Curahuasi Campo Santo
Per the request of a visiting journalist from Europe, we visited the city cemetery on Tuesday. At first glance, it appears rather neglected, lacking maintenance along the paths and among the graves.
I know that some of the names written on the crosses once belonged to the most influential families in the area. Now they lie in their coffins under stone slabs in the ground or in the wells of a concrete wall.
“Do you believe in life after death?” I ask my companions. Our discussion soon turns into an interesting topic of conversation where conjectures, theories and hopes are voiced. But the main question is, what do we know about the world beyond? Hardly anything! The Bible speaks in many images that indicate that God is waiting for us. The last justice will ultimately be fulfilled, and grace and mercy await those who have trusted God in this world, those who have claimed Jesus Christ himself. For this purpose, he became man. And he died on a cross as a ransom for many.
The volunteers at Diospi Suyana put all their confidence in this hope of eternal glory. That’s why we call ourselves Christians; that’s why we are at the hospital and the school.
Night falls. I take my two guests to their hotel and go back to the Mission Hospital. The following night, a patient is admitted to the emergency room, and 12 hours later he dies in the ICU. Death is real. It is useless to deny it. With this perspective, we can view our lives differently and ask the most important question of all: the question of God. / KDJ
