Journal September 9-15

Rudy, Aaron, and 6 kids came along with me to church this morning. As we were on the way to church Marcos, one of my newer kids told me that his mother has been quite sick and he is worried about her. I asked him if he was sure if it was all right that he come along to church. He told me that one of his older brothers was going to watch his mother while he was in church then he would watch her later today. I found out later that Marcos’s father died in a drowning accident just a few years ago.

I got to enjoy the first part of the service but then was called downstairs to where the kids were in Sunday school.It didn’t sound like any of them did anything all that bad but between the 6 of them and about 6 others that were in the class the teacher had hit overload. I stayed in or near the class until it was over.
After church I talked with the pastors and we decided that the age difference of the kids is to wide and they are going to try to split the class as soon as the can convince some one that 11-13 year old boys are fun to teach. I was elected as the number one candidate but politely declined. I said that if I could not have that hour and a half more or less to my self on Sunday mornings I would perhaps loose any sanity that I have left. Seriously though I do value that time of worship with other Christians and feel that it is also good for the kids to get a little discipline from someone other than myself. The boys and I had a good talk after church and they promised to be on their best behavior next Sunday.
I seriously thought about taking them straight home with out going to the orphanage or having any lunch but I was not fully convinced that they did anything wrong. Besides that if they didn’t come along to the orphanage it would be just as much a punishment to the orphanage kids as it would be to them. The kids were well behaved at the orphanage so after we left I took them all out to eat.

It seems that no matter how many kids I feed in the afternoon and no matter how much food they eat they are always hungry a few hours later and those who didn’t come along to lunch are down right famished. Hot dogs were on the menu tonight and either there was a record number of kids or they ate twice as much as usual. Two large frying pans stayed busy for quite some time. Nancy did most of the cooking tonight and everyone else pitched in setting the table and cleaning up afterwards so everything went quite smoothly. I actually had a lot of work to do but since I had been gone all week and would be leaving again on Tuesday I decided that spending time with the kids after supper was more important. Actually we killed 2 birds with one stone. Before our soccer game my lawn looked like it needed mowing. After the soccer game you had to do some hard looking to find my lawn. Guess what though. No broken windows tonight. Wouldn’t you know it just when I stock up on glass the kids bring over a lighter soccer ball.


Monday, September 10, 2007

I locked my self in the house for a few hours this morning. I had to get last weeks journal out and knew that if it didn’t get done today it would be a 2 week journal. At around 10 I took Abner, Rudy, and Marcos along to the orphanage. I had told Ashley and Judah that we would meat them there so that we could take some of the kids to lunch. I had not intended on taking Marcos but Rudy asked if we could take him. I don’t think that this mother is doing to well and Rudy felt that it would be good for him to come get out for a little while.

Today we took some of the kids that seldom get out along to eat. Three of them can only be bottle fed but having milk shakes of lunch was a real treat for them. After lunch we took a few of the more able bodied ones down the slides and then headed back to Hermano Pedro. I headed for home at around 2 because I still had a few things to do before heading out again tomorrow.

This evening there were more kids, more food, and more soccer. I bowed out of the soccer game though. I hate playing in the mud. I promised though that I would play again when my lawn grew back in. I thought that perhaps this would be a bit of an incentive for the kids to stay of from the place where my lawn is suppose to be. The tried but after a few face plants on the cement the game moved back over to the mud.

Tomorrow I plan on heading out on the first week of camp recruiting. Chris is unable to join me this week so I had to do some searching for an interpreter. Mario offered to go but he is in a wheelchair and some of the places that I will be going to require a fair amount of hiking. Both Carlos and Benjamin were unable to come along this week. Both Abner and Calin are fluent enough on their English that they would work out but there was one problem. It is actually Abner’s turn to come along with me but he still has his Abner moments and I do not want to go through what I did with him the last time that he was with me in a rather remote village. Having him throw a fit and start crying while in a village with a Gringo can get that Gringo into a heap of trouble. If any one there ever thought that I was hurting him or forcing him to go with me I could very well be the center piece of one of there bonfires. It worked out for the best though because as soon as Abner discovered that this trip was going to be all work and verry little play he graciously bowed out and suggested that I ask Calin. Calin who is not scared of work and is less likely to tell people that he was being kidnapped by me was more then happy to go. He has no school this week????? and his English is getting good enough that I think that with his help I should be able to carry on a fairly intelligent conversation with the people that we visit.


Tuesday, September 11, 2007, 10:10 PM

Tonight we are at the Bamboo hotel in Mazatenango. We got a bit of a late start but managed to see a few campers on our way here. Calin is working out fantastically as an interpreter. He is doing a great job and has the personality to get along greatly with everyone that we meet. It is looking more and more like he is going to fit right in and become a part of this ministry. I keep letting him know how proud I am of him and even though he does not seem to get big headed about it he loves the praise. He has been wanting to by a bicycle so that he can work at the wheelchair shop during school vacation. Tomorrow I am going to tell him that even though he is expecting no pay for interpreting this week he has at least earned a big part of that bicycle.

During supper tonight Calin asked if he could call his mother. Since step dad has once again left. (Second time in 2 weeks) I told him that it was OK if he used my phone as long as his mother erased the incoming call list when he had finished. Step dad is a jealous man. Calin’s mom had some bad news. Marcos’s mother died today. The news was hard on Calin. He and Marcos are good friends and by the sound of things Marcos’s mother was always kind to Calin. Tomorrow we are going to try and call Rudy. He lives right next to Marcos and is a good friend of the family.

Calin is already fast asleep on his cement bed. I guess that I will go and try mine out.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick



Wednesday, September 12, 2007, 9:31 PM

Every year for the past 4 years I look forward to September and October. Recruiting for camp is not easy. Camp recruiting involves days and days away from home. One of the hardest parts is leaving the kids behind, both those at home and the ones at the orphanage. Tonight we are in a good motel and other than the ants and the cement beds this place is a palace compared to some of the places that we end up staying in. Even the restaurant here is good. Unlike some of the others we do not have to worry about the food making us sick. Today I was only run off the road by 3 trucks, I lost count of the oncoming cars that were in my lane. One of the towns that I was in had pot holes in the road that you could burry a Volkswagen in. Fact is I hit one hole with my front tire that caused the frame of my car to bottom out. Some of the people that we saw on those roads looked like they were so hungry that they would rob you at the first opportunity that they had. In fact some of the people that we visited today had been robbed within the last week. By the time we returned to our motel we were tired, sore, and soaking wet from getting caught in a thunder storm. So why then do I look forward to this time of year? Am I some kind of a nut? Perhaps so, but that has nothing to do with why I love it so much. I guess one of the main reasons is that it always seems to be a time when we can really see the hand of God in everything that HAPPENS. Or perhaps I should say in everything that He lays out for us. Camp recruiting always ends up to be a lot more then driving and hiking all over Guatemala to hand out invitations to camp. If it were only that we could simply mail the invitations to the people that we were inviting to camp. Granted due to the reliability of the mail service we would likely have about 90% less campers but we could always send out 2000 invitations instead of hand delivering 200 of them. Even though most of our day is generally planned around seeing as many campers as possible so that we can move on to the next area we have come to learn that nothing in Guatemala ever goes as planned. First of all the more often we return to some ones home the more we are treated like family. I have learned to start my day off with an empty stomach because by the time we have visited just one or 2 homes we have often consumed 1 or 2 meals. There is no way to hurry a visit with someone who has been waiting most of the year for your return. Or how do you tell someone that you simply don’t have the time to repair their wheelchair which they have been unable to use for the past few months? Especially when it is some one like Melvin who spent a good part of last years teen camp witnessing to the other camper. Melton makes a living selling ice-cream to the school kids in his village but had been unable to sell any for the past several weeks. His power wheelchair is also his ice-cream cart. How he manages to tow his ice chest that he mounted wheels onto down those bumpy roads with his wheelchair is beyond me. Never the less he does, or at least did until he developed electrical problems with his wheelchair. An extra hour and a half at Melton’s house was not part of our planned day.

Neither was the half hour stop at the home of a man that I saw when driving by the open door of his home. I had seen him there when I drove through his village on another occasion but had convinced my self that he was simply resting on the floor and would soon get up. That was a year ago. Today I took the time from my planned schedule. Why not? It was already 1 PM and so far nothing had gone as planned anyway. Mike the 24 year old man that was hunched upon the floor had remembered seeing me drive by a year ago. I guess not many cars go by his house. If you saw the road you would know why. At any rate he shared with us that even though not many cars drive by people do go by on foot or on horse back. We had been the first to ever stop by and ask if there were any way that we could help.

His mother informed us that since Mike was so deformed there the only place that he could safely sit was on the floor. This had taken its toll though because he had 5 large untreated bed sores. A half hour of our time, some medicine to treat the bed sore, a promise of a specialty built wheelchair and a promised mattress seemed to brighten the hopes of not just Mike but of his entire family. I was glad that we HAPPENED by. Or was it perhaps another one of those Godincidence?

I know what our plans are for tomorrow but in stead of bearing you with things that probably won’t even HAPPEN, I will wait until tomorrow night and then share what God had laid out for us. Thank for all of your prayers. They are effective.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. Jeremiah 29:11

Yours in Christ: Dick



Thursday, September 13, 2007, 8:30 PM

First thing this morning we picked up Dona Maria a lady that we have worked with here in Mazatenango for years. She has helped us locate many of the people around this area who now have wheelchairs. Maria loves to accompany us when we visit people in this area. She was unable to come along with us yesterday but made sure that she could join us today. Thanks to her knowing where any new people lived and the reliability of my GPS guiding us to those that we visited the past, we were able to visit with a dozen families today. All of them were happy to see us and most of them assured us that we would se them at camp in November.

We even had time to stop in and see Mario a friend who was not on our list of potential campers. Mario is a man that Paul and I brought a power wheelchair to about a year ago. We spent a few days there setting up the wheelchair for him and building some cement ramps so that he could get out into his yard. Mario’s house is located down a long dirt path that leads out to the road. Some of his neighbors had promised that if we gave Mario a power wheelchair they would smooth out the path enough that he could get out to the road that is only a short distance from his town. Today when we arrived at his home we were thrilled to see that they had kept their promise. Not only was the path smoothed out but it was now entirely covered in Cement. It is so cool to see more and more communities getting in and helping the handicapped.

