On Thursday morning, Mario, our translator, Joann, and I went down to the local barrios for a feeding program. I had never been to this area of town before so I was excited to go and see what else is in the outskirts of Granada. This area was one that had been affected by the recent rain and flooding. However, I thought that flooding ended about a month ago. When we got there we could not go through the neighborhood to the house near the lake. We had to take a back way around, through a barbed wire fence, and over some sand bags that were being used to keep the flooding out of someone’s house, dodging the waves that washed over our feet. When we arrived the scene seemed like something surreal, something out of a movie. The whole area was full of water and trash. The waves were coming in strong and brushing against the sides of families’ houses. The only thing that was stopping the water from coming in was the sand bags laid up against the plastic bags or pieces of metal that were the walls of their homes.
When we arrived we were quickly set to work cleaning the rice and beans. Since it is cheaper to buy rice and beans “dirty” we have to go through and get out all the rocks, sticks and dirt that end up in it before it is cooked. There really is no easy or efficient way to do this other than go though, by hand, and pick out whatever you see. The job is daunting, but we would do anything to help. After most of the food had been prepared we had time to sit and relax with a local family. We went into their house. The family had 7 children, and another one on the way. The house where they all lived was composed of 2 rooms, one that had 3 walls, one of plastic bags, one of tin roofing, and one of cardboard that stood as the divider between the rooms. We sat with the family and talked, they told us how their house floods everyday. Everyday the father goes out and rakes the trash from his front room, which is just open, and how every couple of days he goes out and builds up the trash barriers to try and keep the water from coming to far into his house.
The children were incredible. Joann and I had so much fun playing with them. We listen to some of their music and built sand castles in their front room. The littlest one, a boy, went and got out a few of his dinosaurs and we played with those also. To our surprise they pulled out the game “Cootie,” where you have to build bugs, I believed we played 10 straight games. It was such a moving experience to see how these people live, I was getting anxious just being in this environment for a few hours, the realization that people live here just washed over me, completely draining me emotionally and physically.
Around noon we were told that it was time to serve up food for the program. Today we would be serving beans, rice, bananas and liver stews. Children started coming out of the woodwork, all trying to be first in line. The part that really shook me was that most of these kids were coming in barefoot, just climbing and jumping over all the trash. At one point, a strong wave came in and covered all our feet. I remember looking down at the dirt, rocks and trash that were now all over my feet, I cannot imagine how it must feel to be barefoot. However, the light that shown out of these kids’ faces was undeniable. We tried to talk to every child and ask their names and ages as they stood in line with their bowls and tickets, each one more then happy to tell us where they were from, some even pointed out their houses to us.
As we trudged out for home, I could feel the weight of the day bearing down on me. I saw the people and children who were living, no more than 15 minutes walk away from where I was living. The conditions were unbelievable. However, do not take pity on these people, which is the last thing they needed. I actually admire and honor them for making the best with what has been dealt to them. That experience was one of the first of extreme poverty that I have seen in Nicaragua. I have seen it briefly, but never fully explored or been immersed in what is going on around me. I came back that day tired and completely out of it, I even fell asleep in class.
God had truly reveled Himself to use though those families in that community. Showing us how truly wonderful He is, even when conditions look bad, you have to remember, God is there. The family we stayed with offered us more hospitality than we could have ever hoped for. Sharing with us everything that they had, we had never even met them before. The children were so excited to have someone new to talk and play with. They didn’t mind our broken Spanish and told us all about their families and school. Every child in that neighbor offered us a hug and a smile. It was incredible and heart-breaking all at the same time. I have fallen in love with God’s creation, community, and people all over again.
“At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children'” Matthew 11:25
