Basura

The family of kids that I mentioned in my last entry are among the poorest of the poor in our world today. The oldest boy, faced with the responsibility of providing for his four younger siblings, tried everything he could think of to get food for the family. One thing he did was go to the garbage dump in search of anything that he could sell for money.

I was telling the kids at CSC about this family, and when I got to the garbage part of the story, one of our boys nodded knowingly. Victor knows exactly what that group of kids is going through. He worked the basura (garbage) dump before coming to live at CSC. He knows the game. He knows the desperate poverty that causes young boys to dig through basura and the risks of injury and sickness. He knows the competitive nature of the business and the rough people that can be found at the dumps.

Victor will be leaving for adoption very soon. As I think about where he came from and where he will be going, I have to shake my head and whisper a prayer of thanksgiving. Part of me wants Victor, and the boy that we are helping in LapuLapu, to some day be able to forget those sad chapters of their lives. I want them to be shielded from painful or fearful memories. I don't want them to have permanent emotional scars. Another part of me wants them to remember. I don't want them to forget that God rescued them and the many things that they have to be thankful for. Maybe what I want is for their memories to be redeemed - to be purged of the pain but remain as reminders of God's grace.