Marcelo and Teresa...

Let me me present to you Marcelo and Teresa 

(whom the Lord used to inspire my heart

to be more sensitive to His thirst in the elderly).

Teresa is 95 years old.

Marcelo is 94 years old...

...and they have been married since they were 15.

For those who don't like to do math, 

we're talking 80 years of marriage folks.

And yes- they still love each other! :)

Marcelo and Teresa had 4 children

but either because of malnutrition or unexpected accidents,

none of their children made it to adulthood.

Once Marcelo and Teresa reached an advanced age, 

they were given a small plot of land 

and a small home with 2 rooms to live in for free...

But that is it.

They have no savings, no health insurance, no job, no income...

they just have each other.

Some neighbors have been kind enough to check up on them daily.

An american volunteer would bring them food every other day.

Marcelo would wander off each day to try to find firewood

so that they could make coffee in the morning.

Teresa would stay home with the dogs, 

(being that she couldn't walk due to poor vision from very mature cataracts).

And this is when I found them back in September 2014.

I saw how little they ate and how lonely they were.

I saw how Teresa didn't change her clothes for over 4 months
because she had nothing else to wear

(and because she really, really did not want to bathe :).

I eventually noticed the large lump on Marcelo's back

and gathered up the courage to ask him to show me what was causing such a lump...

I was so surprised to see a tumor that large!

This means that Marcelo has been living with this tumor for years.

With no access to medical care 

and no family to take the initiative to bring him to a hospital, 

Marcelo had to just live with it.

Unfortunately by the time I found him and with his advanced age,

the tumor was too advanced to operate on...the surgery would have probably killed him.

On May 7th this year, Marcelo passed away due to an intestinal infection.

It was incredible to see how the community responded to support Teresa...

people were coming out of the woodwork!

The house was flooded with people, flowers, gifts-

all to console and reach out to Teresa in her profound grief.

Please keep Teresa in your prayers as she faces this incredible loss.  

May we not forget those who mourn

and count our blessings with the family that we still have with us!