Mario has a very supportive family and when we arrived at his house we found that several of them were holding on to Mario helping him try to walk. Mario who barely survived an electrical accident a few years ago is determined to do everything possible to walk again. Even though he does all that he can to get exercise a power wheelchair is necessary because of the limited use of his remaining hand. Mario was in great spirit and his family welcomed us like we were part of it. Mario told us that that he had been wanting to contact us but didin’t want to inconvenience us. His power chair had started acting up a few weeks ago and was now totally dead. Even though we were tired and this was going to be the last family that we visited today I could not find it in my hart to not at least take a look at his wheelchair. If I could repair it at his house and not take it along to the shop it would mean that Mario would not have to wait for several weeks before we could get it back to his house. I had promised Calin that we would try to get back to the motel before 5 so that we could take a swim before it got dark. Calin had been working hard the last few days and deserved a little fun. He must have read my mind though because he quickly offered to get my tools from the car and help me work on the wheelchair. I reminded him that if we stayed and worked on the wheelchair we would not be able to swim when we got back. As he headed for the car he looked back and said that he felt that trying to get Mario’s wheelchair running was far more important than swimming. I quickly joined him and we went together to get the tools. Was this actually the same kid that use to rob me blind? As I gave him a pat on the back I looked down and realized that it was the same kid but God had given him a new hart. Try as we may after an hour and a half we had to admit defeat. I simply did not have the right test equipment or the proper parts with me to fix Mario’s wheelchair without taking it back to the shop. Mario and his family thanked us over and over again for stopping by and for attempting to fix his wheelchair. He also assured us that he would get along fine without it for a few weeks. Before loading the chair into my car I emptied every ting that had been in the back of my car onto the ground to make room for the wheelchair. Calin noticed a duffel bag that we have been carrying with us for the past few days. He asked me if this would be a good time to empty it out a bit. I told him that it indeed would be. At least 2 dozen people had gathered at my car some to help load the wheelchair and others just to watch. It seems that it does not take much more than some one loading a wheelchair into a car to draw a crowd here in Guatemala. Other than a few men that helped me lift the heavy power wheelchair into the car Calin soon drew the crowd to his side of the road. As he opened the duffel bag that was full of toys and teddy bears he gave strict orders to each and every person that was there to take only one item from the bag. To my amazement everyone listened.

I wish that I could say that for every time that I tried handing out toys. For the next 10 minutes Calin could not be seen. I figured that since he is fairly good size he would not be smothered by the crowd. It was not until every kid and several adults each received something that he emerged. The duffel bag appeared to be empty and all but 2 of the kids had gotten something that they treasured. The only ones that had not received anything were a tiny girl that had not dared to approach the duffel bag for fear of getting trampled and an older boy who I had remembered from the last time we were there. He was mentally handicapped and unable to talk. He was also quite shy and had stayed on the other side of the road where I was safely watching from. Calin emerged from the dispersing crowd with a wide smile on his face. He looked even happier than he did the day that I had taken him to the water slides. Could it be that he thought it was more blessed to give than to receive. I hope that this is not something contagious. If this catches on soon there will be no more people around that need our help.

"Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them." 2 Corinthians 5:14,15


Oh, by the way, when Calin handed me what he thought was an empty duffel bag I discovered that one small compartment had not been opened. The little girl who had been left out received the best doll that we had packed, and when I handed the handicapped boy a box of crayons you would have thought that it was the first present that he had ever received. Then again perhaps it was.

Good night,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Friday, September 14, 2007

Dona Marie joined us again today.
After picking up some groceries we headed down to the coast where Jose and Enma live.
It always amazes me how happy this family is in spite of all of the hardships that they endure. Enma’s husband died several years ago and she was left to care for her children on her own. Her son Jose has CP and is confined to a wheelchair. And ever since her daughters death a few months ago she now has 3 grandchildren that she is raising. The dirt floor grass roof house that they live in is scarcely more then a shed but still Enma manages to make it a loving home. Enma and her family were thankful for the food that we brought them. They told us that they were nearly out of anything to eat. When I first met this family Jose loved nothing better than to sit on my lap and go for a ride in my car. He would try to steer the car while honking the horn and grabbing on to every knob in the car. This was a few years ago when he was much smaller and even then he managed to destroy a few things in my car. Today he kept looking at me and then out side at my car. I knew exactly what he wanted but Jose has gotten a lot bigger and stronger so I have been hesitant to give him rides in my car. Today I decided to give it another try. When I got him in the car I quickly belted him in the center of the front seat and got behind the wheel. Calin got in the car next to him and helped hold him down. We allowed him to have one arm free so that he could try to steer the car and off we went down the trail that leads away from his house. Jose started off quite calm but the more he enjoyed the ride the wilder he got. Even though he had a seat belt tightly tied around him it was all we could do to hold him down. It looked like a moving all star wrestling match. Jose had the time of his life and Calin and I escaped with only a few injuries. I received an involuntary head butt during one of Jose’s happier moments and Calin got slugged in the lip when Jose broke loose from his grip. For a change though nothing got broken on my car so I Guess the ride was worth it. I know that Jose thought it was.

Many of the people that live near the coast have a big problem with mosquitoes. In Enma’s case it is multiplied by the fact that there is a lot of wet land and there are small ponds where they live. When I asked Enma if they had misquito netting over their beds she took me into the room where all of there beds are. Only Jose and one of Enma’s granddaughters had misquito netting over their beds but it did little to keep the mosquitoes out. There were holes in it that you could stick your head through. Calin and I quickly went to my Land Cruiser and got out new misquito nets for all of the beds. The family was delighted.

There were a lot more people that we wanted to see today so we finally said goodbye. Enma promise that she would do everything possible to get her son to camp. As we drove away they all stood at the door of their house waving goodbye until we disappeared out of site.

Our next stop was a little over an hour from Jose’s home. This to was a small dirt floor home whew Froilan and his family live. A few years ago a gun shot would left Froilan paralyzed from the waist down. Being in this condition at 16 years of age you would expect to see a bitter young man but Froilan is far from that. He decided that since his legs did not work he would do all he could to strengthen his mind by getting a good education. We found Froilan lying on a small rusty bed in a dirt floor room that was scarcely large enough to accommodate it. He was busy studding. We had a great visit and found Froilan the type of person that seem to radiate with happiness. Due to other commitments he doubted that he could come to camp this year but we certainly counted our visit a worth wile one.

Each and every camper that we visited today seemed to be in good spirits and a real pleasure to visit with. Naomi a girl that has been to camp twice before seems to be a walking miracle. Only a few short years ago she had no use of her right hand and was unable to walk. Now she is walking well and there is only a small amount of numbness in her hand.

