A world no one wants to see
I promise this will be the only story I will tell about my recent mission trip to Mexico.
We have a local Hispanic community that has origin in the areas I visited (the lower portion of the state of Chiapas in Mexico). We visited their families while there, taking pictures and leaving equipment, medicine, clothes, etc.
Early in the trip, we received a call that the cousin of one of our members had been killed in one of the areas we intended to visit. My Spanish comprehension is mostly reasonable, so I'm going to give my understanding of what happened.
The man had been murdered by a poison ingested while imbibing in alcohol. He father came to church last Sunday morning in Chanjale (about two hours north and east of Tapachula) and asked if we would visit the family and pray for them. After lunch, several of us decided to go visit the family. When we arrived, I was overwhelmed. The house was about 3 meters x 4 meters (or about 12 x 14 feet) and hung on the side of a steep gorge. Nine children and two adults lived there, a total of eleven people. The oldest child was 7. This had been the house of the murdered man. Three of the children were his, but his wife's sister had died a few years back and left the nine children in their care.
One boy was four years old and had been sick in bed for four months. He had a high fever and had difficulty breathing. We asked if he had seen a doctor, and the lady (I don't know if he was her child) said he had gone to a doctor in Tapachula. I asked the lady (in Spanish) if the doctor had a given a presciption. She said he had given a prescription but they could not afford the medicine. I asked (in Spanish) how much the medicine costs. She said 300 pesos (about $30). I was overcome with emotion and turned to one of the locals with us who spoke only Spanish. I was so moved I could not get the words out. All I could say was "no problema". Not good grammar, but it got the point across. I left the room and met with the other members of my team outside. It was particularly difficult for me because I had medicine with me that would have helped the boy, but I was afraid to do anything because of Mexican regulations.
I reviewed the prescription and recognized the three medications ordered for the boy. It appeared the illness had started with bronchitis, probably acquired from the poor living conditions. The bronchitis had become acute and, left untreated, had developed into pneumonia. The boy was dying, and I knew it.
We arranged, through local licensed health care providers that work with us, to buy the medicine in Tapachula and deliver the medicine to him. A local man was with us that is very trustworthy, and agreed to oversee the operation.
That all happened last Sunday. We will be praying the boy will respond favorably to the medication, but it may be too late.
There are many more stories like this I could share, but you get the idea. When we came down from the mountain Monday afternoon, I rented a nice hotel room in Tapachula to rest before the long flight home. I bought everyone's dinner that night, then went back to the room and cried like a baby for a while. When I regained my composure, I went down to the lobby and said my good-byes to the team.
It was an experience I will never forget.
14 Answers
Dogwood, that is such an amazing story. Please don't apologize by saying that this will be the only story you will tell us. I would love to hear dozens more, and I'm sure other members feel the same way!!
The story you just told is one of the driving forces behind my learning Spanish. I have encountered similar situations and feel like I want to do more!
I asked (in Spanish) how much the medicine costs. She said 300 pesos (about $30). I was overcome with emotion and turned to one of the locals with us who spoke only Spanish. I was so moved I could not get the words out. All I could say was "no problema".
I'm sure you were emotional for several reasons, but I guess one of those was because although $30 U.S. seems like a million dollars to people in certain parts of the world, for most of us, it is very affordable. To see a young boy suffer because he didn't have the money for medicine that we can easily afford is very difficult to bear.
When we were doing missions work in the Dominican Republic in 2009, we encountered a different, but similar situation. The church we served in had two services. One for the Dominicans and the other for Haitians. We noticed at the Haitian service that there were very few women in attendance. When we inquired, we were told that most simply could not afford to bring their families over yet. They would work as much as possible in the DR and then return every month to visit their families, dreaming of one day bringing them over. And believe me, although there is so much poverty in the DR, Haiti is so much worse off.
Well one story was so compelling. The young man who led the services and did most of the work at the church had a wife, a two year old son and two week old twins that he still had not seen. He was desperate to be reunited with his family, but the amount of money necessary for the documentation and the move was simply impossible to raise. When we inquired as to the amount, we were told $700 U.S., which to the young Haitian man named Gary, might as well have been one billion dollars. After a quick meeting among ourselves, we pooled the money together and called him into the church office to give him the good news. I will never ever forget the expression on his face when he was given the money. It was as if the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. He nearly passed out.
As it turns out, Gary was able to return with the money, gathered up his family and brought them safely to the Dominican Republic exactly three days before the tragic earthquake in January 2010. God had us there at the precise moment necessary to save his family. Their entire neighborhood and home was destroyed in the earthquake and there weren't many survivors.
I know I am writing a lot here, but your story touched my heart Dogwood and reminded me why I am so excited to be returning to the DR in three weeks. There are so many desperate people in need. We can read about their stories or hear about them in the news, but when you look these beautiful people in the eyes and realize that you have the ability to help them and to transform their lives in some way, it is an amazing sensation.
Thanks for sharing Dogwood....and I hope to hear more!!! 
Wow. I have had similar experiences in Ecuador.
Sometimes I have felt overwhelmed by the need. In the end, I have resolved to do what I can and trust that this is enough.
If everyone does a little to help his or her fellow man, the world will be a better place.
We have many needy people in this country, too. In many cases people emigrate to the U.S., the parents work long hours at low wage jobs and older children essentially raise their younger brothers and sisters.
Thank you dogwood for bringing to life the suffering that is going on all
over the world , and it is not only in the underdeveloped countries , it is
happening right around us where we live. Only this week in an inner suburb
an old lady was found dead in her home , nothing strange about that you may say ,
except she had beed dead for eight years , eight years rotting away and nobody
took the trouble to care, to find out why she was not around , just a knock on
her door may have saved her life , or at least helped her to die in dignity.
