Day Three: We're Off to Work

Katherine here!
Today was our first day at our house-building work site, but rather than telling that tale I would like to reflect a bit on my experience in the dump and at AFE yesterday. I came to Honduras two years ago with a middle school team from Blackhawk, and we visited the trash dump and the school as well, but we only spent about three hours there. During that trip, I felt so helpless upon entering and visiting the garbage dump community, and I saw much more tragedy than hope. Yesterday, I felt completely different. I still felt the same huge pain and injustice that I had two years earlier, but I also saw great hope. It is so evident that something is very broken and wrong in the dump community, but God is also very present. I can see immense improvements and growth in AFE and its ministry since two years ago, and I have never in my life felt as much hope as I did at the school yesterday. God is working in such tangible ways there. I was shocked to see the joy that was so evident in all the students at AFE; they were genuinely thrilled and so excited to speak with us and play with us. They were psyched just to be at school! I had to ask myself, "If these children have true joy in the midst of a situation that seems so horrible and unthinkable to us, how can I struggle so much with joy in my tough experiences?" I previously considered myself to be an optimistic and joyful person, but yesterday I realized that my joy is not as wholehearted and complete as it should be. People that have far fewer possessions than I have and who I expected to be hopeless and depressed have showed me true joy that comes from God. Their joy is the sweetest and most genuine I have ever experienced.

(stay tuned for Hannah's post tomorrow about the work on our home & other AFE homes in the Good Samaritan Community which we started today - & see some pictures in the post below)