Nicaragua 2014 Impact Story.docx

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Nicaragua 2014 Impact Story On Thursday, June 26th we went to the Masaya Garbage Dump to minister and hand out Feed My Starving Children Manna Packs to the people there. As we approached the smell grew stronger and stronger as our van crept closer onto the site. All senses were on high alert and became impressionable in a mental everlasting way. When we arrived the sight was horrific and devastating. Several dozen people formed a community by actually living there and sorting through the garbage daily for things they can potentially sell (recyclable items or things to craft into jewelry) and also for food to eat. The smells were almost beyond description. They were something like a cross between rotting food, urine, and feces. Plastic bags and other light, loose garbage debris were blowing around everywhere. On the ground everywhere were plastic bags, old clothes, hypodermic needles, plastic bottles, condoms, crushed soda cans, broken up shoes, food wrappers, old toys, banana peels, tires, and much more. Every now and then they cover up certain areas of the dump with mounds of dirt and then spread it out so it becomes compact layers of dirt mixed with all the garbage. So when we walked through we were stepping on many, many layers of this garbage sandwich so to speak.

It looked like an archeological dig site in certain exposed areas where we could see the layers they put there over the years. At first I was so paranoid about being able to withstand the smell and also to not step on anything sharp or get struck by any blowing debris. I walked through with extreme caution, but had to do so nonchalantly as to not to make it appear to seem like I didn't want to be there because it would make the people who called the dump their home very uncomfortable with not only my team's presence, but by also becoming more aware of their own. The people... The people of the Masaya Dump... They were quite unique. They had less than nothing. It almost seemed like they were unaware of their hygiene condition. They were so dirty from clothes to body, unbathed, so smelly, so without, so with need, so without meaning in their lives, so empty, but in some of their eyes there was joy. There were smiles, there was faith holding onto the one day that there might, there just might, be the possibility of hope. My team's mission there was to serve them Manna Packs (airtight bags filled with rice & soy protein), which are packed by U.S. churches for those who are impoverished around the world. We also wanted to captivate them first so that we could share the gospel message with them. That didn't work out the way we wanted because right as we assembled them in a large group a couple garbage trucks arrived and all the dump locals scattered like flies to see what treasure was contained within. So we then made our way throughout the whole dump grounds to approach them on a more individual level to share the gospel with them. In a few cases there were some who would listen, but most wouldn't pull away from picking through the newly arrived trash in fear they would miss something "good". We decided what would be best was to set up a station in the very middle of the dump to hand out the Manna Packs with tracks (booklets with a brief gospel message) and some candy for all those who would come. As soon as we did that quite a few came and we were able to show the love of Jesus to them by providing for them, giving them human touch of either a handshake or shoulder touch, and just being present in their life there that day. For those who wouldn't come we set out in small teams to go directly to them. One guy we met had been living there for 6 years, had on 2 left boots, pants 2 sizes too big for him, 2 shirts on (one was a long sleeve when it was 85 degrees out with super high humidity), and he had lost his right arm a couple years earlier. He had 3 kids living with him and even through all that he believed in the hope of Christ. He had a smile on his face that I hope I never ever forget because despite his extremely devastating situation he somehow had joy. If he could have joy in that then by all means we can have joy in the worst of our days which are better than any of his best. By the end, I didn't care what I was walking on or what was blowing into my eyes or across my legs. I think I felt a little like how Peter must have felt when he stepped off the boat onto the water locking eyes with Jesus to walk on water. I felt the Lord comfort my germ-a-phobe

paranoia and tell me to walk by faith, to go to his people, to show them his love, and he will take care of the rest. I was obedient and he responded. As I reflect back during my time at the dump I know it was only a snapshot into the lives of those people who live there everyday. They are seeking for something every day sorting through the trash for old treasures and live for the excitement when garbage trucks come to leave the remnants of what others have discarded. They have to deal with that as I live in my comfort zone of an air conditioned home with all the amenities, eat my clean whole food, wear my new clothes, drive my cars, and put money in the bank. It's almost not fair and I am almost embarrassed at how much I have in comparison to them and that I can even think of complaining for a single thing in my life. They have less than none of that... And yet they have joy I can only ever dream to have one day. 2 Corinthians 8:2-3 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.