and everything else will fall into its proper place.  It is the most sustainable model for living ever put forth.  Sadly, in this season when we celebrate the birth of the One who came to teach us how to serve one another, the atmosphere is more than a little self serving. The commercialization of this holiday seems to suck the meaning right out of it.  It has become a marketing frenzy of epic proportions, a competition to buy more, get more and have more of way too many useless things.  If Christmas is a celebration His birthday, then why are we the ones getting the gifts?

If we could just learn to live with a mindset to serve one another, each with whatever gift they have been blessed with, we might find that there is enough abundance for everyone to have it all. What we have managed to really screw up is the distribution of the abundance we do have, and we have done that by failing to serve one another.

Just prior to his arrest, Jesus offered to God the Father His prayer for us.  Even while anticipating the agony He knew He was about to face, His prayers were for us and not for Himself.  He prayed that we would be a unified body, and an unmistakable witness to the love the Creator has for the children of His creation.

 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.  I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”

John 17:20-23 (NLT)

We humans have a tendency to make everything a competition.  When we compete, there must be winners and losers, and let’s face it, our society just doesn’t place much value on losers.  We have lost sight of the basic truth that everyone has something of value to offer, and that the true value of their gift is revealed when it is received by one who needs it.  That is how we can best serve one another.

I was recently blessed with a more vivid understanding of how simple it can be to serve one another while viewing an award winning video produced by Sharon Wright.  She has graciously allowed me to share it with you here.

When we truly serve one another, we recognize the deepest needs in others, and meet them with the resources we have at hand.

Even those with the least of worldly possessions can have a dramatic and positive impact on the life of someone else.  When we walk this earth with a single purpose at our core, to serve on another, our words and actions can reach far beyond our small circle of influence, allowing the love of God to be seen, felt, and heard.  That, indeed, is what Jesus prayed for.

   ^“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”   1 Peter 4:10 (NKJV)

When we serve one another, we are becoming the change we desire.  When we serve one another with joy, we shine the light of Jesus all around us.

So what change do you think we could achieve in this world if we celebrated the birth of Jesus by bringing Him a gift?  The gift that would delight Him most would be for us to make it part of our daily lives to serve one another in small but meaningful ways, to serve one another with joy, to serve one another with grace, to serve one another with our time, our talent, and our treasure.

Pastor Leo at the Pulpit

I First met Pastor Leo when he visited the United States and spoke at Temple Terrace United Methodist Church in Tampa, FL.  I really got to know him on my recent trip to Cuba.  Pastor Leo and his wife led the delegation that met our mission team at the Santiago airport when we arrived, and escorted us all the way to our destination in Niquero.  He was charismatic to say the least… a better description, a character!

At first, the details were sketchy.  We were told a bus collided with his car.  He and his driver were found dead at the scene, his wife was seriously injured.  It was not until Sunday morning that I received an email with more detail.  I wanted to share that message with you because it speaks volumes regarding the faith and perseverance of the Cuban people, and of the final acts of a leader who was loved by many and will be sorely missed.

Pastor Leo lived his faith and gave his witness up to the very moment of death.

The message that follows bears witness to that faith and so much more…

Greetings and blessings to all our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus:

I’ve tried to write to all of you at the same time to tell you about Pastor Leonardo and Mercedes’ accident.  You may already know some of what I am writing to you but not all the details.  We were so busy and distraught with the news that we didn’t know what we were saying or doing, repeating just what we heard.

Pastor Leo addressing our team and the seminary students upon our arrival in Niquero

Yesterday, at the wake  in Cienfuegos, Bishop Ricardo Pereira gave more information: There were 2 cars parked on the side of the road and Leo’s car was on its proper lane. A bus passed both cars and swiped Leo’s car.  Leo and the driver died instantaneously. Mechy’s body had to be taken out from the back  since the trunk was completely sealed.

Bishop says that when they took  Leo’s body he had his Bible open on his lap and had written a paper saying “Christ loves you”. Bishop also told us that there were other writings all over the car with all sorts of promises, such as:  “Christ for Cuba”, “We want Cuba for Christ”, “All nations are for Christ”, and many more.  As Bishop talked he was crying and we were all crying with him. There were more than 600 persons at the service.  The coffin had to be placed in front of the cafeteria and near the close family members.  There were so many people that there was no room between the enormous patio y the inside porches. There were people from all denominations, friends and relatives.

