Justo a tiempo

“I just held him. No words. We stayed like that for a long time.”

The words, raw with pain and often overtaken by weeping, struggled but by God’s grace made their way out of Mary’s mouth and penetrated deep into our own hearts. She was not the only one crying in the meeting. I looked around the table at some of my modern day heroes, the wives of the faculty, and I couldn’t find one eye that could boast of dryness. MITC was rocked by the news of Beto, Mary’s young son. I say rocked but the faith of my Mexican brothers and sisters has never burned so brightly in such a seemingly dark and hopeless night. The mere thought that God might take another member of their precious family was almost unbearable and left all of us on our knees. Many saints in many countries interceded on behalf of this family. And give me the honor and inexpressible joy to tell you that the absolute beauty of God’s faithfulness and of His love and of His grace and of His mercy has come through for us!

The doctors here told them that the brain tumor was inoperable. This devastating news felt like a literal punch in the gut to all. Then God showed up and showed off in ways that I can’t clearly communicate to you. All I know is that I found myself coming back to Mexico after renewing my visa with a letter. A letter that said that everything was ready. A plane ticket was ready. In less than two weeks a hospital (not known for its charity) was ready. One of the best brain surgeons in the country was ready. One anesthesiologist was ready. One cardiologist was ready. Radiation therapy was ready. Everything was ready for Beto to come except he had to go through the hard process of getting his visa. I don’t know if you know anything about how hard it is for Mexican citizens to get visas to travel to the United States. Just believe me; it’s very difficult. The Embassy arranged a meeting for Mary and Beto had the end of March but as my plane arrived in Veracruz at 10:00 P.M. I was informed that by no explication other than a miracle the Embassy moved their appointment up to the following day. However, this meant that we must make it to the bus station in Cordoba (2 hours from Veracruz) before the 1:00 A.M. bus leaves for Mexico City. All I remember was waking up to Jorge’s voice, “Bruc, despiertate, dame la carta.” Jorge woke me from my trancelike dreamless sleep at 12:45 P.M. We were parked in front of the bus station and I could see Mary leaning in the window. I handed over the letter to a very relieved and grateful Mary. And I’ll never forget the peace I felt by her presence. She was not worried. She was trusting in her God and she knew that He would do what He sees fit to do. The bus left at 1:00 A.M. and we got the call around 10:30 that the visa had been approved. Beto was going to the US for a life saving surgery!

Mary and Beto left Tuesday for the US and they are in Shreveport right now. The surgery will be today. I know most of you reading this personally know Mary, Beto, and Marlene. Please continue to cover them in prayers. I am speechless when it comes to explaining the hearts, places, and procedures that God has moved to make this a reality. There are so many other details to tell but I just can’t. God is good. My heart like so many is filled with awe and deep gratitude for what God is doing. Please pray. Please pray. Please pray.

Update: The doctors ran all the same tests and it appears that the brain tumor is not a dangerous tumor but a lipoma (a harmless lump of fatty tissue) that he has probably had since he was born. No surgery or radiation is needed. He will have to take seizure medicine for 6 months and then they will run another CT to make sure that the lipoma hasn’t grown any. Praise God!