Recap- LEAST 2016

The attachment below is a link to a video made

to show the work the Lord did here in San Lucas

in the year 2016...

We are forever grateful to all those 

who supported the LEAST financially & spiritually.

Happy & Blessed New Year 2017
to everyone!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4hwb1yEkhghYXMwSlpYaERnbTQ

Christmas Party 2016!

So this year for our annual Christmas party, 

I had a crazy idea that I just could not let go of.....

...I wanted to take the elderly on a boat ride!

So after a little persuading, my cooks were finally convinced of the idea

and we were able to rent a boat that could seat 200+ people

and invited ALL of the elderly to join us 

for a morning boat ride on Tuesday, November 29th!

Preparing the "to go" lunch for the party...

135 hamburgers with all the fixings, ice cream, & a soda.

 

 

Getting the elderly safely on the boat "Popeye"....

90 of the 120 elderly we able to join us-

as well as all of the cooks and assistant cooks-

and some grandchildren that needed to accompany their grandparents.

We were about 120 total!

Sight seeing along the shores of Lake Atiltán 

which the elderly have never seen before!

We were able to spend 3 hours on the lake 

and pass by 3 different surrounding villages.

Amazingly, every elderly person I talked to

mentioned the beauty of creation 

and how it lifted their minds to God.

All the cooks and the assistant cooks together (with their kids)!

Each elderly receiving their special "to go" lunch

and also a lap quilt that was donated by the

North Mankato, MN community.

Everyone left with an experience of a lifetime...

all that couldn't have been made possible without all of your support.

A holy and blessed Christmas y Feliz Navidad to all!

A deep and heartfelt thank you to all you who have supported the LEAST 

this year of 2016...all of the elderly and Guatemalan cooks 

carry all of you in their hearts.

And I know the Lord does too!

6 days left to live...

On Wednesday, September 28th, I went to deliver lunch to Apolonia as usual-

but little did I know she had only 6 days left to live...

 

One of my very first blog posts was about Apolonia.

She was the first abandoned elderly person I that I found back in April 2015

with whom I first started my program for the "LEAST".

Apolonia was born with deformed feet (she has no ankles) 

and this left her as an outcast in society...
she never went to school and she never married.

After her parents died this presented a problem:

who was going to care for Apolonia?

She had no husband, no children (thus no grandchildren)

and unless her nieces and nephews were heroic saints,

no one cared about her.

Thankfully, Apolonia did have a heroic niece, Mari Cruz,

who would check on her throughout the week to bring her food

and look out for her to the best of her ability.

(Below: Mari Cruz pictured helping Apolonia)

 

Well...back to September 28th-

I had gone to deliver Apolonia's lunch as usual but instead of finding her in her room,

I found her back by the washing area sitting on a cinder block.

Now Apolonia didn't speak much spanish

and I sure don't speak the Mayan Indian dialect,

so communicating with her had always been interesting.

The week prior she asked me how I was doing

and I gave her a thumbs up and said "utz!"

(which in the dialect means "good!")

All of the sudden after I did that, 

Apolonia's face dropped in surprise and she said: "Usted toma?!"

(which means "You drink?!")

(Apparently giving a thumbs up sign can be interpreted that you hit the bottle!!!)

I had a good laugh but despite my efforts to communicate,

I'm not quite sure if she still thought I was a raging alcoholic. 😉

Anyway...back to September 28th.

I found Apolonia sitting on this cinder block, wincing in pain,

and from the little Mayan that I know, I understood that she had a hernia.

I called her niece, but I was told this was normal and that all would work its way out.

It was so hard to leave Apolonia in the condition she was in.  

I thought: How can God allow so much suffering?!

Why was this woman given the life she has had?

By Sunday, Apolonia's niece told me that she was not doing well at all...

that we had to do something or else she was going to die.

Great.  

What can we do?!

I have already brought her to the hospital twice and the doctors say she has nothing.

Unfortunately I can not take people into my home 

and assisted living facilities are nonexistent here in Guatemala.

We prayed and it dawned on me...is she baptized?

No.

So, we called the parish priest and he said if she had not requested baptism

to leave things be for now.

So, Mari Cruz and I decided to go to her house at 9 pm to assess the situation...

and truly, Apolonia was NOT doing well.

We examined her and she had a horrible rectal prolapse.

She was in agony and there is no way we could leave her there for the night.

We called the local hospital to come get her with the ambulance.

The doctor on call said she would need major surgical repair and

being that she was almost 80 years old and without children to care for her,

there was no way that surgery was an option.

Thankfully the hospital let Apolonia stay there until 

the extended family could decide what to do.

(Above: Visiting Apolonia with my mother in January)

The following day, the family decided to let Apolonia stay in the hospital

on comfort care measures until she passed.

