Mariachis at a funeral Our bus was stopped outside our clinic at the cathedral in Samayac. We waited on the bus until the funeral was over. The widow and family descended the church steps, then the mourners, then a mariachi group. Then the hearse. This was Sunday before clinic set up in the church gym, where the funeral was held. They left the flowers for our clinic where they have inspired us. Another funeral occurred yesterday and our kitchen and lunch area is adjacent to a room filled with candles where people go for intercessory prayer. Grief and loss are a part of life, even more in Guatemala where Johns Hopkins reported 9756 deaths from Covid in a country of 19 million. This is likely an underestimate.
Our devotion this morning explored empathy, compassion and grief. Where do we have space to grieve and show emotions and where do we provide this for others? We reflected on the shortest sentence in the Bible, “Jesus wept.” John 11:35. As we saw yesterday, prayer offers this space. Jesus sees our weeping and is deeply moved and troubled. Then he weeps.
Today I had a patient with a variety of complaints. She was a diabetic, had hypertension, trouble sleeping, headaches and knee pains. After a thorough exam that showed her blood pressure and diabetes were controlled, she told me the rest of the story. Her father-in-law contracted Covid and was hospitalized. The rest of the family became sick as well. The father-in-law died after three weeks. He was supporting her family, because her husband had an amputated arm and wasn’t able to work. She had gone out to sell fruits and vegetables to make ends meet. Some of the family had grown tired of her asking for help. She had tears in her eyes as she related the story slowly. She was happy to hear that she was doing well physically and thanked me for the help.
When one door closes , another opens, it is said. Dr. Anita Belinowski’s patients today included a family of three children and their mother. The oldest, a 13 year old boy was paying special attention to the care Dr. Belinowski treated his younger siblings. The family left, but he circled back to talk to her one on one. He thanked her for the care and time she took with him and his family. Dr. Belinowski recently retired her pediatric practice, but was gratified to have the boy say that he wanted to go to medical school and become a physician like her. He even asked her where she went to medical school, “because any school that teaches you to treat people like my family with respect, I want to attend.”
In John chapter 11 Jesus weeps and then orders Lazarus to come out of the tomb.
