La Chureca

   The smell overwhelmed my senses before my eyes could even catch a glimpse of the place. As we drove closer and closer, my eyes were overwhelmed as well. Piles of trash in every direction surrounded on each side by natural beauty- lakes, volcanoes, etc.- the dichotomy of so much beauty in the midst of such despair felt completely unnatural. Granted the lakes and other natural resources have been polluted from their proximity to the trash dump (which is another heartbreaking story for another day), but from a distance they still appear beautiful. We have just entered into Chureca, the largest trash dump in Nicaragua. We came with the team from Calvary Chapel alongside the pastor from Calvary Chapel Managua. 
   I have heard a lot about the trash dump communities- the men, women, and children who live and work in dumps around the world. I have heard about this for years now, but this is the first time I have seen it with my own eyes. I believe that there are things that you need to see to allow them to really sink down into your heart and change you. This is definitely one of them.
   We arrived along with a new trash truck. Men, women, and children surround the truck as the trash pours down in a new heap pulling out their day’s “treasures”. (Image from flickr.com) I can’t imagine a life of digging through trash for 12-14 hours a day. I can’t imagine never knowing a life untainted by the stench of garbage. I can’t imagine watching my children grow up running barefoot among the used needles, animals carcasses and trash. My heart broke as I realized that this is their life, day in and day out.
   Calvary Chapel Managua has a regular ministry here in Chureca building relationships with the people, giving out water to the workers, and sharing the love of Christ. We began searching out those who were resting to bring them water- both physical and spiritual. We crossed the mountains of trash and rivers of sewage. My feet find a soft spot and sink down into a mixture of trash, sewage, and decaying animals. The mixture slopped over my shoes and the bottom of my jeans.
   We made our way over to Jose. His eyes are kind, but weary. He doesn’t consider himself in the same state of poverty as most of the people here because he doesn’t actually live at the edges of La Chureca. He commutes in each day to search for cardboard to resale. Jose talked a lot about politics and injustice and longing to see a change in his country. I stood there thinking, “I know nothing of injustice; this man knows. I have seen a lot of injustice, but I know nothing of it personally.” I watch as children run barefoot working alongside their parents. They don’t know any other life. I know that this is their home, but it still doesn’t seem real. They live here.  
   We continue to walk throughout La Chureca. My eyes can’t seem to rest in one place for long. I want to really see everything here. I gaze across the sea of faces, I squirm as hundreds of vultures take flight all around me, I see the bare feet squishing in the mess. My eyes see it all, but my heart can’t seem to process what my eyes behold. We have several short conversations with different men and women as we continue to traverse the dump. (photo right from radford.edu)  
   Near the end of our time, we made our way towards a family that were all working together. We began talking to Henry, the father. He tells us about the pains he has been having. It sounds like a problem with his appendix. I can’t imagine that he has much access to medical care and
if he does I can’t see how you would avoid post-operation infection when you
literally live in trash. As we pray with him, his wife Maria rests on a pile of
trash with a dying horse lying beside her and two of their children sit a
little farther away leaning back into a pile of garbage. My heart cries out: “This is not how
things are supposed to be!!” We offer the family water. We talk with Maria and the kids. We pray healing over Henry. We tell them about the Lord’s love for them. It seems like so little in the midst of such overwhelming despair.
   As we are finishing up our time with Henry and his family, we are told that it is time to go. So we hike back across the mounds of garbage and climb into the back of the truck. Next thing I know the truck is speeding over the mud, past the seas of
faces. The sights recede and only the smell remains, obstinately clinging to our
clothes and skin.

   As we
arrive back at the church and wash off the last traces of the dump and change
our clothes, I just think “We chose to go today. My life affords me
choices“ I wonder about all the people who have no choice. The children who were born in a trash dump and most likely will never know any other life. My mind can’t stop thinking about all the people living in La Chureca, digging through piles of trash every day, and trying to simply survive from one day to the next. I wonder how easy it is for them to see the goodness of the Lord.

   The more I see of this world, the more my heart longs for eternity. The more my eyes gaze upon injustice, the more I long for the reign of the just King. The more I see the brokenness of this world, the more my heart cries out for the coming of His Kingdom. I have no words except, “Come Lord Jesus. Come soon!”