Margarita

Many of you who have been here on a mission trip have gone to visit Margarita. She's a spunky woman who has had quite a life of pain in her 80-some years on this earth. She has lost her husband and her son, and still gets emotional each time she retells her story. Margarita has diabetes, which here in the States is often easier to control with medication and a balanced diet. However, for Margarita, it's a bit more difficult as she, for lack of food, doesn't eat regularly and rarely drinks the water she needs. Adrian and his family have tried to look out for her, but she's easily forgotten as people in her neighborhood go about their busy days. Adrian called me this afternoon to tell me that Margarita is going to have her leg amputated. It was quite a surprise as the last time we visited her (with the Wausau WI team a couple weeks ago) she only complained about her feet hurting a bit. She was given advice from Karen, the nurse on the team, to keep her feet and legs elevated. But apparently, the problem was worse than we knew. She has gone now to live with her daughter about twenty-five minutes from here. Hopefully, she will be better taken care of, although her daughter hasn't been very involved in her care in the past. Please pray for Margarita as she must be so frightened and unsure of what will happen. Her difficult life will be so much more painful. I will keep you updated on her condition if we are able to visit her.

We seem to encounter someone every single day that is in need of healing. The sickness and pain that people here suffer for lack of medical care is heartbreaking. But our pockets will never be deep enough to reach each and every person here who needs help. Sometimes it gives us a feeling of helplessness as we simply can't do what we naturally want to do, which is "fix it." I often wonder how Jesus felt as He walked through streets or travelled between towns, being pressed from every direction by hundreds of people needing His healing touch. But He didn't heal each and every person, did He? At least not physically. His first priority was always the healing of the soul. That's where the true healing and peace come from. Sometimes all we can do here is lay someone in the arms of the Savior, knowing that their physical situation may simply not change, and may in many cases get worse. What we try to cling to here where there is so much suffering is that, ultimately, the only thing that really matters for eternity is that the person has a saving faith in Jesus. Then, no matter if they continue to suffer or are relieved of the pain on this earth, whether they live or die, eternal life is theirs...no more suffering... and what could be better than that?