Journal, March 5-10, 2010

Friday, March 5, 2010

My Friend Daryl has once again graciously offered to write today's journal entry for me. OK let me fess up. I actually stole this off from his web page becauseI simply did not have the time to write a journal entry today.

Dick

Fighting for food

written by Daryl

We spent today at Hermano Pedro loving on the kids. Once again we filled the courtyard with every available child. We blew bubbles, played games, and sang songs, and as we did we saw the same marvelous transformation occur. Joy replaced sadness and the entire place brightened.


For lunch we took a group of the older teens and two young ladies out to eat at Pollo Campero. Stomachs were filled with food and paper airplanes made from place mats filled the air. We had so much fun with this group!











My buddy, Elmer, and I put on our special hats and struck a gangsta pose together while Dick hit us with spit wads. In other words, the adults were worse than the kids!

Daryl

Dick wrote,

Daryl failed to mention that he started things off by throwing paper airplanes that were dipped in Ketchup at some of us. Actually I spent most of my time being very mature by taking pictures and trying to figure out a way to make money so that we can take even more kids from the orphanage out to Camperos.

Here is what I cam up with.For a $1 donation you can win dinner for 2 at Camperos. (Actually it is a 2 piece chicken dinner for one but for a small charge they will bring you an extra plate so that you can split it between yourself and a friend. All yuo have to do is be the first to correctly identify the mystery person in this photo. The only hint that I will give is that this person was one of the members of the group that went to Camperos today. If you can not identify this person you can always try for the booby prize which is an autographed picture of today's mystery guest. The booby prize winner need not identify our mystery guest but must correctly identify what part of that person's anatomy is pictured here.

Dick

Daryl wrote,

We returned to HP at 2:00 pm to find almost all the kids back in their cribs. We held another jail break, liberating most of the children into the courtyard where we spent the rest of the afternoon.

Things went well until supper. As usual, the nurses brought out food for us to feed to the children. We all fed the kids assigned to us and the nurses came back around to brush the children’s teeth. At that point, various members of our team began to point out different children who had not received food. After discussing it with everyone we determined that six children had been skipped. When we pointed this out to the nurses, they tried to argue that they had received food, but we were sure they had not. We stuck to our guns and insisted that they be fed. Eventually they relented and food was brought out. However, they had already cleaned up after dinner, so those remaining only received bread mixed in warm milk. But for our team’s alertness and intervention, six children would have gone to bed hungry tonight. Why? Because of a failure to create a simple checklist that would assure that all the kids receive a meal. I confess that this angered me. How many other nights do they miss feeding some of these little guys? And how long will it be until someone cares enough to change things?
.....................................................................................................................................


On a side note, Byron’s head-control unit for his wheelchair shorted out today. This young man is a wonderfully active guy thanks to the mobility provided by his chair, but until it is repaired he loses that mobility. Dick is working to repair it, but is not sure he has the necessary parts. A new unit is expensive and would not work as well for Byron’s needs. Would you please pray with us that Dick will be able to scrape together the parts necessary to get him back on the road quickly?

Daryl

Saturday, March 6, 2010

written by Dick

Ever have one of those days when you wake up and everything smells like roses but then it turns out smelling more like the fertilizer that makes them grow? Things started out fairly relaxing. The kids that spent the night and a few others that showed up at my door at around 7 AM and I had breakfast and the loaded p my Land Cruiser and drove over to San Lucas to watch 3 of my kids play soccer. Other then 2 kids that collided and had to be taken to the hospital the game went quite well. No concussions but both boys received stitches. (Neither of the boys that got hurt were kids that hang out at my house so at least I didn't have to be the one that took them to the hospital.)
After the Game I dropped of everyone except Elmer and Fernando. Elmer who is in his early twenties is having a difficult time finding work, (Nothing unusual here in Guatemala) So I am going to let him paint the inside of my house. After stopping off and buying some paint I decided to make a quick stop at the wheelchair shop to see if I could find a computer and a circuit board for Byron's head controlled power wheelchair. I know that it is the weekend but I am planning on being away from home taking part in 2 wheelchair distributions next week and can't bare to think that Byron would be without his power wheelchair for that many days. Out of the 4 power wheelchairs at the orphanage Bryon and Fidel use theirs the most and are lost without them. After scrounging through our inventory of used controllers I came up with a few computers and an assortment of head control parts but none of the parts that I found looked to promising. Since we didn't have any wheelchairs like Byron's at the shop I had no way to test them before taking them to the orphanage in Antigua where Byron was at. Since I was still not 100% certain weather the problem with Byron's wheelchair was in his head control unit or his computer I decided to plug his old head control unit into Fidel's wheelchair to see what happened. Guess what! I now have one wheelchair with a blown head control unit and 2 wheelchairs with blown computers. Evidently something shorted out in Byron's head controller that caused whatever computer it was connected to to short out as well.




