(Nils – 19, Germany)
On a misty morning, our outreach team set out on a two hour drive to a village high in the mountains. Time here seemed to stand still as we looked down into the clouds that now separated us from the bustling world below. On arrival the villagers greeted us with warm smiles and an unusual request. The program for our week visit would be spent cleaning out 8,000 liters of cow dung! This was not what any of the nine of us had anticipated – but there was no turning back.
We were all buoyed and energized that first morning, but with each passing hour the buckets grew heavier, and the sheer volume of dung seemed insurmountable. The weather didn’t make it any easier; one moment, it was raining the next, we were baking under the relentless sun. At the end of each day, we were completely covered in feces, and our muscles ached from the relentless labor. After two days exhaustion was setting in, and I wondered if we really would succeed in clearing that pit of endless manure.
Just as our strength was giving out, something unexpected happened. Seemingly from nowhere, the joy of the Lord began to seep over us, like a refreshing shower of grace. From being focused on just surviving and completing the work, a deep sense of camaraderie came over our team. Rather than focusing on our situation we started to sing songs of worship to the Lord as bucket after bucket of dung was heaved out of the pit. Our new found joy shifted our focus away from the intense smell and physical exhaustion that had once dominated our mood. What once seemed mundane and unspiritual became an honour as God revealed His heart for the villagers to us and we felt his joy in seeing them blessed and served in this way.
At the end of the week it was time to descend back to the bustle of the city below the clouds but before we left the villagers shared that they wanted to celebrate our time together. We were so touched as the villagers put on a feast to thank us for our time with them. There were tears on our faces as the villagers shared how our simple service had filled their hearts with hope and reminded them that they were not forgotten in God’s eyes. As we made our way back to the city, we were all reminded of how God can transform small sacrifices into something surprisingly significant.
