Driving down the streets of Colón, my first thought was dear God, who could live here? That’s just me being completely honest with you. The city was packed with people, smelled musty, and was filled with honking cars that seemed intent on running people over. The taxi drive from the bus stop to MUCEC reaffirmed my initial thoughts. Colón is a city filled with garbage and shanty houses that you would have to see to believe.
Keri, Nick, and I found ourselves standing on the corner in a sketchy part of town. We weren’t quite sure where to go. Luckily, before the taxi driver left he pointed us in the right direction. We turned a corner and there it was, MUCEC (Mujeres Colonsenses en Camino or Women of Colón Walking Together). It is beacon of hope in a city without a lot of hope. Colón has around 50% unemployment rate and a poverty rate that is even higher. It is a city well known for its crime and violence. However, in all of the darkness of this city, there is a light. That light comes from MUCEC.
The light of Christ was manifested in Colón in 1985 through the lives of Sister Barbara Ozelski and Sister Dina Altamiranda, two Catholic nuns. MUCEC has brought hope and love to many unemployed, abused, and needy women and children. Even before Sister Barbara’s time in Colón, she spent many years ministering to and being ministered to by lepers in Palo Seco, near the Canal Zone.
While I was not able to meet these incredible women due to their absence, I was able to spend time touring their wonderful facilities and see a small fraction of the lives they have touched. The pictures plastered on the walls of MUCEC showed years of charity and selfless sacrifice that has become apart of their daily lives. After leaving MUCEC, I felt something I didn’t necessarily feel on the way over, hope. Knowing that the Kingdom of God is being established in the shantytown streets of Colón through the love of these women. My thoughts on the bus ride back to Panama City turned to from their sacrifice to their reward. Great is your reward Sister Barbara and Sister Dina, for our Heavenly Father is pleased with you.
Please pray for them and consider checking the following websites to support MUCEC and learn more about Sister Barbara’s incredible life of sacrifice.
http://www.mucec.org/english/default.htm
http://www.drvc.org/meet-our-missioners/about-sister-barbara-ozelski-rsm.html
