It's hard to reconcile sometimes, the differences between the life that I live, the lifestyle that I am used to, and the lifestyles of many people I keep crossing paths, here in Mexico. I know that I by no means live an extravagant lifestyle by the measures of what would be considered "the norm" in Canada, but judged by the standard of too many people here, I live like a king. That's not to say that the vast majority of people here live far below the "Canadian Standards" but, it is scary to see what conditions some people consider to be "the norm" for their lives.
I'll bring this to a more concrete level and share about a young mother, who I doubt is much older than 20, if even that. She showed up at our door yesterday with her three year old girl, one year old boy, in a state of desperation. We know who she as, as her husband who is a "Yesero" by trade, working in construction doing plastering with a plaster-like material called "yeso", has worked on some projects for us. First of all, to understand what it meant to even show up at our door, they live in Guaymas, a half hour bus ride from here. The bus only goes along the main street in San Carlos and the mission center is another mile and a half from the nearest bus stop. So she, with her 3 year old in two and the baby in her arms, walked the mile and half in the hot September sun, just to get to us for help.
Answering the knock at the door, I asked her how she was and she said, "muy mal", very bad. She went on to share about how her husband had been in the hospital for 5 days with what they thought was dengue fever. Except that the night before he was transfered to Hermosillo, the capital city of the state that we are in, because things had taken a turn for the worse. She had been trying to find out how he was and what was going on but wasn't able to find anything out, other than that he had been transfered.
So we took her in, gave her and her children something to eat and set about to see if we could track down some more information. However, over the phone, they wouldn't give us any more information other than that he was stable but still in the emergency ward. So, we packed the kids up, got in the van and drove to Hermosillo, about an hour and a half away to go see him and to see what was up.
When we arrived, we quickly found him in good spirits, but with fever, and other issues that the doctors weren't sure about. They weren't sure if he had Dengue Fever, or Rickettsia, a tick related disease. We went and purchased the prescription medication that was needed for the treatment and made sure that he was OK. The doctors wanted to keep him in the hospital there to continue to observe and wait for the results of the analysis.
They didn't want his wife to stay in the city but rather to return to the house so we packed her and the kids back up and made our way back to Guaymas, planning to keep in touch with him and the hospital by phone.
This morning, I went to her house with Augustine to bring her a food hamper, as her husband wasn't there and in fact had been without work for some time, to also help take care of some holes in the roof of their house, and to do some spraying around the house for bugs and specifically wood ticks, if that was in deed what had caused the sickness in him.
We arrived at the house, which was no easy task in and of itself! They live on the side of a hill, literally. There are often times when the higher a house, the better a view, the more expensive the property. This situation was quite the opposite. The higher the house, yes the better the view, but to get their you pretty much drive up the street, as far as it goes, park the vehicle, then get out and start climbing. At first there were nice cement stairs. But after those run out its just you and the paths carved up the hill taking you to the final row of "houses". We had to admit, the view from up there was amazing, but the "houses" left something to be desired. The small two room shack that this family of four lived in was literally built on the side of the hill, with three walls, a roof, and the back wall being stone from the hill itself.
I wish I had pictures, but it truly is hard to imagine living in conditions this family so bravely not just survived in but even thrived in. If you have ever met Shaun or his wife Beatrice, by the joy that is always on their faces, you would never imagine the humble little shack they live in.
As Augustine and I did what we could to mend the very dilapidated roof and sprayed for whatever critters might be crawling around, she told us how she had received a call in the morning saying that her husband and taken a turn for the worse and was going into surgery. We didn't really know anything more than, only that we had to get her back to Hermosillo.
It's really hard to imagine, to begin with, what survival would look like, living as they do, much less with a young family, and I think I forgot to mention, a third on the way!! But then to have to deal with your husband, sick in bed for days, and not knowing what was going on with his health, I can't imagine. Praise God that He sustains us through every storm that we may face in life! Praise Him as well that Shaun and his wife are Christians and that they know this truth for themselves!
So, we finished things up, locked up the house as best we could, knowing that this is a dangerous neighbourhood, and brought her and her family to San Carlos where Marilyn would take care of the little two while we sent her on the bus to Hermosillo to take care of her husband.
I guess I share this somewhat long story with you for two reasons. One, that you would be in prayer for Shaun and his wife. He is a dear friend to us her, and we just pray for God's hand of protection and healing over his body. We also pray His peace over him and his wife Beatrice.
I also share this story cause it reminds me of the things that are truly important, and the things that are not. Jesus told us not to worry about what we would eat or drink or wear, and oddly enough, it seems that often those who have more than enough are the ones who preoccupy themselves with these very same things, and become worried about this that in reality, don't deserve even a moment of worry. But those who have next to nothing, live with a joy, peace and contentment, that many of us seem to miss altogether. Isn't this all a little backwards??
Anyways, thanks for sticking with me here...God bless!
No comments:
Post a Comment