I literally just got back from the city dump and it was such a blessing. The more we are able to reach out and provide, the more God teaches and blesses me. Just driving up to the dump we could begin to smell it. I just can’t get over the fact people live there…
So today we met Pastor Reynald. He is a farmer here, but God has recently given him a passion for the people that live in the city’s trash pile. A few months ago, the congregation at the church was around 30 plus, but recently the pastor that was in charge has moved on and Pastor Reynald has just recenty taken over. It’s a hard place to be a pastor because even though many people are living there, they don’t see the purpose of focusing on church or God. Now the church has at best 5 to 10 members.
The biggest challenge they are facing is that Sunday is pay day. In the morning, people will come to buy anything that won’t decay, so the residents are ready with their week’s collection and if they’re not there, then they miss out on the week’s pay. All of this has contributed to a rapid decline in the want for a church but the huge importance of the need for one. Pastor Reynald sees this and wants to do whatever he can to present Jesus to these people but is trying hard not to get discouraged. It’s hard for anyone to lead this area, much less a man that struggles to provide for his own family that doesn’t even live there.
Despite everything working against him, he’s still there and loving these people. The few faithful he has are dwindling, but one huge reason is that he’s still a new face around there. Even though he doesn’t speak English, I could tell he had a heart for these people and we wanted to do whatever we could to help him succeed. We came up with a plan to come every Thursday afternoon to feed the community and hopefully give the Pastor a captive audience. Afterall, if they have an excuse as to why they can’t come Sunday, let’s just meet another day. So, as a blessing, we will hopefully be able to help Pastor Reynald build relationships through food as we all sit down and have a meal together once a week. I’m excited for the possibilities.
The prayer requests for this area are huge. We pray God continues to use His people to lead a community that is very often forgotten. We pray against any neglect or bitterness that these people may feel or have towards church. We pray God will provide for Pastor Reynald, his wife, and three kids so he can continue to answer the calling God has placed on his life. Finally, we just pray a church will be raised up in the midst of everyone else’s rubbish.
Working in the dump is a special calling and many people would never last here. The good news is that Pastor Reynald is here for the long haul as long as he can continue to provide. Oh, and one more thing, in the midst of providing for his own family, he splits his weekly paycheck in thirds and supports two students that go to the Mountain Bible Seminary I mentioned a few weeks ago. This man is a willing and obedient servant ready to be used, and we are blessed to help him step into this calling.
