The Medical Missionaries of Divine Mercy are invited by the Health Ministry of Costa Rica and the Archdiocese of Cartago to provide medical, dental, vision, chiropractic, audiology, pharmaceutical, physical therapy, and spiritual healing services during a weeklong Health Fair (medical mission) that serves the indigenous Cabecar Indians at their reserve as well as the local citizens of Grano De Oro, Costa Rica.
The Fair is traditionally held in April or May of each year depending upon the availability of the MMDM team. MMDM works closely with the Costa Rican Health Ministry, the local parish in Grano de Oro and several private philanthropic individuals who aid us with the logistics and promotion of our mission in Costa Rica.
The health ministry provides patients with prescription medications at no cost to them or to MMDM, in accordance with their country’s governmental structure. They also provide some doctors, dentists and hygienists to supplement our team. Additionally, groups of private dentists from neighboring cities volunteer their time throughout the week. All services are provided free of cost to the patients.
The Cabecar Indians
The poorest of the poor, the Cabecars live mostly on a reserve in jungles of Costa Rica. Many may never have received medical services from anyone other than a shaman in their native village. Most worship a pagan god named Sibu and do not know Jesus Christ. Our mission offers first rate services and the word is out among the villages, Hundreds of people walk or ride horses for hours or days to get to our mission site for service each year and the numbers continue to grow. This is your opportunity to show the love of Christ by giving up some time, and income, paying your own way, and providing healing of body mind and spirit to the poor. The Cabecars are shunned by many and loved and cared for by our missionaries in the name of Jesus Christ. They are amazed and gratified by our efforts. We are told that the rate of baptisms and marriages have been increasing and the death rate for infants has decreased dramatically in recent years as a result of the efforts of the mission partners.
The Team Size
The MMDM traveling team will usually be about 40 people. We supplement with Costa Rican health professionals and translators who translate from the Cabecar language to Spanish to the English language. All together the MMDM mission and partners total about 75 people during the Mission week.
MMDM and Club de Paz
Beginning in 2012, our founder, Cordell St Cyr became aware of a need for the Cabecar Indians in Grano de Oro, Costa Rica. This developed into a new mission destination for MMDM and in 2014, we began our relationship with Club de Paz. The owner, Don Juan Jose Vargas, who also managed a Men's and Women's Homeless shelter in San Jose, became our primary local logistics partner. He and his wife, Sylvia put together a team that were able to provide our food and lodging needs in Grano de Oro for our week-long mission. There, we provided both spiritual and medical services to the local community and the Cabecar Indians. Since then, MMDM and Club de Paz have grown in our relationship and MMDM has now been able to provide missionaries to also attend to the medical needs of the men at his location in San Jose.
Club the Paz coordinated by Don Juan Jose Vargas, is a homeless shelter for men in San Jose, Costa Rica. La Señora Rosibel manages the facility and works for him. In the following video, she tells us about Club Paz.