Sad Days in El Sauce

I have some sad news to share with all of you; I have debated whether or not to share this with everyone since I want this blog to be positive and uplifting, but I think it’s important for all of you to know about some recent events that have deeply affected El Sauce. 

A couple of weeks ago, the mayor’s 17 year old son, Alejandro, was in a very serious motorcycle accident along with one of his friends. The friend escaped with minor injuries, and from what I understand is doing well. Alejandro unfortunately had very serious injuries and was immediately taken to the military hospital in Managua to be treated. He had major cranial injuries, and the doctors said pretty much from the beginning that there was nothing they could do because of the severity of his injuries. 

On Sunday, January 29, Alejandro passed away in the evening. As you can imagine, last week was a very sad week for El Sauce. It’s always hard to lose young lives, and I think this town was hit very hard by this tragedy because Alejandro was so well known and loved, and because his mom is such a prominent figure in town. I can’t imagine what Rosita (Alejandro’s mom , and the mayor) and her family are feeling right now. My heart goes out to them as they try to make sense of this tragedy and go on with their lives without such an important person to experience everything with them. The town has rallied around them and supported Alejandro’s family as best as it can, though I’m sure the pain the family and friends are feeling are beyond description and comprehension. 

Last week, they had services in the cathedral in El Sauce every evening for three days after his death, which was a beautiful way to commemorate his young life. On Monday afternoon, they had a memorial service in the cathedral which was packed with family, friends, and Sauceños supporting the family. After the service, nearly the entire town followed the procession on foot from the cathedral to the cemetery. It was a very powerful experience to see so many people there to support the family of Alejandro; literally all you could see was crowds of people either walking in the procession or lining the streets watching all of us who were walking to the cemetery to pay our respects. 

In addition to all of this pain and suffering, one of my friends from El Sauce (Teresa, the librarian from San Luis Gonzaga – the school where I’ve been teaching English) has been doubly hit by this tragedy. First, her nephew was the friend on the motorcycle with Alejandro. Plus, her teenage daughter was Alejandro’s girlfriend, and was understandably devastated by the accident. The day before Alejandro’s death, her daughter tried to take her own life and ended up in the hospital in Leon. I was able to see Teresa at Alejandro’s funeral service, and she looked absolutely devastated. From what I understand, her daughter is still not in good shape. Not only did the pills she consumed take a toll on her body, but she also is under supervision by a psychiatrist, and they are very worried about her safety both physically and mentally.

Part of my reason for writing this post is to ask all of you to keep Alejandro’s and Teresa’s families in your prayers. My heart is breaking for all of the people affected by this tragedy, and I know that they are in desperate need of being surrounded by prayer. I can’t imagine the pain Rosita and her family are feeling having their son taken from them so abruptly. I worry about my friend Teresa and pray that she can find strength to be there for her daughter as they go through the healing process that I’m sure will seem endless to them. 

I would sincerely appreciate if all of you would join me in praying for this situation and these people so that they would feel God’s love and support and know that they are not alone, and that when the time is right, they might begin to make some sense of everything that has happened. Pray for them to lean on God and their friends and family and for all of us to become a support system for those who are suffering so that together we may overcome this obstacle. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!