We had another great day in the dump and Limonada today! We went to the dump at around 9 am to start framing the building for the community center. The people had kept the concrete moist so it could set correctly, and it was nice and solid when we got there. They had also already moved all of the lumber we needed to frame to the lot for us (it had been it little ways away). Those people are unbelieveable. If we needed anything, from water to nails to wheelbarrels, they jumped on it as fast as they could. And it was never just one or two of them. Every single one of the group of probably 40 or 50 people that was there rushed to help. There was one time one of us told Ashley we needed 4 cinder blocks. She translated to Spanish for the president of the dump, who announced it to the crowd, which rose all at once and brought over about 30 blocks. It's really great to see that these people not only care about this project, they want to be involved, and they have been invalueable this week. By the end of the day, we finished almost all of the framing. Tomorrow we hope to start putting on parts of the sides. So, we made a lot of progress on the dump community center today.
Being a 15 year old girl, I'm not much of a builder, and I really couldn't do much with the framing. But I got to spend a lot of time just talking to people and playing with kids today. We all put a bunch of stuffed animals in our bags (thanks so much for those, GMHS!), and before we'd been there for half an hour, they had all been handed out. It started with just kids, then adults started coming from all over. It was a mob scene. The looks on those kids' faces were indescribable.
I can't really descirbe the way these people are, not effectively and to the extent they deserve. To put it most simply, I suppose they are a community the way communities are supposed to be. Nobody has much of anything, but they share every bit of what little they do get. Every day this week, the same core group of kids has been hanging around the lot, and we've gotten to know a lot of them pretty well. There are two brothers, Eduardo and Cristian, who love sports and have a prized collection of 10 balls. Then there are Karina (a.k.a. Smiley), Maribel, and Dulce, three sisters who basically fend for themsleves because they don't have a father and their mother works in the dump all day. Karina is 10, Maribel 8, and Dulce 1. Karina carries Dulce around on her hip all day long. Franklin is the second youngest of 12, who all live and work in the dump. Louis has sandy hair and a face that's almost freckled. There are two kids that nobody knows anything about because they are deaf and can't talk. They're nameless, ageless strangers, even to the other kids they play with. It's heartbreaking. We played ball for a while, with one team on one side of the sewage ditch and another on the other. Then Tom brought over his giant bag of bubble gum, adn it ended. I siad, "Chicle!" and they swarmed me. It took almost 10 minutes to hand it all out, and by the end, each kid had like 6 pieces. Then three other kids that we hadn't really seen popped out from an alley, and the kids with gum each gave one piece for them to divide up. It was amazing. There are so many kids in the dump, all recognizeable as much by their clothes as by their faces. They are the poorest, dirtiest, most content kids I have ever seen.
A little after lunchtime, a few of us left the dump and went over to the Limonada to finish moving cinder blocks and sand up to the church there. It was hard work, and it took a few hours, but it was great to be working. Apparently a lot of people here sniff glue to get high because they can't afford drugs, and I think we saw 3 or 4 of them today. One was passed out on the ground, and two people stole money from his pockets. It's a horrible situation.
After the Limonada, we went back to the dump to meet the rest of our group and headed back to Dorie's, which is where I am right now. I've been wiriting for a while now, and I think some other people want the computer, so I'm gonna wrap this up. Please just pray for our generic safety and effectiveness on our last day. Gos has blessed each day so far, and we're ready to do whatever He wants to happen tomorrow. Thanks for your prayers! I'll write once more tomorrow.
(Ellie)
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Thanks for writing Ellie! How many people (outside of you guys) would say that they had a great day at the dump, or the Limonada? I love that you guys have those feelings! I cannot read any post with dry eyes. I'm excited to see more pictures and hear more stories during the 2/13 evening service. Fantastic progress on the community center. It's nice to hear that the people who live in the dump are interested in what you're doing for them and want to help. Imagine what they can continue to do if they move as one, one body under God's direction. Your stories of the kids at the dump is very touching. It doesn't matter that you weren't much help with the framing, paying attention to those kids was just as important. They would make me smile every time I thought of them. Rest up everyone, before your last day!
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Dawn
Ellie, Thanks for today's post. When I read about need for 4 cinder blocks and wound up with 30. That is God He gives you more than you ask for. God has been using the people there in a MIGHTY way. Brought tears to my eyes about the kids you wrote about. Maybe you could do some stuff at the dump but He used you in what you did with the kids. I too like Dawn look forward to what you all have to share on the 13th and whatever pictures you have taken. Continued prayers for all of you. Love, Aunt Cathy.
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