http://www.livingundertheshadowofhiswings.com/2016/03/freddy/
My buddy, Freddy, had not been at church or my house for months when I found out that his kidney problem had taken a turn for the worse. One evening after supper, he came to visit looking gaunt and pale, but still in a jovial mood. He told how he developed peritonitis and required emergency surgery. The doctor cut him from his breastbone to his navel to clean out all of the infection. I cringed looking at the railroad track down the front of his body, and my heart sank because I knew his full recovery would only be a miracle of the Lord.
Freddy described the pain and that he almost died during the surgery, but said he now felt stronger. I thought he looked like the walking dead. Freddy’s financial needs became greater because he couldn’t have peritoneal dialysis. He now made trips twice a week to Guatemala City for hemodialysis to clean his blood replacing the other dialysis done at home.
The price of a round-trip bus ticket to the City cost seven dollars, and his mother had to go with him to help with the medical process and assist in travel. Meals and a place for his mother to stay added to the financial needs. The cost to keep Freddy alive accelerated. I knew our pastor would give Freddy more of my friend’s donation, but decided to involve the girls from the orphanage in helping raise funds.
We wanted the Shadow kids to participate in giving to others in the community, and this offered an opportunity for them to be involved with someone they knew and cared for. The older girls took Bic pens, wove colored threads around them, and sewed the word Guatemala on each one to sell to team members who came to minister to the orphanage. Their giving attitudes blessed me as I saw the final product. They didn’t earn much money from this venture, but they helped Freddy in a way that showed him they cared.
As Freddy recovered from his surgery, his visits to my house became more frequent. Each time he came, Freddy shared what he had garnished from the Bible. This guy committed hours to studying God’s Word and praying. Then he would go out and share with the people of the community and passed on the spiritual insights to others. When I called him “Pastor Freddy,” he would sit in his chair and grin back at me.
This teenager had lots of dreams that appeared to be from the Lord. One stood out to me. Freddy described laying on his back with his arms out from his sides like someone making a snow angel. Doves came and made an outline all around his body, and Freddy said he felt peace fill him. I wondered if the Lord would soon take him Home, and I continued in prayer for this brave fighter.
A month later, I received word that Freddy did go Home to be with the Lord. With all the pain he had experienced, I rejoiced that he no longer had to suffer. We at Shadow wanted to help Freddy’s family with some of the funeral expenses. The Vela (wake) started the evening of Freddy’s death. This is the time when family and friends came to pay their respects, and it would last until the next afternoon. The family needed lots of coffee and sweet breads to feed everyone through the night, and the donations made it possible for there to be plenty.
The next day, Freddy’s brothers and friends carried his wooden casket two miles to the Monjas cemetery. Friends and family walked behind with a band playing various songs. We said goodbye, but we knew that one day we would see Freddy in Heaven in his new body. Thank you, Lord, for letting us minister to Freddy with the resources you sent us.