You know those moments you sometimes have when something happens that irrevocably alters your perspective? I feel like my life right now is a series of those moments. I have a lot of different stories - most of you will probably hear them at some point - but Tuesdays are on my heart right now.
On Tuesday mornings, we take a meal to the people who work at Granada´s city dump. It ain´t like the Jones County dump. For starters, it´s huge, and it´s not metal bins filled with bags - it´s just a giant pile of trash. There are dozens of vultures and a handful of cows picking through the trash ( an excellent argument for vegetarians, should I ever decide to become one). The air is so polluted that it makes me wish breathing were optional. The worker´s job is to sort through the trash and find things are can be recycled: they´re paid for what they find, not the amount of time worked. Alot of the workers bring their kids. I hung out with a couple this week. Maria is 4, and she was carrying around her sister Madelina, who is a year old. They´re both completely adorable, and they were filthy from head to toe. When I lifted Madelina into my lap, I realized that she wasn´t wearing a diaper and her denim jumper was soaked through. I went back to El Puente an hour later and took a shower - she most likely went to bed without one. She literally spends all day, every day, in total filth. She plays in garabage and broken glass barefooted, and the dogs she plays with have mange. And it breaks my heart, because she´s just barely older than my niece, and Madelina´s life is so incredibly far removed from Callie´s, simply because she was born a 3 hour plane ride away. I´m realizing that I´m not going to be able to go home and see things the same way. Going back to my bubble isn´t going to work for me.
And I don´t know, you know? I don´t know how to fix everything, or even anything. All I´m doing is helping other people minister, giving hugs and holding kids, praying, and hoping that I´m somehow showing someone Jesus. It´s not enough. I am not enough. But Paul said ´The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love´ (Galations 5:6), so I´m asking God for more faith and trying to love the way he loves me.
´Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.´ -James 2:18
Shout out to my little people....I love you and omgsh, I miss you. and Joshua, I am so making you a banana pudding when I get home, because I love you. and also because I want some.
-Ruth
