warm, loving Christians and built water filters. Today, we went to a refugee camp called Tzancha, where refugees from a landslide 5 years ago were living to install a water filter for a family. The particular family there already had one but it wasn't working properly (it was later determined that the problem was that the sand was bad).
It was kind of like being in the home of a family that everyone loves. The people staying in the house were very friendly and were Christians. The children, besides being adorable, were happy, playful, and respectul. The only difference: Instead of living in a nice, furnished American home, these people were living in poverty. The first thing I noticed about the place was how dirty it was. There was dirt and trash everywhere. There were flies everywhere. Now that their water filter had broken, they didn't even have clean water to drink, meaning that they could very possibly get diseases from the contaminated water. Many of the people, including the children, had lice and scabies. And still, these people were happy. Here's what hit me: how many of us in America, even Christians, would dispair and hate life if they were put in these conditions?
Of course, you might say that it's easier for them because they've been living like this for their whole lives. This is true, but an important point still stands: you don't need money, or a nice house, or any of our material possessions to be happy. All they needed to be happy was their family, their friends, and God. They were living close to their friends and family, they were strong in their faith, and they were happy. This point is something many Americans need to hear amidst the hustle and many times self-centeredness of our lives.
Looking forward to the rest of the trip, I'll blog more later.
-Ja
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