In the past several days we have had the privilege of visiting with 24 families. We are tired and ready for a day off but it has been a great experience. Calin is proving to be a real asset to our work. His English is improving daily and I have enjoyed using him as an interpreter. All of the people that we have visited have enjoyed him as well. Next week his school will be starting up again so I will lose him as an interpreter. Tomorrow we plan on heading for home but only after enjoying ourselves at the motel pool for a few hours. Calin is already asleep and I am about to do the same.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Saturday, September 15, 2007, 8:18 PM

I woke up during the night with a headache, stomachache, and chills. I managed to get back to sleep but didn’t feel much better this morning. I kept my promise to Calin and did not head for home until noon but didn’t do much swimming with him. Fortunatly Calin can make friends at the drop of a hat so he enjoyed swimming while I mostly rested. Traffic on the way home was light and what can often be a 4 hour trip only took around 2 hours. Even though I still felt a bit sick when I got home there was no way that I was going to make the kids stay out of the house. They were all happy to see me and would have felt terrible if I didn’t let them in for at least an hour. I told the kids that I was not going to make any food tonight but they didn’t seem to mind. They told me that they knew I wasn’t feeling well but just wanted to hang out here. The hour turned into 2 hours then 3 and then 4. They all had so much to share. Abner showed me the bruise that he got on the side of his face when Fernando hit him but Fernando claimed it was given in self defense only after Abner gave him a nose bleed. I was glad that I wasn’t here to referee that one. Rudy came told me that Marcos is still having a rough time dealing with the death of his mother. Fortunatly there are Aunts and uncles living in the same house so the kids will all stay together.
Abner and Fernando asked if they could use my computer to call their mothers in the USA. I always say yes when they ask because I want them to stay in some kind of communication with them. After not seeing them since they were a year old I doubt that they will recognize each other if they ever do get back together. At 8 PM I told everyone that it was time to go. With in 5 minutes they had all said goodbye and left on their own. Not like the old days when I it took me an hour to get them all out of the house. I don’t think that it is because they aren’t as fond of being here as they use to be. I actually think that they are listening better and even though I at times have to leave for 5 or 6 days at a time, they are starting to be more confident that I will keep my promise and return.

I told the kids that I was going to wait and see how I felt in the morning before deciding weather or not I was going to church. By the looks of how many want to come along to Church I may have to rent a buss if I do go.

Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal September 2-8

^^^ CLICK ON ANY OF THE PICTURES TO ENLARGE ^^^

Sunday, September 2, 2007

If Sunday is a day of rest I am not sure weather or not I am looking forward to Monday. It was a good day but a busy one. Even though we did not leave for church until 10 AM the kids started showing up at around 7:30. This morning it only took one large box of corn flakes and 12 bananas (35 cents worth) to feed the gang. For some reason the soccer game that some of the kids usually organize on Saturday got moved to Sunday so not all of the kids came along to church today. Fernando and Calin came along and so did Rudy and Elmer. Rudy and Elmer, who are both in there twenties, seem to be taking more and more interest in coming to church lately. In fact Rudy wants to start going to a Wednesday night bible study that they have there.
After church we went to Hermano Pedro. With all of the wheelchair distributions, house building, and teams that have been here lately I had only managed to get in to Hermano Pedro for one short visit in the past week and a half. The kids were happy to see us. There was a group of people there from Guatemala City who was playing with the kids, they seem to be coming there most Sunday mornings. This is so healthy for the kids and the Guatemalan volunteers. Over the years I am seeing more and more Guatemalans take notice and getting involved with the handicapped. This is a big step forward from what I saw just a few years ago. The 4 people that were with me did great with the kids as well. Even Elmer who had only been to the orphanage once before got right in there and interacted with the kids.

Since it was Sunday all of the orphanage offices were closed so we were unable to take any of the kids out to lunch so after a few hours we said good by and went and got some lunch at Mc Donald’s. The choice of restaurants was not my choice because I much prefer health food but Burger king got voted down.

When we got home I managed to have about an hour to myself before the kids were once again back. The house quickly filled up with both those that had come along to church and those that had finished the soccer game. (I think that both teems came) Of course only the 4 that had come along to church had eaten. A large beach ball that Fernando had received as a prize in Sunday school provided the afternoon activities. The kids invented a new game that seemed to be a combination of soccer and keep away and to my amazement the beach ball lasted well into the night. Finally though the razor wire on my south wall or the broken glass that lines the top of my north wall took its toll and the beach ball was no more.

The rest of the night was spent consuming pan cakes and pop corn. (Pop corn is a vegetable, isn’t it?) The kids then were invited (by me) to go home so that I could get a bit of computer work done and then go to bed. I think that I may need as much sleep as possible for the next 2 weeks. Before leaving all of the kids informed me that they are having no school for the next 2 weeks. I asked them why but no one seems to know.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Monday, September 3, 2007 9:00 PM

After dropping my Land Cruiser off for a break job Rudy, Abner, and I headed off to Hermano Pedro with a borrowed pick up truck.

We had been hoping that the kids would get to swim today but someone at the orphanage decided that the air temperature was too cold. It was probably for the best though because I managed to get quite a few wheelchairs repaired and refitted. I even got a little girl who is in malnutrition who had been waiting for quite some time into a new wheelchair. She was so tiny that I could hardly get the chair adjusted small enough for her. I guess that she was satisfied though because she fell asleep in her new wheelchair before I had even finished working on it.

Since I had not taken any of the kids from the orphanage out for a long time I had a difficult time deciding who I should take. I finally passed the buck and told Rudy and Abner to decide. Ervin, Moises, and Byron got to go.

Moises and Byron did great and Ervin was himself. When Ervin is hisself he still has a great time.

He only makes things difficult for those around him. After lunch we let the kids play on the playground equipment for a long time. They had the time of their lives. Ervin did remarkably well when it was time to go and didn’t even do his usual screaming routine. I had warned him before hand that if he did his beard would be longer than mine before he ever set foot in a Campero’s again. Who ever said that it doesn’t work to threaten little kids? Funny thing is I think he listens to me because he knows that I love him. Then again he also knows that he doesn’t want to be an old man with a white beard before he returns to Camperos.

Why wasn’t I surprised when I discovered that they had not finished the break job on my car when I stopped off at the repair shop at 5 PM? Probably because that is when they told me that it would be done and here in Guatemala that never happens. Good news though. They are now telling me that it will be ready first thing tomorrow morning. That means that there is a fare chance that it will come out of the shop some time tomorrow.

The kids are now out of the house and I am caught up on most of my work so I think I will kick back and relax and then head off to bed. Just before leaving Fernando asked me if he could borrow a hat that I have hanging in my bedroom for the next few days. Since I seldom ware a hat I told him that he could keep it if he wanted but he told me that he didn’t like wearing hats either and would return it in a few days. I could not resist asking him why he wanted the hat for a few days if he didn’t like wearing one. He told me that his aunt was going to give him a hair cut and knowing what kind of hair cuts she gives he was sure that he would want a hat to cover up the hair cut until his hair grew back out. Now that is what I call preparing for the worst.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Tuesday, September 6, 2007

I guess that I have to eat my words. My car made it out of the shop by 9 AM and everything has been fixed well.

Calin and I then headed for Hermano Pedro. Social work informed me that Juan Jose, a little boy who’s parents had brought him in a few months ago had been taken home by his parents. I was shocked because I had just seen him in isolation yesterday. Only 3 months ago I had picked him and his parents up from the buss and had then gotten him admitted into Hermano Pedro in critical condition. Juan had improved some while in Hermano Pedro but was still not in very good shape. In fact just a few days ago he had come down with a high fever and was once again put into isolation. However yesterday his parents came to see him and decided that since he looked better than he did when he came in 3 months ago that they would take him home. The doctors at Hermano Pedro pleaded with them not to take him yet but they would not listen. I pray that he stays alive but it is going to be next to impossible for his parents to provides the care that he needs in order for his health to improve. Please pray that this precious little child stays alive.

Carlos joined us so we took Gaspar, David, and Roberto (Bobby) to lunch. David ate like a horse. Bobby always takes great delight in dipping the same french fry into ketchup, Mayonnaise, or what ever sauce he can find and then sucking it off and then dipping that same french fry back into the sauce again. The more sauce that he can get onto his face and clothing the happier he gets. Today he discovered that a drinking straw gets less soggy than a french fry so he used that instead. What can I say? At least it cuts down on the lunch bill. Gaspar ate well at first but near the end of the meal he fell asleep with his face in his plate of food. He tires faster than he use to and all of his actions are slowing down. His speech is getting slower as well. His older sister and brother who are in Hermano Pedro and have the same condition are the same. His brother no longer talks and is becoming more zombie like every day. His sister still smiles and asks me when she can once again come along to Camperos when ever I walk past her bed but she to is slowing down rapidly. This is hard to watch especially since I can remember when all 3 were quite active.

This evening I went to Chris and Donna’s home for supper. Judah and Ashley are here for a few weeks. Ashley is going to help us find a few teachers for some of the kids in the villages and is also planning to work on upgrading the way that we keep records on the kids and their teachers. Tomorrow her and a friend will be joining me on an 11 hour car ride to where Onias lives.

Calin and Fernando who are out of school for 2 weeks. (Why?????) have been begging to com along so tonight in one of my weaker moments I said OK. We plan on leaving at 5 AM so I am once again going to say good night.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Wednesday, September 5, 2007

I only got about 3 hours sleep last night because it rained hard most of the night. Another hurricane has hit the coast of Guatemala. It quickly dissipated to a tropical storm but has brought in some heavy rains. After closely watching the weather over my computer we decided to go ahead with our plans to visit Onias and his family. Over half of our 11 to 12 hours of travel time is on dirt roads that some times become impossible to travel when there is to much rain but after watching the weather we decided to give it a try. It was a 4 wheel drive day but at 5 PM we pulled into a small town that is an hour and a half from where Onias lives. It is raining fairly hard but the weather is suppose to get better by morning. We are praying that it does or we will have to turn back. Even though we are close to his home the roads from here on get worse. We also have a river to cross before reaching his house. Don’t worry though because if you received this letter it means that we made it and other than the ocasional close call while driving everything went well.

Good night: Yours in Christ: Dick


Thursday, September 6, 2007

It rained most the of night but there was not nearly as much rain fall as had been predicted and we woke up to partly sunny skies.





The road to Onias’s house was not an any worse shape then it had been in the past. That is not anything to brag about but at least we were able to make it in with 4 wheel drive. Some of the rivers that had bridges were much higher than usual but the one that we had to drive through was not all that bad. Onias was thrilled to see us and soon his yard filled up with friends and relatives. I had a suit case full of Bennie babies and other toys so Fernando and Calin had a great time handing one out to each of the kids. Most of the adults made sure that they each received one as well. We had a good talk with Onias and his mother about future school plans. She told us about an 11 year old boy who lived about a mile away.



Much like Onias he to was unlabeled to walk or talk. She wondered if perhaps we would consider having him and Onias taught together. We were soon on our way to talk to him and his family. Mario )the 11 year old boy was over at a neighbors house with his sister but when we told his mother who we were and why we had come she quickly sent some one to get them. Soon is sister came up the trail carrying her brother in her arms. Mario was a delightful boy who seemed to have the same enthusiasm for life as Onias. Much like Onias he to did not seem to look upon himself as being handicapped in any way what so ever. He had even devised a way of getting around on all fours that made the though of offering him a wheelchair seem foolish. When we told his mother of our thoughts about offering him an education she was excited. She shared with us that her son was extremely bright and had always expressed a desire to be educated but since he was unable to walk or talk going to a regular school was out of the question. Both her and Onias’s mother shared with us that their sons were excepted by families and even by neighbor kids that knew them but the school and many of the kids that attended it considered them freaks and were in no ways ready to accept them. Perhaps we can help to slowly change this attitude but it is evident that it will take a few years. It was decided that for right now we should stick with having a teacher come in 2 to 3 days a week to teach the 2 of them. We are trying to make arrangements for them trading off with going to each others homes to be taught 2 of the days each week and perhaps having the teacher giving one day each of one on one teaching. The mothers of both boys said that they will work on finding someone who is not only a good teacher but cares about these 2 kids. We managed to interview one teacher who loved the Idea of teaching them but due to other commitments we may have to look for someone else.


Our visit went all to fast but we wanted to try to make it back to Cobon before dark. Now after 6 hours of rough road we are in Cobon where we will be spending the night. The drive back was 40 minutes shorter than our drive down because of a shorter rout that we took.








Scenery along the way was spectacular but the road was even rougher than the one that we had traveled yesterday. Thankfully the beds in this motel are in fairly good shape so we should be able to walk normally by morning.

Good night,
Yours in Christ: Dick
























































Friday, September 7, 2007, 10:16 PM

After a long tiring day yesterday it was decided that today was going to be a relaxing day. Once again we got into the car and drove for 2 and a half hours. Close to half of our drive was down roads that were not much better than those that we drove yesterday but we were all looking forward to where we were going and the trip went fast.



Champey has to be the one of the most beautiful places in all of Guatemala. It is a jungle aria that has a beautiful river that mysteriously disappears into the ground and then reappears about a half mile down stream. Above the underground part of the river are small lakes that have cascading waterfalls that go from one lake to the next. There must be at least 6 connecting lakes. You can actually swim across one lake and then dive off a ledge that is from 2 to 10 feet high into the next lake until you have swam the entire distanced.

If you are brave enough you can also dive from some of the cliffs that line the lake or even shinny out on a tree branch and drop into the lake. Today we discovered that we had company in the trees. Calin and Fernando had been watching all day for monkeys and were thrilled when a family of spider monkeys passed by overhead. They were slowly swinging from tree to tree. After a lot of swimming and a picnics lunch we headed back for Cobon. Tonight we are staying in the same motel as we stayed in last night. It is nothing fancy and by American standards may be even less than that but it is comfortable and we are all happy to once again have good beds to sleep on.

Good night,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Saturday, September 8, 2007



This morning we started making our way back towards Chemaltenango. Instead of taking the road that leads to Guatemala City we headed towards Rabinal because we still had 2 people that we wanted to see. Our first stop was in a small town about a half hour from Rabinal, at the home of Lusbin and his family. Lusbin is an 8 year old boy that use to be in the malnutrition ward of Hermano Pedro. He has muscular dystrophy and due to his illness had been in Hermano Pedro for several months because he was getting verry skinny. Lusbin gained a lot of weight and even regained some strength while at Hermano Pedro so he returned home about 6 months ago and is doing well. While he was at Hermano Pedro I had the opportunity to speak with him and his parents about him receiving an education. Both he and his parents wanted him to have an education but didn’t exactly know how to go about getting him one. Fortunately we have a friend who is a teacher who lives in Rabinal. She is the lady who has helped us set up a number of wheelchair distributions there and has also found several starving kids that we have taken to Hermano Pedro’s malnutrition ward.



After only a few visits from Julia and from us Lusbin’s parents went to work on getting him enrolled into the public school in their town. His parents were a bit apprehensive at first because they know how children who are in wheelchairs had been treated in most public schools in the past. Fortunately things are changing in a number of the schools and Lusbin’s school is one of them. Today his mother informed us that he is doing great in school and is loving it. It is so refreshing to see this happening more and more all throughout Guatemala.

We had a hard time saying good bye to this family but after I made a promise that the next time I came I would take Lusbin to a Camperos that is in a nearby town we said good bye.

Our next stop was at the home of Julia. She and her husband were not at home so we decided to go and get something to eat. Rabinal is not a verry big town so we chose the first restaurant that we saw to eat at. Ordering the meal was a bit of an adventure. Aaron asked for a 7 up but was told by the waitress that they didn’t have any. When she asked the waitress what they did have to drink she was told that they only had Orange, Coke, and 7 up. She chose 7 up and the waitress graciously brought her some. I wasn’t to sure about the food so I just ordered a cheese burger and French fries. The waitress informed me that they did not have French fries. I was about to tell her go to ahead and give me just the cheese burger when I looked over at the table next to us. The man at the table was eating a burger and fries. I pointed to him and asked if he had received the last French fries that they had in the restaurant and was told no. It was then explained to me that this gentleman had not ordered a cheese burger but a hamburger. Hamburgers and French fries are on the menu. Cheese burgers are an the menu as well but you can not get them with French fries. I thought of ordering a hamburger and fries with a piece of cheese on the side but cheese was not on the menu. Finally on the opposite page of the menu I found the solution. There in bold print was a Cheese burger that had an egg on it and it came with French fries. I am not particularly fond of a fried egg on my cheese burger but I figured that I could take it off and give it to one of the hungry dogs that were hanging around the table. When my order finally arrived I discovered that the dogs would have to stay hungry. The cook had accidentally forgotten to put the egg on my cheese burger. I was not about to tell the waitress though for fear that she would take away my French fries. Don’t worry about the dogs though they got plenty to eat. When the others took one look at their meals which were suppose to be some kind of chicken in a cream sauce the dogs got fed plenty.

While we were eating. (or should I say feeding the dogs?) Julia called saying that had gotten home and her children had given her the cell phone number that I left with them. After lunch we went to a grocery store and got something to eat and then drove back to Julia’s house. Julia was delighted to here that 6 year old Andrais who we had brought to Hermano Pedro weighing 15 pounds was now fat and healthy. When she asked about Juan Jose I told her about his father taking him home even though the doctor had pleaded with him not to. Julia looked at me with tears running down her face. She knew that this poor little boy had no chance of survival if he were not kept in the hospital until he gained more strength. I told her not to give up on finding these kids though and reminded her that we are not going to save all of them but praise God there are success stories like Andrais that make it all so worth while. I may have been more convincing if it were not for the tears that were running down my own face. It is hard enough to loose one of the kids that we do not get to on time but when help is offered and not taken it is even harder.

While we were there Ashley gained a wealth of information that will help us with our schooling program. I verified our plans of hiking in to where Andrais and his family live some time this month. It sounds as though the needs there are overwhelming. We then headed for home.

We decided that we would take the 4 and a half hour ride on dirt road instead of the 6 hour ride on paved roads to get home. After about an hour and a half of shaking our selves half to death we questioned our decision but finally arrived in Chemaltenango at around 7 PM. We were tired but none of regretted taking this 4 day trip. I must admit though that having a hot shower and sleeping in my own bed sounds mighty fine. In fact both of those are about to take place right now.

Good night,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal August 27 - September 1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ronny with sister and brother . . . . . . .

Monday, August 27, 2007, 8:04 PM.
After a 7 hour drive from Huehuetenango we finally arrived at the beach, where we will be relaxing for the next 2 days.
Sorry no Daily journals for the next 2 days.
MY COMPUTER AND I ARE GOING TO BE ON VACATION.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Wednesday, August 29, 2007

This is still considered a vacation day so I am not going to write much tonight. We have just returned to Chemaltenango after relaxing on the beach for the past few days. I must admit though as much as I enjoyed swimming and lying around I was starting to really miss the kids. Yesterday 3 of the kids called me, all within a half hour of each other. I guess that they were missing me nearly as much as I was missing them.


Thursday, August 30, 2007, 8:16 AM

Last night I returned home to a warm greeting. Both my refrigerator and I received friendly hugs. Within a half hour my house was swarming with kids. No official meals yet but by the time they left 3 cereal boxes that were sealed shut when I got home were now empty. Today I will try to do some shopping and get something healthier, Like hot dogs, cookies, and coke.

We had a wonderful time on our vacation and I really got to know some of our shop workers better. They are a neat bunch of people. Yesterday morning some of them shared there testimonies. Ruby who is in a wheelchair and was a beggar for years shared about some of his struggles and victories as a Christian, and also talked about his gratitude for having a job at the wheelchair shop. One of the testimonies that really touched our harts was that of Jovonti. Jovonti had been involved in gangs for years and worked his way up to being the leader of the largest gangs here in Chemaltenango. It would take me half the day to write about everything that he went through and the countless number of times that God spared his life but I think that what touched me the most was that he shared that it all stemmed from the fact that he felt unloved by his family. Over and over again he was told by his relatives that he was worthless and a nobody. An uncle continually reminded him that he was so worthless that the family didn’t even register his name at the courthouse when he was born. He told us that being a gang member gave him a feeling of being loved and excepted that he never experienced at home. It is nothing short of a miracle that Jovonti was not killed by his gang after becoming a Christian. Jovonti shared with us that only on a rare occasion can a person leave a gang with out being murdered but if you are the leader of a gang there is no way you can leave. Only by the grace of God did the other members allow him to leave the gang. They still watch him closely though and have told him that he ever shows evidence that he is not walking the Christian walk they will kill him. They are worried that he know to much and if he goes back to the streets he may get involved with other gangs and share confidential information about his old gang. Jovonti who is now one of the most loving people that I have ever met is hoping to study for the ministry. His testimony reminded me so much of the kids that frequent my house and the importance of letting them know that they are loved and appreciated.

Well I have a lot to do today so I will close for now.

Yours in Christ: Dick

3:06 PM

Due to a lot of unexpected circumstances I did not get out of Chemaltenango today. Bill paying is always a slow process but today it was extra slow.

Chris ran into me in town. He had just returned from taking Artie and Erika to the airport. They had intended on leaving Chemaltenango at 3:30 AM but just before leaving town Chris received a phone call from George. George is a friend that was with us on our distribution that we just had and he and his 2 boys had also stayed with us at the beach. This morning George and a man that helps him were leaving Chemaltenango to deliver a truck load of bananas at about the same time that Chris was heading to the airport with Artie and Erika. He stopped along side of the road to buy some bread to eat. George’s friend accidentally ran across the road right in front of a speeding truck. The truck didn’t even bother to slow down after running over George’s friend. George’s friend left behind a wife and 4 children. Sometimes life here in Guatemala seems so cheep.


I had full intentions of kicking the kids out of the house for a few hours so that I could catch up on some writing but they are not to fond of that idea and are keeping the noise down so I am letting them stay for at least a while.



I have to run to the store for a bit. The reading glasses that I accidentally stepped on were evidently not shatter proof.

9:38 PM

The third and final shift of supper is finally over. Generally those who are not here at a reasonable time have to fend for them selves. Although that some times means makeing their own supper from something that came out of my refrigerator. Tonight however I was even more lenient than that. The 3 newer boys that live about a half mile from here were late because they didn’t realize that I was back from Huehuetenango yet so I fed them. Alex and Elder were even later to arrive but how could I punish them since they had gone along with their mother to church.

After supper my new microwave was a big hit. Calin brought over a bag of microwave popcorn and every eye was on the window of the microwave watching in amazement as the bag slowly grew in size. Only about half the kernels popped because the kids got overly anxious and removed the popcorn from the microwave before the timer went off. After eating what had popped the kids asked me if they could put the unpopped kernels back into the microwave. When I said yes I naturally assumed that they were going to put them back into the bag and I was a bit surprised when after there second time of setting up chairs in front of the microwave they all sat clapping and cheering. I admit popcorn is a lot more fun when you can actually watch it pop. At least everything stayed in the oven until the door was opened. I had only wished that it was not the buttered popcorn but the clean up crew did a great job and once again the inside of the microwave looks as good as new.

Well as of Monday night Calin’s step dad and mom are back together so tonight Calin is once again staying at my house.

I to am ready for some sleep so I will say goodnight.

Yours in Christ: Dick



Friday, August 31, 2007


John Sleril, his brother Jeff, and his son John Jr. arrived yesterday afternoon from Florida. These 3 gentlemen are part of a larger crew that came here a year ago and installed a new roof over our shop and wheelchair storage area. This year they came down to show us how to build 2 small prefabricated houses that thy had sent us on a container.
Today was the day that we were going to build the first one. Mario, the friend that is helping us map most of the places that we go to here in Guatemala, has recently inherited a lot here in Chemaltenango. He and his adopted daughter have been living in a small corn stalk house a few miles out of town. Lately the spiders. mosquitoes, and mice seemed to be winning the battle of who the rightful tenants of the house were. That and the fact that the house had an uneven dirt floor that made it difficult for Mario, who is wheelchair bound to get around, was almost more than he and Maryann could at times deal with. This afternoon only 5 hours after unloading a truck load of steal tubing and mettle siding Maria and Maryann have a new house. It only measures 10 feet by 15 feet but to Mario it is a mansion.

This evening I went out to dinner with Chris and our 3 friends from Florida but my crew of kids were patiently waiting for me when I got home. On second though you can delete that word patiently. I was glad that I had plenty of food on hand. Dinner was not a lot of work though because everyone really pitched in and helped. I had intended on sending them all home after dinner but since most of them think of this as more of a home than where they actually live I just did not have the hart. I have let them know though that tomorrow night has to be a work night for me. Sometimes when I give them a bit of a warning not quite as many show up. Than again sometimes it makes no difference at all. I guess that we will see tomorrow night.


Saturday, September 1, 2007 7:28 PM

Well so far it has worked quite well. There have only been 4 kids at my door. Then again I have only been home for a little over an hour yet. I let them in for a little while but then reminded them that tonight was going to be a work night for me. They promised that they would play in the other room and not bother me but we tried that a few nights ago. I think that I can hold my breath longer than they can stay in the other room without coming in to tell me or show me something. I find it works best for all of us if I have the house to myself when I am writing my journals or answering e-mail and then giving the kids all of my attention when they come in. Even though they sometimes complain a bit I think that they like it better that way to.

Oh by the way, make that 6 kids so far, not 4. Calin and Daniel came to the door during that last paragraph. When I asked them if the kids that just left here hadn’t told them that I had to get some work done tonight they said, “Yes.” But they thought that they should check it out them selves.

Now where was I? It’s funny how they can cause me to loose my train of thought even when they are not in the house. I guess that I will just back track to this morning and then keep writhing until I get up to this evening which I already told you about.

It was Fernando’s turn to come along today. This worked out great because we were going to Ronny’s house and Fernando is becoming great friends with Ronny and his family. We met at 6:30 for breakfast with Chris, the 2 Johns, and Jeff. After breakfast we went to the shop and loaded another prefab house onto the Toyota pick up. That’s right we got all of the parts for an entire house onto one Toyota pick up. Once again this house only measured 10 feet by 15 feet but it was a load for the pickup.

This house was going to Ronny’s grandmother. You may remember me talking about her 3 or 4 weeks ago. She is the 80 year old lady that I had to give the half hour sales pitch to before she would accept the free house. It wasn’t that she didn’t want or need a house. What she and her 24 year old sone were living in could not even be called a shed. It was nothing more that a leaky tin roof with some tin but mostly black plastic tarp walls. So why had it been so hard to convince this lady who had nothing to accept a free house? Because in her 80 years of living in poverty she had never once been given anything. She told us that the few times that anyone had ever offered to help her out in even a small way they had never honored their word. Even after she told me to go ahead and bring her the house I saw a lot of doubt in her eyes. As much as she wanted to believe that it was true she simply couldn’t for fear that it would not happen. Today as she saw us drive up with a truck load of materials she started to believe that it was true. Three and a half hours later as she walked into her new house rubbing her eyes as though trying to wake herself from a dream she looked a bit more convinced. I would not be surprised if she doesn’t give her self a pinch every now and then just in case she is dreaming but our promise was real and so is her new home. Chris was also able to share with her about Tomas a man who simply could not believe in a risen Lord. Hopefully the reality of the new house and Christian friends that care will also show her and her family that the love that God has for her is just as real.

Unlike Mario’s house the house that we put up today was not built on a slab of cement. We plan on remedying that near the end of February by pouring her a concrete slab when a team of around 20 people come from Washington State to build a larger home for her Grandson Ronny and his family.


I am thankful for this grandmother’s house and for the house that we plan on building for Ronny’s family in Februarys but it was hard to look less than 100 feet away where another son his wife and 6 children live. The tin structure that they live in is in such bad shape that there are rust holes in the tin that a dog could run through. We gave them some left over pieces of tin but you could see the hopelessness on the faces of this family knowing that their mother and brother were getting new houses but they were still sitting in 4 inches of water every time that it rained. I know that I perhaps should have said nothing but felt that they needed at the very least a small string of hope to hang on to. I told them that we could make no promises and there were no guarantees that it would ever happen but I would at least get the word out that they need a place to live. There it is, the word is out.

Yours in Christ: Dick