hope...

Recently things in Peru have gotten hard for me. Not because i don't like it- i LOVE Peru so much. And not because i miss home- I do miss my family but have found my home here in Peru. I think things are getting harder because I have begun to invest more in peoples lives, in the communities i serve, in the clinic, and in the patients we see each day. And because of this my eyes have been opened so wide. When i see kids playing outside i don't just see cute kids playing with each other- but i see past that into their lives. Into real-life for them which includes sometimes living with a dirt floor or without a roof. Real life includes not being able to go to school because they can't afford the uniform. Real life includes sharing a bed with everyone else in your family. Real life includes not knowing how they are going to eat the next meal. Real-life means no opportunities. I have been here for a year now, and i am just now seeing the reality of so many people here. In the clinic we have been caring for and visiting a few elderly patients: Senor Jose and Senor Leon. Both of these men are suffering from many medical issues. But more than suffering from their health they suffer from aloneness and lack of hope. Neither of these men have family that care for them- they live with strangers and are cared for by anyone who can help. The medical attention they need would require them to have a person who can be with them at all times to help them, to care for them after surgeries, to do follow-up appointments and sadly they don't have those people in their lives. We do our best to care for them and visit them and recently one of our interns had done an incredible job of taking care of Senor Jose and seeing to it that he has the medical attention he needs (and dealing with the very difficult health care system in Peru)- but still it is hard. My heart breaks for both of these men. I pray that these men can find hope. I pray that Christ would lift their burdens and they can have joy and hope and abundant life despite what this world has dealt them. I pray for restored relationships within their families so that they can have someone to lean on and to care for them in these difficult times. I do not understand the way that the people i see suffer and can't fully comprehend it- but i know that their suffering is real and it isn't possible for me to ignore it anymore. People live very hard lives- lives i had only seen portrayed in movies- but it is real and i see it everyday when i go to work. Today in the clinic my heart broke into a million pieces for a little boy named Segundo and his father. Segundo is a 3 year old boy. "He has a few health problems (lactose intolerance, anemia, etc.) and at first glance you can just tell he is short for his age and a bit sickly and pale looking but oh so cute. His little eyes are huge! His mother left them a month and a half ago and his father has not been able to work because he has been taking Segundo to doctors visits and taking care of him during the day. As a single father with no friends or family to take care of his son their resources have quickly drained. His father came to us today with a list of analysis that have been ordered in hopes that it would be more affordable in our laborotorio. He had 11 soles and the bill--as much as we could cut the costs down still came out to 50 soles. So we all threw in and were able to get them paid for. But after talking with this man, I realized that he can not afford to keep his only son. Literally they would practically starve, much less not have money for medicine, schooling, and every other thing a child needs. And there really are not gov resources that help with childcare while the parents work for the day. There is hardly work enough for people here much less when they have a 3 year old tagging along. This man was literally crying and at the end of his rope. What can he do? He loves his son so much but is going to have to give him up. Thankfully we know and work with some folks who are at Hogar de Esperanza which is a private orphanage south of Trujillo in Salaverry. It is a wonderful place, and actually many of the children there are not true orphans. Their parents can not afford to keep them but do not want to put them in the public system. We are looking to see if perhaps he could go there for a while. He would be well taken care of and his Dad could visit on the weekend. This of course is absolutely heartbreaking...but at this point it is a matter of survival. This man is between a rock and a hard place. Please pray for us a we search for all of the resources and options we can find, and also that he would be able to make the best decision possible for him and his son. " (i took this from Agnes' blog- she does a much better job of explaining things than me).

It is not easy to see the suffering that goes on in our world. It would be much easier to ignore it. But sometimes seeing it, coming face to face with reality, is exactly what we need. It convicts me and it challenges me to live my life in light of the Gospel and Grace. It challenges me to see beyond myself and to truly care and love others. And it challenges me to live with hope.