Summer 2024 newsletter

Louise Locke, Bolivia

Sabino decorating Arturo’s grave for the Day of the Dead

In my two and a half years of working with the Missionaries of Charity Sisters at their home for men living with disabilities in the poor Southern Zone of Cochabamba, I have witnessed transformations that attest to the peace and holiness of this place.

More than a few of the men who have lived here experienced the power of the love emanating from the sisters and have been able to find peace, stability and a sense of community when they had nothing. More than a few went from trying desperately to leave the home, acting out in violent and self-destructive ways and not trusting anyone to interacting with their housemates respectfully, helping each other and joining in prayer together.

Today, I am sitting across the table from Sabino, one of these men. We are playing Loba, a card game similar to Rummy that he never seems to tire of. He is winning, of course, and looking mighty pleased with himself. I am contemplating Sabino’s journey here with the Missionaries of Charity and how God can transform even the hardest of hearts.

Sabino with beans from the garden

Missing a front tooth; limbs liberally sprinkled with scars and tattoos; arms, legs and hands as hard as rocks, Sabino presents to me an image of the trauma and hardship faced by many poor indigenous people who live in the surrounding neighborhood.

When Sabino first arrived at the home, he was extremely volatile, prone to verbal and physical confrontations with the sisters, staff and some of the other men and preferred to keep far away from everyone else. He seemed to be happiest when he was working on his own in the large garden on the property, growing onions, squash, beans and potatoes.

Many of the other residents and staff were afraid of him because he was so unpredictable, and he was the cause of more than one black eye to other residents.

As I got to know Sabino better and interact with him on a personal level, I saw a child-like quality about him that was completely endearing to me. I made more of an effort to engage with him and take an interest in his activities, especially with the garden that he was obviously so proud of.

The sisters made heroic efforts to accommodate him and keep the peace with the other residents and staff as best they could. Prayer, of course, was extremely helpful in finding our way with him. Eventually, I noticed that Sabino had seemed to mellow out somewhat. He started sharing the communal space with some of the other men and interacting with them in appropriate ways. I noticed he was smiling more and he hadn’t had an outburst in months.

Then this past November, in honor of the Day of the Dead, the sisters and I went to the nearby cemetery to pray for and honor the four men from the home who were recently buried there. One of them was Arturo, a man who had needed total assistance with his physical care.

As we were on our way, I noticed that Sabino had gotten dressed in his best clothes, obviously deciding to accompany us. When we arrived at Arturo’s grave to decorate it, I was astounded when Sabino took the candles and flowers we had brought and started arranging everything on Arturo’s grave. And he wanted to do all the decorating himself!

After we all prayed for Arturo and moved on to another grave, Sabino even came back to get me to light the candle again because it had blown out. I expressed my surprise to one of the sisters because I hadn’t known that Sabino and Arturo were particularly close. She said that Sabino had gotten close to Arturo over the past year because every evening, he used to lift Arturo from his wheelchair and put him in his bed!

The image of Sabino taking care of Arturo completely humbled me in contemplating how God’s Spirit is always at work in the world, even if I don’t necessarily see change happening.

Jesus says that the kingdom of God “is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how” (Mark 4:26-27).

In Sabino’s transformation, I saw clearly that the act of service and care for another can help even those with the most trauma and hardest hearts to break down their walls of self-protection and mistrust over time and be transformed by the power of God’s love, even though I couldn’t exactly say how it happens.

I am so blessed to have the opportunity to witness this transforming power of God’s love here in the poorest neighborhoods of Cochabamba. Thank you for all your support over the years I have been here; it has been memorable and life-changing.

May God bless you all!
Louise

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