Today was the always bittersweet ending to another very successful CURA effort. We are exhausted yet energetic, saddened and joyful. So many people have blessed us with their hearts this week. They came to us for healing, yet somehow, it is we that seem to have been healed.
As a physician, I cannot begin to describe how amazing it is to be able to simply sit and talk with someone who truly wants to understand what is going on with his or her body. They want to get better. They want to be a part of the process. They love coming to us, in all we do, and meeting someone who wants to be a part of their lives – someone that not only is interested in their ailment, but also their heart.
This dream that has become CURA has become so much more than a one week campaign. It is a blending of community: a community of people in Vila Progresso, a community of caring providers, and a community of supporters worldwide that believe in this way of life we have come to know as CURA. Tonight, Carioca performed a song at the CURA banquet. It perfectly expresses the message of CURA: that it is through us that God shows His love to all.
This week alone, approximately 700 people were able to be ministered to in ways that allowed them to celebrate life–whether in the healing of an illness, a hug, a new haircut…or maybe they were one of the ones whose home we were able to go out and repaint.
This week I got to see what this grand idea has become. It is a living, breathing organization, with so many parts but with one heart. Despite the various areas of specialty, each one functions smoothly and together due to a common purpose. I can’t wait to see where we go from here, because we now have a community of dreamers. The ideas and desires that I are being voiced for the future are beyond comprehension. But, I know it is possible, because what took place this week was not even conceivable 5 short years ago.
Tomorrow we get to take the team for visits to the Horta (community organic garden and aquaponics) and Crescimento Limpo, both elements that have become inextricably woven into this amazing thing called CURA. We will then take the team for some fun in Campinas at the “hippie fair”, do some local shopping at the Fazenda de Chocolate (the chocolate farm!) and have lunch at a local churrascaria (Brazilian-style barbecue). Then the group will be headed to Guarujá for 2 blissful days at the beach!
Thank you so much for all of your love, support, and prayers!
Muito obrigado e até mais–
Greg