A small portion of the city dump. The entrance to the dump was a block away from the neighborhoods in which we worked.
Jordan, Chris, and Nick with some new friends.
One group put up multiple walls throughout the week.
Everyone got in their fair share of cement mixing this week!
Today we did a "mezcla" (mixture) of things. Some groups finished up their work sites while others played with new friends, made bracelets for women in the community, and enjoyed a low key morning in the neighborhoods. Sometime around early morning, Brady began taking groups of us to the local dump. To sum it up, Mr. LaRocque said, "At the beginning of the trip I had said that if you see one dump, then you see them all. I take it back. I take it back." The sight of the dump is truly overwhelming, and it's even more overwhelming to know that thousands of people make their living off that dump.
I (Annette) had a student who was raised in the dump, and she said that since she worked in the trash and ate from the trash, people told her she was trash. What reason do you have to rise up, or to hope, when your life is literally trash? Thankfully we serve a God who creates beauty from ashes and turns mourning into dancing.
After those trips, we headed to a "despedida" (farewell party) put on by the women in the communities. They thanked us and gave us gifts, we said our words to them, and we ate some tostadas. A few thoughts that stood out: Jimmy Kallas thanked the people in the neighborhoods for "helping us help them." It's so true. The homeowners were getting down in the cement with us, hauling buckets, giving us nourishment, and, at times, cleaning up our messes. It was a beautiful picture of community!
Another highlight was hearing from a woman in the community whose home received new walls. She stood before us crying, and thanking God for the blessings we were able to bring into her life.
A great last day, and we're looking forward to a volcano climb and time in Antigua tomorrow!
I (Annette) had a student who was raised in the dump, and she said that since she worked in the trash and ate from the trash, people told her she was trash. What reason do you have to rise up, or to hope, when your life is literally trash? Thankfully we serve a God who creates beauty from ashes and turns mourning into dancing.
After those trips, we headed to a "despedida" (farewell party) put on by the women in the communities. They thanked us and gave us gifts, we said our words to them, and we ate some tostadas. A few thoughts that stood out: Jimmy Kallas thanked the people in the neighborhoods for "helping us help them." It's so true. The homeowners were getting down in the cement with us, hauling buckets, giving us nourishment, and, at times, cleaning up our messes. It was a beautiful picture of community!
Another highlight was hearing from a woman in the community whose home received new walls. She stood before us crying, and thanking God for the blessings we were able to bring into her life.
A great last day, and we're looking forward to a volcano climb and time in Antigua tomorrow!
2 comments:
I had a chance this morning to get caught up on your blog. Amazing stories. God be praised.
We just finished a trip to Guatemala last week. It was an incredible trip! Hope you all had a fantastic time. I posted a note about our visit to the garbage dump in Coban, about 5 hours outside of Guat City. http://drivingwithrope.blogspot.com/2009/06/la-basurera.html
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