One Day at a Time: Blessings for Brisas

If you haven't learned this about me yet, let me just tell you I am a passionate person. When an event, a person, an activity, a place or a cause grow dear to my heart, I am all in. I have been criticized before for being too passionate and there are times I have to learn to tone it down, but it is just part of what makes me me. And so I can't apologize for that.

I write out about some of the topics about which I'm passionate. And I try not to talk about them unless asked because that passion flows and can be overwhelming (I am told). Nonetheless, I'm about to overflow one of my passionate moments here.

If you have followed my blogs for any time, You know what Colombia means to me. They have become my family, a part of my my life journey. And dare I say, perhaps I am becoming part of theirs, too.

Today I want to pour my heart out about the clinic in Brisas del Mar. I wrote about them here in 2017 and when I first went there, I wrote about it in this blog post. If you bear with me in reading my heart, you will learn why today this is what I am sharing.

I am not a medic or a nurse, nor do I have any background in that way of life except for the simple fact of how much I took care of my mom when she was dying that I feel I got a taste of the medical world. So I would not say that medical life is my passion. But.... helping people is. And that is exactly what the clinic in Brisas del Mar does.

On my first trip to the village, one of my jobs as a team member was to help collect medical supplies for us to take to the clinic. This little clinic sees 20-30 patients a day and they answer emergency calls in the middle of the night - not by phone, mind you, but by the people coming in, often times wailing or yelling for the doctor. The people who visit the clinic have no money. They can't afford to pay for doctor visits, let alone get themselves to the nearest hospital, which is a 45 min drive, which most of them do not have a means of transportation, so they then have to find a way to get there, let alone figure out how to pay for their care. Often times they can even be turned away by those hospitals (which, mind you, are not clean.)

When I was "tasked" with helping get medical supplies, I was not sure what to do, so I began praying for guidance on it. I did some emails and made some calls and God did the coolest thing.... he led me to Kettering Health Network. They have a warehouse full of medical supplies that are overstock and they use these to give to groups going on trips such as ours. you guys... we filled 8 suitcases I believe with supplies!! And every time a team has gone since, KHN allows us to come in and do the very same thing. But that began my tie to this little clinic.
When I am there, I don't do medical work (I would not know how). I don't really spend time in the clinic except to maybe help translate for a team member (Cindy) or spend time with Yuleida (clinic administrator) listening to what they have done, and what their dreams are to continue doing.

This clinic runs as a ministry of the church. They don't charge their patients... the patients could not pay! You guys, we have no idea here in the states what it is like to not have health care. Even those of us without insurance or good resources do not get turned away from being seen. These people don't have that!

I want to share a story with you about a man I met on my trip in June. We went as a team (about 5 of us went) to visit a man who was unable to walk, and I saw firsthand how much this community needs this clinic. The man was around my age, in his early 30s, and he can't walk. He doesn't have crutches, he doesn't have a wheelchair, but nonetheless, he had a smile and he was so happy when we came to say hello.

15 years ago, this man got sick. So, when he was roughly 14-15. No one knew what was wrong with him and at that time, there was no clinic there to treat him. He could not get medical help. And whatever the illness was, it took over his body so much with having no healthcare to treat him, that he became paralyzed. Today, he is physically healthy, minus the inability to walk. He crawls like a baby. He was unable to finish school because he could not get there. And no one ever was able to diagnose his illness. He doesn't go to church... imagine trying to crawl across a dirt road to get where you need to go. So he stays in his home all the time. Now, the church there learned of this man's condition and has now established regular visits with him and has helped gap a bridge that was there. But for 15 years this man has lived his life that way.
Because he did not have health care, he is now limited in what he can do, where he can go and how he can live. It's absolutely eye opening and heartbreaking. And if you don't see this, you probably have a hard time believing it.

I know there are many villages out there in this same state. I know that there are people here who need help (hurricane victims, wildfires, the Las Vegas shootings.) It just happens to be that Colombia and the village of Brisas del Mar is the place that has captured my heart. It has become a second home to me. The people there have taught me to love. The hugs, the kisses, the greetings, the joy they possess when they have so little in their lives.... it's incredible.

I may need to do another post about this, just for the sake of sharing more facts about the clinic an the medical conditions. But here is my point to this blog...

That clinic is in danger of closing down. The funds have dried up. And if they close down, those people will have no place to get medical care. They can't afford to pay for medication or for transportation to the next nearest facility, and no doctor would travel to them. They don't have knowledge of how to take care of medical needs... that is what the clinic helps them do. While the nurses have done some "seminars" to help the women in the village have an understanding so they can help sick people in transit to the clinic, if they don't have supplies or a means to get to another facility, that knowledge won't carry them very far.

And so our Mission to Colombia group is planning a benefit event to help the clinic stay open. We may not make a dent in it, but then again... we may very well be able to help sustain them a little longer as they work hard on their end to make connections to keep running through other resources.

On November 4, we are going to have the first Blessings for Brisas 5K.

This is the logo for the event and the shirts (please excuse the fact it was a screen shot)

This post is a place for me to pour out my heart about how much I love that clinic. and it's not really to promote our event, but that being said... if you know a runner or a walker, if you are one, or if you just want to donate to this cause, you can do so by going to our registration site here

We have no idea what we are going to raise, but we are prayerful that through this, we can be the hands and feet of Jesus, as we are called to do and be. As I said, I know how many causes and needs exist.... but this one is near and dear to my heart.

You'll likely find me talking about the 5K and the clinic in the next few weeks. The clinic administrator, Yuleida, has become one very dear friend to me. So many times, their needs put mine into a whole new perspective... one day at a time.

Doctora, Nurse and Pastor outside the clinic

Yuleida and Doctors with the new ultrasound machine, provided by GE and fundraising efforts.... a much needed item for the use of helping the young women in the village