It has been a pretty relaxed ministry around here. There are so many people to direct that when we see a need we do it. There has been some physical labor, like a retention wall being built behind the house and other things. Other than that we have been building relationships with the people around the area. We have to go in pairs at all times. On Saturday I was done with my devotions and looking for somewhere to help. There was not enough work for all of the guys to help with the wall and many of the girls had gone down to make crepes at the house of a lady they had been building relationships with. Cathy was not feeling well so I could not bring her with me to the house we had been going to lately. I was about ready to give up when one of the girls from the K squad came over and asked if any of us wanted to go with them. I was excited to work with them and get to know some of the other squad, so I quickly gathered my stuff. Kara ended up coming along as well. We walked down to another sub-village. It was where the outcasts lived. The gypsy community, as a whole, is seen as outcasts; these are the outcasts of the outcasts. I don’t know how many families lived in the area, but they were separated from the rest of the town. They are very poor and barely have enough food to survive. We went in and invited the children to play games with us. They played duck, duck, goose and freeze tag. I sat on the sidelines and did face paints and was bombarded by the children who wanted a few of the designs I had drawn painted all over them! I hope it came off, because I started using markers and I’m pretty sure they don’t get to wash very often…oops! It was a fun morning and I enjoyed talking to te girls on the other squad while we were there.
The fact that the people we were with were outcasts didn’t really hit me until later. I was walking and talking with one of the K squad girls and one of the little girls from the village came with us. As we sat down along the side of the road talking and drinking our cokes and one of the GYPSY ladies and her daughter stopped to say hello. She kept shaking her head at the little girl and giving her mean looks. Finally Lauren motioned to her “Jesus loves her.” The look changed on the ladies face as she paused for a moment, then looked down and grabbed two cookies out of a bag of things she had just bought at the store, and gave them to the girl. Though her actions seemed to be kind, I could still see the hatred behind her eyes as she grimly looked at the girl. She then smiled at us and said goodbye.
In America we seem to think that hatred and racism is something that is only faced by us. It is not true. Hatred is all over the world. Everywhere we have been we have seen what locals see as a lower class of people. Often it is the darker skinned people who are rejected. Sometimes it is people from other countries or different cultural backgrounds. All of the time it is the sin in the hearts of people that makes them lash out on others. What makes me sick is that those who have been rejected and hated, turn around and reject and hate their own people. We humans are truly sick. I can’t wait to go back to that village this next week. I want them to see that not everyone hates them and that God’s love extends to them, no matter what they have done.
