Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your eyes for the broken-hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your eyes so I can see
Brandon Heath
We drove up a slight incline and immediately could smell a stench I am not able to remove from my brain. It was a smell of mountains of trash. I have never smelled anything like it before. I was surrounded by people collecting things to make small amounts of money. They are rummaging through piles of garbage to make ends meet. I was immediately overwhelmed by the sights and the sounds of what I was seeing. I felt broken, guilty, compassionate, and wanting to do something yet having no idea how to respond. I showed up to the dump with Eddie Bauer shorts, Chaos sandals, REI sunglasses, and an iPhone in my pocket. The value of these things I had on me were worth more money than these people would possibly see in their lifetime. I felt broken at the thought that because I was born in a different part of the world into a middle class family in America I do not know what it is like to rummage through garbage to make an income. I felt compassion seeing these people and knowing that they are people with dignity not people to be pitied or to feel sorry for. At the dump I felt like I needed a response of what to do moving forward and I was feeling at a loss for what this looks like for my life. We served a meal at the dump and people formed a line to receive a plate of rice and beans. I couldn’t help but feel guilt at the thought that I got seconds at breakfast that morning and I had lunch waiting for me back at the ministry site when this was possibly the only hot meal they were getting that day. When the food was being served, I went down the line and shook everyone’s hand who was in line to receive food. I wanted to remember these faces and to remember they are more than the statistics we read about poverty. After reading the book When Helping Hurts, I have learned that there needs to be a holistic way in helping the poor beyond giving them handouts. Holistic ways of helping without hurting are hard, messy, and time consuming. I am currently praying and asking the Lord what it looks like for me to respond to this experience and to provide help without hurting.
