Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

| by archiveworldraceblogs

This past week, my team had a chance to go to the local dump and hand out food to the people that worked and lived in and around the area. I had heard that people lived there, but for some reason I had a hard time believing that they ACTUALLY had homes there. My teammate Zach prepared the beans and the toppings the night before, and we came armed with two large buckets of beans, tomatoes, and tortillas. I was very excited on the way there because we were actually giving them TANGIBLE gifts. It’s been hard since the beginning to not be able to give all of the people we meet the bare necessities that they need: food, water, adequate shelter, etc. Today was the day that I would be able to see instant gratification on their faces and I LOVED it.  

            We pulled up to the pungent smell of burning trash and as we stepped out of the car, the flies immediately swarmed us. We pulled down the tailgate and made an assembly line to pass out the food. At first a few came and then once the word was out that the food was GRATIS (or free), we had a nice long line.  EVERYONE came… the people sorting through the trash, the dump workers, and even the children that lived on streets near by.
 
                                                 
 
                              

     

            After I took a break from passing out food, I was able to go and talk with a lady that lived in the house about ten feet from the dump. She had been eyeing us since we arrived but had seemed too timid to come down and pick up any of the food that we had brought. I brought her a tortilla with beans and after eating it quite quickly, I asked if she would like another one. She nodded and smiled…this is the instant gratification I was talking about. 

   I sat down and started to ask about her family and her job. I learned quickly that the dump, a place where I could barely breath without smelling rotting trash, was where this woman lived, worked, and even spent her free time. She lives in a house near by with her three children and other members of her family. To make ends meet, she collects cans and bottles from the trash and turns them in to the city for money. After I asked her if she had enough money to buy food for her family her response was…”A veces, pero no todas las semanas,” meaning “At times, but not every week.”  As I listened to her, I thought of all the times I would be at work in the office or out on a sales call and think to myself “If ONLY I could be anywhere else but here.” Seriously??? Did I REALLY complain about my job? I really enjoyed what I did, I had colleagues that supported me, and not once did I ever have to worry about not having enough money to eat or a place to live.  I knew along this trip, I would become more and more appreciative of my life back home, but I do not think I realized it would hit me this hard.

                                                                                

            On August18th, 2008 in the dumps of Guatemala, I was humbled more than I ever have been in my entire life. Through this woman, God showed me how I must seek less for myself and more for others to draw closer to Him. 
 
 
JE