This week we celebrate National Volunteer Week by honoring those who help MAP achieve its mission around the world.

Whether it's the local group of regulars who pack MAP medicines and health supplies each month, or the thousands of medical missionaries who volunteer to help those in need around the world, volunteers come in all forms and are a vital part of our organization.

The Global Smile Foundation (GSF) is a shining example of medical missionary volunteers serving “the least of these.”

Miracles happen every day, change your perception of what a miracle is, and you'll see them all around you.  Jon Bon Jovi    

The miracle standing in front of nurse Joanne Langone was hard to see. It had been a long day of treating patients in El Rodeo, Guatemala in the southwest region of the country. Traveling with her church on a medical mission trip, Joanne was amazed by the number of people who visited the clinic over seven days - nearly 1800.

But it was the single mother who walked in with her two children who caught Joanne’s eye. Her three-year-old son, Enrico, was weak from days of frequent vomiting. Dehydrated and tired, Enrico had to be carried by his mother.

He had a parasitic disease. Her young daughter likely had one too.

Everyone has the capacity to be generous.  But not everyone is generous with their time, talent and treasure.

When Daniel de los Reyes, percussionist for the Zac Brown Band and founder of the nonprofit, DayGLOW Music, wanted to help the people of his native Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, he wanted to change lives - for the better.

After visiting the island ten days after Maria’s destruction, he was moved by the thousands of people living without power, clean water, and dependable health services. Daniel used DayGLOW’s Facebook page to voice his frustration:  

"We need to do something about this. Make this a priority. Countless people are dying a slow death because of this cataclysmic storm. One thing is to survive the storm; the other is to survive living after the storm. It is a humanitarian event. Now. Must so many people die before we recognize this?"

Daniel knew he had to do more for the people of Puerto Rico.

Working through his nonprofit, DayGLOW Music, he established DayGLOW Relief to raise money for donated medicines and supplies. He worked with MAP International to secure Johnson & Johnson Medical Mission Packs that contain vital prescription and over-the-counter medicines. MAP also provided water filters to ensure people had access to clean water.

But medicine was not enough for those who have suffered for so long. Five months after the storm, Daniel traveled to Puerto Rico with doctors, members of the band Chicago and other volunteers. They traveled to rural areas throughout the country providing basic supplies, medicines and of course, music.

As described by members of DayGLOW Music:

“We are actively combining the use of music for healing and hope with our humanitarian aid to make a difference in the lives of so many Americans in Puerto Rico.”

Daily we are humbled by medical mission stories of hope and healing offered by individuals working around the globe to help those less fortunate. In times of disaster, these stories are magnified as we learn of people requiring medical aid after losing everything following a crisis.

Daniel and DayGLOW Relief provided medicine and music to offer hope and healing to those who have suffered so greatly. Their generosity knows no bounds.

Thank you, Daniel. Your music and work are an inspiration. 

From a distance, Mary watched the 88-year-old woman attempting to cross the crowded schoolyard with her grandson. He steadied her elbow as they tried to navigate the maze of people, her walker shuffled in the dirt.

So many local residents were in line that day in Yoro, Honduras. So many were hoping to see a doctor or nurse.

Worried the elderly woman would not make it to the physician’s area, Mary grabbed a fellow nurse practitioner. Together they guided the woman to the closest lawn chair. They believed it was better to treat the woman on the spot than attempt to walk the dirt paths to the doctors’ area.

Last week we shared news of the devastating mudslides that affected central Bolivia.  It’s hard to imagine the terror of watching a violent mudslide destroy your home and cover streets in mud and rubble.

(Photo: Mauricio Rocabado, Los Tiempos)

Yet this is what happened in Chilimarca when the banks of the Taquina River overflowed more than ten days ago. The MAP Bolivia Health Office suffered severe damage, and tragically, a MAP-trained health promoter lost her life.

The mud was relentless. The clean-up has just begun.

In addition to taking care of the immediate needs of their own families, the MAP team is working to aid those living in difficult conditions.

MAP’s Bolivia Office Director, Jose Miguel Deangulo, wrote to us about the MAP facility:

"The clinic resumed activities after very intense support from MAP staff and people from the community. It took several days to remove the mud and to rehabilitate the different areas that were covered .

Families are getting clothes, food and other crucial items. We have accommodated one of the staff families that was living in very high-risk conditions inside of her home. We opened our program to children of other families that have been placed in a shelter so that children may have more relaxed environment and better conditions to process their trauma.”

While retaining walls can be fixed and mud washed away, the emotional damage suffered by the residents of the community is harder to repair.  Mothers and children are slowly returning to the clinic for weekly programs, but the fear of more mudslides remains.

Unfortunately for one of the clinic program participants, Maribel Alarcon, her story does not have a happy ending.

