City Dumps – its where everything that is worthless, dirty, empty, and useless goes. You usually think of trash trucks and piles of garbage. But in Latin America, as well as many other countries you’ll see people who make their living going through what’s been thrown out and left behind. People of all ages, including children, searching through scraps of garbage for something good to sell or eat. In the La Guajira region of Colombia, these city dumps are often filled with Wayuu people who see the city dump as a source of work and food. On average, they make 8,500 pesos a day ($2.70 USD) and the minimum wage in Colombia is 24,000 pesos a day ($8 USD). We have been praying for years for God to open up the doors for us to work with the Wayuu in the city dumps of La Guajira. Many of the Wayuu people that live near/in city dumps are unreached. This year, God has answered our prayers and multiplied them. He has opened up the door for us to minister to not one, but two city dumps.
Elder Epinayu, our Colombian representative for Bread of Hope, was at the city dump of Maicao looking for some parts for a small engine he was putting together. While at the dump, God led him to several families that he met and talked with. He shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with them and was surprised by their interest and desire to hear about God’s message. They invited him to come back soon to learn more about his faith.
A couple of weeks ago a team from Bread of Hope visited the landfill of Maicao, Colombia. They were overwhelmed by the great physical need that they saw. Living literally among the trash were 12 Wayuu families. They live off daily whatever they can find in the dump.
Their physical need was great, but their desire to learn and know more about God’s love for them was greater.
We brought some food and candy for the kids. We sat down with their families and spent time getting to know them and at the very end, we prayed over them.
When we asked these families for prayer requests, someone shouted: “Pray that the trash truck comes everyday, so we can work”.
It is heartbreaking to know that the source of hope for them is a trash truck that comes only a few times at week. Elder is visiting this community every week, using different tools to share the Gospel such as the Proclaimer and the Jesus film in Wayuu. Please pray for Elder and these families at the Maicao city dump. Pray that they would be overwhelmed by God’s great never-ending love for them.
