Special Treasures

For you are a holy people, who belong to the LORD your God. Of all the people on earth, the LORD your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.                   ~ Deuteronomy 7:6

It has been three weeks since we’ve returned from Roatan.  The crops are ripening and business needing attention here on the farm is being attended to.  We are definitely enjoying opportunities to connect with family and friends.  It is great to be here!  Weatherwise, it is unseasonably hot for September in our part of Canada, in Chatham-Kent. As I write this, I am being refreshed by a glass of ice cold water.  But....

We’ve had reports from the tropics and it’s HOT! From July through October the temperatures are between 90-100° (34-36°C) day after day with drippy-at-nine-in-the-morning humidity. It’s best to stay out of the sun between 11-2 (siesta time!) and when you need to be out, a hat or sunbrella is a must.  However, if your work happens to be sorting recyclables at the dump, you may have a hat, but no siesta and no cool glass of water. It is HOT work. 

Over the years that we have lived in Roatan, there have been teams that have visited the dump, bringing food and God’s Word to people working there.These sporadic visits became more regular when the Barrett family, missionaries out of Son Rise Inn, felt called to provide both spiritual and physical food to the men and women working at the dump.   

      

When the Barretts moved, the pastor at R-Church, Travis Morin, agreed to continue the Dump Ministry as a focus outreach for the people of that church.   R-Church is our home church while we are home here in Roatan.

Every other week some from the church gather at the dump for what is now called Special Treasures (The Dump Ministry). There are about 25-30 families - approximately 60 adults and kids - that work at the dump sorting items for recycling.  Dads, moms, and their kids sort through the bags of garbage that is brought by the municipal garbage trucks. Plastics and cans are bundled by these workers for recycling.  The sale of the bundles of materials to the recycling depot is how the families make their living. There are no blue boxes. These people efficiently manage the sorting of 
recyclables.

A few of the families live on the dump pile.  Some families live across the road or nearby.  We have felt convicted to assist with this ministry because some of the families are families from the Colonia, our home base, which is a half-hour walk from the dump.

When we pull up, the workers stop work and gather for a message from the pastor. Travis, Estaban, or a visiting pastor gives his message from the back of a pick-up, standing on a little sandy knoll, or even in the bucket of a loader.

Sometimes lunch of baleadas, spagetti with weanies, or other food is provided. If a team is visiting, various items from the team are distributed.  Always the visit includes the distribution of bags of rice and beans, a project coordinated by Karin and John Neighbors and family, and friends from R-church.  

During the visit, special needs are noted. This January, the group assisted families get school-aged kids to school with provision of uniforms and backpacks containing start-up supplies. Some kids had never gone to school, so assistance in getting documents needed to start school was provided.                                       

On occasion, church members have provided transportation to the clinic for various health needs. One very young mom needs support with her newborn and Tish Morin (Travis’ wife) is her anchor.  

Dental work has been arranged so that now a man who previously had only three teeth now has a toothy smile, and a special teen who was missing a tooth doesn’t need to be self-conscious. 

Just looking at these faces makes me smile!   

One-on-one time with people while milling about in the crowd provides the opportunity to listen to the needs and specifically pray for these needs. This is what we like to do. Our purpose is to be a constant encouragement and to show God’s love by just being there. Many times that hug or just being noticed is what is most needed. 

Recently, a large water tank was purchased and mounted under the shade trees so that people have water at the dump.

I am thinking of water now as I notice my glass and the drink and ice in it are gone.  People working at the dump were in need of water to drink, and water to wash their hands and sweat-drenched faces. The church provides water to be delivered to fill this tank on a regular basis – water for refreshment of the body. While taking care of physical needs is important, the goal is to provide the Living Water – provide Jesus. The Special Treasures – those living treasures working in the heat of the tropical sun as they sort through the trash, are also in need of His eternal refreshment. The goal of the ministry is to provide this refreshment.