A Man Without Hope

Today Kenji, Heather and Larry went into Inowlodz, a neighboring town to Zackosciele. They went there because Victor (a custodian at the camp) is moving into Inowlodz and his soon to be neighbor is in desperate need of help. You know that you are in for a treat when the leader (Daniel) tells you and your team, "if you get sick just go outside and everything will be o.k." Well we had no idea how trying it was going to be. We entered a house that smelled of rotting meat and body odor. The elderly man was sitting in his living room eating apples and bread that was inhabited with flies. Kenji and Larry cleaned out his refrigerator that was filled with gnats and what looked to be a decomposing chicken. Of course we came close to losing it but we kept reminding ourselves of Matt. 25:40 "And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’" In the end the house was in better shape than when we entered it, but it was still far from healthy. As we cleaned we learned that he recently lost his wife and that he was suffering from some physical handicap. This poor man is in his own personal nightmare of an existence without any sign of hope. I would like to think that we brought him some hope by our actions but more importantly, it is our prayer that the act of love that we conducted today translates into a stronger relationship between Victor and his new neighbor.