Trash. Layer upon layer of filth. Old rotting fruit. Picked through bags of junk. Old abandoned couches. Broken glass. Old electronics. Needles. Crack rocks. Empty bottles of lighter fluid that have been drunk by the addicts to end their pain. This is el cafetal.
It was once a functioning coffee plantation that sits a block away from the town square. It sits right behind the major Catholic Church of the City and the city park. Now it is a dump that many homeless call their homes. It's used by addicts to get their fix. It's used by prostitutes to sleep with their clients. It's used by the locals to dump their trash.
We spent Monday praying over and attempting to clean up part of el cafetal. When first seeing it I was disgusted by the filth and the smell. But then The Lord broke my heart for his people that called this their home.
The mess was overwhelming, but with prayerful hearts, we put on our gloves and got to work. The presence of evil was overwhelming. It was like a weight was put on my heart the moment I stepped into that place. A sense of heaviness and despair I had never felt before. I quickly released how much work there was to be done. Bags and bags of trash began to pile up and yet we hadn't made it further than 20 feet into huge area. The trash was impressed into the ground because of the sheer amount of it. It felt futile to try to remove it because we could be there for weeks and still not have that place clean. Katie Davis said it best in her book, it felt like trying to empty the ocean with an eye dropper.
But The Lord is working, even in that place. In addition to cleaning el cafetal, we were also given an opportunity to feed some of the men who call that place their home. I watched as about 20 of those men filed into the churches doors, looking to escape their lives and find peace, if only for a few minutes. I watched as they raised their hands to sing praises to The Lord and thank him for another day. I saw how their body language changed while being embraced and accepted by the church after being shunned and treated like dogs by the locals.
As you look at these pictures please pray with us. Pray for the Holy Spirit to be present in that place and to overtake the evil forces that are there. Pray for the people who call it their home. Pray for hope to be found in that place. For Jesus to be found in that place. Pray for God to work a miracle so 6:8 ministries can buy that land, bull doze it and use it for the glory of The Lord.
Photos by Megan Terrell
