It seems as if every outreach has one or more medical themes- maybe diabetes, maybe diarrhea and worms, maybe malnutrition- and this outreach was no exception.  We saw a whole range of vision problems, everything from cataracts to corneal injuries related to prior injuries that were not taken care of, to the need for glasses for near or far vision, to conjunctivitis related to the smoke and dust in their environment. Loss of near vision, which happens as many of us reach 40 or more, is especially critical to the women whose livelihood often depends on weaving and embroidery.  There are no nearby Walmart’s to buy a cheap pair of reading glasses.  Abdela is a 32 year old woman who came in with the chief complaint of greatly diminished vision, both near and far, that had come on quite suddenly.  After a few questions, it was clear that this history was not making sense.  So we asked her exactly what happened the day she lost her vision.  I was not prepared for her answer (I knew I would not be).  She had been standing on their porch with her family, watching as her mother walked down the street to visit them.  It was raining hard, and suddenly, water roared down the street and swept her mother up and carried her away.  Though they were nearby, they were unable to help her.  They found her mother’s body about ¼ mile away. She had seen something so terrible that she “lost her vision”. She was devastated, and as we found out as we talked more, she felt guilty that she had not been able to save her.  She was having dreams where her mother would be calling her to “come to her”, and she wanted to go- creating more guilt for wanting to leave her young family.  She had had prayer for “return of her vision”, but not for release from her tremendous sense of loss and sense of guilt.  She accepted (it seemed) our explanation of why she could not see well, and expressed hope that her vision would return over time as she was able to release her guilt.

We were fortunate to have a dental team with us, but these were too far gone to save.

We have never seen this in our 35 years of practice. Help!

We were hosted by Pastor Eduardo, his family and the members of the church.  Since there were 30 of us, that was no mean feat!  They gave us a spot to erect 5 tents and to keep our vehicles, and housed the rest in 3 different homes.  They served 4 different meals a day to us.  I can’t begin to count the number of tortillas they made, and the soups and stews were simmered in huge washtubs. The women cooked in a communal type kitchen, and served us all with graciousness and generosity.  Sunday evening was their worship service, and our group was asked to do most of it.  It was a pleasure for us to see the worship team (led by a Mixteco man from the base) lead worship, and then to hear one of the young Bible school graduates preach a simple, core message: God is Love.  Subsequently the Mixteco worship team began to play and sing, and the tempo and the decibel level really ratcheted up, and there was a lot of dancing by young and old.  The music, the dancing, the shared smiles dissolved the language barrier.  It was one of the highlights of the outreach.

Two chronologically enriched Mixteco women.

Read on.

He came to the base clinic from 2 hours away.  About a third of his left foot was gone.  He had diabetes, but denied it until gangrene forced him to go to the hospital for this procedure.  He forbade the surgeons from doing the recommended higher amputation. As he lay there, he had a vacant stare.  His sister-in-law spoke for him.  Then we saw his sister-in-law and her husband, the patient’s brother.  The only other relatives have dropped out of the picture, leaving this couple to care for him.  His brother had not worked for a month.  He was holding the patient’s hospital bills in his hand; he had been helping him with the daily necessities.  More than respite care is necessary.  What could we do?  We counseled him to resume work, and try to get a neighboring youth to help in the personal care.  Then it became clear that the patient, with the partially amputated foot (with bones showing and without skin covering) understood the undue toll on his brother and his family.  He was choosing his own way to die.  The church had helped a little, but that was now gone.

Work, a meal, and now relaxing.

It seems as though personnel on the Base are under attack.  Right now respiratory illness is prevalent.  An important worker has been sidelined with kidney stones.  Another leader has been weakened by physical health problems.  Others are facing challenging personal problems.  Some short term teams have cancelled, causing chronic revenue shortfalls (problem began with the crash of the market in the USA and has not corrected).  Please intercede in prayer as the Spirit within you directs that the work being done here will continue through these obstacles, and that we will be strengthened by  His grace to overcome them.  It is after all His work and His battle.

Que Dios les Bendiga!  Dave and Mary Kay Ness