Lagrimas de Sangre

No hands, no feet on earth but yours

Yours are the eyes through which He looks

compassion on this world

Christ has no body now on earth but yours

-St. Teresa de Avila-

Well, hello there, dear ones...

*Peace of Christ to all. Ah, as another week of the vida gringa has passed, I write to you on the day after a great celebration of the association/foundation that we are working with. Yesterday we celebrated the 17th anniversary of the day a statue of Mary the Mystical Rose that they have here cried tears of blood. The misioneras from around the country came to the Santuario as well as other friends of the foundation and people from the surrounding pueblos, and it was indeed a beautiful thing to partake in this special day. In addition, on Saturday my dear fellow missionary pal, Maribeth, turned 23-years-old...and my nephew/godson back home turned 2-years-old! What a weekend. :) For me personally, it was a blessed weekend to be in prayer and to recommit myself to my work here.

*Last week, we arrived back to our home on the peninsula just in time for this little nurse to help with the traveling surgeon foundation that comes three times a year for three days to perform charity surgeries. It really is a well-run operation. They have one surgical suite in a semi-truck, and they used another surgical suite at the local hospital. Mostly gallbladder removal and hernia repair this trip. Monday they consult the patients recommended by the clinic the foundation runs then Tuesday and Wednesday they operate. I spent Tuesday in surgery, and Wednesday I was the post-op nurse. A world away from the post-op units I experienced during nursing school but a post-op unit nonetheless. I took a few pictures that I will post next week. It was brilliant, really. Great group of docs and a well-organized foundation. If you would like to read more about their foundation, they have a website: http://www.cinterandes.org/. They also have opportunities for foreign medical students.

*The other day, our missionary friend Fatima introduced me as "the nurse in charge of the health of the people here at the base." Wow. I have been learning bit by bit from the missionary health care worker who I am taking over for, and I have been brainstorming new ways to improve the health of the people here, but the other day, the great and beautiful responsibility of it all struck home. We are about 300 people living at the base, children, misioneras and other workers such as professors and cooks. There are certain things expected of me, such as attending to those who are sick and planning the well-child check-ups, but there is definitely potential for new projects to improve the health here. Please pray for me as I focus in on new and old ways to promote the health of these dear ones, to give to my work the compassion, efficacy, and energy to provide the quality care that they deserve.

*It is a such a joy to become more and more a part of this community. The misioneras continue to be incredibly loving and inspiring...to the point that they very, very often tease Maribeth and me about becoming misioneras. Also, I have been blessed to get to know the older children who live at the base a bit better, such as the lovely high-school age ladies who get a kick out of their gringa nurse whom they call "Papaya." (Johanna, wild, right? Maribeth started calling me Papaya, and I remembered it is a good way to teach the pronunciation of Mariya...so I started using it when introducing myself. So funny.) I would love to work with these gals more, perhaps a women's Bible study or something of the sort.

*Well, dear ones, I hope each and every one of you are doing well. May you live each day as a consolation to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

*Love and prayers,
m