You know that feeling deep in your gut … when something just doesn’t settle right. I had that feeling today – except that is was deeper than just a feeling in my gut, it was like someone had just punched me harder than I’ve ever thought possible. And there was a lump stuck in my throat too, almost paralyzing me from doing anything. Honestly, I just wanted to throw up.

All of this was in response to our visit to the dump today. This was my first trip to the dump and I was not prepared for the emotions that hit me.

We went with soda, apples and taquitos to hand out to the people there. The people there were a combination of garbage workers and nearby dwellers sorting through the trash to find things for recycling or to find things for their homes. The smell was a mixture of burning trash and old stale foods. The amount bees and flies were enough for me to wish I had a fly swater.

Taking out the trash is one of my least favorite chores. So to think of working or living in the trash was something my mind couldn’t comprehend.

Patrick and I met a little boy named Elmen. He was nine years old and didn’t go to school, but came to the dumps with his uncle each day to help provide for his family. We asked Elmen what he wanted to be when he grew up and he didn’t even know how to answer the question – he just said that he wanted to work. We told him that he was special and that someone bigger than us loved him even more than we did. In that moment I felt to useless, all my heart could do was be in continuous prayer for Elmer – that miraculously Elmer will know that he is loved beyond a shadow of a doubt.
 
 
The Dump
 
Some World Racers ministering in the dump
 
Patrick and Elmen