Today we woke up early to make our way to AFE, the school near the rubbish dump. It was definitely one of our most challenging days so far. When we arrived Pastor Jonny, the founder and manager of AFE gave us a tour. He joked at how he would keep it short to just 3 hours but this was no joke... we were able to see some of the kids in their classes from crèche through to 11th grade. It was cool to hear their dreams and hopes for the future. We were also able to have some time playing with the children in their break time which involved pushing them on swings.
After this it was on to the dump. A few of us were already feeling sick due to heat stroke and were apprehensive at the thought of the dump, however, powered on through anyway. As soon as we got up the hill we were oberwhelmed by the stench and surrounded by people, cows, dogs and vultures all searching through the rubbish. We aimed to share out as much food as possible whilst we were up there and so split into teams for the children, women and men. With over 1000 people working and living at the dump, this was a near impossible task and each of us were bombarded by crowds of people grabbing food. This was an overwhelming experience for many and was difficult to deal with, but we were able to pray for and feed some people.
Unfortunately we weren't able to stay at the dump for very long as we were in a rush to get back to start cooking our English meal for the home! For this we were making beef stew with dumplings and roast potatos, and for desert trifle...yum! This all went really well despite the lack of time and the kids were all asking for seconds. With some English music from DJ Dunc and street dancing from some of the children we all had an enjpyable evening.
Its been a long day and we're all tired now but excited for a relaxing day of shopping tomorrow!
Lots of love,
Lois and Ruth
Messages to home;
Ruth : Hi mum and dad, all is gooing well and the weather is amazing! Food is honduran but really nice. Hope all is well at home and can't wait to see you soon x
Ellie : Still not ill and haven't fainted yet!
B & B : Today was surprising between AFE and the dump, on like heaven and the other like the other place. Going to AFE has really helped us to see why we have come to Honduras as well as going to Derby. Hope everyone at home is enjoying keeping up to date with our blog and we also appreciate everyones prayers.
Lorna : Looking forward to seeing you all, going to miss it here and definitely need to come back soon! God's doing amazing work and can't wait to share it all with you when I'm home. Make sure the sun's shining for when we get back. Love you all!
Good to hear that the English food went down well. Does this DJ Dunc wear a back-to-front baseball cap and have a gold chain wrapped round his neck?!
ReplyDeleteGot some very vivid memories of AFE, which are brought back by reading the blog.
Enjoy the shopping. Looking forward to seeing you, Sarah & Ruth, in a few days time.
Mum & Dad, Hannah & Mark
Hi to all of you (although only Rosalie, Sam and Dyl will know who we are!).
ReplyDeleteHave just caught up on all you have been doing and this last post about the dump site really touched us. Having spent a good part of the last 2 years working on the dump site in Manila, the Philippines, you brought the sounds and smells back to us. So far apart and yet so similar. Sad to think this same scenario happens all over the world.
You are all doing an amazing job serving in this way, and we've no doubt getting an awful lot in return, God bless you all and keep you safe.
Sue, Stan and Will xx