Bishop divided the people of the church (Methodist brothers, pastors, leaders, Superintendents, His Cabinet) into 3 groups: One group went to Leo’s funeral, another group went to the driver’s funeral in Manzanillo, and another group was with Mechy (in the hospital).  She is under the care of a doctor who belongs to Bishop’s church and he is working directly with her.  She has someone with her at all times, informing the Bishop of her health conditions.

On the way to Niquero, Pastor Leo got out of the car in a terrible storm to pull the suitcases off of the car roof. Miraculously, although all of the clothing in the suitcases were soaked, the electronics we were carrying remained dry.

The Pinar del Rio pastor cried as he was giving his testimony since Leo had been with him that week preaching in his church and had been traveling with him throughout Pinar and Havana.  Later on he preached at Bishop’s church.  Everyone was crying saying that it seemed that brother Leonardo was saying goodbye to all of us.  Bishop said, “All my pastors are distraught and the brothers and sisters also”.

It rained and rained and the Pinar pastor said that it seemed heaven was also crying for Leonardo.

This morning we were told that Mechi is doing better but she has not been told yet of Leo’s death since she’s been operated on her jaw. I believe she will undergo another operation soon since the clavicle is pinching her lung and not her rib.  Her condition is serious but stable.

Brothers/sisters, the funeral was very, very large.  Cannot tell you how many buses and cars there were. Also cannot tell you how many tears of pain fell in that place, knowing that our brother Leo was gone. We were moved to see his son Luis Miguel (15 yrs old) crying by the tomb…. Everything was sad and painful.  Pastora Baby placed some flowers in his hands and he placed it on the tomb crying but he behaved like a man.  We also know that Leo is in a holy place.  What more, I imagine he’s one more of our Lord’s angels.

Well, my children and dearest brothers and sisters whom remember with much love, take care of yourselves and pray every time your leave anywhere, placing that day and night in the hands of He who created us. We cannot forget that He who made the heavens also made us.

And so I do not say “goodbye Pastor Leo”, but rather “until we meet again!”

Blessings & Adventure,

Lynn “lynnibug” Rios

I would not normally use this venue as a political forum, but with so many Americans unemployed and without health insurance, I felt I had to share with you the reality of what can happen should you actually need medical care and be unable to pay for it.  We have heard a lot about ObamaCare, and I even believe I am paying for it with my tax dollars and increased health insurance premiums (that came with larger deductibles and co-pays), but I see no evidence of it in the real world.

The past 10 days has been a real challenge for me.  I feel as if I have been stuck under a dark cloud.  I was thrown into a world of things I did not understand, that needed to be untangled and set right in order to get a family member the care she needed and deserved after a serious injury.  This world I did not understand (and still don’t), is the maze of bureaucracy we call the healthcare system.  It is a dark cloud at best.

I would like to think that some people fare well through it because they have jobs and insurance, but only a portion of what we encountered can be explained away by the fact she was not insured.  And for those of you that have been deluded into believing that the unemployed, under employed, and other unfortunates are well taken care of by this system.

The truth is, if they are not strong enough to fight the system in the midst of fighting to recover from illness or injury this dark cloud will simply chew them up and spit them out.

It began with a car accident.  She recalls bits and pieces, but was in and out of consciousness prior to arriving in the Emergency Room.  In the ER, the x-rays revealed a broken back.  The staff member assigned to wheel her out of emergency motioned for her to get in the wheelchair on her own.  When she fell to the floor trying, she had to ask him for help.  I know of at least a dozen unemployed persons who would have known better than that.  A social worker or case manager visited with her briefly and left her a list of places she could call for help.  For some reason, I expected that it was actually that person’s job to help her to get help, considering she was being given some pretty hearty pain killers and could still not think much past the pain.  At this point I began to feel the dark cloud creeping in.  She did not have an appropriate place to recover from a broken back and no one seemed to be working on a solution.

The following day when I went to visit, she was wearing a brace.  At first glance, it looked to me like it was on sideways.  She assured me that they had instructed her to wear it that way.  Although she had been instructed not to twist or bend, she had to keep adjusting the brace by twisting so a large hard spine would not protrude into her breast.

