Sisia

I am spending more and more of my time here at Casa de Esperanza. I am not complaining; I love these children and know I was made for this. But as I spend more time here, I spend less time with other things in which we are involved. I haven't been to the dump a single time this year and Marc goes every week. I went this morning. I just need to be reminded every once in a while.

It has been raining almost every day. As bad as the stench is, it is always worse after the rains. My shoes are covered in poo mud. The smell penetrated the car. No matter how unpleasant it was at the dump, these people still need to be fed.

I jumped in the back of the truck and started serving beans. As I neared the bottom of the pot, Marc told me to let Luis finish the beans and get my camera out of the car. He led me over to a family living in a deplorable situation. A pregnant mom, a dad, and a little girl are living in a small shelter made out of tires. There was one filthy mattress thrown on the ground. We guessed the little girl, whose name is Sisia, to be about 18 months old. Both the mother and the little girl had the ground-in, caked-on filth we so often see at the dump. Both standing there with bare feet. We also guess the mom is due in three weeks or so.

Marc took beans and rice and tortillas for all three to them. As I approached, I was trying to talk to Sisia. I think she thought I was coming for her food because she brought that bowl close to her tiny body and hugged it tightly. She ate ravenously. Her hair had red highlights, signs of malnutrition.

Marc said they were there last week, too. Some of the other ladies who also have babies but don't bring them to the dump, are trying to talk the mother into getting Sisia out of there. She can't live long in those conditions. And that baby. When I think how we sterilized Baby Haley's pacifier every time it was dropped and how we put germ-x on our hands before we picked her up, I cannot even begin to imagine a new born baby living in a disease-infested dump.

I got in the car and wept. I will be haunted by the sight of that poor little girl way into the night tonight.

We cannot see a situation such as this and not do something.

We are in a place where we try to figure out what happens next. We are looking at property for a health center and a church. We will be sharing the good news with those that have no hope on this earth. Things move slow in Honduras. We know that and we have to roll with the flow. But some things need immediate attention.

One week from today, my friend, Trey Morgan, will be hosting the 2nd anual dump fundraiser. Please visit Trey's blog at http://wwww.treymorgan.net/ Also, join us next week in prayer and fasting for this event that will raise enough money to continue to feed the hungry and homeless at the dump for another year and to take this ministry where God is leading.

Terri