This year while the group was here we went to the city dump in Tegucigalpa. I've written about the experience before, but now I've had a little over a month to think about the things that I saw there. And the more I think about it, and the more those faces run through my head the more mad I get. Over 1,200 people live in the dump. They eat there, sleep there, work there. That is their life. They dig through the mounds of trash in search of a 'meal' for themselves, and often for their families. They also dig through the trash for things that might have some monetary value that they could sell. The people living there have built 'houses' that are made of little pieces of cardboard, sticks, and sometimes a little plastic. The houses are only big enough for one or two people, and you can't even stand up in them. Sitting and laying down are your only options. The people there are dirty, they smell, and they are desperate. Many of them don't have shoes, the clothes they wear are dirty and torn. Their hands are caked with dirt and grime from the trash that they dig through for hours everyday. While we were there we handed out bags of food, and small bags of clothes. I watched as they formed a line, we marked their hand with a sharpie marker once they had gone through the line, and when they had gone through they walked to the end of the line, and licked the sharpie mark off their dirty hands in attempt to get more food and clothing.
The other day we were driving through Tegucigalpa late in the evening and we were stopped at a stop light, while we were sitting there little kids were walking through the line of cars, going to each window pressing their little brown heads against the glass begging for food, or money, or anything that we had to offer. One little boy caught my attention he was walking toward our car with his head down, he had a bottle of glue under his shirt that he was sniffing to numb the pain of hunger. And I guess for a 6 or 7 year old little boy it also helps to wipe away the hurt of the life that he lives.
A couple days ago Jen and I were driving through the city and I looked out the window and two guys were laying on the sidewalk outside of a store on a piece of cardboard to serve as a 'bed'. This is life for them. It's not a dream, or a movie that you watch on TV. This is a reality. One that I'm tired of ignoring.
There is nothing at all about any of this that is right, it's not fair, it's not justice, and it is NOT what God intended for the world that he loves. I have tried to rationalize this over and over again, but there is nothing to rationalize. And I wonder exactly how many times have we turned our head to the cries of the poor, the desperate, for things to be this bad? For momma's to live in a city dump fighting vultures for the food that they want to feed their babies because they have no other option. For a child's belly to be full of worms because there is not access to clean water, or food that isn't full of bugs and bacteria. For children and adults to sleep on the streets at night because they have no place to call home. For kids to survive by begging on the streets, only to receive a few limps a day which may or may not always be enough to purchase something, anything to eat. I sit here and wonder why in the world we allow this to go on. Why are we robbing these people of their dignity, when in America we have pantries full of food, wallets and bank accounts full of money, closets full of clothes, and hearts filled with the love and hope of Jesus. Something must change. They don't deserve this. I'm tired of turning my head. And I hope some of you are too. It's time for things to change. A new world is among us. The kingdom of God is in our midst.
The Jesus I read about in the bible served these people. He didn't just sit in a pew and sing some songs, he spent his time with those who are considered outcasts in society, those who are ignored, the dirty, the hurting, the poor, the untouchable, the forgotten. That's the Jesus I want to serve.
To the churches in America, complacency is no longer an option. It's time to get out of our pews and go into the world that God loves. He is calling us to better things, he's called us to be his hands and feet. There are hungry bellies, and hurting souls waiting for you. Do something!
