Garbage dump in Milagro, a district of Trujillo, Peru.
Fun (or not so fun) facts:
*People work at the dump in shifts, digging through trash in
search of recyclables to collect, sort and sell.
*They might make around 5 soles in a day (=less than $2)
*It’s not uncommon to find human body parts and animal
carcasses in the garbage.
*When (not if) they find babies, they take the time and care
to go out and bury them.
*Work is restricted, therefore only those who live in the
immediate vicinity of the dump are permitted to work.
*Children under the age of about 10 are no longer allowed to
work there.
*Many families have been doing this generation after
generation.
*Because of this, lung disease, mental retardation and
physical deformities are common.
We went mid-morning to give fresh fruit, cups of water and
prayer to workers.
We split up into groups of four.
My group prayed first and asked the Lord to highlight whomever
we were to talk to.
My eyes were drawn to two people far from us, taking a quick
break in between truckloads.
I honestly thought it was two men…
Instead, it was two gorgeous middle-aged sisters.
Meet Fanny and Marcela.
My heart went directly to Marcela. After talking with Fanny (a Jehovah’s witness)
for a minute, I asked Marcela what she thought about all this Jesus/Bible
talk. Turns out she’s Catholic and at
her church they apparently don’t teach the Word, and when she tries to read it
herself, she doesn’t understand what she is reading.
I immediately thought about the story of Phillip and the Ethiopian in
Acts 8:26-39.
Intermission: Read
it. J
So we started talking about grace. And about the difference between knowing
ABOUT Jesus and truly knowing Him…the contrast between religion and relationship. And about Ezekiel 36:26-27…how God gives us a
new heart and a new Spirit that causes us to WANT to follow hard after the
Lord. And how that same Spirit brings
life and revelation to His Word.
She was HUNGRY.
Savoring the Bread of Life.
Chewing on every word.
Talking with her renewed my appreciation and desire for the Word of God…
And it renewed my passion for preaching and teaching the
Word…
Especially to those that are hungry for it.
“For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, and the hungry soul
He has filled with what is good.”
(Psalm
107:9)
“For they received the Word with great eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed.”
(Acts 17:11-12)
“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
(Matthew 4:4)
“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
(2 Timothy 3:16-17)
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
(John 1:1)
