At the end of 2013, when the leader of Massa Humana (the
program that works at the trash dump) had his car stolen (he was held up at
gunpoint) on his way to the dump, it scared away most of the volunteers.
Washington, who leads the program, continued to go every Saturday and Sunday,
distributing the soup, but those who helped with the children stopped coming.
It has been a struggle this year, with the local government
doing nothing to relocate the trash dump community into the houses that were
built for them. Federal law has given from 2004-2014 to shut down all current
open dumps, meaning once 2015 comes, it will just be closed down, and the
people left with nothing. The law also states they are to create sanitary
landfills and provisions for the current workers to work there, but nothing has
begun as yet, and the year is almost half over. Not only that, but other people
are now moving into the homes that were built specifically for the trash dump
community.
But God always provides for His children: a group of 5-7
people from a different church have been coming and assisting Washington for
the past couple weeks. When Washington wasn’t able to bring soup one day, they
made sure it was taken care of. This is a huge answer to prayer, and perfect
timing.
Washington and his family have been praying, and feel called
to move to Joao Pessoa, the capital of a neighboring state. Just last week,
their son was driving home from college and was in an accident—totaling the
car, but everyone was safe. Please pray as they are now without vehicle and working
on moving the end of the month.
Please pray as this new group continues to minister at the
Dump. Please pray as Washington and his family move, and are missed very much.
Please pray for the local government to step up and begin the proper transition
for the trash dump community.
