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OUR 2019 FEBRUARY CHIAPAS TRIP
Or How a Good Act Reverberates Our recent trip to Chiapas was our thirteenth to that region and the source of many blessings.
We learned that Martin (see previous article, Martín Goes Home) is now doing well, so much so that, for the last 7 months or so, he has been off the oxygen concentrator obtained through an MDP donation. Now Martin, whose dad passed away when he was a little kid, is15 and works selling popsicles to help his family. So the respirator was refurbished with new tubing and donated to little Jaimito, a baby from the tiny village of Tzopiljá, some 30 miles East of San Cristóbal. Jaimito is a 10- month old baby who, like his mother, suffers from achondroplasia, a form of short-limbed dwarfism. Although Jaimito was hospitalized due to a bout of pneumonia recently, he was released about 10 days ago and is now home and doing well on the oxygen concentrator. Among other blessings, “armed” with a great team of thirteen volunteers, we were able to see 653 patients during 7 and a half days of clinic. During the first leg of the trip, we saw patients in and around Coapilla. As it’s been for the last 8 years, Don Layo joined us during each clinic day and was instrumental in helping with the logistics that make our work possible. Don Layo received a prosthetic arm thanks to the effort of MDP volunteers and the generous donation of Prosthetic Laboratories of Mankato in February of 2015. Don Layo and his little girls are doing well. He works as a security guard in the local clinic/hospital. During the second leg of the February 2019 trip, we visited the community of Pajaltón Alto, high up in the mountains, about 45 minutes driving, north west of San Cristóbal. We have been fortunate to visit this community almost yearly since 2011. Thus, we have witnessed the changes and relative progress they have experienced. One of the most noticeable changes, and for sure one that has brought great pride to the community, is their church building. Back in 2011, their church was but a little wood plank building, its dirt floor covered with fresh pine needles. St. Mathew’s Church is now fully built, a beautiful church that fhkhas housed our clinics there for every one of our mission trips. MDP is the only one medical missions organization blessed with Pajaltón Alto’s community’s trust and hospitality. Martín and his family as well as Don Layo responded to the generosity received with selfless giving, even within their poverty. The people of Pajaltón Alto were inspired by their faith to build a larger and stronger church to house their community, a beautiful expression of hope and gratefulness. They continue to allow us to serve in their most precious possession. We witness to the beauty of the human spirit when moved by generosity and are left with a hunger for more… We are grateful to very one of our donors and volunteers who have made these trips possible and continue to look forward to serving the Chiapas people for many years to come. Lía Price |
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