministry in the dump community. My team started with the dump community ministry.
When I first heard about the different ministries that we were going to be a part of, I was most interested in the dump community ministry. Although all the ministries appeal to me, I really enjoy the ones where I can really get a feel for what the lives of people in the area are like. I want to experience the sorrow and pain that these people experience so my heart can be molded to be more compassionate. I want the things that break the Lord’s heart to break my own. And I think my time in the dump did just that.
I didn’t really know what to expect about the dump. All I was told was that there was a lot of trash and it smelled like it too. And I can personally tell you now…there is a LOT of trash. Going to the dump was probably one of the most eye-opening experiences I’ve had. There are endless piles and acres of trash. The smell is almost at times unbearable. The air is so smoky and ashy that my lungs would hurt by the end of the day. And in it all there is a community; people literally have homes and shops and pigpens and a church and a soccer field in the midst of the dump. That was probably the hardest thing to see because not only did people work in these terrible conditions, but they also literally live their lives in this dump without hardly going to the outside world.
Our contact was a woman named Stephanie who is just an amazing woman of God. She grew up in Trujillo and went to school for business administration, but ended up giving up here good job at the bank to do ministry in the dump because that was what the Lord was calling her to. It was amazing to see how the kids just attach to her and how much joy they have by her presence. Seeing her heart for the kids and people in the dump community really rubbed off on me as well and gave me a heart for them too.
I asked Stephanie how people got into the dump in the first place. She said it was mostly for financial reasons and working in the dump was a way to make some money (not much though). The government doesn’t really have an organized recycling or waste management program (all they do is just have dump trucks take the trash to the dump areas), but people still have found a way to make a living sorting through trash and selling recycled things. But even more heart breaking than how they first got there, was the fact that it is now very generational. Kids grow up in the dump (most don’t even go to any schooling), never experience life outside the dump, and end up taking over the work that their parents did. For many, the dump is a bondage with no hope of breaking free.
The work my team did this past week in the dump was a combination of children’s ministry and construction. The first day half of us cleared a path through the trash with shovels and pick-axes to make it easier for a man in a wheelchair to navigate through the mounds of trash. The other half helped out in an art ministry that one of the interns at IncaLink started. It’s really a cool ministry as kids get to come and express themselves through painting and we get to teach them about Jesus. Another main project that we did was building a soccer field near the IncaLink building in the dump. We had to clear a field of the trash and then transport goals from another location in the dump. It was really cool when we finished it on Friday because we could look back and see that we did something that will last indefinitely in this community and will bring a lot of joy to the kids. On Saturday (our last day), we had a mini-vacation bible school where kids came and we sang songs, acted out a story from the Bible, did a craft, prayed, and played soccer (like always). It was great hanging out with the kids that last day, but it was sad to have to say good-bye because they were such a great and fun group. They had a life and a joy in them that was admirable as I thought of just how hard their lives must be in the dump. They will forever be in my heart.
Stephanie had a book in which she wanted each of us to write an encouragement or a Bible passage or a prayer or something like that for the people in the dump and the people ministering to them. I was brought to a passage in Ezekiel where it talks about God being Israel’s shepherd and how in the end He will bring all His sheep from the ends of the earth to a place of green pastures and living water. It was such a picture of hope because even though the dump is a dreary and smelly and dirty place, God’s presence and Kingdom is still here. I see Him working in the hearts of the families that we talked to in the community. I see the seeds that are being planted in the hearts of the youth. I see the love of Christ being revealed through Stephanie and the other people ministering to the community. I know God has sheep in the dump. I have met them. And I know that one day He will come down and bring back the lost and strays and rescue them from all the places they were scattered to and bring them to the pasture on the mountain heights of Israel where the grass is rich and God Himself will tend His sheep (Ezek. 34:11-16). It’s a wonderful picture and hope that we all can rest on. Please pray for God’s sheep in the dump and for the people ministering there. Pray that more of God’s sheep will be found in the dump. Thanks and love you all.