It was 8 PM by the time that I walked into the house and I was frustrated and tired. Within a matter of what seemed like seconds I was bombarded by kids that seemed to all be in need of something. Two needed band-aids Three of them showed me that their shoes were worn out. Four wanted to use my computer for home work and another half dozen simply wanted my undivided attention. For a second there I wanted to scream but then I realized how blessed I was and one by one I took the time to hear them out. I sent them home a bit earlier than usual though and five minutes after the last one said goodbye I was fast asleep.


Sunday, March 6, 2010

I would like to say that I had a good night's sleep but the troth is from bout 3:30 on I laid there thinking about Byron and Fidel. I knew that later today I would be leaving for Santiago for a few days and that unless I did something this morning they would be without their power wheelchairs for several days. At around 8 AM I was on my way to Antigua to see what I could do about getting their wheelchairs up and running. After testing out every remaining computer that we had lying around the shop that would possible fit Fidel and Byron's wheelchairs I finally came op with one that worked. At least Fidel is happy. Unfortunately Byron will have to wait until I return from Santiago later in the week. Even then I am unsure just what to do because it looks like we do not have the parts to get his wheelchair going in stock.
I got into Santiago and met up with Saul, Hanna, 3 university professors and 8 of their students who are her for a wheelchair distribution. I didn't have much time to visit whit them when I got here because I was scheduled to get on Skpe and talk with a group from my home church in Lynden Washington who were at a mission conference. Why 200 people wanted to see my face projected on the wall above them while they were eating is beyond me but it was a lot of fun talking with them while I viewed them on my computer screen. Unfortunately the restaurant that I was at when we made the connection closed up before a Question and answer session near the end of their dinner so I had to conduct the last of our visit via flash light from the roof of the restaurant. I was later told that I looked a lot like the magic mirror in snow white and the seven dwarfs. That face gave me nightmares as a child.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Monday, March 8, 2010




Today was our first day of a 2 day wheelchair distribution here in Santiago. Well over half of the more than thirty people that showed up for wheelchairs today were children that required a lot of specialty fitting. Although up until now most of the therapy students that are here with us have not had much hands on experience in working with wheelchairs they were all eager to learn and caught on quickly.








Over the years I have become pretty good at recognizing what type of problem the kids or adults that come to us have, but several of the people that we saw today had aliments that I could not recognize. We were told that this is the case with a lot of people that live near this lake. We are seeing a lot of people especially Kids that have disabilities that we have not seen before and it makes us wonder if there is something in the lake that they bathe in and get their drinking water from that could be causing this.






It was a long day but by the time that we finished every adult and child that had come in had received a good fitting wheelchair.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Another busy day today. One of the people that I worked on today was a young man named Domingo who was brought in from the other side of the lake. Domingo is an intelligent 15 year old who has a disease that I have seen far to often. Domingo has muscular dystrophy. Most of the time the kids that we see that have muscular dystrophy lead a normal life until around the age of 8 or 10. At about that age the muscles start to deteriorate and with in a few years they can no longer walk and soon after that they loose the strength in their arms to the point that they can not even propel themselves in a manual wheelchair. Muscular dystrophy is inherited and if mom is a carrier there is a 50 50 chance that any son that she has will have it. There is also a 50 50 chance that any daughter will be a carrier and pass it on to her children. I have worked with quite a number of these kids and it is always hard to see them slowly weaken. I use the word kids because with this type of muscular dystrophy it is rare that any child that has it lives to be an adult. Just last month I brought a power wheelchair in to a young man who had muscular dystrophy. He had 3 brothers who also had it but within the past year all 3 had died. Not only had mom watched 3 of her 4 children die within the past year but 2 years ago her husband had a hart attach and died. Now all mom has left is her one son who will more than likely not be around much longer.

That is why I do everything I can to make these kids as comfortable and to give them the mobility that a power wheelchair provides. Unlike the young man from Guatemala city that I brought a power wheelchair to last month, Domingo still has enough hand use that he will not require a head controlled wheelchair. We did not have any power wheelchairs with us today so we made Domingo as comfortable as possible by placing him in a manual wheelchair but I made Domingo a promise that I will return within a month and give him a power wheelchair. Not only will this give him the independence of being able to move around on his own but it will also allow him to be able to continue to go to school.




Near the end of our day I met a young man named Sebastian. Just like Domingo, Sebastian also has Muscular dystrophy. 4 years ago when we had a distribution in this same town we had given Sebastian a manual wheelchair. At that time he still had enough strength in his arms to move around on his own. Since that time Sebastian's condition has worsened so it looked like I would be bringing in 2 power chairs next month.







When it rains it pours. As I was finishing up measuring Sebastian for a power wheelchair his mother told one of our students that she had a younger son who also had muscular dystrophy and wondered if we could see him. Mom told us that her and her husband are separated and that the younger son lived with his dad. Within 5 minutes 2 of the therapy students, 2 people that knew the family and myself were in my car and heading to where Sebastian's brother lived. Shortly after turning off down a narrow dirt road we came up on a settlement of cinder block houses. We were told that these were families that had been relocated to this settlement after the village that they lived in had been wiped out by a mud slide a little over 3 years ago during Hurricane Stan. 650 people from that village had lost their lives in that mud slide. Soon we were told to stop at one of the small block houses. We got out of the car and walked around to the back of the house where 14 year old Estebon was sitting. I immediately recognized him as some one that I had seated into a manual wheelchair 4 years ago when we had given his brother Sebastian a wheelchair as well. Although he still had a lot more strength in his arms than Domingo or Sebastian, Estebon had also become to week to move himself around in his manual wheelchair. Fortunately one of the 2 people that had shown us where this family lived knew both Spanish and the Mayan dialect that is spoken here because this family knew no Spanish. Estebon was a bit shy at first (Who wouldn’t be after 5 people 3 of whom were Americans came storming into your back yard.)

After testing his arms for strength I asked him if he know what a power wheelchair was. (Actually I had to talk to one of the American girls who had come along who knew some Spanish. She then asked the man who know this Mayan dialect and he then asked Estebon A bit confusing but it worked.) Estebon had never heard of a power wheelchair and explaining what one was through so many interpreters was not easy. Finally I took out my glasses case and held it up like a joy stick. We motioned for Estebon to take hold of my glasses case and push it forward. As he did we pushed his chair forward. I then motioned for him to pull the glasses case back and as he did we moved the chair backwards. We then had him move his hand to the right and the left and moved the wheelchair in what ever direction he move his hand. As I watched his face I saw the light come on. I have an idea that until we return whit his new power wheelchair this young man will be dreaming of nothing else. Due to language barriers we didn’t really get the opportunity to share with this family about the love of Jesus. Or did We?

Tomorrow I plan on heading back home to Chimaltenango. It has been a good trip. The accommodations have been some of the nicest that I have ever been in here in Guatemala and the group of students that we have been working with have been great, but it will be good to be back. I miss my kids. I also want to get to work on getting Byron’s power wheelchair going again. I know how much he misses his freedom.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal, February 25 - March 4, 2010

(Click on any picture to enlarge)...............

After posting my journal last Wednesday I decided to take a few days off from doing any writing. Quite a lot took place between Thursday and Sunday but since I did not write any of it down as it happened it has now all sort of ran together. Here are a few pictures of some of the things that took place but please do not hold me responsible for telling you what took place on what day. Come to think of it there is a chance that some one else took some of these pictures with my camera and I wasn't even there.

I do remember going to see some
of my kids play a Soccer game or two.

Several of my kids helped me fix some of the wheelchairs at the orphanage.

Others simply hung out with the orphanage kids.

Part of the ....
time we even...
managed to ....
just hang out ..
around home. .

Daryl Fulp to my rescue.

Just when I figured there was no way to weasel out of writing today's journal, my good friend Daryl Fulp comes to the rescue. Daryl and his wife Wanda showed up on Saturday with a teem of people that are here to serve. Daryl keeps a journal and unlike Lou who posted some of last week's journal entries, Daryl and his wife are from the USA so there will be no need for me to translate Daryl's journals from Canadian into English.

Here then is what Daryl wrote.


Mixed Feelings


As I type these words, I am flying over the Gulf of Mexico en route to Guatemala. Wanda and I are once again leading a team of 12 people to work with orphans and street children, and as always I can’t wait to get there.

Our time away from Guatemala is always difficult. We miss the children from Hermano Pedro and the other ministries so much. We are always concerned about the attention they receive (or don’t receive) when we are not there, and we find ourselves aching to hold them. So, as we begin another ministry trip I am exciting to see my kids and love them in person again.

But there is another feeling that is always present each time I return. It is fear. As I prepare to once again walk the wards of Hermano Pedro I am afraid of what I will find.

I am sure that Big Melvin has lost even more weight. Each time I see him he is thinner, and he is already a skin covered skeleton. I am afraid to see how drugged Ervin will be. Dick has told me that the staff has upped his medication to keep him subdued and I don’t want to see this wonderful little guy in a drug induced stupor. I am afraid to see Delmi. This often ignored and neglected girl becomes very withdrawn without loving attention, so I am afraid to see how long it will take for her to smile at me again.

And the list goes on...Louis, Gloria, David, Roberto, Diego, etc. What have they had to endure in the three months since I was last here? How much of life have they missed while imprisoned in at three by five foot cage?

But my excitement far outweighs my fear. And for the next nine days our team will love these kids with the love of Jesus. And they will have more of an impact on us than we will have on them. So we plunge in, with both excitement and fear as to what we will find.

Note: We have arrived in Guatemala and spent time at Hermano Pedro. One thing we did not expect was to find Louis not there. He has apparently not returned to HP after his time away and is still with his mother about 5 hours from here. The same is true of little Brenda. We are deeply concerned about their well-being. Please pray for Louis and Brenda.

Daryl

Monday, March 1, 2010

Spotting the need- by Daryl Fulp
Our team just completed our first full day at Hermano Pedro. The team was excellent as they rolled up their sleeves, embraced the children, and spread love generously. I am so proud of all of them.

When you enter an institution like HP, it is completely overwhelming. There our 240 children, teens, and adults who desperately need attention, yet only 12 people on our team. In a situation like that, who do you choose to embrace? Do you spend all day hopping from child to child, or do you simply pick a few?

Over my numerous visits here, I have finally arrived at an answer. My time is best spent by choosing the ones who meet the following criteria:

1) The ones that I do not find attractive at first glance. If, at first, I don’t find them attractive, it is likely that none of the other volunteers that regularly come through find them attractive either. The ones who are not cute, from a human perspective, are most often overlooked and ignored. And even though many of them are cognitively delayed, they eventually learn that they are ugly and embrace that identity. They suffer the most and need my attention more than the others. And, once I get to know them, I realize how beautiful they have been all along, but my sin-blinded eyes couldn’t see that truth.

2) The ones that are angry. If there is a child who lashes out in anger and frustration, they have good reason to do so. Trapped in a steel cage day after day, treated like an object, and seldom spoken to, they tend to be little vessels filled with hurt, loneliness, and rejection. If we were in their place, we would likely act the same way. It is often hard to earn their trust because their trust has been betrayed so often, but when you do, it is worth it. These little guys and girls are like sponges who are eager to soak up love once you break past their defenses. Plus I have come to realize that they are much like me before my Jesus broke through my defenses.

3) The ones that will not initially respond. These are the ones that have shut down and simply stare into space. They may have cute faces, but their faces are blank and lifeless. They have received so little stimulation in their short lives that they no longer attempt to engage people with their eyes and expressions. They are in a coma-like trance, so people assume there is no one inside and walk right past. But there is someone there. Behind those blank expressions are seeds of life waiting to be nurtured and cultivated if someone is willing to take the time.

Now if I take these three criteria and apply it to the residents of Hermano Pedro I have narrowed down the need from 240 to about 150 to 170 people who are created in the image of God but are ignored and overlooked. So the need is still overwhelming for a team of 12. We need so much more help.

"Lord, please awaken your church and light a fire in them to care for the unattractive, the angry, and the unresponsive. And please do it soon."

Daryl

James 1:27

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Fresh Eyes-by Daryl Fulp

This afternoon we returned to Antigua and spent more time at Hermano Pedro. As usual, we returned to an empty courtyard as the children had been placed in their beds for the rest of the day. That quickly changed as we liberated them from their cages and filled the courtyard with laughter and squeals (of both the children and our team).

My day was made as I exited a ward to find little Louis in Wanda’s arms. When we arrived on Saturday, we found out that he had never returned to his ward following the holidays and our hearts were broken. We have fallen in love with this little guy and were extremely sad not to see him during this trip. That despair quickly returned to joy upon finding that he had returned this morning! Thank you, God, for that gift!

I have never seen the kids of Hermano Pedro as happy as they were today. Paulo, who rarely smiles or even makes eye contact, was laughing aloud as Don, one of our team, played with him. Delmi was smiling broadly as Marisa talked and played with her. And Ervin, who rarely has anything to do with anyone except Dick Rutgers and me was crawling around generously dispensing hugs and kisses to everyone who would have them! Love flowed freely and the place was filled with joy. As I looked across the courtyard I couldn’t help but feel that it was a little taste of heaven!

As I share this with you, I have to make a confession that shames me. I have gotten used to the living conditions of the children at HP. I bring team after team into those wards and explain the conditions and introduce them to the children. And I tell them, often through tears, how hard their lives are. But there are nights that I tuck the children into their cribs and walk away without stopping to remember how wrong it all is.