We must all be vigilant to the needs of our neighbours and be ready to help
anyone and everyone who touches our soul with their presence.
I'm not going to go into the details here, but in the U.S. today we have heartbreaking situations with children. Many children's basic needs are going unmet: socks, belts, underwear, food over the weekend...
I met a little boy of 8 who dreams of growing up to be a baseball player, has a mit, but no baseball. For $2.90 I bought him a baseball so he can follow his dream. Sometimes it is such a small thing that stands in the way of a child's success.
If you are in the U.S. one of the best places to connect to volunteer opportunities is the United Way. They are organizing to recruit 1 million volunteers, including tutors and mentors. This is a really significant way that you can make a huge difference in a child's life.
Need I say that knowing a little Spanish is a great asset in this situation?
Here is a link to that effort.
I'm speechless. I know that this kind of thing exists, but having you tell your story makes it more personal and more realistic. Children should not suffer for a lack of thirty dollars worth of medicine. I don't know what I can do, but I will find something, some way to help in my own small way. Thanks, Dogwood, for sharing.
This is probably in poor taste, but several members have asked to see photos from this family. I am reluctant to place them on the site. Though they will likely never know, I almost feel it is an invasion of their privacy.
Nevertheless, I will present them here in the hope that you can understand some conditions and possibly consider your own way of helping the disadvantaged.
If the comments on this post are negative, I will remove the photos. This is the family. The sick boy is in the bed, and is barely visible. He is wearing a red plaid shirt.
The man in the blue shirt is the father of the slain man. He is the one who asked us to come pray for the family.
I have not received an update on the boy's condition. I will update this post when I hear from the representative.
I feel really bad about this post, so I may not leave these images up very long.
I'll make this final post to this thread and give Nicole the best answer, but I have some final comments I hope you will read.
First, the outlook for the boy mentioned in this thread is not good. I knew when I saw him that, in his condition, he should have been hospitalized. To me, it seems the community has come to accept infant and adolescent mortality to some extent, and my response appeared to be out of the norm in this situation. If the boy survives, I expect he will continue to have pulmonary problems for some time. If the problem has developed into TB, histoplasmosis, or some other disabling pulmonary disorder, he will likely be disabled for the rest of his life (if he survives this crisis). This trip was administrative, so we did not take a medical support team. In the words of Indiana Jones, if we were battling poverty and sickness, "we brought a knife to a gun fight". I can not allow myself to be discouraged by this situation.
Second, I need to clarify some comments and posts of mine. I was asked to work as a "translator" (more of an interface, really) with Hispanic families during a school supply give-away next August 6. I was not selected because I am proficient in the language. I was asked because our regular translators are involved in another project and scheduling presented a challenge. In other words, not because I'm good, but because I'm the best that is available. I say this to remind everyone of the acute need for Spanish speaking people in the areas of community support and health care. I am nowhere near the level I want to be, but I'm encouraged when these opportunities are presented to me.
This leads me to my next comment. There is no way I could have gotten this far with the language without the consistent support and encouragement of the members of this forum. Though we don't always agree, I believe this diversity creates an even stronger support base for all of us.
Finally, I was asked earlier last week to return to Mexico next year. I am also being considered for a team to work in Honduras where the organization has a complete surgical center. I will take every opportunity possible to pursue my goal.
Please don't be discouraged by this thread. I am not. I take it as a wake-up call. I hope it has helped you see a new perspective.
Thanks for your support.
You have fulfilled the basic reason for being on earth dogwood, you have given your heart and your care to others .
It is all a part of "la miseria"; but Ray's words are true. All you can do is your best, actively, and as you did, cry for what couldn't be done. Cry for the laws that stand in the way. But look forward to what can be done. And do your best to act when you have the control to do so. Your a kind man dogwood. Your tears tell us that. Your actions tell us that.
Thank you for sharing this moving story dogwood. Please share more if you have them, it looks like there are lots of people here who want to hear them. If there are those who don't, they don't have to read them.
Do you have a non-profit set up where people can donate to help these people when you go? hint hint! Might not be a bad idea!
Thank you for sharing, I am sure that was difficult to write. The world is full of poverty, some of it hidden right under our noses in our wealthy first world countries, some more extreme like you have experienced.
We can all make a difference, whether with our skills, time money, or simply by using whatever influence we have to make it clear to those in power that it is not acceptable to us.
You have done more than most ever will, be proud of your achievements however much you grieve for what you couldn't do.
An amazing compelling story, Dogwood. It must have torn you so completely. Like Nicole my involvement has been in Dominican Republic and, like many of us, this is why I attempt to learn and improve my Spanish. Right now there is a program in Ascencion, DR that is in dire straits. It is called Dominican Ministry - Feed the Kids. Anyone interested can access their page on Facebook and see what they are facing. I'm not doing fund-raising; just saying.
Dogwood, I understand your hesitancy in posting these pictures, but seeing their faces knocks me out of my comfortable complacency... I am more motivated than ever to take steps to lend a helping hand where I can. Thank you.
Thank you so much Dogwood for these thought provoking photos. May God bless these beautiful people and your work there. I know I can't wait to go on my trip.
Wow, I love the story, dogwood, when you were telling me about all this on skype, I thought it would be fascinating...and what an experience for you!
I am also extremely impressed at what you posted on the café this morning:
Tonight, I was asked to serve as an interpreter for that event, to interface with the Spanish speaking parents of the children. I was taken back by the offer, since these are the people who were with me in Mexico a couple of weeks ago.
Major wow, good for you , my friend, I am glad everything turned out so nicely for you
