Hey there Everyone!! Had a little time so I thought I would let you know how the day went today…
Some of the other racers have already been to this dump…but today was my first time. I had heard how the experience was, but as we walked into this dump land, filled with trash heaps taller than most of us…some of them burning, some of them smoldering-putting off all kinds of terrible fumes, and the rest just sitting there, wet and most likely being a home for breeding bug creatures, all I could think about was the people who called this place home. All I could think about was how a person could survive in a place like this. We took the opportunity to go around, meet some people, pray with them, sit with them, hold their kids and bless them. Which all of this, for me, was a blessing to do. There was a lady we went to pray for. She wanted prayer for her health, for her economics, and for her family. We took the time to pray for her and talk to her and let her tell us how her life was.
After praying with her a man walks up and begins talking to me in Spanish telling me how his body hurts…his stomach, his legs, his chest. How he keeps vomiting and that he has a lot of pain in his head. He had on an open button shirt with pants and some heavily soiled and muddy shoes from walking around in the dump. As I looked at his face, it was clear that he had been vomiting. It was still in his beard…a yellowish-green color. So I translated to Jill (Caitlin´s mom) and Kari what was wrong with him. I asked him if he wanted us to pray for him and he gladly said yes. He took off his cap, threw it to the ground and bowed his head. While we prayed, the children threw rocks at him, pelting him in the legs and back. I don´t know why. He had walked over with a large jug to get some water. After we finished praying with him, he walked away, not with water…but still the empty blue jug he walked over with. As he walked away, he never looked back.. But he seemed thankful for us to pray for him.
We moved on to another part of the dump. It seemed endless. People were everywhere sifting through the trash, collecting what they could to sell…collecting what they could to add on to their houses of tin and children´s swimming pools…collecting what they could to have a meal. It was quite the eye opener to see kids all dirty living in trash, playing in trash, and knowing nothing but to enjoy it.
I thought to myself, when I saw these small children, what if it was my niece and nephew, who are ages 4 and 3, respectively…what if this home was theirs? There was no answer I could come up with in response to this question. I just couldn´t imagine it. So as we would go to these houses, all I had it in me to do was to hold these kids, hug them and communicate with them that they do matter. Smiles and laughter radiated back and forth from us to them and from them to us. And for the most part they were too glad for us to be there. This place wasn´t nasty to me. It was a place that PEOPLE called home. And if this is where lives are changed, I would rather be here doing this than cooped up in a building with people playing church, people only attending to tick church off of their ´things to do this week list´.
Life is too short, people are dying every day. People are hoping everyday that people will show them something other than the hopelessness that they are dying in. Today I was priveleged to be in these trash heaps. Not so that I could feel good inside for doing a good deed, but because God was there today. God is there everyday and I want to be where God is. And who knows, Hebrews 13:2 says..´Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.´ I believe this. If God is in the Dump Grounds, I´m sure His angels are too.
Peace and Love to you all!!
ENJOY THE JOURNEY!!!
