I’ve been reading in the Psalms today where David asks God why do the wicked always prosper and the poor get trampled upon?  Three thousand years later, the situation doesn’t seem to have changed much…I walk around Carpio and am left speechless by the living conditions. 

Stepping into a shack by the river, and walking through water to sit in the dirty lumpy armchair they offer to me—while 8 of them pile onto a loveseat next to me and even more family members wander into the “living room” (can you call it that?), curious about my arrival.  Trying to avoid streams of sewer water as I walk through narrow alleyways.  Watching kids entertain themselves with dirt, and rocks, and broken bits of wood…squatting down to poke sticks into the open sewer canals alongside the roads.  A precarious walkway made of wooden flats creaks and sways under me as I try to reach a house perched on an eroding hill.  Receiving a dirty plastic cup of water with a bug floating in it, to quench my thirst.  A family of 5 who live in one room:  no food in sight, and two of the school-aged daughters cannot register in school without paperwork from Nicaragua.  The oldest girl wants to remember my name, so she finds a nail clipper and carves MEGAN into the wooden wall. 

The Psalms go on to say, “But the needy will not be ignored forever; the hopes of the poor will not always be crushed.  Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.  You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so mere people can no longer terrify them.  The Lord is still in his holy Temple; the Lord still rules from heaven.  He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth, both the righteous and the wicked.  The righteous Lord loves justice.  The virtuous will see his face. “  (Psalms 9-12)

God is faithful to his promises and he will rescue his people.  May I continue to be an obedient servant, using my words and hands to bring education and love and justice to the unwanted community of Carpio.  Thank you for your continued prayers.  May the attached photos help you to understand where I work.

Megan Crow