The day of the mudslides, Maribel was home with her young son and worried, like many, about the unceasing rain. Before she knew it, the mudslides inundated her home depositing over six feet of mud and rubble.

Tearful and trembling, Maribel shared this account with a MAP employee:

“Everything happened in minutes. I only ghad time to take my barefoot son out, and he ran off with what he was wearing, and everything was left inside. It is very sad to see that all the effort I put every day to build my life today is nothing, I lost everything!”   

She and her husband and two children are now homeless and relying on the generosity of neighbors and friends. MAP staff members have provided emotional support, along with personal items and clothing for the children. The family has moved to a shelter – their future remains uncertain.

This small community has suffered greatly. The MAP Bolivia Office serves the healthcare needs of the Chilimarca community and surrounding area. In 2017, the MAP team there served more than 25,000 people.

Will you consider a donation to keep this clinic operating and able to provide medicines and health supplies to the neediest? 

During this season of Lent, let us remember:

“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them”  Hebrews 6:10

It’s hard to imagine the fear of torrential rains causing the river in your neighborhood rise.  The fear of rising waters and flooding destroying everything you own. It’s even worse to imaging devastating mudslides. 

Sadly, this is exactly what happened last week in central Bolivia. The small town of Chilimarca, about 150 miles east of La Paz, was inundated when the Taquina River overflowed its banks. Heavy rain triggered a violent mudslide damaging buildings and covering streets in mud and rubble. More than 8200 families in the Cochabamba province have been affected.

Imagine your fear. 

This disaster also hit close to home. We are saddened to report that MAP’s Bolivia Health Office was swamped with mud and water. Fellow staff members told frightful stories of people being trapped in their homes, unable to get out due to the mud.

Jose Miguel DeAnguillo, MAP’s Program Director in Bolivia, shared this account soon after the mudslide:

"This is a very sad day. MAP’s Health Guardian is trapped with another woman in the house where she was working. Her name is Paulina Montaño. She was able to run and put the two children on the second floor, and somehow, she went down to get something but was caught by the mudslide. The children were rescued even though the house was covered with mud.

Her husband, a diabetes patient, was hospitalized before the mudslide. He does not know at all what has happened to his family. Painfully, there is no way to remove mud for now because of the high risk of new slides and the failure of previous attempts of opening a hole because mud and water keep filing it.

Now the police do not allow the team to get closer to that house any more. The staff is now supporting the two children in a house of an aunt that also lives in the community."

Reading what members of our MAP family in Bolivia have experienced has disheartened all of us at MAP International. Our Disaster Response Team remains in contact with staff members and is assisting those in need.

But so much more is required.

Please help us help our MAP family. Today we lifted all of them up in our prayers; we hope you will do the same. Now, more than ever, we want to demonstrate:

"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25:40)

He lived hours away from the clinic in Huatulco, Mexico. The elderly gentleman entered the clinic hoping for a miracle. He was completely blind.

At 70 years old, the man could no longer see due to cataracts. It pained him to be a burden on his family. He prayed the long journey would prove fruitful.

His prayer to God was simple – that his sight would be restored. He was among many in prayer that day. So many people waiting just to see the doctor...

The beautiful child almost blended into the sea of happy faces as volunteers distributed rice and food. He was smiling along with his mother and fellow villagers gathered that day. But unlike the other children, his smile was different. Born with a cleft lip and palate deformity, he had never been treated and needed medical attention.

The volunteers visiting the remote village in the highlands of Vietnam that day might have missed him. He might not have gotten a second chance.

We received countless stories from the field that touched our hearts in 2017. Stories came in from medical mission teams visiting communities around the world sharing their experiences of transforming lives through surgery or by providing life-saving medicines and supplies. MAP shares many of these with you through our Health and Hope blog, while others appear in our newsletter.

The resilience of each patient was palpable. Their gratitude immeasurable. Here is one of the best from 2017…  

The 19-year-old girl from Qinyang, China wished for simple things: to feel the sun on her face, to laugh with her friends, to meet a boy, things most teenage girls enjoy without thought. Born with spina bifida and clubbing of both feet, she was unable to take more than a few steps or stand without support.

Her parents prayed for a miracle and wondered what the future would hold. There were no easy answers. Imagine if this was your child or grandchild.

It's been more than 100 days since Hurricane Maria shattered the homes, livelihoods, and day-to-day normalcy of thousands of people in Puerto Rico and throughout the Caribbean.

Our hearts broke as we witnessed another hurricane devastate the lives of so many following the destructive paths of hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Unfortunately, 2017 was an unprecedented year for natural disasters around the world. It is through the generous support of MAP International donors and partners that life after these events was made a little easier for those affected...