During our trip to India we visited a community of people that collect garbage to sell for a living. Their homes, constructed of rubbish, are grouped together to form a type of neighborhood. It is hard to see fellow humans living in such conditions. We were welcomed into the community leader's home where they had "decorated" in their excitement for our coming. The dirt floor, usually bare, was covered with several scarps of tarps. They had collected the only chairs they had (three total) for us to sit in.
Once we had all been seated, the people from the community gathered inside with us. All packed together in the hut we had a worship service. The people from the community sang songs in Telugu and then we sang songs in English. There, beneath the light of one exposed lightbulb and the weight of humidity that hangs thick in the air even at night, we felt the loving presence of the Holy Spirit. Our Lord is found by all who seek for Him with their whole hearts, and we were seeking Him.
When our service was over we fed everyone, and they were thankful, but as we left what they thanked us for over and over again was our prayers, our encouragement, and our love. There in the dump community, church has nothing to do with the comfort or the space, the sound equipment or the schedule, its all about the Lord and His people -- which is as it ought to be. The people who live there are beggars on this earth, but they are truly princes before the Lord in worship.
Their circumstances were some of the worst that we experienced on the trip, but our time with them was the most beautiful experience that we had by far. Christians in India are few and far between so any fellowship with believers is precious. Because we went across the globe and were willing to sit in a hut constructed of garbage we brought this blessing to our Christian brothers and sisters in the dump community. If there was one experience I wish everyone I know at home could have shared with me, it would be that. We blessed them more than we can imagine, but the testimony of their lives blessed us more than they will ever know.
What a beautiful and yet sad story. It always amazes me how people with so little can be way happier and content than we can be with so much. It is such a blessing to meet people like this.
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