Mission of Charity
by Fr. Juan Diego Sutherland, CFR
“I was beginning to think I might not make it.” His teary, shell-shocked eyes told half the story. This aged country man fixed his eyes on mine and began to tell his story.
José Santos Martinez, a seventy-year-old cattle herder, was among the 200 guests the Friars and Missioners of Christ housed in Casa Guadalupe over the week of October 19. We were privileged to house evacuees and victims of the recent flooding, which affected Honduras nationwide. In their wake the floods left 35 people dead, 19,000 in shelters, and destroyed countless homes and crops.
On a rainy Sunday morning in Comayagua, José Santos was watching over a herd of cattle beside the Humuya River. Before he knew what was happening the river had risen dangerously and he had nowhere to go. The water was up to his chest and would soon be over his head. Santos knew he was not a strong swimmer; his only hope was a submerged tree, which lay some fifty feet down the now raging river.
Trusting in God, he pushed himself into the river’s current and prayed. In only a few seconds he found himself tangled in the branches of a Guanacaste tree. Sputtering and coughing he pulled himself above the water’s surface. Santos’ hold was tenuous. He was able to keep his head above water, but his body remained submerged fighting against the force of the current. There he remained for 8 hours.
It was after some hours that José Santos began to think this might be the end for him. After so many hours he was beginning to lose strength and hope. His desperate solitude was broken by the distinctive “wup-wup-wup” of a US Black-Hawk Helicopter. The Chopper stopped and hovered over Santos. Then, from a precarious height, a US Airman dropped down to secure Santos with a rescue line. Half drowned but wholly grateful, José Santos Martinez was lifted out of death and into our lives.
Of the 200 guests we housed at Casa Guadalupe during the recent flooding, none had a story quite like José Santos. Some had lost their homes, many had lost belongings, but all were grateful for the work of the Friars, the Missioners of Christ and the staff of St. Benedict Joseph Medical Center.
The first evacuees were housed with Enlaces Christian Ministries. As the numbers of evacuees grew I dropped in to Enlaces to see what we could do to help. As I was pulling into Enlaces I thought: “Some of the SBJ staff should come down to attend to the evacuees. I’ll be sure to call when I get home.”
To my surprise I found the SBJ ambulance parked outside the front door. Inside I found Dr. Carlos Suazo, our medical director, and two of our nursing staff busy seeing patients. Herman Ruiz Gaekel, SBJ’s director, met me as I came in and explained his decision to send Dr. Carlos, “as there were virtually no patients at the clinic because of the rain.”
“Brilliant idea,” I replied.
During this period of flood relief, the staff of St. Benedict Joseph distinguished themselves on many levels. They were the first to respond to the overwhelming medical needs during this time, and they were the last to leave the field. Drs. Carlos Suazo, Ibimael Izaguirre, and Eleana Hersperger worked well into the night attending patients. They were supported by our enthusiastic and ubiquitous director, Herman, as well as our ever-present nursing staff. The staff of SBJ attended patients at a number of different and sometimes remote locales. It was often true, the more remote and difficult the site was to reach, the more critical was the need for medicine. This was no normal week at the office - for all our staff it became a personal mission of charity.
As always, the services and medicines of St. Benedict Joseph Medical Center were provided to the very poor completely free of charge. Thanks to your generosity, we are able to continue to give the best medical care to those most in need.
A heart felt thank you to the entire staff of SBJ for their generous ongoing Christ-like service to the poorest of the poor.