I washed my feet for the first time with the understanding of how fortunate I am to be able to have clean feet.
I was walking down a hill today to meet a family. We have been doing house visits for Pan de Vida, the ministry we work for this month. The house visits are to assess their living situation so that PDV can meet their immediate physical need.
Every day we walk up and down hills and usually I think to myself how out of shape I am especially with the altitude change #strugglebus. Today though, I looked down at my feet and they were brown. They looked filthy and frankly I was embarrassed.
As I made it down the hill to this family’s house the kids came running out to show us where to go. The grandmother greeted us with the typical kiss on the face which I love. We were then taken inside the house where I am not able to give justice to their living situation. It is typical that a lot of family´s live in one room. In that one room there is a bed and sometimes a stove top and a sink. Fortunately, this family lived in a one bedroom home. However, there are five of them. They have a queen size bed and a torn up couch that they sleep on together. Then there is a kitchen to the left with a fridge, stove top and a bathroom.
Maria is the mother of 3 boys and 1 girl. She is a single mother taking care of her family and often times needs help from her mother. Maria collects plastic bottles for recycling and makes $50 a month. Out of all the interviews and people we have sat and talked with and prayed for Maria by far has the lowest income I have seen. It broke my heart as she started to cry while talking with us. Probably the most humbling situations I have experienced in my life.
The floors are uneven concrete and the ceiling has holes in it. When it rains there are mudslides that hit their house and cause damage. Overtime if this is not fixed they will no longer have a house. Due to all of her family´s expenses Maria is left with no money at all.
I thought to myself, I have no idea what it is to work hard in these cultures. I understand what it means to work hard in the states but here in Ecuador it is completely different. I am clueless to the pain Maria feels. Being abandoned by her children´s father left alone to take care of a 13, 12, 9 and 2 year old. She feels the weight of the world is on her shoulders. Yet in the midst of all the pain and chaos she finds a way to get back up and keep moving. Her children are a testament of her unfailing hard work and love.
Maria reminds me so much of Jesus. Love that compels her to provide for her children. To wake up and pick up plastic bottles so that she can put food on the table.
Joel, her oldest son walks around with a smile everywhere he goes and Jhonathan her second oldest is a lover of people and delights in riding his bike all around. Alvarez is very observant and quick. Last but not least sweet Guachala (2) she loved snuggling in her uncles arms while he teased her. All of her children attend school and despite their situation are joyful.
So when it was time to leave, I started up the hill with Joel (he was keeping the dogs from getting us) and all I could think about was how I needed to be more like Maria. She was humble and joyful in the face of deep sorrow. We all could learn from Maria and her children.
This time I walked up the hill I didn´t think about how out of shape I was or how dirty my feet were. It was the penetrating thought that there are many who go out to sell toilet paper, candy on the streets or pick up plastic bottles for a living and I am worried that my feet look bad. Lord help me out of my own vanity and self-centered thoughts.
If you would like to help Maria or other family´s you can do so by going to Pan de Vida´s website and looking into ways you can support them. Pandevida.org.ec
