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| Honduras Summer 2011 Day 6 |
Sorry about not posting last night. We lost internet connection, so there was nothing we could do. Yesterday was our 6th day in the country. It was another great day in Honduras.
A trip to the dump in Tegucigalpa is one of most disturbing, unsettling things that most people will ever experience. That’s what we did yesterday. This is my 3rd trip to the dump, but it still is shocking.
We arrived in time to be a part of a time of preaching and worship that some Honduran church does each Wednesday. When we arrived a young woman, who apparently works and perhaps lives at the dump, was speaking with passion, clearly telling the story of Jesus. I was struck by her mismatched sox and her very dirty, worn-out shoes. Then Paul’s words, borrowed from Isaiah, came to mind:
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
To those listening and understanding the message, her feet had a beauty that can only be spiritually discerned. After she finished, to enthusiastic applause, a man took over and made an appeal. Several of the dump workers came to the center and were surrounded by many others, including some of us. They all prayed. Then they asked us to sing, so we sang “Jesus Loves Me.”
It seems such a strange juxtaposition - the good news of Jesus in seemingly one of the most helpless, hopeless places on Earth. Yet that is the nature of Jesus and his message, and those who worshiped yesterday were praising him from the heart. I am pretty sure Jesus would have spent some time in the dump in Tegucigalpa.
Following the worship we supplied beans, rice, water, and tortillas. They were all passed out in the name Jesus. I was pleased that our entire team mingled amongst the people, shaking hands, giving hugs, providing smiles. Marc Tindall has done a great job of establishing a presence that enables groups like ours to do good in a short period of time.
Here is what I wrote back in February:
Around midday we went to the dump to help feed the people who live and work there. Marc Tindall prepares food each week and is building relationships. He tries to speak to each man who lines up for food, shaking their hands. The dump is indescribable. I think it is the most disturbing thing I have ever seen. It is certainly the most disturbing place I have ever been. It’s nearly unbelievable. I wanted to weep but couldn’t/didn’t.
From the dump you can see, off in the distance, the back of the famous Jesus statue that overlooks Tegucigalpa. Some have said it appears that Jesus has turned his back on those who live in the dump. Forgotten. Unloved. Uncared for. It’s not true. Many care about those folks and many are striving to help them. I saw it clearly today.
I felt helpless/useless at the dump. Totally. I shook a few hands and gave a few hugs. Behind the filth and the face masks are image-bearers of God, dearly loved by him. It seems to me that many of these folks long for touch; perhaps to touch someone, to connect with someone, who lives in a world far beyond theirs. Hope?
The sights, the sounds, and smell are so striking at the dump. Surprisingly, you hear a lot of laughter. Some seem very happy. There are lots of smells, as you can imagine; it is a garbage dump. There are lots of smouldering fires. A word that Jesus uses fairly often, the one we translate “hell,” is a Greek word that points to a smouldering trash dump outside the city of Jerusalem in his day. It was a horrible place, a place to avoid. The dump in Tegucigalpa is some kind of hell.
I am so thankful that people are working to rescue these folks from hell. The school across the road is an amazing ministry, as is the regular feeding. All kinds of folks are trying to do all kinds of things to help these people escape this present reality. We met some of the children of dump workers today. They are sweet and beautiful. If not for the school, then I think they would be up on the hill looking for scraps of things to recycle and perhaps for some things to eat along the way.
The Jesus statue may have its back toward the dump, but his people are looking at it squarely in the eye. Thank God.
Around midday we went to the dump to help feed the people who live and work there. Marc Tindall prepares food each week and is building relationships. He tries to speak to each man who lines up for food, shaking their hands. The dump is indescribable. I think it is the most disturbing thing I have ever seen. It is certainly the most disturbing place I have ever been. It’s nearly unbelievable. I wanted to weep but couldn’t/didn’t.
From the dump you can see, off in the distance, the back of the famous Jesus statue that overlooks Tegucigalpa. Some have said it appears that Jesus has turned his back on those who live in the dump. Forgotten. Unloved. Uncared for. It’s not true. Many care about those folks and many are striving to help them. I saw it clearly today.
I felt helpless/useless at the dump. Totally. I shook a few hands and gave a few hugs. Behind the filth and the face masks are image-bearers of God, dearly loved by him. It seems to me that many of these folks long for touch; perhaps to touch someone, to connect with someone, who lives in a world far beyond theirs. Hope?
The sights, the sounds, and smell are so striking at the dump. Surprisingly, you hear a lot of laughter. Some seem very happy. There are lots of smells, as you can imagine; it is a garbage dump. There are lots of smouldering fires. A word that Jesus uses fairly often, the one we translate “hell,” is a Greek word that points to a smouldering trash dump outside the city of Jerusalem in his day. It was a horrible place, a place to avoid. The dump in Tegucigalpa is some kind of hell.
I am so thankful that people are working to rescue these folks from hell. The school across the road is an amazing ministry, as is the regular feeding. All kinds of folks are trying to do all kinds of things to help these people escape this present reality. We met some of the children of dump workers today. They are sweet and beautiful. If not for the school, then I think they would be up on the hill looking for scraps of things to recycle and perhaps for some things to eat along the way.
The Jesus statue may have its back toward the dump, but his people are looking at it squarely in the eye. Thank God.
Here is a video I shot in January 2010:
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