This is Pablo. Since he’s so little, everyone calls him Pablito. He very well may be the most precious child in the entire world, and Team Kaleo has grown to love him. He follows us around, helps us paint the church, and comes to the Vacation Bible School that we’re helping to lead. He has a quirky little personality, really likes cheese, and gives great high 5’s. All in all, Pablito seems like most little boys his age. Except that he carries a heaviness that they don’t.
As we observed Pablito, we began to notice that he bounced around a lot from person to person in the village. Everyone seemed to be looking after him and making sure that he was fed and accounted for. We asked someone about this and they explained Pablo’s situation to us. His mother, Victoria, is sick. A few months ago she found some lumps in her breasts and started feeling a lot of pain. The doctors told her that she has cysts that could become malignant and could be breast cancer. When we first met her she was very sad and very worried. She has three sons, and they love her. Some of the people in the village explained that it’s very likely that Victoria will die from her condition, so everyone has started sharing the care of her sons in preparation for the transition they will experience upon her death.
We were very worried when we found this out. Victoria is young, kind, and needed by her children. If everyone has already given up on her, what motivation will she have to fight for her life? It explained to us why little Pablo often zones out with a worried look on his face, why he sighs so deeply and falls asleep in the middle of the day, and why his brother Brayan has a solemn expression and dark circles under his eyes. These sweet boys are worn out with worry over their mother’s health. They are constantly going from person to person in the village and obeying everyone as if they were their mother. They don’t seem to sleep well at night, and unlike most boys their age, they will admit to being tired and wanting to sleep.
Since we arrived in El Reten, we have been praying that Victoria would be healed. Through a very intense series of events that will get its own blog one day, we ended up at Victoria’s house the other night praying for healing for a young boy named Victor. As the night went by, we felt more and more that we should pray that the entire house would be a place of healing, and that Victoria would not have to deal with cancer anymore. For the last two days we have been praying over the town, learning a lot about the history of the area, and coming to understand some of the deep spiritual battles that have gone on there.
Yesterday we decided to go to Victoria’s house again and pray for her healing. We walked all around her property and under her house, praying that the spirit of death and illness would leave. When Rosa and I asked Victoria how she felt, she told us that all her pain is gone and she doesn’t feel any more lumps. She is scheduled to have another doctor’s visit on the 27th and 28th, and we expect the scans to show that everything is gone. We believe that little Pablito and Brayan will be able to sleep in peace, knowing that their mother is healthy and that they don’t have to fear. Victoria is living up to her name, and is victorious over cancer, and Pablito gets to be a child again. Thank you so much for your prayers for Team Kaleo-great things are being done!