The next day (Saturday) we asked about case managers and social workers and were told they would get back to her.   She was seen by a physical therapist who gave her some instruction on what not to do.  She was not to lift anything heavier than the tiny water pitcher on her hospital bed table.  Then she was taken on a walker without front wheels for a stroll down the hall.  Lifting the walker to move it forward was excruciating for her!  The dark cloud was just not going away.

Another problem was that the movements she was not to make, could not be avoided in a household that was not set up with a hospital bed, grab bars in the bathroom, and suitable hospital gear like a walker with wheels.  There was already talk of releasing her and the hospital staff could not even come up with a proper walker for her to use while in the hospital. This dark cloud was firmly in place and it was clear that it would go nowhere without having a better understanding of how the “system” worked.

Not 15 minutes after I got home from visiting with her Saturday night, she called me in hysterics.  The primary care physician assigned to her case had seen her just moments after she received a pain injection, and told her she was ready to be released.  I called and spoke to him to see how that could be, and he told me the hospital could not keep her and it was up to us to make other arrangements.  The Salvation Army Shelter was actually suggested as an alternative!  Then he rudely told me he did not have time to talk to me about it.  I was livid!

Luckily I have friends at church that work in the hospital setting and I got some very good direction from them on what to say, who to say it to, and how to say it, so late Saturday night I called the nursing supervisor and expressed my concerns.  Among those concerns, had she been seen by a neurologist?  What was being done to secure after care?  Had anyone applied for or helped her to apply for benefits?

Another friend, who is a notary public, met me at the hospital Sunday morning to notarize the healthcare surrogate papers I had drafted.  While we were there, a neurologist came to see her.  The neurologist explained the injury to us and said she was in the wrong kind of brace.  She also reviewed older MRI films I had brought to the hospital so she could be aware of any new developments in a pre-existing problem with a disc in her lower back.  The old injury was dismissed as something that could be looked at after she healed from the acute condition she was being hospitalized for.  I thought that the dark cloud was finally lifting, and went to church thinking things were much more positive.

I returned after church, and the occupational therapist came by.  The OT looked at the brace and said it was on all wrong, and proceeded to adjust it in a manner that looked to me like it was still sideways, but in the opposite direction.   Then the physical therapist came back for another walk in the walker without wheels.  Later, a very nice young man came to measure her for the correct brace.  Of course he asked why she was wearing the brace that way.  As I had suspected all along, it was on sideways! He put it on her correctly, and said they would bring a custom brace for her on Monday.

I instructed her to ask for a patient advocate on Monday morning to see if they could help her apply for benefits so she could be released to an aftercare facility.  When I came back on Monday evening, she seemed to be doing a little better.  I had found a proper walker at the Goodwill Store, and brought it with me.  It made it a lot easier for her to get from her bed to the bathroom.  She said she had been told that a patient advocate would come to see her before 5:00 PM, but no one ever came.  I asked at the nurse’s station, and was told that patient advocates were only for patients that did not have family, and that I was her advocate.

The dark cloud had only gotten darker.

The next day, which was Tuesday, I got a call in the early afternoon from someone who said they were a case worker.  She had been trying to contact Medicaid for my niece, but when she called the phone was answered by a recorded message saying the call volume was too high, call back later, and then disconnected.  About an hour later I got another call saying she was being released and that she did not need any more OT, PT or to be in an aftercare facility.  My home was the safest alternative even though of the two beds in my home, one was too tall for her to get in and out of and the other is just a mattress and box springs on the floor, not to mention I have an 80 pound dog that does not know what a broken back is.  They gave her an Rx for about 3 days of pain meds and said she should go see her primary care physician.  She did not have a primary care physician because she had no insurance, but no one seemed to care about that.

Well I could not just leave her alone for 10 to 12 hours a day, so I arranged to work from home the rest of the week until I could work out a few things to make it a bit more comfortable for her.  That is when the dark cloud utterly engulfed me.

Things that I can easily do from the office were just cumbersome and unmanageable from home.  I was scheduled pretty light on Wednesday, so I did not “feel the pain” so much, but on Thursday all hell broke loose!  A bunch of problems came up and without being able to hand things off to other departments it got very stressful very quickly.  My niece, sensing my frustration, did not want to bother me to tell me she was in a great deal more pain, and could not get out of the bed to get to the bathroom because it was just too painful.

