It always takes a few minutes for me to adjust my heart and my nose when we arrive at the Dump Village for ministry. The homes are flimsy, the clothes ragged and dirty, and the air thick with the stench of rot. Kids and toddlers run around on the dusty stretch of road half naked, playing with trashed, dusty, and grubby toys that have been scavenged from the trash heap where they were discarded by their pervious owners. Flies buzz constantly and the heat magnifies the smell and the reality of everyday life in such a place.
Dump Village (photo by Brittney Jennings)
When we arrived last Wednesday, I was handed a beautiful, bouncy baby girl about six months old. Her face was grimy, streaked with dirt and snot from her constantly running nose. She was naked, of course, and in that stage where she wanted to grab and hold everything she could reach. And did I mention she had the most beautiful smile?
“What’s her name?” I asked.
“She doesn’t have one,” was the reply from one of our translators. “You name her,”
came the response from the baby’s mother.
Name a baby? I was taken aback, but Danae and I quickly started throwing out ideas. A biblical name was the first requirement, but Esther was shot down as being too difficult. After a few more moments of trying out ideas (Sarah? Hannah? Anna? Mary?), Danae finally said it: Abigail. Abby for short.
Throughout the month of Cambodia, I’ve felt that the Lord has been teaching me about joy. I’m learning what it truly means to have my joy in the Lord and not in circumstances, places, or people. And God has been so faithful to fill me to overflowing with joy, peace, and thankfulness. I’m beginning to see that all the Lord wants of me is to worship and enjoy Him. I can pray for my relationships, for brokenness, and for the path that the Lord is leading me into, but all of it is outside my relationship with Him.
I’m being filled with a double portion of the Lord’s joy. I’ve found myself rejoicing in the Dump Village because I see the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord to these broken and hurting people. Joy is found in the midst of a dump, in the midst of brokenness, in the midst of hardship. I’ve found myself thanking God for babies like Abby and for the opportunity for me to hold her close.
I don’t believe that names are a coincidence. The Bible uses names to describe qualities, characteristics and oftentimes, they can be prophetic. I looked up what the name Abigail means a few days ago. It means, “My Father is Joy.”
Abby and I (photo by Brittney Jennings)
“The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
And with my song I praise Him. “
Psalm 28:7
