In April, a Solidarity Visit with three of our closest Bolivian collaborators reminded us that we are one: somos uno.

The gap in high-tech surgical care available to wealthy and poor patients has narrowed a bit in Cochabamba, thanks to a partnership to donate a new laparoscopic tower and supplies to the city’s most important public hospital.

Dr. Meredith (Gay) Garrett received Solidarity Bridge’s top honor, the 2018 Solidarity Award, at our annual gala on April 14.

On our first-ever Oncological Surgery Mission Trip, cancer patients and their families offered lessons in hope and trust, even when the outcomes they longed for were not guaranteed.

The thread of “pushing the envelope” was consistent throughout our week-long neurosurgery mission that consisted of mentored surgeries, patient consultations, meetings with hospital leaders and course instruction in both Bolivia and Paraguay.

As Christ’s passion unfolds we soon see that we are not being invited to live lives of pleasure or power but of suffering. We are invited to empty ourselves to make room for God in our lives. So what draws us to accept such an invitation? It is astounding that Christ should have so many followers in the wake of such an unattractive proposition!

On her first mission trip with Solidarity Bridge, office Intern, Megan Sheridan, is serving as the supply coordinator for our Oncological Surgery Mission Trip in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. In this blog, she reflects on the experience, the reasons we are called to heal abroad, and the beauty of human relationships. 

As three simultaneous trips take place in Bolivia this week, our neurosurgery and general surgery teams are working alongside each other in the city of Cochabamba, sharing in these experiences of training and equipping to build a healthier world. 

In today’s Gospel, we hear the story of Martha and Mary, and their feelings of despair at the death of their brother, Lazarus.  The human experience of struggling to maintain hope in the face of despair unites Martha’s story with our own, and teaches us to find  God’s goodness and grace in our most fragile moments. 
 

Our first-ever mission trip dedicated solely to cancer surgery begins at the Cancer Institute of Eastern Bolivia.

Three mission teams heading to Bolivia in March 2018 will take part in important “firsts,” either for Solidarity Bridge, for our partners, or for patients in need of specialized surgical care.

In today's Gospel, Jesus heals the blind man, and Chaplain Jim Manzardo, invites us to consider where in our lives we may have been blind, with closed hearts and minds.