Tonight was not one of those nights. As I was preparing to place Lionel back into his stainless steel cage the Holy Spirit nailed me right in the heart and I saw that place anew. And as I laid him in his bed and kissed him goodnight I broke down and wept like I did the first time I entered those wards. It continued as I laid Jo Jo in his bed, and Miriam in hers. I lowered the side of Ervin’s crib and hugged him, and as he held me tightly and would not let go, I wept again.

I cried for two reasons. First, because no human being should ever, ever, ever have to live that way! It is a violation of all that is holy and good. I was weeping tears of sorrow and frustration that our sinful world has fallen so far.

Second, I wept out of shame that I had allowed myself to ever get used to that abomination. I cried because I fail to cry every time that I say goodnight. Lord, please forgive me for not being broken every day by the things that break your heart.

And so, I will go to bed tonight with a fresh commitment to my Jesus to remember to see each day and each need with His eyes.

Daryl

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

This morning I went to Antigua and picked up 3 Americans that are volunteering here in Guatemala for a few weeks. After going out and buying groceries for 3 families that we were going to visit later today we went over to Bethel's wheelchair shop. Earlier this week I had promised Christian's mom that I would do my best to set up a wheelchair for Christian as soon as possible. I knew that this would not be an easy task because Christian's head Is larger than his body. When we got to the shop Chris and Saul helped us find a wheelchair that looked like it could be modified to accommodate Christian's needs. For the next few hours my 3 American friends and I worked on resizing this wheelchair to Christian's measurements that I had previously taken.









This afternoon the 4 of us went to my house and picked up Fernando and Marcos who had just gotten out of school. That's right the kids are actually back in school. The strike ended yesterday and the kids have actually had school for 2 days straight.








We first headed up to the area about 20 minutes north of Tecpan where Maria, her children and 2 other widows and their children live. All 3 of these families are extremely poor and up until we found sponsors that made it possible for us to supply food, clothing, schooling and housing for these families all 3 families were going hungry and none of the Children were going to school. Now that these families are being sponsored the children from all 3 families are getting enough to eat, the kids are attending school and 2 of the 3 families are living in new homes. By this time next week the third family should be moving into their new home that a teem from Canada is going to help us build. Exciting? Yes! but there are many more families like these that are waiting for some one who cares. It was hard to say goodbye but we still had nearly and hour's drive to where Christan and his mother lived and we wanted to at least get back to the main highway before dark.



Christan's mom was surprised to see us and even more surprised we had brought in a wheelchair for her son. She told us that she did not expect one so soon. After holding Christian for about a half hour the day we brought him into Guatemala City to see the neurosurgeon I knew first hand how heavy he was and how hard it was to hold him for any extended period of time. I also wanted mom to know that even though we did not believe that surgery was an option we were still going to be there for her and her son. Only a few minor adjustments were needed and soon Christian was sitting comfortably in his wheelchair.




We managed to make it out to the main road before dark but still had an hour drive ahead of us, so we decided to stop off at aresturant for some supper before heading for home. Shortly after leaving the restaurant I rounded a corner and met a buss that was passing a long line of traffic. A good part of the road that we were driving on had little or no shoulder to swing onto. Praise God! There was a bit of a shoulder exactly where we met the buss. Had we met the buss a few feet earlier you would likely have been reading about this in the news paper instead of in my journal. I want to thank those of you who continually pray for our safety. Please don't stop!

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Thursday, March 4, 2010

Today was one of those fun, try to pay the bills days. With a big emphases on the word try. My first stop was at the electric company. Actually due to the long line of people that extended out side of the door I never did get inside of the building. Judging by the speed that line was moving I figured that I would be lucky if I got inside of the door by noon and even luckier if I managed to make it to the counter to pay my bill before closing time. Oh well who needs electricity? I have a good flashlight. My next stop was at the bank where my water bill has to be paid. The line was not nearly as long as the one at the electric company, besides that I have heard that a person can only survive wiht out water for 3 days. I think that they would change that figure to about a day if they smelled the feet of some of my boys after a soccer game. Not even a skunk could survive for more than a few hours around some of those feet. I may have to borrow water from the neighbors though because when I finally reached the desk the nice man standint behind it informed me that I was 5 days late in paying it wo I would not be able to pay it until next month. I tried to ask him if my water would be shut of before that time but the only English word that he seemed ot know was, "Next."