Finally I started to just make phone calls for her.  Medicaid told me she was not eligible because she did not have a child living under her roof.  I am still wondering if that is really true.  A local Crisis Center pointed me to the county Health and Human Services department, so I called them next.  I held for about an hour and a half (NOT an exaggeration) on my Bluetooth in the left ear, while I continued to try to do my work with the other phone on my right ear. Finally a wonderful caring person answered, listened to all that was going on, and transferred me to another wonderful caring person that got her case moved to urgent review and even gave me a number to call her on Monday, so I would not have to wait on hold for so long.  They would not be able to get her approved until Monday because the office would be closed on Friday for Veterans Day.

Health and Human Services told me that with a broken back and being unable to work, and already approved and receiving food stamps, she would be covered and could be placed in a skilled nursing facility.  They did not understand why the hospital had not helped her to apply when she was first admitted as it could have easily been done and approved.  I was also told that if her pain got worse, or if I just could not handle her care, that I should take her back to the Emergency Room, and to let them know that her case was under urgent review and should be approved on Monday.

Her pain did get worse, so Thursday night I took her to the ER at a different hospital where I thought she would get a better level of care.  They were much more personable, and much more efficient, but did not want to admit her.  Finally about midnight I think, they said they were bringing someone in to do another MRI and if there was a change from her previous MRI they could treat her.  I was exhausted, and they said it would take a while, so I went home to get a little sleep.  BIG MISTAKE!

I awoke to a phone call saying they were transferring her back to the hospital where we had all of the trouble with in the first place.  Before I could get dressed and get out the door I had another call from her neurologist asking me if the 2^nd hospital had given her a choice of where to be treated.  Sounded like hospital politics were a little ugly between the two facilities, and it seemed like neither one of them wanted to take responsibility for her care.  The neurologist went on to say that she had reviewed the MRI and that she had scheduled emergency surgery for that afternoon, pending my consent.  She thought that it might help to remove the bulging disc in her lower back to ease some of the pain, although she did not sound terribly optimistic based on the location of pain that my niece described.

I will be honest.  My decision to consent to the surgery was in a large part simply because if we did not do it now, and it was necessary in the future, I was not confident that anyone would be willing to perform it.  That is how little faith I have come to have in our healthcare system.  A fragmented disc was removed, and it made a huge difference in her ability to cope with the pain.  Finally she had a glimmer of hope that things would get better.

The dark cloud was gone for the moment, but not for long.  She was moved back to a room she shared with an elderly patient whose family was there constantly.  The room was filled 24/7 with visitors (there used to be visiting hours so patients could get their rest), and all their stuff including a cooler filled with their snacks and drinks and a scooter one of them required for mobility.  They had her bed pushed to the corner of the room and an obstacle course for her to navigate to get to the bathroom.  The hospital staff did not seem to notice, or even ask that they make some space for the other patient in the room.  She put up with it until she was about to explode, and after much complaining was finally moved to another room.

Her neurologist had ordered a change in her meds, but the staff did not seem to get the message and continued with the very strong IV meds when she was to be taking something entirely different by mouth.  She tried to tell them, but everyone insisted that they knew best.  She had been on solid food since she returned from the recovery room, but the following day the dietician insisted she had only had, and was only to have, clear liquids.  Would this dark cloud ever leave us?

It is now Sunday evening and I am wondering what the evil dark cloud will bring tomorrow.  I am hopeful that County health will get her insurance approved and the hospital will place her in a skilled nursing facility, but I refuse to become lax and assume anything will go right for her.  I will be vigilant, calling the county in the morning to let them know that she is back in the hospital listed as “self-pay”, though she has no money, no job, no assets, and will not be fit to work for many months.

She needs help applying for disability, and after that, help finding a suitable place to live on a fixed income.  She would benefit from any training that might be available to learn skills that would allow her to work again, though at a job not so physically demanding as what she has done in the past.  Will there be anyone to help her find and secure those benefits?  It must be somebody’s job.

I am working hard at remaining hopeful, that in spite of this tragedy, something good waits behind that dark cloud, but it is a real stretch for me.  More than anything else, I am appalled that an injury as serious as a broken back, and the subsequent surgical after care was handled so poorly by so many people.

