I have told you these things, so that in me you may
have peace. In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world.
–John 16:33
Robert Frost wrote that “A poem begins with a lump in the throat….” I find that applies to most tales worth telling. When this one was still a lump in the throat, it was contemplated as three stories, with the same question in the heart of each. But I find that each of these three stories takes a bit more time and space to tell than upon first blush. And, there are other tales and better tale tellers to this newsletter. So, consider this story to be the first of a trilogy. I hope to tell the other stories in the next newsletter. Though I’ll only tell one of the three today, I can share the question that ties them all together. Here’s the question: “What do we do with the wounds that we bear?”
Maybe you are thinking, “What’s this ‘we’
business, Kemosabe?” You can’t think of any wounds that you bear. If so, I’m glad for you. Somehow, you’ve made it through a dangerous world so far unscarred. But, best consider it more like an extended stay of execution. Because, in this life, like death and taxes, the wounds will come. The Lord wasn’t kidding when He said, “In this world you will have trouble.”
Here is a story of Jose Miguel’s first really
serious collision with that fact, and what he has done about it so far:
Last August Jose Miguel was a regular guy. At 23, high school was some years behind him. But that was more of a relief than a regret. He worked in his father’s carpentry shop in Jutiapa, thought of girls and work and soccer and friends, but kept his nose clean and was reasonably happy. His hopes and dreams of the future were kind of hazy. Maybe he couldn’t see clearly how he was going to get there but basically thought, “I’m young and healthy. I have my whole life to figure it out.” To recap, he was a regular guy, pretty much unscarred by life so far.
Last September, Jose Miguel was blind-sided on his moto by a reckless driver in a car. I had just gone to the US for a month or so, and Dr. Christy Stoller, an excellent General Surgeon, was covering. Jose Miguel suffered broken ribs, a tension pneumothorax, a broken left elbow and hand… and a severely damaged left foot. Over a series of interventions, hospitalizations, and operations, everything got fixed… except the foot. It ultimately became clear that it was not salvageable, and Dr. Christy did what is called a Syme amputation. This is an amputation at the level of the ankle for the bones, while preserving the heel pad. Over the next couple of months his bones and tissues healed and we saw him less and less, until he slipped below the surface of the next wave of urgent and emergent patients.
By this past month, it had been some time since I had last seen Jose Miguel, and when I did, at first, I didn’t recognize him. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. I didn’t recognize the young man in the hospital chapel courtyard as Jose Miguel. But my spirit immediately recognized him as someone apart, a wounded soul, one of my tribe. In the midst of another over-extended day, I was taking a short cut diagonally across the chapel courtyard heading from the O.R. to a consult in clinic. I was moving pretty fast and nodding to, smiling at, greeting, or just moving around people, like you do when you move around and signal to cars while driving down the interstate. But that young man gave me a moment’s check. He stood out as different. By body language, posture, micro-expressions, and maybe the air around him, he emanated a stillness, a gravity, a sadness far beyond his evident years. I also noticed his hand-made cane which was high quality work. I wondered who he was, what he was here for, and if his problems were going to become my problems…. I nodded and walked on by.
Coming back through the courtyard a little while later, though, I stopped and asked him who he was. He seemed to know me and told me he was Jose Miguel. He said he wanted to talk about prosthetics. You might imagine that a name like Jose Miguel only narrows the field of the 27,396 patient encounters at Loma de Luz from last year to a certain degree. But as he rose and we began walking toward the Terapia clinic, as he clearly knew the way, and as he was favoring his left leg just a bit, it began to dawn on me that he was the guy with the Syme amputation. I was really glad to see him and intrigued with how he was walking so well and with a normal shoe on. When we reached Terapia, this is what he showed me. His amputation was well healed (under that stocking).
And where did he get this… a bit crude, but fully functional, prosthesis?