They asked for baptism and so I called the priest to see when he could come.

We were talking about doing the baptism the following morning

but at the last minute, he decided to go that evening and baptize Apolonia.

At around 8 pm Apolonia was baptized 

and the following morning I got a phone call from the hospital saying she had died at 6:15am.

So why this whole story?

Because in life, there are so many things we see that just don't make sense.

To our eyes, the situation is just hopeless or painful or pointless.

But there IS a deeper reality that most times we just don't see.

Love is real...it is alive...and it is a power and a force constantly working

in this world to bring about goodness, truth, and beauty.

We just tend to get in the way a lot.

The week previous all I saw was an abandoned old woman

who was rejected by society and plagued with physical illness and disgrace.

6 days later, I saw a woman who was loved by God so much that 

He moved those who were docile enough 

to help her be brought to a place where she could have a peaceful and holy death.

Apolonia died within ten hours of being baptized...

how could I not see beauty in that?

We had no idea she had such little time left...

but God knew.

I pray that this blog post comes as a consolation

to anyone who feels they are abandoned or unnoticed in this world.

To those who feel like their life has no meaning

or that no one is impacted by who you are and what you do.

Just place yourself in the hands of the Father.

He's got us all under His loving gaze and if we just trust,

we will see that He is working everything for the good.

Through Apolonia's life, I learned that God is not glorified by what we do for Him, 

but rather how we let Him love us and show His Love in our lives.

More construction for the elderly!

The community of San Lucas 

was incredibly blessed to have 2 generous couples from MN

come and help build some homes and kitchens for the elderly last week!

(Photo below):  The "before" shot...

The nice house you see in the distance is NOT the house we built!  😊

Unfortunately, this elderly couple (sitting on the far right in the picture)

had no home to call their own because their own children

had no more room for them, as their families too are growing

and space is so limited in the homes here in San Lucas.

This elderly couple (Eulogio & Candelaria) waited 6 months

for the group to come and build them a humble home with a small kitchen.

Thankfully, one of their children agreed to let us use their land

and build in front of their house (the one we didn't build) 😉 

Getting started!

 We had some unexpected helpers along the way...and of course, they were hired immediately!

 How can one resist such CUTENESS?!

According to the group, they had asked some nuns in MN to pray for good weather...

and it rained only a few drops in the 9 days they were in San Lucas!

October supposedly is the "rainiest" time of the year, so a BIG shout out to the sisters!  

We were able to do this house in 1.5 days because of such great weather...

...and of course because of such great workers!

...and of course because of such cute helpers! 

😉 

Another elderly couple that we helped were Alejandro & Gumercinda...

such a joyful and loving couple who have never asked me for anything.

It is always moving to work with the true "poor" because they are so humble-

even though they are in true need, they never ask for anything.

They are only grateful for whatever you can give 

and always leave you feeling like you want to give more!

Having fun working together!

Thank you "Minne-amigos" for your hard work

and for the lasting friendships you have made with the people here in San Lucas.

You will not be forgotten and we look forward to your return!

St. Teresa of Calcutta...

...PRAY for us!

Yesterday the Catholic Church declared Mother Teresa a saint

only 19 years after she passed away.

As we celebrate her feast day today, let us give thanks to God

for the honor it was to live in the same era of a living saint.

"The fruit of silence is prayer,

the fruit of prayer is faith,

the fruit of faith is love,

the fruit of love is service,

and the fruit of service is peace."

-Mother Teresa of Calcutta 

St. Teresa of Calcutta...pray for us.

Sewing seeds of mercy and trust...

It has been awhile since the last blog...

It was partly because I wanted the life of my dear late friend to be known
but also because of the call I felt from the Lord to just BE...
to rest in Him and let Him be Lord of my life.

To be small and almost forgotten in the eyes of the world...
to trust that He has a plan even though I don't see it...
to take one day at a time,
 trying to love and serve Him in the ways He shows me each day-
this is the only task He has asked of me.

Sure life has been busy.
Of course there has been much "accomplished" with the elderly
other than feeding 120 of them each week.

There have been bathrooms installed for those in need...
or medical treatment and teaching for those suffering from diabetes...
or new beds bought for elderly sleeping on horribly deteriorated beds...
or new roofing put in for some who had rain coming into their homes...
or visiting the sick elderly in the hospital...
or attending funerals and consoling the families.

But beyond what we "do"...
it's why we do it.

*****************************
"When mercy encounters a person, 
 it brings deep joy to the Father’s heart; 
 for from the beginning 
 the Father has lovingly turned towards the most vulnerable, 
 because His greatness and power 
 are revealed precisely in His capacity 
 to identify with the marginalized and the oppressed. 
 He is a kind, caring and faithful God who is close to those in need, 
 especially the poor; 
He involves Himself tenderly in human reality 
 just as a father and mother do in the lives of their children." 

-Pope Francis

*****************************

It is for His Heart that we do what we do....
that hopefully something in our lives console the Heart of God
that is constantly so forgotten, offended, and unappreciated.

Of course, I want to give special thanks to a group
(from close-by to my hometown in MN)
who came to San Lucas to help with some construction projects this month:

Building a new kitchen for a poor elderly couple....

These metal sides were over 40 years old!

Any young kid loves a good demolition project!

This group knew how to work but also how to "chill-ax"!

The new dignified kitchen...

Many thanks to the Minnesota/Seattle group
who brought great energy, joy, and compassion to this small village.

May we continue to live each day not focused so much on WHAT we do...
but for Whom we do it for.

Sr. Clare Crockett, SHM

A dear missionary sister in Christ

and a woman who marked my life as a religious sister

had her life taken on Saturday night

in the 7.8 earthquake that hit Ecuador...

(Sr. Clare is the 3rd sister from the left)

Originally from Ireland, Sr. Clare Crockett (1982-2016)

gave up her rebellious life of partying and a promising acting career

to follow the Lord's call 

& give herself completely to Jesus as a religious sister.

She professed final vows with the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother

in 2010 and has been a missionary in Ecuador since 2013.

Anyone who knew Sr. Clare will never forget her-

her laughter, her joy, her passion, her surrender,

her sense of humor, her wittiness, her gifts and talents,

but most especially 

her love for God, for her vocation, for the Church, for souls...

An incredible woman of God who has left this world speechless

with her life and now in her death.

Dearest Sr. Clare...we love you now and eternally!!!

Please pray for us at the foot of His Throne

as you praise Him with Our Lady and all the angels and saints of God...

https://www.facebook.com/homeofthemother/?fref=ts

http://www.homeofthemother.org

Providence

I don't think that people use this word much, but for me-
learning of (God's) Providence changed my life.

By saying "providence," it really is an attribute to God's character:
His sovereign but detailed love and concern for each one of our needs.

This past week, I had the blessing to see God's providence
and tender Love reach out to these 2 elderly women: Paulina and Maria.

Back in January, I accidentally came across Paulina and Maria.

I was out looking for a few more elderly to add to the feeding program

and completely walked past their home without noticing them.

All of the sudden, one of them yelled out to me:

"Ay señorita, por favor- haz me una casa!)

("Hey lady, please build me a house!")

I went over with the other Guatemalan ladies who were with me

to talk to them and find out their situation.

Turns out these 2 ladies are sisters who never married.

They took care of their parents until they died

and were left without children or family after their parents passed away.

Below are photos of their house...

Turns out that their father built the house back in the 70s,

but now that they are orphaned and without husbands or children,

it would be impossible for them to rebuild themselves a dignified place to live.

I told Paulina and Maria that unfortunately I did not have money 

to build them a house, but I invited them to join the feedings on Monday.

Well..."providentially" within a few days of meeting Paulina and Maria,

I received a donation from someone specifically to build a new house!

I knew exactly where that money needed to go...

Last week, we had the joy to rebuild these sisters a new home...

Their new home!

Words cannot describe the joy to know that you have been sent

and used to show God's love and mercy

(which is alive and working in our lives each day)

to those who have been forgotten and shunned by society.

To see these 2 woman sit on a mattress for the first time

and joyfully bounce up and down on them....

To sleep on my own bed at night knowing that there is yet another person

in San Lucas who knows how a real bed feels...

To have one less person to worry about when the wind is strong

or when there are torrential rains....

It is such a gift to be led to the least of His brothers

and to witness the Love of God!

(Above) Teaching Paulina and Maria how to make a bed...

(Fun fact for the day:  San Lucas does not sell sheets anywhere in town!!!!

After searching high and low and not finding anything,

I finally came to the conclusion that 

probably because hardly anyone owns a mattress in town, 

that the stores figured it was pointless to sell sheets 

for mattresses that don't exist.

Go figure.  

My solution: take the sheets from my house :)

Words were not enough for them or for myself

to express the joy and deep fulfillment it is to give and to receive.

But there was one last problem:  Their "dresser" (below left)...

Definitely was not going to go with the new house :)

Thankfully, I was able to find them a nice dresser for a decent price (above right)...

AND a friend of mine (Butch Mueller)

had time to build them a stove.

These 2 sisters still do not have running water, electricity, or a bathroom-

but this has been a good start!

Beyond the material "things" 

that I was able to be an instrument to bring to Paulina and Maria,

it was yet again another consolation to see God's Providence at work-

His loving, intimate and attentive Hand directing our lives and hearts 

if we are docile and open to letting Him lead our lives

to give His love and blessing to others.