poverty strikes again

our friend Candelario (who we have known for about 4 years) fell off his horse recently.  we didn’t know about it until his daughters came to our house, crying.  they seemed desperate for help, and asked if we could get involved.

the accident had happened that morning, and they said they knocked on our door but we weren’t there.  so they called for an ambulance and had him taken to a public hospital in guatemala city.  this place is a disaster.  patients everywhere.  chaos.  filthy. 

he has been unable to move his legs since the accident.  we were told that he needed surgery on his spine, and that he should eventually get better.  there were over 20 patients needing surgery ahead of him, so he would have to wait until his turn...  about 2 weeks.

we stayed in touch during that time.  one of his sons is in the boys academy, so we sent him there to visit his dad, sent food, etc.  during devotions with the boys we prayed for allan’s dad regularly.

when we picked him up, he told us that the doctor said the surgery was a “success”, but that he will probably never walk again.  what?  come again? 

again, the place was insane – patients everywhere, people everywhere, no doctors to talk to.  a feeling of emptiness and desperation sinks in. 

poverty strikes again.

in the car, we asked Candelario and his family about their plans.  did the doctor mention anything about rehab?  medicine?  second opinions?

his answer:  “we’ll just trust in God and pray and see what happens.”

while poverty is awful and unfair, there is something special about not having any other options except to trust God. 

I was thinking about if I were in his place.  any of us - we would get second opinions, research online, reach out for help, etc, etc.  how much do we depend on God when there are so many more rational steps to take?  looking into medicine, treatment, more doctors, more surgery, more research....

I hate poverty.  but oh how I admire how the poor depend on God.