Saturday

Today I went with Liz to see a kids ministry in the cemetery right next to the dump. It is for kids whose parents work in the cemetery on Saturdays...it was interesting. They teach them different things and sing and play games. Maybe I'll be going back there in the next couple weeks.

Afterward we drove through the neighborhood where all the dump scavengers live...I hadn't seen that before. It was amazing to me that the whole neighborhood is completely built on trash--both physically and economically. The houses are all built on top of the landfill, and everyone who lives there has a job related to the dump. Either they are the scavengers, which is the lowest job, or they are the "middle-men", who go through all the garbage and organize the recyclable things to sell, or they are recyclers. As you drive around, you see that most of the houses have stacks and stacks of garbage bags in and around them. Everywhere you look, you see piles of cardboard or bags of plastic bottles. I was amazed that a whole community can be supported just by what other people threw away....although I've seen the dump and the scavengers before, it was a new perspective to actually drive through their neighborhood.

Liz also got me some coloring books and other materials to use with my kindergarteners. That will be helpful :)