Maybe it was the coffee, but this morning I felt so led to write about Nicaragua that I couldn't wait to get home from where I was driving.
Yesterday I had the priviledge of being able to tell our small group of 6th & 7th graders about why people live in a dump, what life is like for them, and the girls at the Villa. Their interest and maturity amazed me. It inspires me to think how the girls I mainly spent time with at the Villa are the same age, and their stories are so much different, but they all love to pray to our Father and thank Him for everything. They are sisters though they've never met.
I remember playing with the two smallest girls at the beach, whose older sister is also at the Villa. When a big wave came, they would climb into one of our arms for protection. I didn't want to let go. I felt the same way exiting La Chureca one day when I saw a teenage girl on a cart with two men (probably going to work in the landfill). I saw ache in her eyes. I don't know if she knew Jesus. I wanted to reach through the window and hold her hand.
Last year I was so excited to finally see La Chureca in real life after a few years of watching news clips and seeing pictures. It's dirtier than anything you could ever imagine. The residents are looked down upon by the outside world, and sometimes even inside the dump.
John 16 says that grief will turn to joy and that we will have trouble, but to take heart because He has overcome the world.
I enjoy being at the dump because that's where I feel God's presence the most. I see Him in little boys playing soccer in the landfill, in a man who devotes his time to serving children and the church. I want to give more hope to more readers and missionaries. I think La Chureca exists to show people that Jesus cares about his people. He used to wash the feet of the downtrodden and touch the untouchables. People can find pure joy in Him whatever their circumstances. We must draw closer to Him when we have nothing else, and even when we do have a lot, to break for those nearest His heart. God created places like La Chureca to humble the proud and bless the righteous so that they may enter His kingdom and sing.
Thoughts for the day. So many more I can't put into words.
- AD
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