LIfe and Death

Two days ago, a beloved member of our Honduran community (Don Goyo) miraculously lived through an accidental electrocution. I visited him today in the hospital in the city and he was smiling and praising God for saving his life. All he lost was his pinkie finger. Absolutely amazing!

Then we heard tragic news. Erlin is a young man who has been working at our hospital for the last year. Everyone knows him as the man with a mask. He wears a surgical mask to protect and cover the gaping hole in his face. He was supposedly diagnosed with cancer a couple years ago and given high doses of radiation to his face. By the time our surgeon saw him, his upper lip and palate had been cut or eroded away. The continuing radiation effects have caused further erosion so that there is basically a huge cavern in the middle of his face. Biopsies have been negative for cancer, but the erosion continued, and we finally had some contacts with Honduran ENT surgeons in the capital city who could take care of him there and try to halt the erosion and reconstruct his face. He was married to his High School sweetheart (Erica) in January, who is also working at our hospital. We were very hopeful that he would finally get the help and care that he needed. Today he died in the capital city of Tegucigalpa. His wife was here in our small community. He had no family or friends around. A young, 21 year old man who has suffered greatly with pain and disfiguration for the last couple years, died alone in a strange city hospital today. Absolutely tragic.

And so we ask, WHY? Why is one man's life miraculously spared and another not? Life is not fair, I know this. God's plans are not our plans, I know that too. But I still ask WHY and struggle with not understanding.