Dear Friends and Family,
This is a picture of the clinic that the Diocese of Helena constructed in 1966. I was blessed with the opportunity to be one of three initial Lay Missionaries sent to support the priests who founded the mission a few years earlier. That I was there before the construction, or even the trees and that I and another nurse, Emma Jean started the clinic with little experience as Nurses and that it has become what it is today is a miracle. It is definitely the work of many talented dedicated people that have given a portion of their lives, through the years, to be present, share and help the Mayan people who inhabit this corner of the world to have better healthier lives despite the obstacles and injustices that surround them. Many memories of difficult times in the beginnings when many children and adults died from simple diseases because of lack of medicine, medical care and fear of hospitals can not be forgotten. Health Care has become big business and not really a human right as it should be in all parts of the globe. Pastoral Health is now part of a Ministry of the catholic church in all Latin America. The Church is a real advocate and educator for monitoring Health Care. In Latin America the Bishops have a voice that carries the message and even the governments sometimes listen to their criticism and often heeds their requests for more humane care for the POOR. Medicine for the poor in government hospitals however is not adequate or just and people have reason not to want to go there for care. In the many years I have been here that is one reality that has changed very little.
Thanks for listening. More later on. I have just learned to add a photo to my blogs. Good Night Sheila
