Visits in the Azores
Trip Start
Apr 02, 2009
1
7
8
Trip End
Apr 14, 2009
Azores, Portugal
Monday, April 13, 2009
Manuel Couto lives in a small room in constant pain day and night. He has a hereditary and incurable disease called Machado-Joseph (or ataxia type 3). This disease is a type of spinocerebellar ataxia that causes ophthalmoplegia, which affects the muscles in the eyes, and mixed sensory and cerebellar ataxia, or lack of coordination of muscle movements. I felt extremely humbled when confronted with his state of pain and discomfort. I could hardly understand what he said due to his difficulty in controlling his vocal chords. His wife, Ermelinda, helped restate what he was trying to say. Manuel is going through a never-ending cycle of pain, literally day and night.
This is one of those very pitiful and sad situations of pain, a real fiery trial. Manuel, in his late 50s, does not want to take his medication as it affects his brain and alertness. He wishes to be alert and in full understanding; however, this does cause extra frustration for those taking care of him, as he is constantly in a restless state. He lives basically in a tiny room with a chair facing a wall and a large bar for disabled people on the wall which he uses every 30 to 40 seconds to grab, stand and/or just move around restlessly in pain. He keeps pleading for God's help. I anointed him and asked for relief as well as strength and peace for those who help him.
Notwithstanding his pitiful condition and poverty, he wanted to give an offering to God's Church. Again, he is very isolated, and this was his first ministerial visit since the middle ´90s.
That same evening from about 8:30 p.m. until nearly midnight, I met three people at Luciano Diniz's home in Ponta Delgada, Azores. Luciano is not a member of the Church. He has been observing God's laws and Holy Days, and he is a deep thinker and Bible scholar. He has written extensive theses on some of his ideas, and he gave me a book that he wrote on his current understanding of a number of points, asking for my comments and input.
With Luciano was his brother, Francisco Diniz, who had flown in from another island in Azores. Francisco is new in the understanding and keen in observing God's laws. He feels that this trip to San Miguel has helped him to get a lot closer to God. He has just recently come to the understanding of keeping the Sabbath and God's Holy Days. Interestingly, he has requested that we should stop sending him literature in Spanish, as he just cannot read nor understand it at all. This shows how some Portuguese-speaking people battle with Spanish, and it is a further witness to the need of a work in the Portuguese language.
Luciano had a number of additional questions. He had seven people in his home for the Passover last
year and 17 this year.
