La escribire en tu corazon

The nights here are cold and humid, but I slept well. I woke to the first Charlie horse I have had in awhile. I decided to get up and explore my surroundings. The structure and surroundings have been beautifully crafted, but not complete. It is great to see their construction methods. I am learning so much.

Today, everyone visits the dump. There is a population that lives in the dump. They scavenge for items that can be collected and resold. The situation is hard to swallow. We started by participating in devotion, led by the dwellers. After heartfelt singing and praying, we distributed water. Soon we set up a wound clinic to deal with minor injuries, headaches and itches. It was amazing to see people that were extremely grateful to have someone touch their hand and clean it. I gave one of my t-shirt to a girl whose name was Alejandra. I saw her walking and the shirt she had was ragged, thin and revealing. She was happy to see us in this dreadful place. As we left a few people had trouble because they were leaving these people to go back to their great lives. I will never forget what Joel said of one lady that said, "God bless you. I don't know why put me here, but God is good." She walked away with the smile.

After lunch, we went to Nueva Orienta, to play with the kids. I met Kevin first. He was three and simply wanted a balloon to play with. We became friend rather quickly. His olde brother was always looking out for him. Next, I met Vanessa (11) and Naomi (2). They were cousins. Naomi was so cute. Unfortunately, my funny faces scared her while I was blowing up one of the balloons. She was so adorable, but I was unable to get a picture with her. As we closed up, the kids were anxious to get toys, balloons and candy. We were mobbed. However, we were happy to spend the time with them.

Devotion was very difficult for me this evening. Joel opened his sermon by making a request of everyone. "If you don't remember anything about this trip, remember the face of someone you met during one of our services. Then, think of what it will be like when you meet them in heaven." I was already in tears and the sermon hadn't started. Kristen A. was sitting across from me and began tearing up during the sharing portion. I tried to look away, but I teared a bit as well. However, Josue was able to put all our thoughts into words. He explained how uncomfortable he was, knowing that he had a warm bed, good food and shelter, but the people at the dump do not. It was hard to imagine sleeping knowing that a few kilometers away, there were sleeping in cardboard homes with trash foundations. What do you do with that?

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."- Revelation 21:4