the privilege of being an american, of religious freedom, wealth... the contrast is palpable to me. people living in a landfill, scavenging for food among the filth versus eating our fill at every meal. barek aub versus our lodgings at the guest house. our calm, peaceful meal at the lebanese grill while two helicopters screamed by overhead...reminding us that beyond the walls a war is being fought. lives are being lost. i feel the weight.
this morning after breakfast we spent some time debriefing. we worshiped, talked, and prayed before heading out to an IDP (internally displaced persons) camp to do a food distribution. preparing our minds and hearts for what we would experience.
there are 81,000 IDPs in kabul alone. most of the IDPs are coming from iran and pakistan where they were refugees through the wars that have plagued this land for thirty years. this is how the people of barek aub lived for years before they were taken to their new land. their chance to move beyond aid; their chance for a future. the IDPs are grouped into various areas of kabul; 37 total camps ranging from 37 families to 1200 families. at every camp survival is at the mercy of the help of others (government, UN, NGOs). this is the depths of poverty. as our host said, "they are the beat[en] up people, pushed back, uneducated." "...they are just waiting for somebody to come."
"...these are the forgotten."
we brought out food and clothes for 73 families, the population of this particular IDP camp. each family gets one bag of beans, one big can of vegetable oil, and one trash bag of clothes. the money for the food was donated by a church in poland (shout out to rachel)... a couple thousand dollars will feed 73 families for one week. talk about perspective. the clothes have been brought over by various teams, waiting until there is enough to give an equal amount to all. we came in three cars and waited while the staff roped off an area to funnel the families through. one of the staff came out about twenty minutes before us to distribute one ticket to each family. (the days before we came the staff had come out several times to count the families, ensuring we would have the right amount to give each family group the same amount. once we were set, the women in our group unloaded the truck, handing one of each item to every family representative. the men of our group served as crowd control, forming a sort of barrier around us and the truck. they helped the young kids, the older women and men, and the disabled carry their rations. one of our guys directed people away after receiving their items. the manner in which he guided them was filled with gentleness and caring... the love of Christ showing through.
we left as quickly as we came. like a wind...it arrives and leaves faster than you can grasp.
coming back and debriefing, their faces emblazoned on our hearts, we talked about the desire to do more. feed them for longer, talk with them, love on them, wishing they would know the hope of Christ.
"as i hand you this can of oil, can you feel the love that's behind it? do you know where that love comes from?"
he loves us
oh how he loves us
he loves us
oh how he loves us
how he loves us so
that song repeated through many of our heads over and over as we distributed what food we had brought. praying that God would "multiply our loaves" and make it last longer for them.
God is sovereign. He is over all. He will bring victory. He IS love. i trust my Beloved. i rest in Him.
as we continue with our day, thanking God for our overwhelming blessings, the words of our host ring in my head. "God loves these people. even through they don't believe in him, he loves them."
oh how he loves us.
I love all of your updates but I have enjoyed this one the most...not just cause of the shout out. ;)
ReplyDelete