Celebrating Coris….1 year later!
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants. Psalm 116:15
One year ago today, heaven welcomed home with much rejoicing one of Vision Nicaragua’s dearest friends, Coris. Coris’s life was marked by great faith, courage, and love for his family. Knowing that Coris is rejoicing alongside Jesus today we find it fitting we do the same.
So, I’ve called on two very special ladies to me and to Vision Nicaragua who knew Coris well to share their memories with us! It’s my hope that if you never had the privilege to meet Coris that through this post you’ll feel like you were able given the opportunity to get to know him through those sharing how much he impacted their lives.
Valerie Mydske, Vision Nicaragua’s founder had this to memory to share about Coris:
Coris was a very intelligent and clever man, dedicated to his wife and family, and to his Lord. I remember the gadget he made from an old stove coil he found in the rubble of hurricane Mitch. He carved out a circle in a chunk of lava cement to make a usable electric cooking burner! He was a valuable helper in everything artistic – including painting and building. We loved Coris dearly, and miss him greatly. Our hearts and prayers are with his wife and family, who have suffered much, and will always miss his cheery and helpful presence. -Val
If you’ve ever stayed at the Vision Nicaragua Mission House then you have seen the craftsmanship of Coris. Coris, was one of the many men from Bethel who helped build the mission house.
To know Coris is to know his love for his family. Above is a picture of Coris and his wife, Mercedes after her graduation from her sewing class. He adored his wife as well as his children and precious granddaughter, Keyli. A vibrant little 5 yr. old who has an infectious smile!
My own personal memory of Coris is from 2009. My church took one of it’s first trips to Nicaragua and one of the main things we were involved in was distributing beans and rice along with outreach church services in different communities. We teamed up with about 12 men from Bethel who were all suffering with chronic kidney disease.
One of places we visited was the local city dump. Coris was among the group of men that traveled with us. Afterwards we surprised them with a meal at a local restaurant (pictured below) because it was Father’s Day in Nicaragua. These men absolutely loved serving these communities.When they got together they all turned into little boys picking on one another and laughing.
But, what I’ll never forget is when we got to the dump, where thousands of people live (yes, live.) and we were going around inviting different families to join us for a church service….I never walked anywhere alone. Coris was there. He watched over me and protected me like I was his little girl.
I had a chance to reminisce with him before he passed and I was able to share with him how much that meant to me. At this point, several years later, Coris was beginning to suffer the effects of chronic kidney disease.
For those of you who may not be familiar, unemployment in Nicaragua is a real problem. Due to lack of education and/or opportunities the main source of employment in northwest Nicaragua is to work in the local sugar cane plantation. This job is incredibly labor intensive and doesn’t provide much income. However, it’s the conditions and herbicides used on the cane that pose the biggest threat. Through continued exposure to these chemicals accompanied with dehydration it’s just a matter of time before these men are diagnosed with CKD (chronic kidney disease).
They are monitored regularly by the company and when their creatine levels in their kidneys are too high they are put on probation. They go home, rest, and then if by their next there’s no improvement they’re let go. Besides a kidney transplant, in-home dialysis, although risky is their only option for survival.
Coris, had dealt with this disease on and off for a number of years but took a turn for the worst June 2012. Coris then made the courageous decision to start in-home dialysis. Treatments ever 6 hours for the rest of his life.
Culturally, this is not the easiest decision to make. Infection is the biggest risk with in-home dialysis. One infection could take their life. So, many of these men don’t even attempt it, because they’ve seen too many of their friends and family members not survive.
You can read more about Coris’ journey with in-home dialysis here : Coris’ Story (story by Lindsey Miller)
Through choosing in-home dialysis he was given 5 more months with his family.
Lindsey Miller who has served with Vision Nicaragua was there for the last several months up until he entered the presence of Jesus. Here is what she had to share: