As soon as we got to our ministry site here in Peru, everyone was talking about the dump ministry; how it was one of Inca Link’s main ministries in the area; how dangerous it could be; how important it was for the children in the community. Each week, our teams were divided to the various ministries associated with Inca link. Week one, team favoured was helping Joca with his sand boarding ministry. Week two we were on the compound doing construction. Week three we were painting and helping out at the preschool. I was bummed that we were not going to get to be a part of the ministry that was happening in the dump. One of the nights, our host showed us videos of the ministry that Inca Link supports in the dump (follow this link: to watch them and find out how you can help support their ministry). It wasn’t until after watching those that I realized just how important Inca Link’s ministry there has become. There are children that find their next meal by picking through the trash that is brought in each day. While I had been living the past two months throwing toilet paper in the trash can instead of the toilet, it didn’t hit me until watching this video what that meant for these people living and eating from the dump. My heart broke as I realized how ridiculous my thinking had been this month; eating three plates of food each meal, acting as if I wouldn’t get enough food, snacking between each meal (I plowed through my entire supply of clifbars in just 20 short days), and getting upset on numerous occasions when I had asked teammates to pick me up some snack food, only for them to return empty handed. How was it that I was so concerned about snacks and extra food when I was eating way more food than anyone in the community surrounding our compound? Tears flowed as I saw the community through God’s eyes that night.
The next day, our last day of ministry with Inca Link, we were invited to be a part of the party that Inca link was having for the children at the dump. I wasn’t sure what to expect when we got there (I only had the videos thus far to give me some insight into the dump community), but it wasn’t what I saw upon arrival. Trash of every kind lined the street that we walked along to get to the house that Inca Link built in the heart of the dump community. Tiny explosions erupted under trash in order to start it burning. Smoke and the smell of burning plastics filled my lungs. Small children carried halves of watermelon larger than themselves: food found among the garbage that would provide their family’s next meal. As we walked the last stretch of the road to the Inca Link house, we realized that the area we had just walked through was not the dump; it was the community surrounding it.
The Inca Link house is a beacon of light. As we approached the house, we heard singing and peals of laughter. Once inside, there was nothing but children dancing. The staff led worship and one of the teams on our squad performed a skit for the kids. Cake and soda was handed out. A tree was planted; colorful rocks (painted earlier in the week by the kids) surrounded it. This is the reason I am here; to be a beacon of light in dark places. To bring Jesus to these people and to have Jesus open my eyes to the world that He sees.