Well, he and his father had researched and experimented and made it themselves in his father’s carpentry shop. I can’t tell you how their industry and ingenuity makes me want to stand up and cheer. This is one answer to the question of “What do we do with the wounds that we bear?” We deal with it. Our bodies heal, as we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” to heal by our Creator. And, if we are capable, we do something about our physical disabilities. The “doing something about it” helps with the wounds that you can see and, to some degree, with those that you can’t. Even better, you can sometimes catch a glimpse of what might be God’s greater plan in all of this. Maybe in this case, that might have something to do with a vocation for Jose Miguel and with re-opening our prosthetics lab. (That will be considered in the “News and Needs” section below.) Of the three stories, this is the story that’s easiest to tell, for physical solutions to physical challenges is what my brain is wired for, and keeping a weather eye out for signs of God’s greater plan is spelled out in my Job Description. But you and I both know in our hearts that this is not all there is to a story like this. The wounds that aren’t visible are often like the part of the iceberg that lies beneath the ocean’s waves.
In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5, Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with some radical, countercultural declarations, reaching out to people in the crowd to redefine and reassure, to connect and encourage, and to really shake up their well-entrenched algorithms. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, the grieving, the meek, and those longing for righteousness,” He says. There were others there in that congregation who bore some sense of alienation from the mainstream: the merciful, the pure, the peacemakers and the persecuted. He spoke to them in turn, assuring each of God’s particular blessing for them. The mosaic of categories of the wounded making up “the multitude” covered a lot of ground, from the poor in spirit to the pure in heart, but they all seemed to be people in need of reassurance. Jesus wasn’t addressing the proud, the confident, the put-together and powerful. He was talking to the wounded and broken. … and calling them blessed. That sounds pretty crazy. It is definitely countercultural. But what if He was speaking the plain Truth?
As I mentioned in the preamble to this story,
Jesus told His disciples that “In this world you will have trouble.” But he didn’t leave it at that. He told us to “fear not.” When we heal up, as best we can, from the physical wounds of this world, and do something about them, as best we can, we are still left with these wounds that you can’t see. And the only one who might understand would be someone wounded like you. The Ultimate One, who was wounded like you, tells us first not to fear. The one who “came that we might have peace,” the one who assures us that He “has overcome this world” of trouble and sorrow, what did He do about the wounds that we bear? Just this: “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” As one wounded person to another, that is what I want Jose Miguel to know. I want him to know that there is someone bearing wounds like his (and yours), that there is a Risen Redeemer.
And, when the Risen Redeemer returns, He comes “with healing in His wings” (Malachi 4:2).
In the shadow of the Savior,
Jefferson McKenney, M.D.
We asked ophthalmologist Rick Reichert to share a story about one of his patients at Loma de Luz.
This is Gabriela's Story:
Gabriela is a lively and happy girl who also has Down’s Syndrome. Her mother explains that Gabriela used to be able to see a little when she was younger, but now she can’t see anything at all. Her mother leads her from room to room in their tiny house, dresses her, and feeds her. Although mother and daughter appear very happy, her care is a terribly difficult labor of love for mom.
Gabriela was quiet and cooperative for her eye exam. Most strikingly, she had snow-white pupils on both eyes from mature cataracts. I explained that removing the cataracts might not help if there was anything else wrong with her eyes, but her mother excitedly agreed, grasping at any hope of helping her daughter to see again.
Because Gabriela would have difficulty understanding our directions during the surgery, the cataract extraction was performed under general anesthesia provided by Rosanne McKenney. Gabriela’s eye was patched up, and she and her mother went home to await whatever tomorrow might bring.
In the morning, Gabriela was led in by her mother, who waited anxiously while the patch was removed. Gabriela immediately smiled, her gaze darting around the room until she saw her mother for the first time in many, many years. There were exclamations of joy, praises to God, tears, and laughter. When it was time for them to head home, Gabriela jumped up and led her mother to the door instead of the other way around.
The saying “The Lord helps those who help themselves” occurs nowhere in scripture. The message of the Bible might be summarized as “The Lord helps those who can’t help themselves.” When we have nowhere to turn, the Lord is always there. Christ’s mercies are deeper than we can possibly imagine.
