Florencia our neighbor

She doesn´t want to tell me she has no sugar, she has no salt. She came in the night to ask for medicine because her husband is sick. Her husband stumbled to their outhouse at 1 am with a diarrhea attack. He supported himself on the wooden door in the dark and felt the distinct burn of scorpion venom enter his hand. Alan explains how to make a rehydration drink to discover she has no salt and no sugar. Earlier in the day, she had brought me pounds of beautiful cherry tomatoes. I ask her how she is doing, and she beams ear to ear and tells me, ¨Good. Glory to God.¨ I am almost shocked by this because lately she has had pain in her back.

She has to walk a total of 1 hour to get to the nearest store… literally over the river (5 times) and through the woods, up a steep hill towards the end of her trip. I saw her and her husband return from a trip one afternoon and they looked so tired. I found out later it was largely because they hadn´t eaten that day. Her husband has been sick so he can´t work. When he can´t work, they have no income. This is the poorest person I have personally known so closely (we see each other most days), yet her spirit is rich.

This is your grandmother and my grandmother. She gives you a warm fuzzy feeling like getting hot chocolate on a cold day. She gives you a warm smile every time (even though her teeth are lacking), and a hug and a kiss to melt your heart. She brings you tortillas and other good things to eat when she can afford to, and maybe even when she can´t.

My heart aches for her because she doesn´t have this or that. She didn´t wash her laundry in the river because she had no soap. Through questioning, I pull stuff out of her and fuss at her for not telling me. What can I do? I´m leaving for 5 months. As our immediate neighbor in Catrigandí, she has been a tremendous blessing to us and taught us many things.

Her pit latrine is nearing the end of its useful life, and we´d like to build her a composting latrine, a more sanitary system which can be located closer to their home. Their son which lives nearby has agreed to do the labor but can´t afford the necessary materials. The cost will be $300. If you´re interested in sponsoring this mini-project, let us know. In the meantime, please say a prayer for Señora Florencia.

Bendiciones!

¨The Gospel and the Christian church are seen as interested in the whole man, not only his soul; and in all of his life, not only the hereafter.¨      -Jacob Loewen