Semana Santa

Holy Week in Ecuador is a different experience of faith.  Ash Wednesday the church is full of people and on Good Friday the procession of the cross has almost all the people in the town participating.  

On Easter there are fewer people in the church.   The people relate much more to the suffering Christ than to the glorious Christ.  Suffering is so common and death is much more accepted here.  

On Thursday of Holy Week a 42 year old man came back from work and went to sleep and died in his sleep with no known prior illness.  A young father of two children went fishing in the river on Friday and was caught in the net and drowned.  Celebrating the passion of Christ in the church has so much more meaning when you see your neighbors grieving a sudden death of a healthy young person.  

People in Ecuador see so much suffering that celebrating the passion of Christ is very popular and people can relate to Christ suffering.  The challenge is to help the people get to the point of also celebrating the glory and joy of the resurrection.

The Saraguro Indians have adapted local traditions to the church celebrations of Holy Week.  They have a two-hour dance that includes flags, dancing backwards, carrying statues of Mary and a young girl being lifted up in a swing to announce the lifting of mourning from Mary.  

The photos included are the dancers announcing Christ has risen. Some have said that these are pagan celebrations and should not be allowed, but I like to think of these traditions of the Saraguros has them taking the faith and making it their own.

The Blind Can See

January in the clinic was an enjoyable but very hectic month.  There was an ophthalmology group of volunteers from Germany here to operate on eyes and to do consults.  They were able to operate on 172 people and to see over 1000 people for a consult.  Thus they did an incredible amount of work!  The surgeon has been donating his talents and a month of his time every year for 35 years.  Really an incredible example of generosity by sharing his talents, time and money.  The number of people he was able to help over the years is truly a reward in itself.

The four volunteers were all such nice people.  They were so generous with their time and did such a great job of helping all the people they were able to.  The days were long but with such good humor.  Always smiles and openness to everyone.  It was such a privilege to work with them and despite so much work, very enjoyable.

An eye surgeon is able to help the people so much here.  I remember an elderly man who came in with very developed cataracts in both eyes.  He had not been able to see more than shadows for over ten years. He was lead into the clinic with a cane in one hand and his grandson pulling him by the other.  After surgery he returned a week later for his post-op check. He was alone and just walked in and sat down.  The eye surgeon asked if I recognized him.  I said I could not remember him and the surgeon smiled and said he was the blind man!  It was truly remarkable.

As the priest said during Mass, “That just like Jesus cured the blind, the eye surgeon was able to also cure the blind.”  This is so true.

It is such an honor to work with so many generous, wonderful people.  I am blessed to see the benefits of the surgeons in the people who can see again, hear again (the ENT teams) and to be able to work again after hernia surgery.

Ophthalmology Team with Phil Hawley (MDA - 2nd from L) and Amy (3rd from R)

Plastic Surgery Clinic

In November we had a team of seven wonderful people who came to the clinic to perform plastic surgeries.  It is always amazing to me how generous the volunteers are.  They pay their own way, collect supplies for months before their arrival, spend their vacation time and do such fantastic things here in Ecuador.

There was a young boy named Alexander (photo below) who had been burnt with a gasoline fire as a young child.  The scars from this accident prevented him from opening one of his hands, straightening his two arms and lifting his left arm.  The surgeons in a long surgery were able to transplant skin to open up the scars for improved movement.  In just four hours of surgery Alexander regained the use of his hand, arms and his shoulder.  He is such a brave little boy and a few days after surgery, when he was feeling better, he started telling stories.  It was amazing to hear such a young boy tell such good stories.  He had the parents of the other hospitalized children laughing.

I am so grateful for the surgeons  and all the team that came from Austria.  They helped 73 people to regain movement of legs. feet and hands as well as other types of surgeries.    Their generosity with their time and talents helped many people to improve their lives.

Thank you to each and every one of the volunteers who have come to Guadalupe offering so many different types of help.  It has been a pleasure to meet so many amazing people.