After spending the morning not paying my bills I went over to Hermano Pedro and worked on a few wheelchairs. Lots of little helpers today so I didn't get to much work done there either. I didn't count that a wasted afternoon though because the kids that scattered my tools around had a ball.I must have looked tiered when I got home tonight becasue the kids took one look at me and told me to sit down while they made supper. They even did the dishes afterward and swept and mopped the house. No you can't send your kids to me so they can learn how to work with out being told unless you are willing to take a dozen of mine while yours are visiting. Besides that I think that my kids may have had an underlying motive. It is getting closer to the week end and they are hoping that I rent a soccer field.

Well it is getting late and all but the 4 that have declared that they are staying have gone so I guess that I will call it a night. I hope that the electricity stays on until morning. With out lights I worry about stepping on kids if I have to use the bathroom during the night.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ, Dick

Here is a word of wisdom for this week. "Always end the name of your child with a vowel, so that when you yell the name will carry."

Journal, February 20-24, 2010

My good friends Dave and Lou Black have been spending the past few Days with me and once again they have graciously offered to do my journaling for me. Although this is a blessing to me I have been made aware by many of you that since the 2 of them speak only Canadian, much of what they say is difficult to understand by those of you that speak real English. Although I do not have the time to translate all of what they wrote, I will do my best to interpret the first few paragraphs of Lou's journal into true USA English. Hoping that it will give you some idea of what Lou is really trying to say. All translations will appear in the same shade of red that my face turned when I first read the following.

Dick

(Click on any photo to enlarge)

Saturday February 20, 2010


Today had a couple of those “ahaa” (the word ahaa in Canadian means "Wow this is great!") moments for me. The first “ahaa” ("Wow this is great!") came when I realized that maybe aftershave is not meant for everyone. (Is meant for only real men like Dick) When we got into Dick’s car I, who have virtually no sense of smell, (I never carrie a handkerchief and allows my nose to plug up or run) could smell this overpowering sweet smell. (wonderful sweet aroma) Dick tried to pass it off as (assured me that it was) sugarcane water which he had driven through the day before but who knows for sure. (and I know that he was right) All that my husband had to say was (My husband even liked it and said) “Sweet ride, Dick”, but I knew better than to say anything about it at all. (but I am still fuming because I didn't get the last word in.)


The second “ahaa” ("Wow this is great!") came when I looked around Dick’s Land Cruiser and realized that when people are plunged into the depths of terror, (overwhelmed with the splendor of the day) everyone reacts differently. Saul was sleeping. (meditating and praying in thankfulness for such a wonderful day) It must be the way that his brain takes precautionary measures to ensure that he does not lose his sanity. (This was obviously his way of showing gratitude for knowing that he was riding with one of the most competent drivers in all of Guatemala, and a way of focusing his thoughts on the beauty of the surrounding country side.) Amirilis was grasping, for all she was worth, the “Oh my Goodness” handles above her door. (Amerillis had her hands lifted heavenward in obvious praise for this marvelous day.) Dave was grasping, in desperation, the handle grip on the dash, (Dave was obviously enjoying the ride as well, as he sat with outstretched hands pointing out the beautiful country side.) and me?, well I don’t think I screamed the entire way but I’m pretty sure I left my hand prints embedded in the seats in front of me. (as for me? I could not contain myself and at times found myself shrieking for joy. At one point I became so overwhelmed that when I reached out my hands in praise I accidentally snagged a fingernail on the seat in front of me and caused a slight tare in the fabric.) Kind of makes you wonder why Dick’s favorite joke goes like this...

"I want to go quietly in my sleep, like my grandfather did, not screaming in terror like the other people in his car!"

(Dick added to the enjoyment of the day by reminiscing about his childhood days and telling us about some of his favorite relatives.)

I wonder why he likes that joke so much? (Dick has such a marvelous sense of humor.)

The third “ahaa” ("Wow this is great!") came while we were at a restaurant, eating lunch. I came to the conclusion that Dick’s English must be almost as bad as his Spanish. (No matter what language he uses, Dick has such a way with words.) What we heard him ask was “Would you guys like to take a dirt road? It will be much more scenic.” It didn’t take us long to realize that what he must have meant to say was “Would you guys like to take a goat’s path? (Drive through a lovely park like setting on a well maintained meandering dirt road). It will be much more scenic.” In his defense though, (as I expected Dick was absolutely right) it did have some of the most incredible scenery that I have ever seen. (Sounds like Lou is starting to get her USA English down a bit better so I will stop translating from here on out.)

Every time that I am driving through the hills of Guatemala the words from “These Thousand Hills” by Third Day, ring in my head. For those of you who don’t know the words, they go like this:

These thousand hills roll ever on
In footprints of a Mighty God
They bring me to my knees in praise
Amazing love, amazing grace

Was on a hill my Savior died
A broken heart, a bleeding side
Hill of the skull, Mount Calvary
The blood He shed, He shed for me

Today we ascended and descended hills on hairpin curves, varying heights from above 6000 ft to below 200 ft. I am always humbled by the fact that the very God who formed these amazing hills, suffered and died so that I can have a relationship with him.