There was a time when our health care was second to none; when hospital workers were highly regarded for going the extra mile to show they really cared, and actually assisted patients in making arrangements for a safe and suitable ambulatory plan.  In this entire affair, only one person I encountered actually represented the hospital industry with that kind of caring integrity, and that was the orderly that wheeled her to pre-op.

Maybe it is because they are understaffed.  Maybe it is because they are overworked.  Maybe it is because the people doing the grunt work of caring for patients are sorely underpaid, because so much of our healthcare dollar goes to funding insurance against claims of malpractice.  Whatever it is, it stinks, and it needs to get fixed!

So, thanks for letting me get on my soap box and unload this burden.  I can feel the dark cloud lifting from me, and my heart goes out to the next person who will bear its weight.

Blessings & Adventure,

Lynn “lynnibug” Rios

When election time rolls around, make your dissatisfaction with what has happened to our infrastructure known.  If we don’t fire the privileged few that brought this dark cloud upon us, and replace them with more competent, forward thinking servants, our children and their children will be stuck with a dark cloud where their healthcare should be.

A lot of “mainstream” Christians just don’t understand the charismatic movement, though it has been around since the events recorded in the book of Acts.  The term charismatic took hold in the 1960′s as a revival began to occur in some Protestant denominations.  I believe that is because they are more conscious of what other people think than what God wants… so well schooled in the doctrine of their church that they do not have the capacity to let go and let God!  I just love hanging out with the charismatic crowd because when the spirit moves them, they are not conscious of what anyone thinks.  It is all about God and what he is doing in them in that moment – that is all there is.

The charismatic movement has touched all of the predominant denominations in one way or another, as young Christians are seeking a more experiential spiritual life. More conservative worshipers resist change, and because of the actions of some tent meeting con men, may be doubtful when they see the Spirit move upon an individual in a manner that is anticipated in a charismatic worship environment. What this is all leading up to, is something my pastor said to the congregation a couple of weeks ago that really took me by surprise.

The Cuban Methodist Church is far more charismatic than the Methodist Church in the U.S.

While we were in Cuba, my pastor and I attended a service at our sister church.  The pastor there is in his early 20’s, quite young in comparison to U.S. pastors, and has brought a strong charismatic influence to his congregation.  At the end of the service, he invited the congregation to come forward for prayer.  EVERYONE in the congregation came forward!  Reinier prayed over each and every one with one hand upon their shoulder and the other upon their forehead.  Each of them reacted physically in some form, swaying, twitching, dancing, speaking in tongues.  The Holy Spirit did His work in them.  When Reinier prayed with me, I felt it for sure.  I was light headed for a few moments and nearly lost my balance, but Marta, a wonderful woman who cooks for the pastor and looks after the church, she was fully slain in the Spirit.

I was one of several people who caught her as she began to fall back the first time. I was immediately reminded of times I spent in charismatic churches where this was commonplace. She caught herself just for a moment, then down she went, and for a long time all she could say was “Gracias Padre”, over and over as she trembled on the floor.  She was down for quite a while, and when she finally did get up, tears of joy streamed down her cheeks.  God the Father had filled her up!

What my pastor said just 2 weeks later, as she related this charismatic event to our conservative congregation on Sunday morning, was that she had never witnessed the Holy Spirit work in this way first hand before.  Having come from a charismatic church, I had, but I had never stopped to consider in over 8 years with my current congregation, that most of the people I now worship with have likely never witnessed this first hand a charismatic event like this either, and that is a shame.

The good news is that my pastor is looking at things a whole new, and possibly charismatic way.  God has changed her and it is well evidenced by the fire in her eyes and the new charismatic strength from which she preaches.  God has stirred something up in her that is about to boil over and I pray that it remains both charismatic and contagious.

If it is looked upon as crazy to be charismatic, then I suppose I must be crazy!  If I am not experiencing God in my worship, then what is the point of worship… to be seen and recognized?  Sorry, that just won’t work for me because I have seen first hand what God can do with a willing spirit.

Blessings & Adventure,

Lynn “lynnibug” Rios

If you have stopped trying to redefine God, and allowed God to redefine you, you might be a charismatic.

Blessings & Adventure,

Lynn “lynnibug” Rios