Washington's Car

He left early, to deliver food baskets for the families that needed it, and to get the children from the dump ready for the bus that was coming to take them to my wedding. There are few people that I admire in this world as much as Washington and his wife Andrea. They started Massa Humana, the project with their church to work with the families at the dump—Living Stones just works with them—they are the backbone of that ministry.

Washington is a true example of what it means to live the Christian life—ministry just happens to him. We have pick up the soup to take to the dump—now we stop and pray, share, encourage, and sometimes even sing with the ladies who cook in the kitchen. He knows each one by name. He has saved the lives of different people from the dump community, driving out there in the middle of the night to take them to the hospital because the ambulance wouldn’t go.

He left the city, following the road that leads to the dump and saw a motorcycle coming towards him. It turned sideways suddenly, tipping over. He stopped, and got ready to jump out to try and help when he saw two men running towards him, one with a gun. They told him to get out of the car. “He looks like police!” One man said to the other, “I will kill him.” He told Washington to stand up slowly and turn around and pressed the barrel hard against the back of his head.

The other man grabbed Washington’s wallet and flipped through for his license, “No, He isn’t a cop.” Washington felt the gun loosen. “Start walking,” The man said, “Don’t turn around.” Shaken, Washington started walking back to the city, with nothing. Then he started running. He went to the police station and reported everything stolen—even the food baskets for the families. He was still able to get all the children together and on the bus for my wedding—and get there, dressed, only a little late.

He and his wife hugged me. They said nothing, and I went to my honeymoon not knowing about the dangers that had happened. They didn’t want anything to take away from my special moment. The police located the car a couple days later, and chased away the robbers, leaving a bullet hole through one side of the car. Worse for wear, but still working, Washington got his car back and gave me a big hug. Please pray for Washington, his family, and this ministry at the dump.