Clinic Gift

This past week, just before Thanksgiving, we learned of a $25,000 gift from a church in Illinois to help with clinic construction. It came at the perfect time! In addition to the logic of giving us one more thing to be thankful for, it also came at a time of discouragement --- as if to say, "hang in there...it'll get built...just be patient and faithful." Boy, what a message we needed to hear!

The team in Mexico that has really driven the process of clinic construction is very experienced. They've built churches and Sunday school buildings, cisterns and seminaries, houses and school buildings all over Chiapas and even a few in neighboring Tabasco. But they'd never built a clinic before. Even in Mexico, clinic construction is overseen by the government and has different construction requirements. To the best of my knowledge, the government doesn't get involved in the other types of construction we've done there. But clinics have special requirements. For example:

• They have to be able to withstand an earthquake.
• They have to have fire safety systems in place (like sprinklers).
• They have to special anti-bacterial fibers mixed into cement for interior flooring.
• The list goes on and on.

So what have these requirements meant? More details. More time. More money. And a LOT more of all three! Cost estimates for final completion have continued to rise, even though it looks like we're about 85% to 90% completed! But meeting those requirements is all part of the process of demonstrating that we are faithful to honoring the law and the spirit of the law, which is surely to insure that those who are served there will be safe...no matter what.

Yes, there's irony in that because of our horrific experiences in the Mexican government's healthcare system. And yes, it's extremely frustrating to be so close and yet so far. Nevertheless, we are reminded of the patience of the Mexican people. They build when there are funds and wait patiently (without losing the vision) until those funds are available. THEY will not lose sight of the dream. THEY will not get discouraged because they are used to having to wait for things that are important. THEY will remind us that good things come to those who wait.

But still... the gift from Illinois was a much needed encouragement for those of us on THIS side of the border....those of us who have poured out of time, our money, our sweat and even our blood to help get Clinica Tzeltal Manos de Cristo (Hands of Christ Tzeltal Clinic) ready to serve those in need.

So for those of you who are like us.....impatient and eager and teetering on the edge of discouragement, please give. For those of you who can't give, pray. For those of you who can be patient and faithful in confidence that God will provide, pray for the rest of us.

Amen.