These are my children. What are you doing for them?
Nothing can prepare you for what you will encounter in the garbage village in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala.
Plumes of methane gas rise everywhere from the decomposing garbage. Makeshift tents are scattered around the area, housing families both big and small. Children and toddlers amble through the debris as if it were any other playground. Older children, parents, and grandparents sift through the endless piles of garbage collecting recyclable materials which they will then sell for pennies on the dollar.
There is no running water.
There is no stable supply of food.
There is no immediate access to education.
To make matters worse, the village sits along a smuggling road for both drugs and human trafficking.
"These are my children. What are you doing for them?"
These were the words that God placed in my head and on my heart. It was a real-life call to what Jesus referred to in Matthew 25:40 – “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to me.’”
I am sure this site is, unfortunately, not unique across the globe, but God placed me in Puerto Barrios. It was new and unique to me. As I was wrestling with the sights, sounds, and smells of poverty at its extreme, I was blessed to be accompanied through the village by two saints – Father Anton and Katya.
These two servants of Christ showed me what it means to serve ‘the least of my brethren.’ For the past few years, Father Anton and Katya have visited the garbage village weekly to serve the people, build relationships and listen to their needs. They walk Saint Mother Theresa's quote – “poverty doesn’t only consist of being hungry for bread, but rather it is a tremendous hunger for human dignity.’ Padre and Katya have allowed these people to feel the dignity for which they hunger.
Father Anton and Katya have great plans for helping the people who live in the garbage village. A building foundation has already been built on the site, but it remains unfinished. What would it look like to build a permanent shelter that allows the kids to go inside and breathe non-toxic air? What impact would it have to provide showers to bathe?
St. Paul said in Romans 12:4-5 – “For as in one body, we have many members, and all members do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individual members one of another.” Functionally, Father Anton and Katya have used their gifts to build relationships and a plan to help. They need other members of the body of Christ to provide their resources to make this step forward a reality.
To be a part of gathering those resources for Father Anton and Katya.
This was why God put me in the garbage village in Puerto Barrios.
These are my children. What are you doing for them?
Jeff Stinson