"Rebecca, Could you take us to visit Cuqui in the hospital on Wednesday?" Ana Maria asked me after the Tuesday night church service. "Sure, when do you want to go and do you know how to get there?" I responded. We arranged the details, but ended up having to cancel because of another commitment that I had.
Cuqui is a new believer, but a fixture in the community. Her real name is "Maria de Lourdes." She has lived in Montaña 30 years with her husband and owns a colmado. A colmado is a local mini-grocery store. It is the only place locals can buy groceries within walking distance of their homes. It is also the local hangout/gossip center and most colmados become bars in the evening.
Ana Maria, her neighbor and close friend, had led her to Christ and was studying the Bible with her. Cuqui had kidney surgery a couple of months ago and seemed to be doing well, but developed complications and was hospitalized in the provincial capital, La Vega.
The next week I got a call from Fina, another member of the church, asking if I could take them to visit Cuqui that afternoon instead of having Bible study. We fixed the time for 2:30 (read 3:00 latin time). Typically when I have taken these types of trips, sometimes to an out of town wake, the women look to me to share a Scripture of encouragement and pray for the family. So I gave some thought to what Scripture would encourage Cuqui.
I was on the road to Montaña at 2:30 when my cell phone rang. "Rebecca, where are you? We are all ready to go," Lumi said. I laughed to myself and told her I was on the road. Sure enough, when I pulled into the neighborhood, there they were, all 8 of them. Okay, my SUV seats 7, no problem.
After individually greeting everyone, there ensued a comical discussion of how to load the SUV, which has bucket front seats and two rows in back. We were picking up 2 more on the way. "The skinnies in the back!" someone called. "We'll save you for the front," someone said to a chubby lady. "No oldies in the back, it's too hard to get in." They tried to get four skinnies in the back jump seat, but it just wasn't going to work. Plan B, "We need a chubby!" And a chubby lady climbed in back. Finally stuffed in, we stopped two more times down the road to squeeze more in. Fortunately no kids or babies came since they aren't allowed in the hospital.
Yes, we had a grand total of 11 in the car. We joked that this was not the record. A couple years ago we went to a wake out of town and had twelve. But that time we there were 3 pregnant women (we counted the bellies) and 2 kids. I made a note to borrow a van next time I did one of these trips!
As we headed down the mountain, a few pulled out their Bibles and began to discuss what Scripture to share with Cuqui. The raising of Lazarus was the story that was chosen along with a passage from Isaiah about being sustained by God. Then they chose a couple of songs to sing and practiced a little to make sure everyone knew the tunes.
"Well," I thought, "this is amazing. They don't really need me to lead this time. They have grown so much in the three years I have been teaching them. They are taking over the work of comforting others and I am just the chauffeur!"
We made it down the mountain behind a vegetable truck and two lumber trucks. Ana Maria reminded everyone not to cry or get hysterical if Cuqui didn't look good. We were going to encourage her and her family and if anyone got upset, they should go out in the hall. We arrived at the public hospital, parked and wound our way through the hospital to the very back ward. The ward had about 16 beds, mostly holding very sick women. The empty beds were used for family members to sit on.
Ana Maria's warning made sense when I saw the very weak and emaciated Cuqui lying in her bed.We just made it through everyone greeting Cuqui and her family individually (multiply 11 by 5 greetings!) when the guard came and told us we had to leave. I was pretty confused about what was going on, but left the ward. The guard continued to shew us and anyone else he found all the way out the front door of the hospital.
We spent about a half hour hanging out in front of the hospital, talking with Cuqui's husband, and pondering when they would let us in again. I learned that visitors are let in at the top of the hour. At some point the guard goes through and clears everyone out and at the beginning of the next hour it starts over again. Just to make sure we got in, Cuqui's husband talked to the guard and we were all allowed back in at the next opening.
This time, the women gathered around her bed to minister to her. They asked me to open in prayer, then they shared the Scriptures and told her they believed God would heal her and she would be home soon to see her grandkids and sleep in her own bed. Then they sang to her. It was so beautiful and the whole ward fell silent to listen. Then we all joined hands and Ana Maria prayed long and hard for Cuqui. Fearing we would be kicked out again, everyone in turn gave Cuqui a hug goodbye and individually said goodbye to her family.
Walking down the hall, there were many, including me, with tears in their eyes. While we waited for the heat to dissipate out of my black SUV, the ladies expressed their fears that Cuqui was not getting the help she needed at the public hospital. They brainstormed about a better public hospital in a larger city that could help her. They talked of taking up a collection for her. The problem is that her family had spent everything they had on her kidney surgery a couple of months ago. So the public hospital was her only option now. I could feel the weight of their distress for Cuqui and felt just as helpless.
We piled into the SUV and headed back up the mountain to Montaña. After letting everyone out, I went home totally exhausted. I continued to pray for the family, but had no contact with anyone until Jose Oscar called the next Wednesday to say that he couldn't meet with Rick because Cuqui was being buried that afternoon. My heart felt like a lead weight in my chest.
Realizing most of my friends would be at the burial that day, I waited until Thursday to call them and instead of Bible study that afternoon, I went house to house visiting. Each had their story to pour out about Cuqui's last days and how her husband and sons were devastated. We prayed together and talked of Cuqui's being with Christ. They needed this reassurance since the Dominican Catholic tradition is that the soul may linger on earth or in pergatory until the mourners have completed the 9 day vigil of prayers for the dead.
I also visited Cuqui's home where the vigil was being held. Filito, her husband, was weepy but talked of how Cuqui's faith in Christ would see her into heaven. Then I took the coffee and sugar I brought as a gift to the kitchen and got to watch Filito's sister start a huge pot of ginger tea. Having an open house for 9 days you go through a lot of tea and coffee! I chatted with other visitors and family members. It was just so sad. Then I went across the path to Ana Maria's house and spent quite a bit of time with her.
As deep as her grief was, since Cuqui was practically a second mom to her, Ana Maria was so thankful that she had followed the urge to share with Cuqui the life-giving gospel. Ramona, another believer, had gone with her and from there Ana Maria had begun to teach the basics of how to have a true relationship with Jesus. Many times since December, Ana Maria had greeted Cuqui from front porch to front porch and Cuqui was reading her Bible. I remember sitting with Ana Maria a few times in the winter as she shared with me the joy of helping Cuqui understand the Bible. I was excited to see Ana Maria's passion for it and her deepening faith and knowledge of the Bible. All this Ana Maria and I reviewed together that afternoon.
I know that Ana Maria will continue to share her faith with others around her. Only God knows the number of our days. Had she not followed God's leading in her friendship with Cuqui, Ana Maria's sorrow would have been without hope. Now she grieves with the hope of spending eternity with her dear friend and neighbor, worshipping the King of King!
