Tough Times

Return From Reynosa

I have traveled around half of the world.  I've seen extreme poverty in Africa, the Carribbean, and yes, here in our own country.  But none of it touched my heart as much as what I saw in our medical mission trip last weekend to Mexico.  There's a big difference between "seeing" poverty and doing something about it.

We left Houston Friday morning, October 13, for Harlingen on Southwest Airlines.  Half the group had driven in a church van the night before and met us there with the medical supplies.  We also rented two additional vans when we landed in Harlingen.

By 9:30 a.m. Friday we were on our way across the border.  Getting across into Mexico is easy, they don't even ask you why you're coming into the country.  I guess it's because not many people are interested in moving there illegally.  Border towns are all the same:  lots of signs, lots of cheap restaurants, lots of dentists (ironic to say the least), and lots of pharmacies.  Americans use the dentists because they're cheap and they use the pharmacies for the same reason.  Whether or not the dentists are even real doctors is questionable; whether or not the pharmacies sell real medication the same.

We arrived at our first stop, Los Patos, around 10:00 a.m.   Los Patos is a settlement of squatters who have made their homes in the city landfill.  Almost everything they have is scavenged from the dump or donated to them by churches and NGOs.  Medical care is non-existant as is police protection.  I'm told that law enforcement will not go there for any reason.  And if someone has an extreme emergency like a heart attack, they will die because nothing can be done.  Small wonder then that they were lined up and waiting for our arrival.

In the center of the settlement someone has built what looks like a carport.  It actually has a concrete floor and it serves as a kind of community center where people can meet for church or have other gatherings.  That was where we set up our medical clinic.

In prior trips, there were only doctors and, usually, a veteranarian.  This time we also had four dentists, one of whom specialized in children.  My job was to work with the dentists sterilizing their instruments using a crude method involving water and bleach. 

Many of these people had never seen a dentist in their entire life.  The kids (and adults) don't eat proper foods and much of what they get is high in sugar.  That becomes evident when they smile and their upper front teeth are nothing more than black stubs.

It only took 15 minutes of so to get set up and started with the screenings.  Within 30 minutes the dentists were at work, mainly doing extractions.  Other procedures were not possible because there's no power available to run the drills and other equipment.  We spent about three hours there taking care of most of the people who needed help.

Before we left I had a little time to walk around.  My wife had warned me to not go off by myself but there was no one else that could get loose so I figured it would be OK.  I quickly found that walking in the road is hazardous to your shoes since there's excrement all over the place.  I did not stop to determine if it was human, canine, or otherwise.  This place is still an active dump and a couple hundred feet from where we were working was a huge pile of trash.  I stopped to look at it and noticed lots of furry creatures scurrying around.  Rats were everywhere and seemed to have no fear of me.  One even posed for my camera.  I cannot imagine having to live within a few feet of these things on a routine basis.

Next stop:  Lunch at a local mall where we had Gorditas, a cross between a taco and a burrito.  They are thick flour or corn tortillas, split and stuffed with a variety of meats.  My choice was picadillo since it's close to the composition of taco filling. 

From there we drove to Vida Nueva, a local church on the outskirts of Reynosa that serves a small colony of people.  I'm told that CUMC Sugar Land, has worked with this church for the past 17 years, helping with construction and other things.  I was quite interested in finding out why they have a star of David in each window.  No one could tell me the reason.

Our agenda was to have clinic the rest of the day, then we were to be served dinner by church members.  There were lots of patients that needed dental, especially the little kids but at least we had a reasonably clean place to work and a bathroom although the door would not close or lock so you required a lookout when you used it.

By 5 p.m. most of us were pretty tired.  We'd been up since 4 a.m. and the tension of traveling to a strange place was beginning to take it's toll.  We continued working until around 7 o'clock, though, and finally took a break for dinner.  I expected a church service afterwards but they took pity on us and we were able to go to the hotel by about 8:30.

Next morning we were off to Casa Mami.  There I was to have my heart broken.

Casa Mami is an orphanage run by a Catholic nun.  From what I could tell, there are about 50 girls living there aged 9 months to their teens.  How they were orphaned is not known to me except for the youngest who was brought there and abandoned by her father.  It enrages me to think that someone can abandon a child but then I realized that it could be worse.  Very bad things have happened to children who are unwanted by their parents. 

We spent only a couple of hours at Casa Mami but, during that time, I saw these young girls caring for each other and being part of a family, something they would have never been able to do elsewhere.  Some of the older ones were brought in from the streets, saved from a short life as a prostitute.  I could only wonder at their future.  It is my prayer that they will be kept safely as they grow and mature into young women. 

As we were leaving the little girl in the green dress came up to each one of us and gave us a hug and a kiss.  These children have been so abused but are capable of so much love.

Next and last stop:  Rio Bravo and the DIF.  Here we found the most people needing help.  But in Rio Bravo, the mayor has managed to bring in government money and it has been used to build a clinic and to buy a mobile clinic.  We actually had dental chairs and the pediatric dentist had a table rather than a bench to work from.  It was a very long day there and the dentists worked very hard to help as many people as possible.  We finished around 6:30 and headed back across the border to Harlingen and some much needed rest.

This was a trip I will not forget.  I am so impressed by these professional people, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, vets, translators, and others who gave their time and money to this mission.  God has been very good to most of us.  We don't have to worry about whether or not we can eat or drink clean water.  Medical care is right around the corner.  God has given us, as Americans, many things.  But to those who are given much, much is expected.  February, 2007, we will return to Reynosa.  I pray that I will be able to be part of that mission trip, also.

I have uploaded a photo blog which has many more pictures.  It can be found here.

This is a group shot of the team.  I think everyone is in it.  I'm the old guy with the beard on the left.

Update:  More photos from photographer Mark Lacy here.  Click on View Day One or View Day Two under NEWS.

Stop Blogging!

It's un-Christian.

To Mexico

Our church does a medical mission to Reynosa, Mexico, three times each year.  My wife went as an interpreter last June and this time I'm also going along.  Since I don't speak Spanish and I'm not a doctor or dentist, my job description is listed as helper/dental technician.

Our first stop in Reynosa is Los Patos, which is actually the local garbage dump.  Over the years people who have less than nothing went there to scavenge in the garbage because they needed to live.  I suppose that over time, it became easier to just move in and build a house from discarded trash than to make the trek every time they needed something.  The result is a small town that has grown up at the dump.

Of course, there's no running water so they wash their clothes and their bodies in the Rio Grande river.  And the river is also their supply of drinking water.  One can only hope that they boil it before drinking.  Homes are made from cardboard, plywood, tin, or anything else that might offer some shelter and keep off the rain.  Protection from mosquitoes and other insects is nil.  To say that they live in desperate conditions would be a vast understatement.  So it can be seen that administering much needed medical aid is a challenge at the very least.

Most of the doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and gophers like me live in the Houston area.  Not all are CUMC church members and some even fly in from many states away to help with this project.  One person is coming from Virginia to be part of the project.

I'm told that the dentists will be bringing their own dental tools.  I'm also told that sterilization will involve three plastic buckets and bleach.  I have no idea how that works but it supposedly has been done in the jungles of Central America.  Since it's practically impossible for a dentist to work on a patient while they are seated, they will lay prone on a folding lawn chair and the dentist will sit on a camp stool while doing his or her work.  They will wear a headlamp that will enable then to see into the patients mouth.  Crude but effective.

I'm looking forward to the trip but also feeling some trepidation.  Mexico is not the most stable country on the planet right now although most of the trouble over the recent presidential election has died down.  Thirty seven of us are making the trek, some by van and some by air.  My wife and I fly out next Friday morning for Harlingen and then across to Reynosa.

A strong cold front is predicted to move across the state on Friday.  Rain will hamper our efforts and, if there are thunderstorms, could delay our arrival in Harlingen.  We do not cross the border until everyone is together.  My prayers are for travel safety and good weather.  I'll have more when we return from this mission trip.

The Magnificat

We are beginning our choir music for the Christmas season and will be singing John Rutter's "Magnificat".  I don't recall ever doing any of his work before and was surprised to find that he is, as he says, "not particularly religious". 

The original composition was written by J.S. Bach and, of course, sung in Latin.   Rutter's composition is mostly in Latin (which I find not easy to do) but he inserted one movement in English, "Of a Rose, a lovely Rose", which, derived from a 15th century hymn will, hopefully fill the bill for those in church who like to understand the words being sung.

The origin of the Magnificat (Latin:  magnifies) is Luke 1:46-55 where Mary glorifies God in response to her cousin Elizabeth's exhortations when she finds that Mary is pregnant.  Historically it has been more important to Catholics than Protestants because of the glorification of Mary, something that Protestants are opposed to.  In fact, Rutter's movement, "Of a Rose, a lovely Rose," has words that pray to Mary:  Pray we to her with great honour.  We, in our singing, have changed the word her to God, since as Methodists, we do not pray to any other than God.

And so, as hard as it is for me to believe, Christmas will soon be upon us again.  The day of our performance, December 10, will come quickly.  We will spend untold hours working on this piece and then, in a fraction of that time, it will be over.  Will it be a blessing to those who hear?  That is my hope and prayer.  But the blessing is also mine when I stand surrounded by a chorus of many different voices as they change little black dots on paper into sounds of praise.

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