When we reached our final destination of La Tinta we met up with the rest of the team who have already built a house and bunk beds and installed the cement floor and a cinder block stove.
Once again Dick, all kidding aside, thank you for an incredible day!

Your sister in Christ,
Lou


Sunday, February 21, 2010
Written by Dave.

After a 'fitful' night of sleep - Our room faced the main street of La Tintla. Between the church next door maxing out their 'Peavey' speakers, street dogs barking, and car racing 'wanna bees', - I think I got a couple hours of sleep.



I managed to get up on time for our 7 a.m. 'desayuno' at a comedor down the street. We then drove to the Salon Municipal where the wheel chair distribution was to take place. After what Ralph, from Washington State, described as comparable to the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, in length, we started fitting people into chairs at about 10:30 a.m. Actually, with my limited espanol, I did hear "The Lord" mentioned quite a few times in the speeches.






I was 'assisting' Dick with fitting specialty chairs, which Saul was also fitting. Dan, Lou, Ralph, Debbie, Jen, Kelty, and Mark were working on regular wheelchairs. Marcia and Chris were keeping things flowing, while Marcia's husband, Alejandro, fitted people with walkers and crutches (his specialty). What an amazing team! Chris said that 51 people received chairs and we were finished by 2 p.m.!



Dick and I fitted a boy with spinal bifida with what we thought was out last chair. He was pretty happy with it. Then just at the end, a 16 year old boy came in by ambulance. Apparently, recently, he was playing basketball and got caught in some cross-fire. He is now paralyzed with a bullet still inside. And to top things off, his parents have abandoned him, leaving no one to look after him. Please keep this boy in your prayers as he looks lost and rightfully so.










Because we finished early, some of the group went up the hill to the home they had built on Thursday and Friday to install bunk beds and give the family a water filter. My heart said "Go" but my metal hips said "No", so I decided to stay behind.

Dave

Dick writes,

Dave made a wise decision in staying back at the hotel. All of us were completely out of breath by their time we finally reached the place where Chris, Howie, Juan and the teem from Washington State had built the home. How they managed to get all of the cement block, corrugated metal and other material up the steep trail from their vehicles nearly a half mile below is beyond me.

Dick

Dave writes,

I should mention how Lou and I came along on this trip. Friends of ours from Canada arrived in Mexico last week and asked us to come and visit them. After checking flights ($700 U.S.), and buses (17 hours), we declined. Then Dick asked us to go to La Tinta. Thank you, Lord!

p.s. I think the only reason Dick asked me to assist him, was because he has a sore thumb and I am "all thumbs"...

Dick drove us back "off the beaten trail", through one lush, green valley, then through one very dry one. What amazing scenery, Lord!

Dave

Monday February 22

Written by Lou.

Today was another travel day. There will be no shots taken at Dick today as he brought us home safely over some incredible terrain which included some of the steepest hills and the sharpest hairpin curves that I have ever witnessed. He even brought us through some river beds that were for some reason or other, missing their bridges.

Since I had lots of time to think, most of my day was spent reviewing an incident that happened at yesterday’s wheelchair distribution. After I had helped to fit a wheelchair for a woman, she tried to thank me through the interpreter. My response to her was that she was welcome but the wheelchair was actually a gift from God. At this point the interpreter straightened up, turned to me, looked me in the eyes and said, “We realize this, but someone had to be His hands and His feet and today, that was you.” Even writing this chokes me up. That very morning I had prayed that I would be exactly that, His hands and feet, and He had the grace to use this little, old lady to let me know that I had been. What an awesome God I serve.



By the way when I say little, I mean little. I’m pretty sure she was only about 4 feet. When I say old, I mean old. She was just a few months shy of 90. When I say lady, I may be pushing it. She kept hiking up her skirt, trying to show Dan the scar that she had from her hip surgery. That poor man. I’m glad he has a great sense of humor.

So Dick, no shots today. Just a big Thank you Brother, for this opportunity.

Your sister in Christ
Lou



Tuesday, February 23, 2010


Dick Writes

This morning my friend Rolland Elf and I headed up to a village that is located about 45 minutes drive from Tecpan. A few weeks ago I had gone to this same village along with pastor Juan to see a little boy that he had heard about that needed a wheelchair. When we arrived at the home of Christian and his family we quickly realized that Christian needed much more than a wheelchair if he was expected to live more than a few months.





