“I Will Sell My Cow…”
by Tom Bluesteen (First Printed in Servant News: 4Q/2014)
Lorena was desperate. Her eyes burned with pain, and she could no longer guide her needle and thread to mend clothes for her elderly parents. As she looked out across the hillside, blurred images of neighbors passing became unrecognizable. On top of that Lorena’s heart ached because her failing eyesight left her unable to read her beloved Bible.
Tirelessly, 50-year-old Lorena struggled through her days in a mountainous rural Maya village 30 minutes outside the town of Joyabaj in the Guatemalan highlands of Quiché. Lorena’s livelihood depended on her prized possession, a cow which she milked twice daily to produce cream, butter, and cheese to sell at the market. For this daily toil, she earned about $35 a week, far too little to afford a visit to a private eye clinic or spend on the eyeglasses she knew she needed. But now Lorena had run out of options and had come to a difficult decision. “I will sell my cow,” she told herself, “and use the money to go to the eye doctor.”
It was then that Lorena’s sister-in-law, Heidi, was asked to serve as an interpreter for Sending Out Servants (S0S), a team of over 30 American doctors and support personnel coming to Joyabaj to conduct a weeklong vision clinic. Once Heidi saw the eye care services being offered, she asked the clinic leaders if she could bring Lorena in to see the doctors.
The following day Lorena, along with more than 100 other local Maya men, women, and children, patiently progressed through the different stations at the SOS clinic. She received eye care education as well as medical and an optometric examination.
In the end, Lorena was fitted for three pairs of glasses, one for distance vision, another for reading, and sunglasses for protection from the harsh tropical sunlight in Guatemala. Lorena was only asked to pay a nominal charge of about 65 cents for each pair of glasses.
Today Lorena is happy. Her eyes no longer burn and her vision is greatly improved. She is grateful to still own her cow, which continues to help support her family’s financial needs. Lorena’s new glasses have also enabled her to embark on a new business venture, weaving colorful clothes to be sold along with her dairy products at the market. She also gives thanks to God because once again she is able to read her beloved Bible.
