Dig Deeper
If you stand in the middle of the street and look down the row of picturesque houses, all the same style, each one connected to another, each one painted a different color of the rainbow, you might be confused where you have ended up. You might find it easy to forget that you are standing in the middle of the city dump.
This was not something I found easy to forget. 6 years ago, I was standing in this same dump. The picture I saw at that time could hardly be described as “picturesque”. The quaint houses back then were constructed out of the trash in the heart of the trash. They barely had four walls. “Roof” was the word used to loosely define the half-tattered tarp that covered only 2/3 of the open ceiling. How could people live in these conditions? It was something even then I couldn’t process. There was so much room for improvement.
6 years later, I’m now standing in a subdivision. To my left, there is a park with swing sets and slides. A police station has been constructed around the corner. People sitting on their front porches and going for walks on stone streets. On the surface, one could logically conclude that life here has improved. A couple years ago, the governments in both Nicaragua and Spain got involved and built all those houses. The recycling of the trash became privatized. All the families that lived in the dump were moved to said government housing. Situation, improved. A house finally meant four solid walls and a roof. As a result, a majority of all the outside funding and help…left.
The issue is that we fixed one of the surface problems but did not really change much beyond that. We gave them a house, but they still do not have a job. They still do not know where they will find their next meal. They still do not know what true Love looks like. Because the surface was given a cosmetic makeover, it became simple to ignore all the other underlying issues. The city dump has almost become a forgotten mission field. (Note: There are still ministries operating out of the dump, providing food programs for some of the people that live there. One woman has been working there for the last 15 years!)
I think that we do this same thing a lot in our day-to-day lives with the people we come in contact with so often. It’s so easy. In our culture, we have all the resources to makeover ourselves and hide the struggles that are battling under the surface. And on the other hand, we readily accept the front put up by others, not digging deeper, not truly asking how people are really feeling. How often have we all had this conversation:
-Hey! How are you?
-Fine. How are you?
-Good. See you later!
We accept the easy answers and go on our way. Neither party really wanting to sacrifice precious time in their day.
But what if things were different? What if we were different? What if we did not settle for the easy answers? What if we truly pursued getting to know the hearts of others? What if we refused to accept the manicured lawns, perfect style, and flawless makeup, as the answer to our pleasantries? Talking to the people at the dump made me aware: what is seen on the surface isn’t always an accurate representation of what is happening in the heart. So the challenge then becomes this:
Dig Deeper
I’m still raising funds for my trip. I am $1500 short of my next deadline on April 1st. If you would like to donate, click the link under my profile picture to the left that says “Support Me!” Thank you all for your continued support in love, encouragement, and prayers!
