Journal October 30 - November 4

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

At 4:50 AM Chris and I were on our way to El Salvador. Traffic was light and we found our selves at the border by 9:00 AM. We were met there by Lezete, the lady from El Salvador who would be taking us to where the people that needed wheelchairs lived. We had anticipated a bit of a hassle in getting 5 wheelchairs across the border and were not disappointed. At first we were told that there was no way that we could bring the wheelchairs into the country without a letter from the president’s wife. I have been told that the First Lady is a good person but I doubt that writing a letter saying that she was allowing us to bring 5 wheelchairs into El Salvador was at the top of her list. For the next 2 hours we were shuffled from one office to another. Each office that we were directed to was on the other side of the highway from the previous. Chris later counted it up and we crossed the highway 9 times. Considering that there were both Guatemalan and El Salvadorian drivers on the highway we are happy that we are each still in one peace. Finally everyone at the border seemed satisfied and we were on our way.

About an hour and a half later we arrived at our destination. We had made it there with the van but not with out wishing that we had 4 wheel drive. At least if there had been any rust on the bottom side of the van it had been scraped off by now. Several people were waiting for us at a small Catholic church that was located in the poor looking aldea that we had come to. Only 3 of the 5 people that were to receive wheelchairs had been able to get to the church. One was a very old looking gentleman who could no longer walk. To my surprise he was only a few years older then me. Much like myself he was very alert though :>) and we had a great time visiting as we fitted him into his wheelchair. Next A teen age girl who had some mental problems managed to get a good grip on Chris’s hair while he was adjusting her foot rests. Fortunately her mother talked her into releasing her grip before the hairs on Chris’s head lost their grip. The third person that we gave a chair to was a man who had been in an electrical accident. The electrical shock had burned off both of his arms and a resulting fall had broken his back leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. In spite of all that had happened to him he seemed to be a warm and friendly person. We were told that one of the other men that we had brought a wheelchair for had been suffering from bed sores and was in San Salvador for the time being. Since he only needed a regular wheelchair we gave it to Lizete to take to him at a later date.

The fifth person concerned us more though. This was a boy named Hector whom we had only seen pictures of. In the pictures you could see that Hector was tied in a small wooden chair with a rope that went under the back of one knee causing his leg to pull up against his chest. We were unsure if his body was fixed in that position or if that was the only way that his family could keep him in the wooden chair. At any rate we had brought along a wheelchair that had all of the bells and whistles that we could possibly think of so that we could get Hector seated as comfortably as possible. Hector’s Grandmother had showed up to get the chair but told us that there was no way that she could have taken Hector with her. Unfortunately there was no way that we could get this chair set up with out seeing Hector. Soon the problem was solved. One of the villagers who owned a pickup truck that served as the village taxi loaded us and our equipment into the back of his truck and we were on our way up a bumpy dirt road that lead to the trail that went to hectors house. When we reached the trail that led to Hectors house we had little problem carrying the wheelchair, the tools, and the parts that we thought we might need because a number of people had joined us on our ride in the back of the pickup truck. We thought that we were a bit crowded until we were told that they often carry up to 30 people at a time in this truck. When we got to Hectors home his grandmother and a few of the older children carried Hector out of the house to greet us. He was sitting in the same little wooden chair that we had seen in the photos that we had of him. He was also tied exactly the same way that he had been when the photos were taken. Hector had some deformities but most of them had become worse because of the way that he was tied into his chair. His grandmother seemed very loving and I know that she wanted the best for him. She simply did not realize that this was harming her grandson. Hectors lack in being able to communicate verbally did not keep him from conveying his thoughts to us. The smile on his face when we showed him the wheelchair that we had for him said it all. I wanted to lay him down to examine how flexible he was but there was no where to lay him other than in the mud. Since it was to dark to see anything inside the small windowless house that Hectors family lived in some one brought out a plastic chair. I took Hector from his wheelchair and sat down holding him on my lap. At first he stayed all curled up but as he began to relax it appeared that we would be able to get him into a seated position with his feet pretty much below him. We ended up doing a lot of modifications to the wheelchair but by the time we had finished Hector and his entire family were thrilled. In appreciation grandmother sent one of the children to another home that sold soft drinks and brought us each a coke and a piece of sweet bread. I am sure that it cost her more than the family made in a day but there was no way that we could say no to such a generous offer of gratitude. Before saying good bye grandmother showed us the only other wheelchair that Hector had ever owned. It was nothing more than a rusted steal frame with no fabric left on it but some how they had managed to use it from time to time to transport Hector. I jokingly indicated to Hector that I would gladly take him out of his new wheelchair and put him into the old one if he wanted. Even though Hector could not talk he certainly knew how to laugh. I got an even larger smile from him when I posed for a picture with him sitting in his new wheelchair and me in his old one.


Before heading for home we were told that one of the families in the aldea had prepared food for us so we graciously accepted this invitation for lunch. The meal was actually very tasty and as hungry as I was I ate it with out asking what kind of meat it was. Sometimes it is better not to know what you are eating and to say a little prayer that if it is not chicken you will never find out.

As we headed for home we realized that it had been a long trip considering we had only given out a few wheelchairs. We also committed that we would gladly do it again for any one of the 4 people that received wheelchairs today. I have little doubt that we will be back. Especially if we are able to get the wheelchairs for the 200 people that Lezete knows who need them.

I originally thought we were going to be gone for up to 3 days but since we have a lot to do before camp starts we decided to return home tonight. Exactly 15 hours after leaving my house I found myself back at home feeling about as tired as I did after waking up at 4:30 this morning with only 4 and a half hours of sleep.

I think that I will head off to bed now.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Wednesday, October 31, 2007, 10:29 PM

The doorbell rang at 7:00 this morning. At 7:30 I got up to answer it. Calin asked me why it took so long to get to the gate. I reminded him that he had been told not to ring the bell every 2 minutes because if I do not come to the gate right away I am likely sleeping. He apologized and asked me what time I wanted him back. I told him that an hour later would be great. At 7:35 I am falling back to sleep. At 7:40 my phone rings. Calin wants to know if I want his aunt to come and do my laundry today. I said yes but told him not to have her come for an hour yet. Calin asks if that was to be an hour from now or from when he was coming back. I told him that it was an hour from now and that was how long I wanted him to wait since the last 10 minutes had not been all that restful. 7:44 back to sleep. 7:47 phone rings again. “Hello Calin, what do you want now?” silence “Calin?” “No Dick this is Paul. It sounds like you got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” “No Paul I am in bed.” More silence “Can I call you back in about an hour?” “No problem Dick. Why don’t you go back to sleep?” 7:48 I try to go back to sleep. 7:55 still trying. 8:00 still ……. You get the point. I finally get up and wait to see what happens next. Who or what will be next? Will it be Calin at the gate? Will it be the phone? Or perhaps it will be Calin’s aunt who is coming to do the laundry. RING! RING! the phone wins. It is Chris, he tells me that he had intended on bringing me the van earlier this morning so that I could use it if I wanted to go anywhere but had slept in and would not be here until later. “No problem Chris.” I hadn’t planned on hurrying off anywhere this morning unless he knew of a quiet motel where I could get another hour of sleep. Soon the house was feeing up with kids and seeing how happy they were that I had not stayed away for 3 days like I had thought brightened up my day and soon I was wide awake and making breakfast for the entire crew. We even fed the laundry lady and her helper.

The rest of my day consisted of getting some things done around here and then heading up to where we are having the bathroom built for Maria and her family. Paul had brought Eric up there to work but could not stay the entire day himself so I offered to go up an get him this after noon. The floor got put in today and the crew should be finishing up tomorrow. We have not told grandmother yet but it looks like we are going to have enough money left over to put cement floors in 2 of the dirt floor houses that the she and her grandchildren live in.

Who threw the firs water balloon I am not sure but with in a few minutes no one outside. Inside, or anywhere near my house was safe. I tried to get the entire gang outside but before I did my floors were soaked and so was I. Everyone had so much fun that even Abner failed to cry when some one poured a pan of water over his head. At about 8:30 everyone pitched in and soon the things were mopped up and back to normal. Upon leaving some of the kids asked if we could have another water fight tomorrow night. I said no problem as long as we could find someone else’s house to have it at. No takers so if I have any thing to say about it tomorrow my place is staying dry, but then again it was a lot of fun and my floors are no longer dusty.

Well I am going to call it a day and head off to bed.

Yours in Christ: Dick

Thursday, November 1, 2007, 9:45 PM

November first is considered Kite day here in Guatemala, so none of my neighbor kids came along with me today because they were busy making Kites. I got a bit of a late start but made it into Hermano Pedro in time for Carlos and myself to take to of the older teens out to lunch. It is not all that often that we take the older ones out to eat but they love it just as much as the kids do. I guess that my only excuse for not taking them out more often is that there are just to many residence in the orphanage and so few volunteers and it is impossible to give each of the residence the amount of attention that they need.

It seems that when ever it is a holiday like today was, the nurses that do come in to work figure that it is a holiday for them as well. Just a half hour before lunch I had gone up stares to the malnutrition ward and found Jennifer, a little girl that I have fallen in love with bent over so far back in her crib that she was gasping for air. All 5 nurses were sitting at a table in the corner having coffee and none of then were paying any attention what so ever to the kids. Jennifer has a form of CP that causes the mussels in her back and neck to contract so tightly that her feet are nearly touching the back of her head. Jessica and I have shown the nurses how to hold her straight by placing her on her back and placing her between 2 sand bags so that she does not role over on her side. In the past week and a half I have asked the nurses where the sand bags have gone 3 different times and have received 3 different answers. Meanwhile Jennifer suffers and fights for every breath. If Jennifer is still alive tomorrow I am going to try to fit something into her bed that can not be removed that will help hold her straight.

When Carlos and I returned from lunch we found that not only the kids that can do very little when they are in their wheelchairs but even the more able bodied ones had been put to bed until tomorrow morning. Only 3 kids were in their wheelchairs. As I walked past their cribs many of them pleaded with me to take them out. Unfortunately Carlos was going back over to the teen section and there were no volunteers here today. There were plenty of nurses but they were all gathered around a table in another room having lunch. It was difficult to decide who to take out of bed and who to leave in bed until tomorrow morning. Elmer was crying like mad and pleaded with me to take him out of his crib. Sam Sam, who had not been out of bed all day was banging his head on the sides of his crib. Bobby gave me his sad look that can bring tears to the eyes of grown men. Ervin was not screaming as usual but gave me a look that could break your hart. Out of the 40 + kids that were in the 2 rooms that I went into only a few were sleeping. Others were crying and some were just staring up at the sealing, lying in cribs so small for them that their feet touched one end while their head touched the other. It was a situation that you wish that you could walk away from but if I did none of the kids would be any better off. This afternoon Elmer was the one that I chose to take out of his crib and play with. Granted I could have taken more of the kids out but I only had an hour before I had to be back in Chemaltenango besides I knew that since there were no volunteers around that the second one of the nurses looked up for the table and saw that the kids were out they would likely put them back to bed anyway. Tomorrow I plan to once again talk with some of the staff who are not happy with the attitude of the nurses and see if anything can be done. I know that it will not make the nurses happy but have come to realize that t many of those that are in authority over them want to see some positive change. Like I have said before I have come to realize that I have to pick my battles. I feel this one is worth the fight.

The kids were waiting for me when I got home. I had promised that I would bring them to the cemetery so they could have some fun. Let me explain. The cemetery is one of the only places around here that has open fields around it where you can fly a kite without getting it tangled in power lines or trees. The kids don’t actually fly the kites in the cemetery but in a field that is right next to it. In spite of the fact that the field has very few trees in it and there is only one set of power lines on the south end the kids managed to lose all but one kite in the trees and power lines by the time we had finished flying the kites.

When we got home I made some hot dogs and beans. The kids know that I do not like it if they take any of the food that I am preparing with out asking. After returning from getting something from my car I discovered that one of the hot dogs that I was preparing was missing. I asked the kids where it had gone but they all denied taking it. They told that perhaps the dog had grabbed it of the table so I left it at that. A few minutes later a few of the kids got into a small argument over who’s turn it was to use the computer and I was immediately told that Fernando and Alex had taken the hot dog. I know that taking one hot dog with out being asked is no big deal but because of all of the stealing that use to go on in my house I have to make sure that there is a consequence for taking even the littlest thing. I also explained to Fernando and Alex that they had both lied to me when I asked them if they had taken it. Tonight these 2 boys went home without supper. Later this evening Fernando returned and apologized. I told him that he was still not allowed any hot dogs but let him make himself some scrambled eggs.

Good night:
Yours in Christ: Dick

Friday, November 2, 2007

This morning Fernando and I headed to Hermano Pedro to meat with a group of therapists that are here from the States for a few days. This was not meant as a reward to Fernando for apologizing but it was simply his turn to come along with me. After giving the 4 therapists a quick tour of the orphanage we were joined by some of the members of the Scott family and we took 7 of the kids out to lunch. One of the therapists who is a feeding specialist worked with Alex and got him to eat more than I have ever seen him eat before. We are hoping that she can share some of the techniques that she used with the nurses at Hermano Pedro. After lunch we brought the kids over to the playground equipment where they had the time of their lives. As I looked around at the kids I could not help but remember that yesterday at this time of day most of them were already in bed.

After returning to Hermano Pedro I took the group up to the malnutrition ward. I wanted to have the therapists see Jennifer. My hart sunk when I saw that Jennifer’s bed was empty. I was thankful when I was told that one of the nurses had taken her into another room. The therapists worked wither for a while and agreed that we had to try to build something for her that prevented her from bending backwards into a half circle. I held her as we discussed what we wanted to make for her. Suddenly she started vomiting. I was glad that I was holding her. Not for the shower of half digested milk that I got but for the fact that I could quickly get her on to her side so that she could breath. We quickly realized that that there was no way that we could make something that kept her on her back or she would choke to death if she vomited again. We also knew that if we allowed her to stay curled up on her side she would choke from having her head bent back against he back. I had found her in that position yesterday and she was barely breathing. Tomorrow we are planning on designing something that will hold her straighter while still allowing her to lye on her side. I am grateful that the therapists will be there as well. I think that the timing of there 2 day visit in Antigua is another GODINCIDENT.

It has been a long day so I am going to say goodnight.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Saturday, November 3, 2007, 8:22 PM

We didn’t change the world today but we had the God given opportunity to help improve the lives of a few children and at least better their lives a bit.

Today Manwell experienced a taste of what it will be like to walk on his own once he gains just a bit more strength. He and his sister Tomasina came in to the hospital less than a month ago in a half starved condition but both are now doing well enough that Manwell was able to be fit into his own walker this morning and Tomasina should receive one with in the next few days. Once I got Manwell fitted properly in his new walker there was no stopping him. I am quite certain that it will be no time at all until he and his sister will no longer need their walkers.

At around 10:30 am the 4 therapists that were with me yesterday and 2 members of the Scott family came to the orphanage so with their help and the help of Abner and Calin we were able to take 8 more kids to lunch. Both the Scot’s and the therapists have had a lot of experience with kids with disabilities so we were able to take some of the kids that need extra care in feeding. The lady that is the feeding specialist came along and she was great at getting kids who normally eat very little to eat far more than I have ever seen them eat. She showed me a lot of things that can hopefully be learned by the nurses at the hospital. I wish that she could stick around longer and share some of her techniques with them herself. I feel though that the fact that she held the kids and really showed them that she loved them had a big part in how well they ate.

Our high light of the day was when we all put our heads together and built something for Jennifer, the little girl who’s head and back bend backwards in a half circle. We came up with a bed of sorts that has a carved lower mattress and a carved mattress on the back side that resembles a padded back wall. We then laid Jessica on her side on the lower mattress and then strapped her wither back against the back mattress. Even though it sounds something like a torture chamber, to Jennifer it was heaven. With in a few minutes she was completely relaxed and had fallen asleep. When we had finally gotten everything just the way we wonted it we mounted it into her crib and called the nurses over. To our delight they showed great interest and each one commented that they had never seen her looking so relaxed. They all watched and listened carefully as we demonstrated exactly how to position her and fasten the straps so that she would be as comfortable as possible. I think that part of their lack of paying much attention to her when she was having such difficulty breathing a few days ago was because they felt helpless in knowing what to do for her. They even promised that they would reposition her and look for any redness of tissue every few hours. Each one of them thanked us over and over again for doing something for Jennifer. I plan on checking in to see how she is doing after church tomorrow and some of the therapists said that they can stop in later in the afternoon.

I was extremely tired when I finally got home at around 8 PM. It has been a long exhausting day but a great one. Knowing that Jennifer will finally be able to sleep tonight will also help me sleep well.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Sunday, November 4, 2007, 4:07 PM

Another wonderful church service followed by a visit to the orphanage. I guess that I don’t have to tell you who I went to see first. When I walked into the malnutrition ward I was greeted by a half dozen smiling nurses. They told me that Jennifer had slept the entire night with out waking up. When I went to her crib I found her lying there with a smile on her face. She didn’t even seem like the same twisted suffering little girl that I had seen only yesterday. She looked so comfortable that I hated to take her out of her crib but knew that it would be good for her to be held on a different position for a while. I took her out side into the warm sunlight and sat with her for about a half hour. She looked so week and so tiny, but still managed to keep a smile on her face. As far as I know I have only seen pictures of what artists think angels might look like. I think that real angels possibly look a little more like Jennifer. I know that she is not a very healthy child and only God knows just how long it will be before He calls her home but those of us that have worked with her feel privileged that he has allowed us to be a small part in making her say here on earth just a little bit better.

Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal October 24-29

Wednesday, October 24, 2007, 8:53 PM

After stopping off at the home of a lady that lives close to my house to see what was wrong with her power wheelchair. Fernando, Calin, and I headed for Hermano Pedro. Three of the volunteers had asked if I would meat with them today so that we could take a few kids out to lunch. As I was pulling up to the orphanage I got a phone call from Paul Smit asking if he and his wife could join us. The nine of us were soon on our way to Camperos with 8 of the kids from Hermano Pedro. Today all but one of the kids that we took were easy to feed. Dennis who can only drink from a bottle was the only one that can not eat regular food. I had not intended on taking him but he is a favorite of both Calin and Fernando. They sat on both sides of Denis and spoiled him rotten. Denis absolutely loved it. I wish that every one that works with kids could take lessons from Fernando and Calin. They have a love for these kids that radiates and it seems to work miracles. I have seen them feed kids that normally eat very little 2 helpings of food. After lunch we took the kids onto the playground equipment and they had a ball. Moat of them have to be carried up the ladders and laid on the slides but all of them love it. We always try to put the more timid ones on the slide right after one of the kids that has a wet pants has gone down. They slide down much slower if the surface of the slide is wet. After returning to the orphanage I managed to fix a few wheelchairs then we headed for home.

Tonight we had toasted cheese sandwiches and reefried beans. The ten of us polished off everything in record time. Poor Alex and Elder had to stand out by the gate and watch. I almost broke down and brought them out some food but since there mother was punishing them for skipping church and lying to her I wanted her to know that I stood behind her on her decision.

As I write this my house and yard are filling up with more kids so I guess I better go out and spend some time with them.

Yours in Christ: Dick

Thursday, October 26, 2007, 9:45 PM

This morning I borrowed the Toyota pickup from Gordon. Then Calin and I met Eric and Hector at Burger King. They have been helping Paul with the bathroom that we are building for Maria’s Grandmother. Up until today I had not been able to help them due to other commitments. The 4 of us were joined by a block layer that lives in the Aldea where we are building the bathroom. Some of the relatives of Maria also helped us today. You wouldn’t think that a 10 X 10 cement building would take all that long to build but everything from digging the septic hole to mixing the cement has to be done by hand.

This family is very poor and survives mostly on what they can grow on their small plot of land.

Never the less the are always willing to share what little food that they have with us. Some of the fruits and vegetables that they give us are a bit unique but because of the grateful manner that they are given to us we seldom turn them down.
Today I went into the dark little dirt house where Fidel is confined to a bed. As I sat and visited with him Grandmother came in to see how he was doing. After wiping his face with a damp cloth she sat down on the edge of his bed and started to cry.
Just a few months ago Fidel's sister died and grandmother knows that Fidel is also dying. Grandmother herself is having a lot of trouble with her legs and is finding it more and more difficult to walk. Considering how much this family has been through it is hard to believe how they can stay so positive about life. Maria who can scarcely walk with the aide of a walker is always smiling. Grandmother who’s husband and most of her children disappear during the civil war still remains a warm and friendly woman. Even the kids who were extremely shy at first are now very outgoing and a lot of fun. We worked until 4 PM and then headed for home. Even though most of the people that we have met have seemed quite friendly we have been told that it is wise to be off from these roads before dark. A while back Hanna’s (Chris and Donna’s daughter) brother in law was shot at while riding his motor cycle in this area. He laid his motor cycle down on the dirt road and ran into the woods. No one came after him but he never saw his motor cycle again.

When we arrived back at Chemaltenango the 4 of us met Gordon at Camperos and after having something to eat Calin and I brought Eric to where he stays in Guatemala City. You would think that most of the kids would have gone home by 9 PM but there were still several that I ended up feeding when I got back home. Even though Calin had eaten supper with me before bringing Eric home he too was once again hungry. I worry about how much he eats and how heavy he is getting and try to get him to eat more salads and things like that. He is good about eating the right food when it is offered to him but within a few minutes of finishing up something healthy he is once again eating junk food. I think that he is trying to make up for a few years ago when he often went hungry.

Well the house has emptied out so I will once again say goodnight.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Friday, October 26, 2007

Candy, the lady that was shot and paralyzed by her boyfriend called me a few days ago her power wheelchair is still giving her some problems. Abner, Fernando, and I stopped off at her home and repaired it on the way to Hermano Pedro this morning. Candy is not in good enough physical shape to attend a 5 day camp but has agreed to come there and talk to our campers. I think that she will be a real inspiration to them. She has been through a lot but her strong faith has kept her going. Her warm personality and positive attitude make each visit to her home an enjoyable experience. How some one can have so many negative things happen to them and still smile is truly a gift from God. After we had repaired the wheelchair it was hard to say good bye but I had promised a few volunteers at Hermano Pedro that we would take some more kids out for lunch today.

It was nearly noon when we reached Hermano Pedro so I quickly got the needed paper work done and soon 3 volunteers, Abner, Fernando, and myself were on our way to Camperos. Several of the kids that we took for lunch today were ones that do not get out often so they really enjoyed it. All 6 of us that took them had a great time to. After eating we went into the room that has the playground equipment. As we were getting the kids out of their wheelchairs and putting some of them on the slides I noticed that Diego did not look well. At first I thought that he was choking on something but he had gotten so excited that he was hyperventilating. I quickly took him outside while the others started to get the kids back into there wheelchairs. Once I got him to a quiet place I took him out of his wheelchair and held him. It took some time before he calmed down but a short time later he was once again laughing and having a great time. I usually take one less kid than the number of helpers that I have just in case we have an emergency but today I had not. I think that I will from now on when ever the group is larger than 2 or 3 kids.

One of the head people from the orphanage approached me today and apologized for the hassle that we have been getting in trying to get Sonia into a school in Antigua. She told me that most of the staff at Hermano Pedro are 100% behind us but there are still a few people there that think the kids should stay locked up. She assured me though that most of them are trying their best to see that the kids have more freedom. I had been praying for a long time for the opportunity to share a few Ideas that I had but knew that since I am not an employee of Hermano Pedro I had to be careful what I said and how I said it. This seemed to be the right time. To my surprise she seemed to like some of the suggestions that I had. She asked if it would OK if she presented them to the father superior. I know that she is highly respected by him and perhaps since they will be coming from her the kids will eventually not be locked in their cribs so much of the time.

More kids than ever tonight and more food. Calin and Abner are still here and by the looks of it I better lay quick claim to the bed, so I will once again say goodnight.

Yours in Christ: Dick



Saturday, October 27, 2007, 7:29 PM

I managed to have the house to myself for over an hour this morning. I think that is a new record for the month. I am trying for an hour an a half tonight but so far in the first sentence and a half I have had to see who was at the gate twice already. At around 10:30 I got a call from Candy. She told me that she was still having some problems with her power chair. Calin and I stopped in to check out what was wrong on our way to Hermano Pedro. Fortunately it was only a bad electrical connection, so we soon had the problem fixed.

I had promised Moises and Byron that I would let them come to my house to fly kites and play with the kids after Church this Sunday but that was before I realized that Windy was celebrating her 15th birthday on Sunday. Here in Guatemala a girls 15th birthday is a big occasion. Often the birthday party resembles a wedding only there is no groom. Hopefully not any way although some of the girls do get married at a verry young age here. Anyway there was no way that I could miss her party so I decided to let Moises and Byron come over today instead. Before going home we stopped off at the new maul for some food. Even though Byron and Moises resemble a small train when Byron tows Moises’ wheelchair behind his power wheelchair, the 2 boys were intrigued by a small train that you can ride on at the maul. After lunch Calin got on board and helped balance both Byron and Moises as they went for a train ride.

It is pretty hard to get a kite flying in my yard because 15 foot cement walls do strange things to the wind. Several of the kids offered to launch them from my roof and then hand the strings down to Moises and Byron so that they could have the experience of flying one. I warned them to stay away from the razor wire that the neighbor to the south of me put on the top of the wall. She claims it has no electricity running through it but we have found dead cats on my roof for 2 days in a row. I have also seen a few of them touch the wire and even though it did not kill them it knocked them unconscious and took at least half of their nine lives. Shortly after finding today’s last fatality the lady that put the wire up showed up. I tried to be nice but explained to her that I was afraid of what might happen if one of the kids ever touched the wire. At first she insisted that there was no electricity running through the wire. I then told her that at least once a week I am woken up by a shrill scream followed by the thud of an unconscious or a dead cat landing on my roof. She once again told me that she was sure that there was no electricity running through the razor wire. I then offered to take her to the top of my house where she could look over the back wall and see the bodies of this weeks collection of dead cats. I think that she was afraid that once she got up there I would have her touch the wire to prove to me that there was no electricity running through it. I must admit the thought had crossed my mind. Any way she refused my offer to com up on my roof telling me that perhaps some one that worked for her had run power to the wire with out telling her. “Good, problem solved.” I said. “What do you mean she asked. “Well since you didn’t think that there was electricity in the wire but now realize that there is all you have to do is disconnect it.” I said. “I can’t do that,” she said, “some one might break into my place and steel my computer.” “I hope that your computer is worth some ones life.” I said as I walked away. For the time being no more kids are allowed up on my roof.

4 PM rolled around all to soon for Byron and Moises. For some strange reason these 2 boys seem to like flying kites better than spending the afternoon in bed. Abner, Calin, and Lady came along to bring the kids back to the orphanage. They have become best friends with the orphanage kids and seldom miss an opportunity to be with them.

Well it has now been nearly a half hour with out having the doorbell ring. If it gets any quieter around here I may have to go open up the gate and let a few kids in.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Sunday, October 28, 2007, 8:40 PM

It was a bit of a weird morning this morning. The breakfast crew was about the normal size but the church crew dwindled down to 2 of us. Windy was having her 15th birthday party today so her family stayed behind to use my shower. Abner and Fernando kept stalling on getting permission from their aun, to go to church t so they got left behind. Calin was going to come along but Jason beat him to the front seat of the car so he told me that he would not go unless I made Jason move. Calin was a bit shocked when I smiled and said good bye. When I was gone he told the other kids that he is never coming back to my house. Never, ended up being a few hours. To the Sunday school teacher’s dismay Jason ended up being the only one to come along to church. He can often be more of a distraction than all of the others put together.

After Church I went to Wendy’s birthday party. I had mentioned that a girl’s 15th birthday party is often times as big of an affair as a wedding but today I was proven wrong. It was a bigger affair than most weddings that I have been to. I stayed for 4 hours but understand that the festivities are still going on. It was a neat birthday party though and other than the preacher taking full advantage of a captive audience by delivering a 2 hour sermon that consisted of a lot of hollering and screaming they had a good presentation. There was a neat Spanish stile Christian band and several different singers. Most were good, one sang in much the same manner as the preacher preached, mostly screaming.

11:24 PM

Just as I was finishing the last paragraph about 25 people came to my gate. The birthday party has just ended at Wendy’s house so some of the kids that hang around my house brought about 20 cousins and friends who had come to the party from Guatemala City over to my house to play basketball and use my computers. They had thought about walking in to Chemaltenango but were afraid to since one of them was the brother of the boy that got murdered here in town a few months ago. Most of them were teens and even though they were in a large group they were quite shy at first but quickly made themselves feel right at home. I decided that with that many people in the house and yard I just as well do my writing later. Before leaving they all thanked me for having them over and asked again if they could stop by more often. I told them no problem but I do hope that it will be after we have eaten supper.

Calin who only this morning vowed to never return to my house is fast asleep on the floor. Abner has fallen asleep on my bed. Fortunately he is lighter than Calin and I can usually move him without waking him up. I have considered buying another bed but really don’t have all that much room in my house.

Goodnight: Yours in Christ: Dick


Monday, October 29, 2007, 6:35 PM

I had been told over the phone that some of the kids at Hermano Pedro were going to use the pool today so I had no difficulty getting Calin and Abner to come along. Thankfully they only put some of the more active kids into the pool because the water was really cold. Calin and Abner toughed it out, I did not. After they had finished playing polar bear both boys helped me repair some wheelchairs. We didn’t take any kids to lunch because I had been scheduled to meat with a group of people at 11 AM and shortly before 11 they called me to say that it would be more like 1 PM before they could get there. I was glad that I waited for them though because they were very interested in the various facets of the ministry and we had a good visit. After they left the boys and I headed for lunch and then for home.

I plan on leaving for El Salvador at 5 AM so the kids have already been ushered out of the house for the night. A few of them acted like it will be 3 years instead of 3 days until I return. Calin has already been back to show me the kite that his step dad made for him and to say good bye again. Calin’s family has just moved back in with Calin’s step dad for the third time in the past 2 months. So far he is being nice to Calin and Calin’s mother but I am holding my breath. Please pray for Calin’s family. If Calin, his mom, his brother, and his sister do not live with Calin’s step dad they have to stay in 2 small rooms of grandmothers house which is already bursting at the seems with another aunt and her kids.

We are still waiting on an OK from Hermano Pedro to enroll Sonia into a private school so please keep praying.

Please also pray for our safety as we will be doing a lot of driving during the next few days.

Pray also for camp which is just around the corner. Our teen camp will start on November 12, then children’s camp on November 19, and adult camp on November 26.

Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal October 16-23

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Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Since I had been on the road for the past several days I had a lot of catching up to do when I got back home. Most of my day was spent at home getting caught up on my journal and a bit of house work. I managed to take a few hours off this afternoon to go out and fly some kites with the kids and also opened up the house to them for a good part of the day. We had a hamburger fry this evening and at last count there were 16 of us. I am sure that there were more but some of them didn’t sit still long enough for me to count them.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

I went in to Hermano Pedro this morning. It was great to see the kids again. Since there were no volunteers to come along with me to lunch I was only able to take Byron and Moises along to lunch. David, Bobby, and several of the others gave me sad looks as we left to lunch but there was no way that I could take more than 2 kids single handedly. When we got back to the orphanage I got right to work on a few chairs that had been broken while I was gone. I would have much preferred just hanging out and playing with the kids but Some of the kids had not been out of bed for a week because they had broken wheelchairs.
As you may have noticed my journal entries have been shorter the past few days. That is because school is out for the year and I have decided to give more of my time with the kids for a few evenings. Don’t worry I plan on doing some of those lengthy ones again soon but for right now I feel that the kids need a bit more of my time since I have been on the road so much lately. Fernando just came in to remind me that I would play some basketball with them so I better run.


Yours in Christ; Dick


Thursday October 18, 2007

Fernando, Calin, and I headed to the Escuintla area today. On our way through Antigua we picked up Paul. This is not Paul Tjaden who has been helping us out with building the grandmother’s bathroom but another Paul. He and his wife came into Guatemala around 2 weeks ago to sort of scout things out. When I asked him yesterday if he would like to come along today to see some of the people who live in the more remote areas he jumped at the opportunity.

Our first stop was at Sergio’s home. Sergio is the boy who lives in Santa Lucia that wants badly to go to school. I still have not had the opportunity to set up a power chair for him that will be capable of navigating the hills and bumpy dirt roads that lead from his home but plan on doing that soon. Meanwhile Sergio’s mother has been searching for a school that will accept him. Since he is in a wheelchair the public school that is near his home will not take him. We thought that we might be able to get him into a small Christian school that is in his town but unfortunately they are filled to capacity and have a long waiting list of children that want to enroll. Sergio’s mother finally located a school that will accept him. Today Sergio’s mom, Paul, the 2 boys, and myself walked the rout that Sergio would have to go with his power chair. The school is located nearly a mile from his home but once he gets about a quarter mile from his home the streets are paved and fairly level. When we arrived at the school we met with the administrator and his wife. They seem like they are very dedicated people who are not operating the school simply to make money but have a genuine concern for each and every student. They told us that several of their students are not able to pay anything for attending this private school and that if we were willing to pay for Sergio’s books, Uniforms, and needed medical supplies they would not charge him any tuition. This would be a real blessing because he will have some needs that will already cost us as much as our other students average per month. I took some measurements and photos of a set of 3 steps that Sergio will have to go down in order to get into the school and promised that we would build them a portable ramp that he can use once he gets his power wheelchair. Classes don’t start back up until the middle of January so we have 3 months to get things all set up for him.

Our next stop was about an hour towards the coast. Ronny has been calling me every few days for the past week and a half. His power chair had stopped running and the tires on his manual wheelchair had gone flat. Almost every small village has at least one shop that fixes bicycle tiers but as hard as it is to believe I have yet to meat one that will fix a flat tire on a wheelchair. Unlike the USA it is not because they are afraid of a law suit or anything like that it is simply the way that things work here, Even though a wheelchair tire is no different to work on than a bicycle tire a bicycle tire repair man won’t touch it simply because of the fact that it is not a bicycle. The same thing goes for an auto mechanic here in Guatemala. They would never consider replacing even something as simple as a missing or broken bolt on a bicycle, tricycle, wheelchair or any thing other than a car. Unfortunately this often leaves some of our people who are in wheelchairs with out transportation for the simplest of reason until they can either get their wheelchair to us or we can get to them. Today Ronny’s manual chair was a classic case. I was a bit suspicious when I was told that both tires mysteriously went flat while he was at school. Sure enough there was nothing wrong with either tire other than the fact that some one had simply let the air out of them. I asked Ronny’s father if he had tried to pump them up before calling us. He told us that he had not because he only had a bicycle pump. Had I taken a felt pin along I would have written bicycle and wheelchair pump on it for him because I am not sure that he is still convinced that it will work on both. Our drive out was not in vane though because he was having problems with his power wheelchair and after seeing how some of the auto electricians in Guatemala fix things I just as soon that they keep believing that since it is not a car they can’t fix it. I did manage to get it going and Ronny was once again off exploring with his power chair. While we were there we talked more about the new house that is going to be built for the family in February. I don’t think that it will be any to soon either. Ronny’ parents told me that just a few days earlier they had to put Ronny’s wheelchair up on a table because the water in their house was knee deep.

Paul enjoyed himself but commented that he had never realized how poor some of these people were. It is one ting to hear about people who are going hungry every day but quite another thing to sit and visit with them. Before leaving Ronny’s mom took us to a family that lives in another dirt floor house. The lady there had been hit by a buss a few weeks ago and has no wheelchair. She seem to be in a lot of pain. She told me that she saw a doctor. It looked to me like she had a broken femur but the doctor that she saw had not even put it in a cast.

Before leaving we gave Ronny’s family some groceries that we had bought. I had not intended on bringing them any on this trip but Fernando had convinced me to do otherwise. Before we left this morning he asked me if he could take all of his hard earned money out of my book and by some food for Ronny and his family. Granted his earnings were less than a dollar but it got me thinking about a widow who did the same thing nearly 2000 years ago. I told Fernando that we would stop and buy groceries and that he didn’t have to use his money. As we sat eating supper in a restaurant a few hours later I could not help but wonder if we should have been willing to give even a little more to this family.

On our way back my car started running really rough but we managed to make it home. I plan on taking it to a mechanic on Monday and from the way the engine sounds I am thankful that camp recruiting is finished for the year. Tomorrow morning I am suppose to take 12 people to a birthday party that is about an hour and a half from here. Fortunately Chris can spare the Kia van for the day.


Wow it looks like those sort journals didn’t last all that long after all!

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick




Friday, October 19, 2007, 9:53 PM















.............
I was not especially looking forward to today. Earlier in the week I had promised Calin that I would take him and his relatives to an aunts birthday. That was before I realized that 12 people wanted to go. It was also before I realized that my car would not be running, and not until I was an hour into the trip did I realize that Calin’s ant lived not a half hour from Chemaltenango but an hour and a half away. There seemed to be so many things that needed catching up on at home and I really needed to get my car into the shop. Never the less a promise was a promise and unfortunately Chris did not need the van today so I had no good excuse not to go.
At 8:00 AM I picked up Calin, his grandmother, his mother, and 9 others and headed out to a birthday party of some one whom I had never met. I must admit I cheered up a bit when I discovered that Calin’s uncle and aunt did not live in the town of San Martin as I had been lead to believe but way out in the middle of no where. Granted it was a long bumpy drive but the hillside that they lived on was beautiful. Uncle and aunt owned a lot of land that had everything from corn to coffee planted on it. They also had some fruit trees an pasture land with cows grazing on it. The home that they lived in was simple but spacious and the had flowers growing everywhere. They welcomed me like I was a long lost cousin and I soon felt right at home. Even though Calin had to translate for me we had a great time visiting.
While some of the ladies prepared lunch over a wood stove that filled the kitchen with smoke some of us took a walk to a nearby stream. Some of the kids went swimming in their Fruit Of The Loom swim wear. Still having a bit of USA modesty I chose to stay out of the water. When we returned to the house a large lunch was served. I sat across from the village pastor and his wife and we had a wonderful visit. When it was time to go home I hated to leave. I had almost forgotten what country life was like. Any way what I thought was going to be a wasted day turned out to be a fun and relaxing day and I was sorry that I had tried to get out of it.

Three of the kids have once again built a tent city in my living room and are now working hard on convincing that it would be a shame to have gone through all that work with out being able to sleep in it at least one night. I was looking forward to a quiet night at home but I am sure that I will give in just like I did with taking Calin and his relatives to the birthday party. As I look at these 3 I realize how much it means to them to be able to have some where that they can feel safe. One of them has come from and abusive home, another has not seen his mother since he was a year old, and the other one is still wondering if they will find the murder of his brother who was shot in cold blood here in Chemaltenango a few months ago.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Saturday, October 21, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving! No the Guatemalans do not celebrate Thanksgiving in October. As far as I know they have no Thanksgiving but that does not stop the Moony family from celebrating one of the most traditional American thanksgivings that you could possibly imagine, complete with Turkey, Stuffing, Cranberries, every kind of pie that you can imagine and dozens of other great things to eat. Since things get a little busy around camp time Chris and Donna celebrate Thanksgiving about a month early and they do it up good. After dinner we all sat around the table and shared what we were thankful for. It was a fun way to reflect on how good God had been to each of us this past year. I took my camera along but with all of the good food and great fellowship I forgot to take any pictures. It’s probably for the best any way because the pictures would just make everyone hungry.

Thank you Chris, Donna, and family for making me a part of your family!


Sunday, October 21, 2007, 10:49 PM

Since my car is not running well at all a few of the kids and my self had intended on walking about a mile to where we could catch a buss to Antigua so that we could go to church, however a heavy rain made us change our plans. Gordon graciously let us borrow his car though, so 4 of us still went. I had planed on going to the orphanage after church but since we had Gordon’s car we decided that we had better get back to Chemaltenango. The rest of my afternoon was spent at home. I even managed to have the house to myself for about 2 hours but after that it was wall to wall kids.

Abner and Alex offered to make supper tonight so I let them have at it. I think that we had pancakes but I am not quite sure. Alex’s mom came over shortly after the boys started cooking and told me that he and Elder, who was also here, were suppose to be in church but had snuck over to my house instead. I knew that he usually went to church with his mom on Sunday night and had asked him when he showed up here why he wasn’t in church. He told me that it had gotten out early. I have rules here about lying and Alex’s mom has rules about skipping church. It will be 6 days before Elder returns to my house and 8 days before Alex is allowed to come back. It will be a bit hard on both boys but I am thankful that they have a mother who cares. I wish that all of my kids had parents that cared.

Anyway Abner who seldom likes to help out with any of the work was now on his own. At first he got quite frustrated and wanted to quit cooking but after showing him that it was best to wait to flip the pancakes until they were no longer a liquid he began to get the hang of it. After a while you could even recognize a few of them as being pancakes. The kids were all hungry enough though that none of them complained. Or perhaps they didn’t dare complain because they knew who would be doing a week worth of cooking if they did. Everyone helped clean up and I took a turn at doing the dishes.

No one is spending the night because I am going to get up at 5 AM and take my car into a shop in Guatemala City. Because of the way that my car is running I want to get into the city before the traffic gets heavy.

Well I better head off to bed.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Monday, October 22, 2007

This morning Chris and I brought my car in to Guatemala City to get the engine rebuilt. I was glad that we left early because the engine was not doing well at all. I decided to pay the big bucks and get everything done right because I hope that I can use this car for many years. Tomorrow they will let me know exactly what the cost will be.


After Chris And I got back to Chemaltenango I took the Kea van to Antigua. Several of the kids wanted to accompany me but I had to get a lot of work done there and felt that I had better go by my self. Even though I still had a lot of little helpers once I got to the orphanage I actually managed to get a lot of wheelchairs fixed. I didn’t take any of the kids out to lunch today but did take a few the ones that helped me out for a coke before returning home.



Not as many kids as usual showed up for supper tonight but those that did ate enough that you would have thought that there had been 15 of them.

I am heading off to bed early because we have a large wheelchair distribution planned for tomorrow.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Tuesday, October 23, 2007, 4:53 PM


Calin and Abner begged me to let them come along to the wheelchair distribution today. This morning I agreed to take both boys but let them know that this we were going to be busy seating people in wheelchairs and if they did not intend to work they would be far better of staying at home. My little lecture was mostly for Abner’s benefit. Calin has come along before and has done a great job of helping out. Abner can be a different story though. Some times he can get so stubborn and moody that I hardly know what to do with him. When we got started Calin teamed up with me and Abner with Benjamin and both boys did great. Before doing any seating of wheelchairs we had a short program for the people that had come from as far as 5 hours away. The Guatemalan teens that will be helping out at camp gave a Christian drama then Chris followed up by sharing about the love of Christ. Following that all of us worked at demonstrating Christ’s love by personally fitting 49 people into their own personally fitted wheelchairs. Some of the people were out of the door with in minutes and others took several hours to fit. We tried to make the time that we spent with each of them a special time. Letting them know not only that we cared but that God cares.
Calin lit up when he recognized a man that works at a gas station that is a few miles from my house. One day while stopping for fuel at the station where he works Calin struck up a conversation with him. Some how Calin HAPPENED to mention to him that we give away wheelchairs. I could tell that the man wanted to know more but I did not know why. Never the less I did not hurry their discussion and after a while Calin asked me if I had a wheelchair forum with me. Just by CHANCE this man had a son of 12 years old who could not walk but had never owned a wheelchair. LUCKY thing that we had HAPPENED to pick this particular gas station to stop at, especially considering that there are many gas stations nearer to my home. LUCKIER yet was the fact that this man HAPPENED to come to my car considering there were around a half dozen attendants standing there. Today when Calin and I walked over to this man, he quickly introduced us to his wife and son. According to what Calin was interpreting this family didn’t think that they had been at all Lucky. They were giving all of the credit to God. It almost made us think that we had experienced another one of those GODINCIDENCE things.

The first little boy that we fit today had been brought in by his mother for a wheelchair. I knew that she was extremely appreciative and being able to see her son in a wheelchair brought tears of joy to her eyes. I took my time getting him set just right but knew that out of the 49 chairs that we were giving out today over half were specialty fits. I had been watching this mother though and see was so great with this little boy that I could not help but wonder if we could do more. A good part of the time that she was holding her child she would gently lower him to the floor. Even though his legs were to week to hold his full weight he seemed to enjoy moving his feet in an attempt to walk. If only we had a walker that would give him enough support and if only I had the time. I looked around and realized that we had 5 teams that were doing specialty fitting. Back a few years ago we were fortunate when we had more than 2. I then looked back over at this loving mother and her child. Even if we were swamped didn’t they deserve the best that we could give them. WWJD. I soon found my self at our shop next door to the church that we had been working in. The walker that I needed for this little boy would have to have more support than any walker that I had ever seen but perhaps there was something that would work. We had one that would perhaps work wit a lot of modifying but Chris told me that it had already been promised to a child that we will be seeing at another distribution. Suddenly I saw something that I thought might work. It was a walker that had recently come in on a container. Although it had not yet been refurbished it appeared to be in good shape. One part was missing but I figured that we could come up with something to replace that part. About 2 hours later the little boy was standing straight and tall and making the first small steps that he had ever made with out being held up by some one else. I was glad that we had gone that extra mile.



I can only share what I personally witnessed today but I know that everyone that helped out today could share similar stories. Just seeing the look on Abner’s face after he had worked with out complaining until the last chair went out of the door, told me that he had truly experienced what it was like to be able to kneel at someone else’s feet and share the love of Jesus.

Yours in Christ: Dick