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| From left to right, Rosa holding Olga, Lidia holding Javier, Marta, Domingo and me. This picture was taken about 20 years ago. |
Rosa, Lidia's daughter, was at a childrens' fiesta at the church in Nuevo Progreso. We hadn't seen her in a long time and she was a welcome sight. Immediately she told us that her mother and our friend Lidia had passed away recently. It was a shock to hear this news. Lidia was very special to us.
About 20 years ago we used to drive around Nuevo Progreso looking for large families we could help with food and clothing. We found a one room house filled with children of all ages. Lidia's house. Lidia's family was supported by her stepfather Reymundo who died soon after we met him. This left Lidia on her own with all those children.
Lidia was young and attractive, but didn't have much wisdom and had no education. But she continued to take care of her children by moving into a smaller dwelling in Colonia Jardin where we built our church. One very cold winter Lloyd and I bought a huge roll of black plastic and we wrapped the plastic around her house and stapled it down to keep out the cold. She burned charcoal in a bucket on her dirt floor and the smaller children huddled around it for warmth. Windows and doors were left open for dangerous fumes to escape.
Several times through the years we met in Lidia's tiny yard to show the Jesus Film. Lidia loved to host these gatherings and would bring out old chairs and buckets and stumps for us to sit on. Every year she asked again if we'd bring the film to her yard.
Lidia continued having babies even though she never remarried. When her last son was born, we visited her house with a couple from Brownsville, Texas. After she said she hadn't named the baby yet, we all suggested names and she decided on one - Isaiah. At 5 years old, Isaiah developed brain cancer and was totally helpless when we next saw him. After much prayer, we took him and Lidia to the international border to ask for help. Lloyd carried Isaiah helpless in his arms into the office and laid him on the cool tile bench to await a decision. The couple from Brownsville had found a doctor who said he would treat the child without charge. Within the hour we were given permission to take Isaiah and Lidia to the hospital.
Exactly 1 month later we drove to Corpus Christi, Texas where we met a radically changed child. Isaiah was walking, talking, laughing and he even wanted a McDonald's hamburger. Lidia had stayed with her child for 30 days after his brain surgery! Now they were ready to go home.
It was with great delight that we drove into Lidia's yard in Nuevo Progreso and watched her other childrens' shock at the difference in Isaiah. Was this their brother who left being carried in Lloyd's arms? They wanted to touch him and talk to him. Isaiah lived, laughed and played for 6 more months and then the cancer returned and he was gone. But Lidia was given the gift of those extra months with her little boy.
It's hard to say what made Lidia so special to us. We loved her and her children, Rosa, Domingo, Gloria, Marta, Javier, Beto, Reymundo, Olga and the others. We often referred to Lidia as "dama de la noche," lady of the night.
Our prayer now is that those same children, most of whom are now grown with children of their own, will come to know the Lord and live for Him. Lidia was 42 years old when she died.
"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of your tender mercies." Psalm 51:1
