Pope Francis says: “Grandparents are the wisdom of the family, they are the wisdom of a people. And a people that does not listen to its grandparents is a people that dies”.

Unfortunately, many of our elderly live in a situation of abandonment, many of them have children who have already formed their own families. Their children are in the same town, others go to the cities or out of the country in search of work.

Grandfather Pedro, about 80 years old, was almost invalid, he could not move his lower limbs, so he was mostly in bed. When the days were sunny he would crawl outside for a while. He could not see, but he recognized us by our voice, when we called him from far away he was happy, because he knew that we were bringing him something to satisfy his hunger, since his daughter went out early to take care of the cattle, they both waited for him to return to feed them, that is to say that they received only one meal a day. Pedro lived with his wife and a mentally handicapped daughter, whom the neighbors abused by not renumbering her according to her work. Their house is very precarious, made of adobe and a straw roof, with only two rooms where they shared with their dogs and cats, and in winter they were cold because when it rained water came in through the holes. So with the young people in the group we put plastic on the roof to prevent leaks.

None of the three of them received any monetary help from the government for their livelihood, they lived off their daily work until they got sick. The daughter works tending goats, helping her neighbors with the harvest, sometimes waiting for charity from the villagers.

Along with spiritual nourishment, we brought her bodily nourishment when possible. During the time of the pandemic, thanks to the collaboration of the diocesan radio, we were able to alleviate the misery of our grandparents. But the time came for them to present themselves before the Lord, first the grandmother got sick and died. The following year grandpa Pedro passed away. We could not take them to a more favorable place for them, because their children were against it. Thank God both of them have already passed to a place where there is no suffering or crying.

Like grandfather Pedro, we have more elderly people with a similar story, for whom we have to watch over as Mothers, as far as we can. To those who live in the town, we visit them weekly, bringing them Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, so that he may be their strength in the midst of their ailments. We visit the elderly in the other towns when we are on missions in the area.

Granny Casilda lives in a place that corresponds to Molinero, one of our mission centers. She is also prostrate, she has very little movement, she needs a person to be at her side to take care of her, but she only has a daughter who does what she can, because she is in charge of the animals, her crops and she has no neighbors nearby to ask for help. In desperation, the daughter turned not only to the doctors but also to the brothers separated in faith, in search of a cure. Spending what little she had, she accepted that the illness is due to her mother’s age. Our visit comforts him and how much we wish we could stay a little longer, but it is impossible for us, since the houses are far from each other, we need time to be able to reach others who are waiting for us. All of our grandparents suffer from various illnesses, especially knee pain, due to the hard work of their youth.

Grandma Teodosia is not so old, but she suffers from a mysterious illness. Suddenly she felt itching in her nose and from scratching it so much she got a wound that does not heal and the worst thing is that each time it advances inwards, and the worst thing is that it has already begun to get infected. She lives two hours walk from one of our villages, the local nurse usually goes once a week to cure her. In addition to bringing her food for her body, we also bring her spiritual food, thinking that perhaps on our next mission, we will not find her. Doña Teodosia is very spiritual and accepts God’s will in her suffering. She has no cure because she does not have the means to go out of town for a medical examination. She only hopes that God will remember her and take her to his side.

Mr. Florencio was one of our catechists, he suffers from an illness that cannot be cured. He is bedridden and although his children help him financially, he feels abandoned because his neighbors do not remember to visit him. These are just a few of the many grandparents that God has entrusted to us to help them both physically and spiritually.

Patmos Tin Tin, Bolivia