-Rick
News and Needs
1 – New Children’s Home Director: Chase Gray has recently been entrusted by APAH as the new Director of Casa Santuario. Chase has been working with the children here (as well as in the El Camino School) in various leadership positions since August 2019. Chase and Reagan are also expecting their first child in August. Please pray for them both in these new responsibilities, challenges, and blessings.
2 – The McKenzies: In the December Newsletter we let you know of the prayer needs of Kelsey and Jennifer McKenzie and their children, Ainee and James. Their lives are still a walk of faith with a long way to go, but God is proving a light unto their path. They are living in a little house on the Cornerstone Property. Kelsey’s renal function has worsened, and he is to begin dialysis awaiting renal transplant. They have a student visa pending, allowing them to stay legally in the country as they work on residency. They are reunited with their children, with Ainee (8) enrolled in the local school. They are still in need of prayer for Kelsey’s health, for their daily needs, for a path to permanent residency which would allow for legal employment (which would allow them to be in the US for Kelsey’s treatment). But God is Faithful.
3- Prosthetics clinic: Loma de Luz has a well-appointed prosthetics clinic, with equipment and materials ready. But our visiting US prosthetist is no longer able to come. With the Lord putting Jose Miguel (first article, above) in our path, we sense that He may have a plan for us to re-open the prosthetics clinic. I have mentioned this to Jose Miguel, who is super enthusiastic about this potential vocation, but he needs training and guidance from a periodically visiting trained prosthetist. If the Lord puts this need on anyone’s heart, please contact [email protected].
4- House on the Caribbean: The Cornerstone Foundation / APAH has recently purchased the house of Mike and Peggy Yost in Balfate upon their retirement. It is a beautiful house and property on the edge of the sea. We are open to sale of this house and property for a very reasonable price to just the right person. If the Lord so moves, contact [email protected].
5- Social Service Candidates: Two new Honduran Physicians completing their training, Monica Castro and Andrea Flores, have been vetted and accepted to do their required Servicio Social at Hospital Loma de Luz. Please pray that the Honduran authorities authorize their application to train and work with us.
6- Maria Fernanda:
Dra. Maria Fernanda Chevez will be the newest addition to the medical staff at Loma de Luz. We look forward to her joining the team in April.
7 – The Lingos:
Clinton, Severena (“Seve”), and their children, Asher (9), Indiana (7), & Malachi (5), are currently on the last lap of language school in Siguatepeque, Honduras and are due to arrive for full-time missionary service at Loma de Luz in May. Clinton, an ICU nurse with an administrative background, will initially work in several roles including nursing education and administration. Seve, also an RN, will be occupied at first with giving birth at Loma de Luz to their 4th child, due May 17th. Please lift them up in prayer during this transition.
8 – The Hubbards:
David, Jessica, and their children, Jubilee (7), Esther (5), Gabriel (3), and Maranatha Grace (8 months), are currently preparing for full-time missionary service at Loma de Luz and are due to arrive in July. Their prayer needs include selling their homestead and animals in Georgia. David, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist will work in the hospital OR. Jessica will teach 3rd grade at El Camino. David and Jessica also look forward to assisting the leadership of Casa Santuario in the work of growing vegetables and livestock for the Children’s Home. Please pray for them during this transition.
9 – Art Show to benefit the Cornerstone Foundation:
On April 13th, the Cornerstone Foundation will host 7 artists (& 170 paintings) for the second annual “Open Studio” Benefit for Loma de Luz. Both the art and the artists (including Rosanne) & the itinerant grounds keeper (Jeff McKenney) will be on hand from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. We’d love to see you. The address is 9032 Woolmarket Road, Biloxi, MS 39532.
May the Lord use you to bless the Jose Miguels and Gabrielas in your path. And we look forward to the day when all wounds will be healed and when “sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isaiah 51:11).
