Yesterday was house dedication day, and as one Facebook commenter on this photo said: "The smiles tell us all we need to know." This is the family who will be receiving the house this team sponsored and have been working hard to build. And I remember, particularly the first time I came out here on a 2-week trip and was shovelling dirt into a house that looked just like the ones below; I remember thinking, well this is hardly an amazing house. Compared to my house back home, this is nothing. And by Britain standards my house is fairly normal! These houses are TINY in comparrison; they have 2 bedrooms, a living space and a little toilet and shower room - and it's generally big families moving into them. But then the family comes and looks around, and they go through the service - and every service I've been at the mother has tears in her eyes (if not down her cheeks) and they respond as if you'd just handed over a palace! Because what they're actually being given is safety. Security so that they're children can grow up without the threat of being evicted if they can't pay the rent one month. Sanitation so that they can have access to running water; they can wash and use a toilet in their own home with no danger. Society so that they have other families around them; access to schools and clinics and churches; friends and a community spirit. House dedication day is always a beautiful day and this is why we do it - this is why teams come out here and build and shovel and get dirty and hot and sweaty. Because it is a gift that will make a real, tangible difference to this family.
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AuthorI'm a recent Cambridge Theology graduate now studying for a Masters in Biblical Studies and blogging about all sorts of things! I'm interested in faith, Church, theology, social action, the great outdoors and being creative, and all of those things - along with many more - come through in my posts!
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