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In Tim's Words

Meeting the Children of La Chureca
As we walked through the airport in Managua, I saw the sign for Hogar Belen, held by a lady with a huge smile. Her name is Julia. She was our guide for the week, and that smile never left. If I had to sum up the trip in one phrase it would be “God’s Providence.” God’s providence, as defined by dictionary.com, is the foreseeing care and guidance of God over the creatures of the Earth. It was present throughout the trip.

 

 

One example of God’s providence was in La Chureca, the country’s landfill and home to more than 1,500 people. Imagine living in a house where your walls are made of bags filled with bottles and cans, and your roof made with pieces of scrap metal. Imagine getting up every day before daybreak to go to work at the top of the landfill where you wait for the dump trucks to arrive. You have a bandana over your facet o protect yourself from smoke, dirt, and dust. You have a stick to poke around things to see if you want it. You do this all day – every day, to get your meals and clothing. We went to La Chureca bringing candy to the children. A few adults also asked and were given treats. No matter what age, every single one said thank you. Some of the children kept coming back for more, as many would do. I met a boy, Roberto, who got cookies when we entered the landfill and followed us the entire time we were there. Four other kids did the same, except they kept asking for more treats – but not Roberto.

 

After we had been there a while and were working our way back to the van, Roberto took my hand and asked me to come to his house. This little boy, who I had only exchanged names with, was not looking for more cookies; he was simply happy with company. I saw God’s providence in him. Roberto knew – I’m not sure how, but he did – that everything was OK, and that God would always be there to provide and protect. We finished our work and came home. We went to get our bags in Boston, and found that 11 of the group’s bags were missing. We were tired and cranky, but filed the necessary paperwork. I went to bed that night mad and not able to stop thinking that my bongos were in one of the bags…and I had a gig in four days. Eventually, I found peace in God’s providence and fell asleep. My bags arrived, with everything in them, at 2 a.m. the next day. I have learned that I shouldn’t hold back from anything. If it is important, God will lead the way, and, and in the end, everything will be OK.

 

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