The Mines of Potosi
Potosi, Bolivia, is known for its infamous silver mines. The history of these mines is sad and long. Thousands of indigenous and African slaves lost their lives in the mines as the Spanish exploited the people and took the silver for their own gain. Though most of the silver is now gone, it remains dangerous work, even today, as a workers’ collective still mines what they can find. With such a high mortality rate of workers down in the mines, many miners pay homage to El Tio, (The Uncle) the god of the underworld, when they are below the surface in the depths of the tunnels. You can find carvings and drawings of him throughout the tunnels.
Don Pedro
Forty years ago, Don Pedro was working in those mines. One day, during a break he was taking a nap when a piece of mining equipment rolled over his leg. Tragically, his leg had to be amputated. Like many people who lose a leg, Don Pedro lost all hope at the thought of living life with a disability and not being able to work. It was a very dark time in his life, but thankfully, that is not how the story ends.
A lot of people would tell you that an accident like this was the worst thing that ever happened to them, but Don Pedro will tell you, with tears in his eyes, that it was the best thing that could’ve happened to him and that it actually saved his life. It was at this dark time of despair and hopelessness that he called out to God and his life was forever changed by making Jesus His Lord and Savior. He was filled with joy despite having one leg and wanted to tell everyone he knew about this new found joy.
Soon after that, Don Pedro received a leg from a local charity and became an evangelist, walking all over the mountains near Potosi preaching the gospel. It’s hard to imagine, but he had been using that prosthesis day in and day out for over forty years, and this old leg had had enough. It stopped functioning properly, wasn’t safe, and had taken a toll on his body so he stopped using it. He didn’t know anywhere he could go for help as the charity he received it from no longer existed, but when he heard about our clinic he knew it was an answer to prayer.
To say that Don Pedro’s prosthesis was past the point of usefulness would be a gross understatement and when he came to us at the clinic, we could see right away why he was suffering. The old leg was so loose that he had to use many layers of cloth material on his stump to make it fit and there were jagged pieces of wire that he had added to it through the years to keep it from falling apart that had been cutting into his skin. It was also extremely heavy. Through the years, as his stump shrank and the socket became loose, he attached a leather strap to his socket and wore over his shoulder to keep his leg from falling off. Bearing the weight of the heavy leg put a tremendous amount of pressure on his shoulders and back and caused him to suffer for many years. When the back pain became unbearable, he reluctantly put his mountain evangelism on hold.
Don Pedro didn’t ask for much but did have one request; to try and make the leg as light as possible. Needing to make something that was lightweight and easy fo him to use, Steve and Elias got creative and tried some things that they had never done before. They were very happy with the end result but the question was, would Don Pedro be happy? We never get tired of seeing the various reactions of a patient when they see and try on their prosthesis for the first time. Some are visibly happy and it’s easy to see what they think. Still, others seem bewildered and don’t say anything and I have to ask them. Don Pedro’s reaction was priceless. He cried tears of joy as he put the prosthesis on and extended his new knee up and down, up and down. The socket was lightweight and fit perfectly. He immediately got up and started walking again, pausing every minute or so to wipe tears from his eyes. As we all sat down and wrapped up our time together, he thanked us and with a big smile on his face, said now that he was able to walk again, he had to get back to work doing what God had called him to do, preaching the gospel throughout the mountains of Potosi.
What a privilege it was for us to be able to come alongside Pedro in his journey. We pray that he is blessed with many more years to share what God has done for him with the people of Potosi!
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans 8:28
