Journal December 16-22

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Sunday December 16, 2007

There were 6 kids for here for breakfast but only 3 of them came along to Church today. 1 had a doctors appointment, 1 went to a different church and 1 doesn’t care for church. After Church we went to the orphanage. Things are quite different there with most of the kids being gone to homes of parents or relatives over the Christmas holidays. Several of the kids are still there but most of them that have no homes to go to are the more severe ones and it is a bit harder for the kids that come along with me to be able to play with them. My kids stayed down stairs while I went up into the malnutrition ward for a while. There is still not much change in the 3 kids that have not been doing to well. Jennifer’s new bed that we built for her seemed to be the answer at first but it seems that lately she is not comfortable in any position that we put her in. She is such a sweet hart but seems to be in constant pain. Byron the 14 year old boy who looks more like a 4 year old was sleeping. He has been here for several weeks now but I can not see much improvement. Paila the little girl that came into Hermano Pedro at about the same time as Byron appears to be getting weaker every day. I am fearful that she is not going to make it. There are a few newer kids that are extremely malnourished but they seem to be gaining more strength every day.

We didn’t take any of the kids out to lunch today because Hermano Pedro's offices were closed so there was no way to get the necessary paper work done. We ran into Carlos while we were there so he came along with us to lunch. After lunch we went to Chris and Donna's house for a while. I didn’t think that I missed the country all that much until I spent about an hour at their house. I offered to trade them houses for a few weeks but they didn’t take me up on it.

My house quickly filled up with kids when I got home and even though it is not in the country I realized that it is a great place. All of the kids except 3 of them left at around 10:30. The 3 that did not leave just announced that they are spending the night. I guess since no one wants to trade homes with me that I will spend the night here as well.

Goodnight:
Yours in Christ: Dick

Monday, December 17, 2007, 11:03 PM.

David Piper, a man that is staying with Chris and Donna for a few months, joined Calin and myself in visiting a few families today. I had never met David until he came to Guatemala a few months ago to volunteer at camp and in the wheelchair shop. When we met we discovered what a small world it really is. Not only has David spent a good part of his life in Washington State but he also lived in the same town that I grew up in. Not only that but he actually lived in the same house that I lived in, at different times of course otherwise I am sure that we would have met each other some where along the way or at least have been brothers or something. Anyway like I was saying David came along with us today.

Our first stop was at the home of Maria, the lady who’s husband had been killed by a hit and run driver a few months ago. She and her 4 children were not at home when we arrived but a girl that lived nearby told us that she was visiting some relatives that lived up the trail. She told us that she would go and tell Maria that we were there. We were not sure how long it would be but decided that we better not leave since the girl was so willing to go and get her for us. within about 20 minutes Maria and her children returned with the girl. Maria was not nearly as shy as the last time that I had visited there, and the children who were extremely shy on our first few visits are now becoming exceptionally friendly. We explained to her that the main reason for our visit was to see if any progress had been maid on getting her 2 oldest children enrolled in school. She informed us that the school had room for them and she would be able to enroll them in school in the middle of January. Up until a few weeks ago when some of the camp volunteers from the USA offered to pay their school expenses of around $10 a month there was no way that there mother could send them to school. I told her that Chris was checking with George’s wife to see if she had found out how much it would cost for her to raise a few pigs. This is something that her and her husband had done in the past so she felt that she and her children could do it again to generate an income for the family. She also told us that she and her children are very excited about the new prefabricated house that is going to be built for her right after Christmas. The group that sent the houses for Mario, and for Ronny’s grandmother are coming in at that time and are planning on putting up houses for about a half dozen needy families while they are here. Chris had no problem locating widows and single parent families that needed them. We were unable to stay as long as we would have liked to but explained that we had to visit another family today. After a few pictures and handing out some candy we said good bye and left.

Our next stop was at the home of the family that we had built the bathroom for. I had feared that perhaps Fedel had passed away by now but when we got there we saw him lying in a hammock right next to their new bathroom. Grandmother told us that she and some of the relatives had just showered him in the new shower that we built. Fidel’s surviving sister, Maria was not at home. Even though she can barely get around in a walker she seems to stay very active and gets out quite a bit. This year following the death of her sister she was the only member of her family that attended camp. Fidel still smiles when we talk about camp to him and every year we give him an invitation but I doubt that he will ever be well enough to attend again. After visiting for a while David and I repaired a water leek while Calin played with some of the kids. When we finished Dave and I walked over to a small store with the kids and bought them some potato chips. Not exactly health food but the store was small and chips, eggs, or pop were about our only choices. We thanked the owner for opening up the store for us as she locked it back up and walked back to her house. I guess business isn’t all that great so the kids told us that she only opens the store when some one shows up. When it was time to go the entire family walked us to my car. I once again had to take lots of pictures before we said goodbye. Even some of the older relatives who have never wanted their pictures taken in the past wanted me to take their picture this time. This is quite a change from a few years ago when a camera made all but a few of the people scatter when they thought that you were going to take their picture. The family stood and waved goodbye until we had driven out of sight. When we got to San Martine I noticed that my car was running a bit rough. We could also smell diesel. I pulled over and opened the hood to discover that one of the lines to an injector was cracked. There was not much I could do to fix it and I wanted to get home before dark so we continued on, praying that it would not completely break before we made it home. When I got home I got my tools out and removed the fuel line. As I was removing the fitting the line broke in half. Thankfully we had made it home and hopefully I will be able to fined the right fittings in the morning. I think that the kids sensed my frustration in having my car break down after only having it out of the shop for a few days because they told me to relax while they made supper. After supper we all went out side and played volley ball using an imaginary net. One side of the volley ball court was a bit narrow because of the stalled car that was parked there but never the less we had a good time.

