The city up the mountain from El Obraje is called Las Minas. (The Mines) The two teachers we met were named: Gilma Cárcamo and Merlyn Valladares. The name of the school is Jose Mamilio Rodas Escuela. The school has 35 children. They meet five days a week from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. They are ages 5 to 12. They have 3 classrooms and they only use two and sometimes only one. They greatly desired our medical and dental services.
Reflexiones de Santiago: Blog Five: Serving the Poor
“The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.” Matthew 25:11. Yes, it is true. No matter hard we work, we will always have the poor. But, that little bit that we do can sure make a difference. These first two days our medical doctors have already seen 240 patients, our dentist has already seen 34 patients, and we have already fluoridated the teeth of 250 children in three schools. This has been amazing. Yes, the poor will always be with us, but, looking into the eyes of these wonderful people and all of these beautiful children it is pretty easy to see that Jesus is still with us, too. Maybe not in body, but His Holy Spirit surrounds us and we are very blessed. With Jesus in our hearts, we are overwhelmed with love. Corithians 13:4 is says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” Yes. We are very blessed.
