Merry Christmas! And give a very brief update. More to come shortly.
I’m grateful for all of you who continue to check in here. The mission continues, and hopefully will grow out in the next year!
Our donation for the schoolyard roof is still in holding, as the company donating materials was in transition, and then there were protest strikes in the region that slowed business, and then the holiday season on top of it. I’m in communication with the president, and they are hoping to get things started in the next year.
Rafaela is recovering pretty well from open-heart surgery, and she has a follow-up appointment in January. She has a long list of other problems, including her teeth, hearing, and eyes. She needs surgery for her tear ducts, which aren’t functioning properly, and then her growing cataracts. The doctor in the insurance path is not available, so they have to look for a private doctor, which is expensive. She’s also due for a genetics test that’s very expensive. Additionally, her grades are dropping in school, and he mother is understandably worried. Finally, her husband severely cut his hand with a machete 2 weeks ago, and can’t earn income right now. It’s a tough Christmas, and I hope to check in as the new year begins to see if and how they are getting support they need.
The birth of the Son of God in the manger not only brings God into the most humiliating and difficult spaces with us in our lives, but guides us to look in those spaces to discover an interior food that transforms and heals those spaces and gives us a more whole and deep life. May you find gifts in this Christmas of various types, and in places - like the manger - that are difficult and least expected.
-Jerome