A Better Life

Have you ever considered how much your life was shaped simply by where your mother happened to be when you were born?

There has been considerable political debate and lawsuits surrounding birthright citizenship in the United States. Having spent time with families living and working in a third-world trash dump, I have gained a new appreciation for why parents would want their children to be born in the United States. Politics aside, I can certainly understand parents who long for a better life for their children. In that sense, I have admiration for those who endure great hardship in hopes of giving their children opportunities they themselves never had.

If you were to spend a couple of weeks in the trash dump community and listen to the stories of life in this and other communities in and around a landfill, I believe you would come away with a new perspective on just how difficult life can be for many of these families. Through no fault or sin of their own, they have been born into lives marked by hardship and scarcity.

Does God love those of us born in the first world more than them? Are people born in a trash dump being punished for something? Are people living in these communities somehow less capable or less valuable than those of us who were born into comfort and opportunity?

The words of Jesus make it clear that we are all born into a broken world and that we all desperately need help. What joy there is in realizing that we can be reborn into a better kingdom and then become people who help those around us who are also in need.

During the three months we spent in the community, we were able to accomplish a number of projects. While completing projects is certainly worthwhile, relationships are what matter most. Working side by side certainly has its challenges, but the relationships that emerge are far more valuable than the projects themselves.

A Home for Maynor’s Family

One of the projects we completed was the house for Maynor and his family. While we were constructing it, many people stopped to watch and commented on what a nice house it was. We will continue moving forward one step at a time.

The group from the United States that came at the end of April helped put the finishing touches on the house, and the following week we moved Maynor, his mother, and his two sisters into their new home.

As we were moving their belongings, I asked where their food was so that we could move that as well. The answer was simple: they had none.

Yes, we went and purchased food for them, and I will be back this week to see how they are doing now. While they have a new house, there are still many significant hurdles in their lives. As I think about this family, it can be overwhelming.

Life in the community is difficult even if you are healthy and have all your faculties. It becomes extraordinarily difficult if you have significant disabilities. Maynor is deaf, and his mother is blind. There are no government programs or nonprofit services available to help people. You either have family and friends to support you, or you do not.

Vocational Opportunities

One encouraging development has been the vocational opportunities for some of the young men in the community.

Of the two young men we sponsored for internships at a local hardware store, one was able to obtain a job at a recycling center—not digging through trash for recyclables, but working at a facility that receives and processes them. The other young man, Maynor, was offered a paid position at the hardware store where he had been interning.

Over the next several months, we hope to continue finding opportunities to place other young men in businesses in Danlí so they can gain vocational skills, work experience, and mentorship.

Water for the School

Another important project completed during this trip was improving the water situation at the school.

Many mothers were concerned that disease could spread because the school was running low on water and there was often not enough water to flush the toilets. The school’s only water storage was an open concrete basin, known as a pila, which was insufficient for the needs of the school.

The seriousness of the problem became clear to me one afternoon when I saw a student cleaning after classes had ended for the day. He rinsed a dirty mop in the pila. This was the same water the students used for drinking and for washing the lunch dishes.

A couple of weeks later, we installed a new enclosed water storage tank along with a faucet supplied directly from that tank.

The First Flush Toilet

Improving sanitation at the school naturally led to another project.

One of the goals for the trip was to build a bathroom at the school that included a sink and a flush toilet. This would be especially helpful for those serving in the medical and dental clinics. For a while, it appeared that we would not be able to complete the project.

Then we received a phone call from a very good mason who told us that he suddenly had no work and was available to help. We had initially contacted him, but he was very busy then.  He worked with us before when the new classroom was added to the school.  His father lives in the community, while he lives in the neighboring community.  Perfect timing!

In short order, he built the bathroom and installed the first flush toilet in the community.

During the construction, he and José had several deep conversations, and eventually he opened his life to his Creator during one of our Wednesday evening prayer meetings.

Expanding the Clinic

The improvements at the school did not stop there.

In the medical and dental clinic, the dentist and doctor currently work separated only by a curtain. There has long been a need for greater privacy, especially for some of the conversations the doctor has with patients.

Last year, a group from Puerto Rico built a roof structure behind the school. We asked the mason to enclose part of that area and create a small room for the doctor.

Then, during a visit to the dentist for my tooth that needed a root canal, our dentist offered to donate one of her older dental chairs to the clinic.

With that opportunity, we expanded the plans and enclosed the entire covered area built by the Puerto Rican team.

The clinic structure is now complete, and we will soon add the electrical service needed to make it fully functional. Having a permanent clinic in the community will greatly improve access to care, and the donation of an actual dental chair will make it much easier for our dentist and others to provide much-needed treatment.

Prayer Under the Stars

Perhaps the most encouraging development of all has been what has happened on Wednesday evenings.

For more than two years, José, Marleny, and I have prayed together every Wednesday. While we were in the community during this trip, we began meeting at our property near the playground in the center of the community.

Others gradually began joining us.

The gathering grew from three people, then six, then ten, then fifteen, and eventually to more than thirty people on a Wednesday evening. Many came because of relationships formed while working together on projects and spending time in the community.  People in the community have opened up about their struggles, both external and internal, and have sought help and encouragement.  We talked and prayed with them and encouraged them to come to pray with us on Wednesday evening.

As always, it is a special experience for me to pray with this community under the stars beside a landfill. I have a strong sense that heaven is particularly attentive to these gatherings.

The growth of these prayer meetings has caused us to ask an important question: How do we establish a church within the community and disciple those whom God is drawing to Himself?

It is a good burden, but it is also a difficult one. We very much appreciate your prayers as we seek wisdom for how to move forward.

Non-Profit Partnership

As many of you know, we are no longer partnered with Mission Driven Ministries. Please pray as we seek to establish a relationship with another nonprofit organization that can help us faithfully handle the acceptance and accountability of funds.

Our hope is to partner with an existing ministry rather than establish a nonprofit ourselves, as we would rather focus our time and energy on serving the community than on the important administrative work required to operate a nonprofit organization.

Prayer for Residency

I would also appreciate your prayers regarding my Honduran residency.

The process has been made more complicated because I hold both Canadian and American citizenship. In the meantime, Honduras changed a law that required additional paperwork from Alabama, and staffing changes within the new Honduran administration further slowed the process.

It has now been three years, and we are hoping the paperwork will be signed any day.

Thank you for your prayers, your encouragement, and your partnership in the work God is doing in this community.