Back to the Dump

We went to the dump yesterday--

The story is that bull dozer for the city dump is broken--so all the garbarge is just piled up and it is being dumped everywhere.

Usually it is pushed into a fiery pit, which happens to be one of the most beautiful high points in the city.  You can see the Atlantic from up there.

There are more people living in the dump this time.  I found my friend Anna, who lives there with her four kids.  She had on the exact same outfit, a camouflage jacket and baseball cap and fatigue pants.

They were ripped and much dirtier than last year.  We gave out the pineapples and flip flops and baseballs and gloves and bats.

This time was different --I stood right with the people and spoke with them.  Instead of the shock I had felt the first time, ---this time I was able to really see them.  Anna filled me in on her kids and on the situation at the dump--

There seemed to be less kids and more teens.  Some boys were sniffing glue--boys my son´s age.

My son was nearby helping with handing out supplies--I was thinking two mothers--two sons--two lives so far apart.

The people were so happy to see us again, they were so gracious and thankful.

How can people who live in those conditions be so grateful?

And yet they are, despite the smell and the fires and the mounds and mounds of burning trash.

We also went into the ghettos of Leon--they are called the Barios.

This is a place of great heartache and hardship.  The people live in 25 x  40 plots, the homes are made of cardboard, tin, plastic bags.

There is no work, no farming, nothing, and yet we found so much hope.

John Corona, who is from LI and now lives in Nicaragua and has dedicated his live to serving the people of Nicaragua along with his life Ledis.  They have set up micro loans, cottage industrys, and they are building beautiful homes.

They are empowering the people--lending a hand -- and giving them hope so they can find their way to better things.

John spoke to us --he told us we are priviledged and because of our blessings we must give back-

He thanked us for being part of the solution and not part of the problem.

We then went back to Amatitan--We loaded our trucks with bags and bags of donations from LI folks and we began to give them out to the people of this rural farming community, a village that has been cut off from the rest of the country.

We spent hours speaking to the people, laughing, crying --connecting.

One farmer insisted we take eggs and one of his chickens--We took the eggs but told him we don´t know how to pack a live chicken!

He then let us ride his beautiful prized stallion.  It was beautiful out, that Nicaraguan wind was blowing again and it made us feel so hopeful so happy.

Today I spent time in the clinic with a Dr from LI.  Dr Tom saw over 30 children from the village--

I was in charge of weighing them, measuring them and taking their temperature.

The children were so beautiful--so special and so in need.

The mothers were doting and nervous and happy to hear--perfecto! No temperature!

Grande--your son is so tall!

The LI students are amazing--there maturity --their joyfulness--and the sincere caring they show--is beyond words--

As we watched the magical lunar eclipse last night , they softly spoke to eachother.

I heard them talking about how much they spend on pizza and cell phones and how that money in 6 months could probably buy someone here a house.

The moon was a warm orange, completely shadowed and yet it glowed on the faces of those fantastic LI kids.