Lest we forget to value the good things we are given

Mercedes Gomez is the head of the pottery directive that I have been working with here and even though I have just recently gotten to know her, we have quickly developed a solid friendship. Mercedes doesn’t leave her house very often so I was surprised to see her on the road to Gracias when I was headed into town as well. Later on, I found out that her husband, Marcelo, had a stroke and she was going with him to the hospital in Gracias. A few days later, I was devastated to hear the news that he didn’t make it. Most of the time, life out here is so pleasant and relaxed that you feel like you don’t want to give it up for anything. But once in a while you get hit by the brutal reminder that it’s a life of difficulty and suffering which no one should have to face. When Marcelo had the stroke, other villagers went around La Campa looking for someone with a car that could take him into Gracias. In the hospital in Gracias, they couldn’t attend to him and so sent him to Santa Rosa de Copan. I’m not sure if they had to find someone else with a car to take him the hour it takes to get there or if they went in bus which takes an hour and a half. Marcelo was attended to in Santa Rosa for a few days and then it was decided that he would get the best attention in San Pedro Sula, three hours by direct bus from Santa Rosa. Marcelo passed away on the trip there.

Michael and I went to his wake and were happy to find that Mercedes was able to keep busy providing coffee and bread for all the guests who came to mourn her husband. The night was gloomy but life must go on.

But even in this small community, as loved ones leave us to move on to a better place, we are blessed with the arrival of new lives that will share in the same love that connects us with those from before. One week before Marcelo passed away, my good friend, Genara, had a baby girl in the last week of March. There were complications, however, as Abigail was born with a severe cleft lip. Luckily, Abigail is able to breast feed and Operation Smile will be coming through in the end of August. So, hopefully they will be able to operate on their baby.


Genara's baby Abigail