Jose Ramon

On Wednesday, June 4 Matt and I went with a small group to the city dump. This is always a heart wrenching experience to see people having to fight the vulchers for the worst scraps in all of the city. Before the trash makes it to the dump, other people have dug through the trash probably 5 or 6 times. The people at the dump are begining to get used to seeing my dad's little red truck drive up to the dump each week, and they are starting to get used to talking with us a little more. My dad's AIM team desires to build relationships with people in the dump and carry Bible studies with them.

One person I met on Wednesday was a man named Jose Ramon. Jose Ramon was completely filthy. Dirt was caked on his skin. There is no telling when the last time he had the opportunity to bathe. He is living among the poorest of the poor people, yet he is a faithful servant to God. Generally we do not limit sandwiches to just one because this might be the only good meal that they get for the entire week. Jose Ramon kept coming back and asking for four or five sandwiches at a time. We began to think that he was coming to hoard sandwiches and water for himself. One young man asked my dad if he could walk with Jose Ramon to see what he was doing. We found out that Jose Ramon was taking sandwiches to people over the mound of trash who didn't come for the food. He said that he wanted to help those people who were not coming to the truck. No one would have blamed Jose for trying to keep a few extra sandwiches for himself, but instead he was giving to those who had absolutely none. After we talked to him for a little while, we found out that he had become a Christian. He told Matt what his favorite Bible verse is. Jose Ramon taught me about being selfless and Christ-like because he felt the need to carry sandwiches to as many people in the dump as he could.