WOW 4 am comes very early!! We left before the sun came up this morning (at 5am) to go to the old Tijuana dump for "The Breakfast Club". This dump is no longer used by the government for public dumping but is still used privately for citizens to dump their junk. And since one mans junk is another mans treasure, there are a thousand or more people living (technically squatting-since it isnt their property) in the dump. Yes I said IN THE DUMP. People go through the trash left by others in search of materials to recycle for a small income. These people are the poorest people I have ever seen in Mexico. Their houses ar eliterally made of scrap wood (if they are lucky enough to find it) and other trash. No running water and very little electricity...most of which will only power a couple of lights since it isnt their electricity to use.
The Family of God Christian Church sits right outside of the dump and facilitates breakfast Monday through Friday, they call this "The Breakfast Club". This morning there were 320 people served juice, coffee, arroz con leche (rice with milk) and grilled cheese sandwiches. For some this is the only meal they eat all day and they eat extra on Friday because they wont eat again until Monday morning when the church serves breakfast again. Breakfast is served by missionary volunteers & the Mexican people who live in the dump...none of which get paid. They help because the breakfast is such a blessing to their families.The first girl I met was Anna. Her huge smile could light up 10 houses in the dump=) She was very sweet and helped me get into the swing of things assembling the sandwiches. During a lull in the preparations, she took me to a picture on the wall of her holding a small baby. She was looking at this baby with deep love in her eyes and cuddling him. I assumed this was her child as I could see how much love she had for him. She said yes the baby was hers and thanked me for commenting how beautiful he was. She went on to tell me that her baby had just died at 3 months old because of a heart condition. It dawned on me that survival wasn't the only problem in the dump. These people each have a story, a life, family and experience all of the same circumstances, hardships & triumphs as the rest of us. Here was this 18 year old girl living in the dump in Tijuana, her heart aching for a child she had recently lost, serving others cheerfully as if her hardship wasn't the most important thing in the world. We can stand to learn alot from Anna.
As we began the process of cleaning up after 320 hungry guests, I met Carina. Carina is a missionary who lives in Rosarito and volunteers at The Breakfast Club three mornings a week. We began talking about how she came to be in Mexico (which is an amazing story of God's love and her trust in Him) and what she does for God here. She also volunteers at the orphanage two days a week translating for the art & music classes and interpreting for groups. After sharing with me I began to share with her what we do in Mexico and what we'd like to do in Mexico=) After telling her about wanting to do a children's service in the Canyon de Sainz monthly with pastor Rangel and Wendy (something they asked of us and we have been waiting on God to work out) she volunteered to translate for us monthly in the canyon! What an awesome opportunity God created today to open a door for ministry in the Canyon!! We have been waiting on God to work it out in His time, His way and HE DID=) Starting next month we will begin a monthly children's ministry in the Canyon!
The Family of God Christian Church sits right outside of the dump and facilitates breakfast Monday through Friday, they call this "The Breakfast Club". This morning there were 320 people served juice, coffee, arroz con leche (rice with milk) and grilled cheese sandwiches. For some this is the only meal they eat all day and they eat extra on Friday because they wont eat again until Monday morning when the church serves breakfast again. Breakfast is served by missionary volunteers & the Mexican people who live in the dump...none of which get paid. They help because the breakfast is such a blessing to their families.The first girl I met was Anna. Her huge smile could light up 10 houses in the dump=) She was very sweet and helped me get into the swing of things assembling the sandwiches. During a lull in the preparations, she took me to a picture on the wall of her holding a small baby. She was looking at this baby with deep love in her eyes and cuddling him. I assumed this was her child as I could see how much love she had for him. She said yes the baby was hers and thanked me for commenting how beautiful he was. She went on to tell me that her baby had just died at 3 months old because of a heart condition. It dawned on me that survival wasn't the only problem in the dump. These people each have a story, a life, family and experience all of the same circumstances, hardships & triumphs as the rest of us. Here was this 18 year old girl living in the dump in Tijuana, her heart aching for a child she had recently lost, serving others cheerfully as if her hardship wasn't the most important thing in the world. We can stand to learn alot from Anna.
As we began the process of cleaning up after 320 hungry guests, I met Carina. Carina is a missionary who lives in Rosarito and volunteers at The Breakfast Club three mornings a week. We began talking about how she came to be in Mexico (which is an amazing story of God's love and her trust in Him) and what she does for God here. She also volunteers at the orphanage two days a week translating for the art & music classes and interpreting for groups. After sharing with me I began to share with her what we do in Mexico and what we'd like to do in Mexico=) After telling her about wanting to do a children's service in the Canyon de Sainz monthly with pastor Rangel and Wendy (something they asked of us and we have been waiting on God to work out) she volunteered to translate for us monthly in the canyon! What an awesome opportunity God created today to open a door for ministry in the Canyon!! We have been waiting on God to work it out in His time, His way and HE DID=) Starting next month we will begin a monthly children's ministry in the Canyon!