City Dump

On Monday, we had the opportunity to go to the city dump to serve a meal. There is a community of people that live and work at the dump, a lifestyle that shockingly is better than ones that they've come from because they have an opportunity to make money and find food. The people that live there collect plastic, cardboard, scrap metal, etc to sell by the pound. Most of the people had a huge tarp which they carried their findings in. As soon as a new truck would come, the people would rush to be the first to dig through the new pile. Along with the hundreds of people that were there, dogs, cows, and tons of vulture-like birds wandered everywhere.

It was overwhelming the sights that greeted us when we reached the top of the mountain. Homes made of sticks, tarps, and tires lined the edge of the dump; plastic garbage bags filled the air like a flock of birds, swirling around when the wind would pick up; people and animals were everywhere; garbage trucks and dozers moved through it all, dumping garbage and piling it up. Most of the people had on layers of clothes and covered their mouths with cloth. I imagine if they left anything in the homes it would be stolen, and covering their mouths was to prevent the dust, dirt, and harmful particles flying through the air from getting into their mouths.

The pictures can only give a glimpse of the sights and leave out all of the sounds and the smells that surround you as you stand in the middle of a dump.

I can still see their faces as they lined up for food. One little girl, the one you see in the back of the three with a purple shirt on, was eating an apple when she walked up. The brightness and cleanliness of the inside of the apple contrasted with everything around it. I wonder where she got that apple... I wonder what else she had eaten that day... I wonder how old she is... I wonder how much of her life had been spent digging through garbage...



Before the meal, I had the opportunity to give a short devotional and my dad prayed. As I was preparing for this, I struggled with what to say. What could I say to people who lived a lifestyle that I had never experienced before? What could I say to people that would turn their hearts to the Lord? The Lord led me to one of my favorite passages, Acts 2:42-47 where the new community of believers shared all they had in common and there was no need among them. They are a community of people just like I live in a community at Pinares, and just like you live in community with the people around you. Occupation, socio-economic status, culture, language doesn't matter. As believers we are called to live together in unity. And we, as a body of believers are brothers and sisters to all believers everywhere. I connected this passage with 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, "The coming of our Lord." The Lord is coming again, with the voice of the archangel and a trumpet call from God! We as a community, as brothers and sisters in Christ, are called to encourage each other in the Lord as we wait in hope for eternal glory with him. This is the encouragement I left with them, that although we are different, they are my brothers and sisters in Christ, and that we, together, have hope in the Lord's return.



After the devotional and prayer we served spaghetti and rice to men, women, and children. Several of them tried to go through the line multiple times, others just came to get water before heading back to work collecting plastic to fill trucks like the ones you see in the last picture. Looking into their dirty faces and touching each of their garbage caked hands as I handed them a plate of food will impact me for the rest of my life. Their faces and hands were precious, as all are precious to the Lord. I pray that my short amount of time there and 5 minute devotional in imperfect spanish while trucks roared by us, will make an impact on their lives as well.

Please join me in prayer for our brothers and sisters in the Tegucigalpa City Dump, and all over the world. Pray that they may accept the Lord as their personal savior.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
(Psalm 9:18 ESV)