Tuesday, February 19, 2013

The Dump..... Five Years Later

Exactly five years ago today, Marc and I saw the dump for the first time.  How do I remember the exact date?  It was Nicole's birthday.  I was planning on writing a blog honoring my wonderful daughter.  That was until we went to the dump.  The atrocities we saw that day needed to be written about.  People rummaging through garbage with the buzzards.  The filth.  The odor.  These things cannot be captured adequately with my camera.  We knew immediately we had to do something.  We knew we could feed. 

Matt and Nicole came two weeks later.  They had money someone had given them to do something for someone in Honduras.  We knew exactly how to spend that money.  We bought beans and bread and made bean sandwiches and took to the dump.  It was scary.  Really scary.  The people rushed us for the food.  And we didn't have enough.  We knew after that day, one feeding was not enough. 

After another group saw the dump, a youth group from Atlanta, they too wanted to do something.  They went home and raised money.  They raised enough that a weekly feeding could begin. 

Then enter Trey Morgan, a preacher from the small town of Childress, Texas.  He read and heard about the dump.  He wanted to do something.  He held a one day blog-a-thon fundraiser.  And over $12,000 was raised.  We serve an amazing God. 

That fundraiser has become an annual thing.  The second year even more was raised.  In the last five years, through the dump day fundraiser and other sources, over $200,000.00 has been designated for the dump.  Thousands and thousands of meals have been served.  The dump people have had help with medicines and surgeries and school supplies for their kids.  Unfortunately, we have had to help with funeral expenses for some.  Relationships have been formed and Christ has been shared.  Tomorrow, when Marc drives into the dump, people will line up and wait to be served.  No more rushing.  No more running out of food.  It has been an amazing journey, one which we never planned. 

It is not too early to begin praying about Dump Day 2013.  It will be May 8.  We want to keep this ministry going until there are no more hungry people in the dump that need to be fed every week.

Terri




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