Have you ever heard the quote “The more we are afflicted in this world, the greater is our assurance in the next; the more sorrow in the present, the greater will be our joy in the future” by St. Isidore of Seville
I have found a lot of comfort in his words, and I must believe the words of Saint John Paul II when he wrote "suffering" seems to be particularly essential to the nature of man.”
As suffering has really been a theme of mine and Gabriel’s life and of so many of the poor we live among here lately. With that said I have been reflecting on the book of Job for the last couple of months of the theme it contains of suffering and the salvific and divine meaning it has for us if we dare to embrace it.
You may be asking what prompted such writing. And all I can say it is where Jesus has me at the moment. As well as I feel that the theme of living in solidarity with the poor just continues to beg for more of us as our years in the mission field increase. Let me explain to you a bit more, you see on January the 1st my friend Paula left this world, the world that inflicted so much pain on her. However, she was very much like Job. She accepted the will of God, and she never quivered, hid from it or cursed God for her suffering. Her journey on this earth was not kind to her by any means. She was mute, she had been abandoned by her husband, her daughter was born with down syndrome, her sister that was in charge of taking care of her was in many ways like the wicked stepmother, a villain that took advantage of her in more ways than one.
It was hard for me to journey with Paula, to see her suffering and her last few weeks on earth were even more harsh than her 57 years of life had been. One Friday morning I had received a call saying that she was in the hospital, so I had rushed down the mountain to find out what was wrong. Her toes had turned purple. The doctors said that she must have had a cut, and it got infected. And due to her undiagnosed and not controlled diabetes she was going to lose her toes. This is all despite the Sunday before she seemed totally healthy at Church. I prayed with her and then stepped out to talk with her sister about treatment and asked how I could help. To my horrific surprise I was told that she would not give consent to the doctors to operate on her sister. I pleaded, I prayed, I involved the parish priest, and despite my pleas, Paula was sent home to die a very slow and painful death.
The rotten flesh grew quickly, within a week it moved from her toes to her ankle, the next week to her knee and by the next to her thigh, and next to her organs. Her skin was swollen and areas that had busted open were full of maggots feeding on my friends’ flesh. I felt so much anger and sadness and each time I was visiting her, I could not understand why she had to die without trying to save her. For me I found it to be cruel, but that is the reality of where I serve. Due to an undiagnosed disease, uneducated family members, and the tolerance of pain and suffering that the poor deal with on a daily basis this situation that my poor fiend Paula was in, activity dying in such a gruesome way was to be expected and viewed as being normal.
But what was not normal, was the fact that despite all the suffering Paula reminded me of Job, she was confident and her actions reflected the words of Job in a real and concrete way for me when he stated “I know my Redeemer lives, and at last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then from my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side”. (Job 19:25-27, RSV)
Gabriel and I visited her throughout her final journey, Gabriel played her guitar, we sang songs, and we read the promises of her inheritance in God’s Kingdom made in Scripture to her. I was able to bring her communion during each visit and she never cried, nor did she ever shed a tear, during her final journey she remained smiling and full of confidence.
My heart was so happy when I received the call early on January the 1st that she had just passed away because I knew that she would now find the most perfect peace and love that she searched for her entire life for here on earth.
I ask you to please pray for Gabriel and I, as we are still mourning our loss of a dear friend and please pray for the poor here and all of the world that somehow Jesus can relieve their sufferings on this side of heaven. Please pray for Paula's daughter Maribi who we have journeyed with for the last 6 years as we have lost her aswell, due to the fact that she has been sent away to live with another aunt 6 hours away despite our pleas made for her to live with us.
Please pray that we may we learn how to love like Jesus!
Christ's Servants
Karen and Gabriel Del Castillo
Mission Post: Casa De Santa Maria Magdalena: Caserio Santa Clara, Amazonas, Peru
We thank you for your prayers and your support.
Without the sacrifices made by each of you this work would be impossible.
Prayer request
Email: karendelcastillo@familymissionscompany.com
Donations Web Site: delcastillo.familymissionscompany.com
Sainta Maria Magdalena's list of current needs and opportunities to help the poor!
Please prayerfully consider making a one-time donation to Santa Maria Magdalena’s home!
Or you can partner with us by becoming a monthly donor and help us maintain our current ministries, as well as the following new ways in which Gabriel and I have felt called to serve the poor here in 2025.
· Maintaining our current monthly ministry expenses at $4000.00 per month
· Dirt to cement floor project- We would like to lay cement floors in approximately 15 homes in our small town. Each home would roughly cost 1,000 so a total of $15,000.00. (update- we only need $13, 000.00 more to complete this project)
· Purchase of a used truck for our Parish Priests. The cost is estimated at $15,000.00 - $20,000.00
· Repair of the chapel in Buenos Aires, a town we visit each week. Which remains closed because of the danger of it collapsing. The estimated cost $8,000.00.
· College Tuition for a young lady (Karina) who we have been so blessed to walk with. Housing, food, and studies per month will cost $200.00 a month so $2400.00 a year.
· Television for Santa Maria Magdalena’s home to be used for teaching $500.00
· Purchase of a Generator for the home $1500.00
(if you are interested in donating for a certain project or ministry, please make a note in the comment section on the donation page)
To make a donation please follow the link https://www.familymissionscompany.com/donate-maria-magdalena/
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