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A first time visitors testimony:
"My first visit to the Matamoros city dump in 1993 had a very profound impact on my life,
and it has left me with memories that I have never forgotten.I saw that people not only worked in the city dump, but some
of them lived there as well. They lived in little houses made out of just a few pallets that they would tack together, and
have a place to crawl into at night.
Those who work there, sort through the garbage that comes in on the trucks. They look for aluminum
cans, and glass bottles, or anything that they can gather to take re-cycle in order to try and make a living for themselves
and their families.
I still have engraved in my mind a picture of this elderly gentleman who passed by me
pulling this box on the ground with this wire hook he had in his hand. I looked inside to see what he had collected. It was
not what I had expected. He was not recycling. There were a couple of tortillas, a slice or two of tomatoe, and some lettuce.
He was collecting lunch.
A friend and I were given the assignment of passing out canned goods from the back of the van.
We had some turnips, and a couple of other items along with some candy that we were giving out.
There were all ages represented that day in that group assembled around the van. From the elderly,
to the middle aged, down to mothers with their young children. I remember the feelings that I had that day, as I looked into
their eyes. It was then that I came to understand that there was really very little difference between these people and myself.
Only where I was fortunate enough to be born. And aside from that one fact, in truth there was no difference.
I thought about my own home and the life I knew, and the country that I lived in. I thought about the dirt
and the filth and disease that these people live with every single day of their lives. Its hard to relate to that existence.
Our lives are so different. But having been there, one cannot help but realize just how blessed we are to be born in
this country. No matter what your status in life is,
What it did for me, was to give me the heart to want to reach out to them more, to touch
their lives and share with them some of the blessings of life that God has given to us that I am afraid we all
to often take for granted."
"He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has been given." Proverbs 19:17
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Paul with one of the many friends he has made over the years of ministry to the people in the Matamoros
City Dump.
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