Today my team visited the dump in the town nearby where we live. I didn’t really know what to expect. I have never been in a 3rd world country ever in my life, and I have certainly never seen a dump in real life. I knew it would probably be pretty bad, but I didn’t know for sure how bad it is. The last road that led to the dumps began to descend to where they were. I could see from on top of the hill, and even form a distance they looked terrible. Then we began to walk down towards them, and the putrid smell began to hit us. We got down to where they were, and I just had to stop and look at them for a while. First thing I really looked at were the piles and piles of just filthy trash everywhere. The second thing that caught my eye was these huge birds that were just coming in flocks and picking apart the trash for food. Then I looked over and saw that right along side these birds were men looking all through the trash for something of value. I started to walk on the dump piles watching every step because I did not want to get my new, nike shoes muddy. However, it was inevitable not to sink into the nasty garbage. Flies flew all around my feet. Birds flew over my head. It was hideous. There were 17 year-old kids picking through this trash like it was a simple, daily chore. Then grown men picking through this trash for plastic bottles they can recycle, so they can feed their families. One of my immediate thoughts as I began to walk through the trash was, “Dang, I really miss home.” I freakin’ missed home!!! This was these people’s home! They pick through filthy trash every day like its no big deal. It was definitely a eye-opening experience for me and my team, and I would encourage any of you reading this right now to stop and just thank God you don’t have to live anything close to how these people live. Then pray for the people who do live like this. People who get excited when they fill up 2 trash bags full of bottles after hours of work. As Americans we are extremely blessed, and yet we still complain all the time. I challenge you to first of all be more thankful to our Heavenly Father for where you live, and secondly, I challenge you to pray and think about the millions of very less fortunate families all over the world. I hope as you do this daily you begin to humble yourself and give God all the glory and praise for how you are able to live.