Thanks to the efforts of my friend Rolland and a wonderful Guatemalan neurosurgeon who was willing to to see Christian; today we were going to take Christian in to Guatemala City to see if there was any hope for him. The doctor that we were meeting with today was the same man that had without charge operated on and saved Florinda's life only a few months ago. This doctor is known to be one of the top neurosurgeons in all of Central American and has a very full scheduled but he acted like he had all of the time in the world when he examined Christian and took his time in answering all of our questions. I wish that I could say that Christian's prognoses looks good but after examining Christian and looking at the MRI results. The doctor told us that there is little hope for Christian. Christian has almost no brain left. The doctor explained that at this point even if a shunt were put in it would eliminate the pressure that is inside of Christian's head but Christian would never improve. The doctor was gracious enough to tell Christians mother that he would preform the surgery for free and even provide the shunt if she felt that she wanted her son to have the surgery but made her aware that at best, all it would do is make her son some what more comfortable. Mom told him that she would go home and think it over. If mom elects to have the surgery done there will still be hospital expenses. I never want to be accused of trying to out play God, I am wondering if perhaps the money (most of which we do not have) would be more wisely spent on food and medicine for Christian and his family and perhaps improve their quality of life even more that a shunt would at this point. Please pray that God shows us what should or should not be done.


When I got home tonight a few of my kids accused me of being grouchy. I an afraid that they were right. With tears in my eyes I told them about Christian. I looked up and saw tears in their eyes. I am proud of my boys they are becoming real men. They are learning that it is OK to cry.


Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick





Wednesday, February 24, 2010

I am beginning to wonder if the schools here are ever going to reopen. All but a hand full of the public schools are now on strike. During the past few days many of the teachers have blocked several of the highways some times for several hours at a time. I am not sure that this is a way to get the general public to take their side and not too sure weather or not the president cares much or even knows about it. At any rate I am once again being bombarded by kids that want to spend the day dooing what ever it is that I am doing.

Today Calin and Jason accompanied the 6 people that are here from Washington State and myself to Hermano Pedro Orphanage. Since this is old hat to my kids and 5 of the 6 people that are here from the States have been to the orphanage on previous visits I opted not to give them the usual half hour to one hour tour. Instead we went straight in to the orphanage and started loving on the kids. This was another one of those thumbs up groups that needed no coaxing in order to get them to react with the kids. The only hard part of the day was when we had to decide which 7 of the nearly 250 residence to take along with us to lunch. I ended up once again being the bad guy who had to make that decision. It did not take long for the 7 kids that we did take to lunch to convince us that at least as far as they were concerned we had made the perfect choice.




Bobby who always manages to get more food on him than in him outdid himself today when he some how managed to dump his entire plate of french fries all over himself. It would not have been so bad but much to Bobby's delight Deb who helping him had already topped them off with every condiment imaginable. It is amazing what an assortment of colors a combination of Ketchup, honey mustard, barbecue sauce, hot sause and who know what else can produce. It would have made any Hippy from the Sixties who was wearing a tie die shirt green with envy.



After lunch we took the kids over to to playground equipment that Camperos has. The kids and adults had an absolute ball. I am slowly getting the kids to realize that if they put up a fuss when it is time to leave it is likely that they will not get to go again for quite some time. I think it is working because today we had no problem with the kids when it was time to leave, and the teem from the USA promised me that they will have a talk with Ralph before letting him come back.




Before leaving Camperos we tried to get Bobby cleaned up. (Actually he did not look much better after our attempt to get him some what cleaned up but you should have seen what those of us that held him looked like.) (This will definitely be the last time that I wear a white t-shirt to lunch.)



On our way back to the orphanage I had an elderly gentleman who was wearing a pony tale give me the piece sign. I shouted to him that I liked the flowers that were painted on his buss. He put his homemade cigarette back into his mouth, waved and drove off.



After bringing the kids back to the orphanage we all headed back to Chimaltenango. After a quick stop at my place to change my shirt we all walked over to the soccer field. My friends from the USA wanted to meet my kids so we figured, what better way to get them together than to have a soccer game followed by a pizza feed. I will save the Americans any embarrassment by not posting any photos of them attempting to play soccer with the kids but know I have some what of an idea of what I look like when I attempt to play soccer with them. About the only way that I can explain it is, have you ever seen a bulldozer try to outmaneuver a bumblebee? Everyone had a great time though and judging by the looks on the Americans faces the scrapes and welts that the bulldozers received from the bumblebees were well worth it.

After the hour long soccer game that some of the Americans swear lasted 3 hours, the 22 of us walked or waddled over to Camperos for Pizza. Thanks Teem for making this a day that the kids from the orphanage and those from my neighborhood will not soon forget.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick