"A little bit of everything"
...that just about sums up this past month!
Again...in being a missionary, it's not so much what we "do",
but how we give ourselves and open our hearts to those around us.
And this includes remaining with the people...
in their joys, in their sufferings,
This past March, our dearest and oldest elderly in the program
(Andrés, who will be 100 years old on December 1st)
was unfortunately backed into by a "tuc tuc" taxi
(Andrés, who will be 100 years old on December 1st)
was unfortunately backed into by a "tuc tuc" taxi
as he was making his way into our weekly feeding...
and being his age and fragile condition,
Andrés broke his right knee and dislocated his right hip;
which means he will now be bed ridden until the day he dies.
There is no medical insurance in Guatemala
and there is no way a person who is 100 could undergo
a double knee/hip replacement surgery and survive the therapy.
The reason I share this tragedy is because this is life here...
it is raw, it is real and there is no way to cover it up or run from it.
Andrés humbly accepted his fate
and continued to sleep in his delightful spring-only bed frame
with cardboard as a "mattress" (photo above left)-
with a broken hip and knee (photo above right).
One cannot help but be moved to make this person's cross lighter...thanks to the LEAST fund,
we were able to buy Andrés a new bed (picture on left)
and thanks to the generosity of Fr. John Goggin,
(who now is going on 50 years of being a missionary priest here in Guatemala!),
Andrés was able to receive the Anointing of the Sick (picture on right).
And of course, we celebrated a beautiful Holy Week 2 weeks ago
and were able to make the elderly their favorite dish:
-White beans with pork and rice (left picture)
-The traditional Holy Week sweet bread (right picture)
It brings so much joy to see the friendships that have been made
and fellowship that the elderly enjoy
and fellowship that the elderly enjoy
after almost 2 years of consistent meals provided!
More additional activities have been
taking some elderly to the hospital for emergencies (above...)
...and some joys have been collaborating with Butch Mueller
to provide some elderly with beautiful new stoves.
(Before and after stove for Gumercinda & Alejandro in photos above)
Our last housing project from Mission St. Luke was also finished last week (above left)...
and yesterday, we lost one of our elderly (Román, 70 yrs old)
to a sudden heart attack as he was coming home for lunch.
As hard as it was to walk with the grieving family today to the cemetery (above right)
to bury their husband, father, brother, uncle, grandfather, friend...
is this not the least I can do?
Is it not as valuable to these people to give them my heart, my emotions, my sorrow, my faith...
and not just material things like a stove, or a house, food or medical care?
"We just finished with Lent up through Easter
and we were asking to enter into the suffering of Jesus
and we can enter into the suffering of Jesus
through prayer for those in the world who suffer and are less fortunate than ourselves."
-Kim Lamberty (Catholic Relief Services)
