Recently, as our time here has been winding down, I've struggled with staying present instead of thinking about life back home. I've been burned out and unenthusiastic. On the way to the Dump yesterday, I prayed God would bring me renewed joy and passion, and that he would help me to lay it all on the field, leaving with nothing left to give. And boy did he answer that prayer.
It's been raining pretty steadily for the last week, so what normally was dust and trash became a black soup of mud, trash, and poop from various animals.
This is the main dump road
You can almost see the entire dump, except for the expanse behind us
The hub where the trash is dumped, sorted, and the remains burned
Just a taste of how muddy it was EVERYWHERE
We came to the dump intending to wash the kids hair. That was an experience in itself as:
One- We had to draw the water up from a dump well and pour that water into empty Agua Pura containers,
and two- we had to try to convince the kids that getting their hair washed was FUN and something they WANTED to do.
This precious beauty trusted us enough to step up first
While washing the second girl's hair, I noticed that some of the boys wanted to play soccer. Who knew boys all over the world agree that hair washing isn't fun? Anyways, I turned and asked them "quieren jugar?" and their eyes just lit up! [Let me digress here and explain that their ball is a half-deflated, small, rubber disney princess ball that they found in the trash. Talk about making the best of what they have!] So they grabbed the ball and we started kicking it around.
Because I was wearing my Toms, I was slipping and sliding EVERYWHERE, while the boys rubber boots kept them sturdy and allowed them to kick up all kinds of mud. Seeing this, the game quickly turned in to "See how dirty we can get the gringa".
Phase one- I try to get mud out of my eye for the second time
Phase two- Having failed to get all the mud out of my eyes, I grabbed the face mask one of the boys found in a pile of trash and used that to shield my eyes. Thus began further winning on my part!
My first goal! Ganadora!
In fact, by the end, me and my favorite buddy Carlos were picking up piles of mud and chasing each other with them.
I got Carlos GOOD.
Amigos mejores!
Was it unexpected? Yes. Do I have new parasite friends? Probably. Does any of that matter? Not at all. Because yesterday was the MOST fun I have had this entire trip, and while I meant to bless the boys, they blessed me even more. In fact, we were even able to convince Carlos to get a much-needed shower, and then he insisted I get one too!
It took some coaxing at first…..
…but once he got in, we couldn't get him out! That beautiful woman in the back is his mom.
Then Carlos insisted it was my turn. I only planned on washing my face….
….but Carlos had other plans.
He even wanted to help get all of the mud off he had smeared on me!
But isn't that just how God works? Through the unexpected? It's amazing the grace and patience he has with us, when we seek to reach people in our own strength, or without really getting on their level.
Paul writes in 1 Cor. 9, "To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings."
That is exactly what God did in me yesterday: He broke me out of my clean, standoffish, selfish sense of American entitlement and brought me to Carlos and his friends' level. And I can't even BEGIN to tell you how much my heart for them exploded.
Did I share the gospel or lead anyone to Christ like I wanted? No. But I genuinely believe that loving them as Christ does was as equally important. I hope they are forever changed, because I know I am.
Also, can I give a quick shout out to my AMAZINGLY loving teammates who bore with me when they got dragged into the squirmish as well?
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