Can you imagine food being so scarce that you move your family to the dump to live where everyone can search for food everyday, because without it you and your family will die?
Welcome to Santa Ana, Honduras. A place so poor that people live in shelters made of sticks and garbage bags at the city dump, so they can find scraps of food to eat. One person witnessing this for the first time said, “I gotta tell you that I wasn’t prepared for this experience. The smell was what you would expect only stronger.” Another said, “These people were filthy and smelly. Some of their hands had so much black filth on them that I cannot imagine them ever being clean again, no matter how much scrubbing was done. Small boys, about 8 – 11 years old, were there alone with no family.”
Can you imagine eating from a landfill?
Can you imagine?
Can you imagine having to fight off large birds everyday for a piece of garbage to eat?
Thankfully there are a group of young people from AIM (Adventures In Missions) who have decided to go live in Santa Ana, Honduras and minister to these people. These young people spent a week with us in Childress this past Spring. They are GREAT kids.
They make sandwiches, sometimes up to 3200 to take and feed the dump people. They offer them food for their physical bodies and Jesus for their spiritual needs.
They ride in the back of a pickup for miles to get there.
It is very rainy in Honduras. So not only are they looking for rotting garbage to eat, but it’s “wet” rotting garbage.
During the hard rain many people seek shelter under these make-shift houses. AIMers take food to them during the rain.
These AIM students don’t mind getting wet, because come rain or shine they are there to deliver a fresh meal.
Can you imagine being so hungry you’d live like this? Can you imagine feeding your little boy, girl or baby here? I can’t either. Last night at supper alone, I scraped off my plate a half of a pork chop, some mashed potatoes and other things I didn’t want. I ate 3 BIG meals yesterday. I would have NEVER eaten out of a trash can.
But some will. Some will today. Good thing there are people in this world willing to be the arms and legs of Jesus. Thank God there are people willing to share. How about you? Are you willing to share? Did you know as little as $20 a day will feed the people at the dump? Twenty dollars!!! Did you know that you can give up cokes for a week and with that money feed all the people in the Santa Ana, Honduras dump?
Today Lea and I will send $50 to feed the people at the dump. Who’s with me??? Here’s the address…
Torch
P.O. Box 9222
Columbus, MS 39705 (Attention: Dump Fund)
100% of the money will go to feed people!!! You want to buy some sandwiches???
(If you can’t send money, maybe you could help by linking this post to your blog today? Because maybe someone you know would help feed the dump people.)
Sandwiches …
As little as $20 will feed the entire dump for 1 day. $80 will feed them for an entire week.
Marc & Terri Tindall are missionaries there in Santa Ana who work with the AIMers. Mark said this about this ministry, “As I have said earlier, there are not words that can describe life in the dump. Pictures are only a little better insight of a hopeless way of life. Our work is to try and bring a little hope to this place. The only hope – Jesus.”
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink… I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” ~ Jesus
(Comment of the Day: makegodsmile said… “Trey, is it ok to be proud of the AIM groups? I was in school at SSOP/SIBI when the AIM program began, when the AIM dream became a reality. I am so proud of the work this group does all over the world! I couldn’t help but smile when one of your commenters wondered if they also shared the Gospel. That has been drilled into the heads of this group in their training from the very first day. By HIS Grace!”)
I am a Christian husband and father, who moonlights as the minister for the church of Christ in Childress, Texas. My wife Lea and I have been married for 23 years. We are doing our best to raise our 4 boys, who are all growing up way too fast.
I am with you…I will do it right now so I don’t forget. Thank you!
come on, trey, don’t you know we just had an election, our nation is at the edge of a cliff, our economy is falling apart, we need to start working towards getting the right man/woman for the next election who can fix things. i need to use all my time and money campaigning….
just being facetious. that is an amazing ministry.
And we think we have problems, we don’t know what problems are, do we. These images have broken my heart and have redirected my eyes. Thanks for reminding us of what we so often forget. We are with you in this.
Trey – thanks for writing about my friends in Honduras. I haven’t heard much from them since we parted ways in May, but that’s because they’ve been busy doing the work of God.
Thanks for firing me up this morning.
I will post a link on my blog. I am wondering if they just pass out food or do they let the people know that the love of Jesus is the reason that they care. Do they get the gospel to them?
Rick,
Great question. They do more than hand out food. They also build homes (one room hut) and they always share the gospel. They have had MANY conversions to Christ.
Thanks for your help.
I was in Honduras last November for 11 days and I came to love the people there. Even those who don’t eat from the dump live in conditions worse than anything I’ve seen. There are children who are left in the forests to fend for themselves. Thank you for another way I can help the people of Honduras.
Thanks for making us aware of the people in Honduras. Please don’t forget there are people here who live on the streets and in horrible conditions. Our youth feed the homeless in Amarillo every Sunday–if you can’t send money to Honduras, look for somewhere you can help in your own backyard.
hey trey, i just wanted everyone ot know that im back and will be updating at least every other day if not everyday… so please come check it out
i have seen images like this before and every time it breaks my heart. we could cut out a few unnecessary grocery items and have the money to send. will do.
what a great group of young people. we need to see more images like this, showing people helping on the news rather than the gruesome ones.
thanks for sharing the good and bad news.
Tery, is it ok to be proud to have been the AIM groups? I was in school at SSOP/SIBI when the AIM program began, when the AIM dream became a reality. I am so proud of the work this group does all over the world!
I couldn’t help but smile when one of your commenters wondered if they also shared the Gospel. That has been drilled into the heads of this group in their training from the very first day.
By HIS Grace!
What I Meant To Say:
Tery, is it ok to be proud of the AIM groups? I was in school at SSOP/SIBI when the AIM program began, when the AIM dream became a reality. I am so proud of the work this group does all over the world!
I couldn’t help but smile when one of your commenters wondered if they also shared the Gospel. That has been drilled into the heads of this group in their training from the very first day.
By HIS Grace!
Terri – I want to go with you guys next time!
laura – I love hearing that.
underthebigbluesky – you are 100% right.
makegodsmile – It’s MORE than okay to be proud. And you are right, sharing the gospel is not an option … it’s a necessity.
Adding a link to your blog – love to have known these kids and to think of what they are doing right now… please keep us posted! Thanks for sharing!
okay…blonde moment – I’m adding a link FROM your blog To mine… sorry!
Wow – thanks for sharing this … kinda makes our little economic recession here seem pretty pathetic.
and to think, i had “fresh potatoes” on my turkey day list. . . sometimes the culture here is totally ridiculous no?!! I’ve sent this on to the members of our congregation and i’m sure i have plenty more who could stand to read it and dig into their pockets (like us!) thanks for sharing the work with us.
This is similar to the situation we find in San Felipe, Mexico. The church in Long Beach has built numerous houses down there, and almost always we’ve built them in or very near the dump … for the same reason. However, they will spend big $$s on large screen televisions (with the grill from a bbq unit as the antenna) and even bigger $$s on a monument for a grave. I saw a family living in the shell of a Ford van, and in the back of the van was a large screen television. It’s really sad and I lay a lot of the blame on a very corrupt government that cares little for the people.
I will send some money to help feed them. Thanks for the invitation to join in this.
Wow. Thanks for posting this Trey. I’m in.
Hey Trey,
I’m really excited about having the opportunity to fly down to Honduras on Dec. 22 for 2 weeks. The dump ministry is something I’m really looking forward to!!
I’ll see you Sunday at the youth rally!! We’re bringing free pens, key chains and brochures from AIM.
Let go, LET GOD!!
-Matt Baggett
it’s such a pity that the food you’re offering seems highly processed and unsustaining. Change from white bread sandwiches and processed meat to a rice/potatoes based meat stew and these people would be fed so much more for the $$ spent on the processed junk.
If it’s worth doing it’s worth doing well.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Trey. We are so comfortable in our affluence that we forget that most of the world lives in poverty.
anonymous – White bread sandwiches and processed meat is all they can get and all they can afford. I’m sure if you and I would actually kick up some “real” money, other than $20 here and there, then they could actually afford to do something like that.
Trey, thanks for doing this. Just a random thought, but I wonder how many of your readers are ex-AIMers?
Trey a HUGE bag of rice costs just $15, a bit of meat less than $5. Cheep food is easy so long as you’re willing to go the distance and cook it.
Trey, sorry I am running a few days behind on blogging. I just added a post on my blog including a link to your post. Hope all is better on the home front and Connor is feeling ok. I have to agree with the comment of the day – there is a reason why moms have the rules we have. Now you know what happens when you try to ignore or change the rules.
hola mi nombre es jose luis. y la verdad me siento triste por lo que miro en mi tierra honduras.yo soy de honduras y me da dolor tristeza al ver que no puedo aser nada por mi misma gente.pero le doy GRASIAS A DIOS. PORQUE USTEDES TOMAN DE SU TIEMPO PARA ASERLO undia podre estar alla para colaborar con ustedes grasias ustedes si son unos HEROES DE DIOS grasias por la fuerza y la voluntad que tienen.