Just a little past 9 PM I kicked Calin and Abner out for fighting and politely asked the others to leave. Nancy and Fernando put up a bit of a fuss because they and the other kids had not been misbehaving. I explained to them that they were not being punished but it was simply time for them to go. I am not sure that this answer satisfied them but they went. I don’t think that kids fully understand that an hour or so of having your house to your self is something that adults need from time to time.

Well it is getting late and it is really boring around here with out all of the kids, I guess I should have let them stay longer.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

I tried to get my fuel line replace today but no parts were available here in Chemaltenango. Fortunately a local mechanic here in my town was going in to the city today and promised to pick up a new fuel line for me there. I had promised Ronny that I would try to make out to his house today since it was his birthday. Even though I had taken some of his family out a few weeks ago to celebrate his birthday he wanted me to come today and have some cake that his mother had saved enough money to buy. When I called him last night to tell him that my car was having problems he started to cry. I decided that since it meant so much to him I would do my best to get there but was not sure how I would do it. After finding out this morning that my car would once again be down for the day Chris offered me the use of the Kia van. After repairing a leaky tire and washing out the radiator 6 of us were on our way. Flat tires are a common occurrence around here and washing the dust out of the radiator of the Kia van is about a weekly ritual now that the rainy season is over.

My 3 regulars (Calin, Abner, and Fernando) were joined by Kimberly and her older sister Lesley. Before heading out we picked up a piñata, a bunch of candy, some balloons, and a gallon of ice-cream. What’s a birthday party with out junk food and games? Ronny’s entire family and some relatives were waiting for us when we arrived. Ronny’s father had even managed to get the day off from work today. Mother apologized for not having any lunch for us but had spent everything they had on a birthday cake. I noticed that she had an iguana boiling in a pot over the fire but thankfully she did not think that it would be enough for all of us. The families eyes really lit up when I took the ice chest out of the van and showed them the ice cream that was in it. None of them had ever seen silly string before so when Calin and Fernando emptied 2 cans of it onto everyone, they thought it was great. After we had cake and ice cream I introduced the kids to the game where you tie a balloon around your ankle and then see who could keep theirs from getting stomped on by some one else. The little kids played first but some how the rules to the game got lost in the interpretation and they all just stood there while Ronny’s little brother walked around and stepped on everyone else’s balloon. I could see by the faces of the older kids that they knew exactly what to do though and just before they started I looked over at the adults who were watching. I did not have to ask twice if they wanted to play as well. The game was put on hold while we quickly blew up more balloons and tied them to the ankles of all of the adults. The first five minutes turned out to be the Guatemalans against the Gringos. Or I guess I should make that Gringo sine I was the only Gringo there. I held my own pretty well until I finally got to tired to hop on one foot and then got my balloon and my feet stamped on. The next 10 minutes resembled a civil war and got down right crazy. Everyone was having a great time though. One of Ronny’s uncles eventually came out the victor and everyone gave him a standing ovation. A birthday is not a birthday with out a piñata and all of the kids had a great time taking turns at trying to destroy Santa. Before leaving my home I let each of my kids pick one item from the box of toys and things that I give as rewards for good report cards and they gave them to Ronny as birthday gifts. Not wanting to travel after dark we headed for home at around 3 PM.

Elie helped me put my car together when we got home so it is once again running well. I hope that the mechanic who rebuilt my engine was a bit more careful on the inside of it than he was on the outside. At last count we have found 9 missing bolts and a number of vacuum lines that had not been connected. I am starting to think that the expensive mechanics here in Guatemala are just as careless as the cheep ones.

My Christmas shopping has been easy this year because I took 5 of the kids to Mazatenango last week, and several of the volunteers that came to camp from the States brought a lot of Children’s shoes and clothing along when they came to Guatemala. Last night several of the kids helped me wrap the shoes that each kid picked out a few weeks ago and then we picked out 2 or 3 nice shirts for each of the kids. I had feared that seeing their gifts before Christmas would dampen their spirits but most of them sat for hours staring at their wrapped present that was under the tree with a sense of wonderment that would lead you to believe that they had no idea what their gifts were. I am not yet sure what I am going to do about the kids that I have no gifts for. Some times it is so hard to know where to stop.

Well it is once again getting late and all of those that are going home have already left. Abner, Fernando, and Calin have decided that sleeping here about a third of the time comes with the territory. At least they are learning that the oldest person in the house gets the bed. Being 60 isn’t always all that bad.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Wednesday, December 19, 2007, 9:35 PM

This morning I went in to the telephone company to check on my phone bill. It seemed to me that it had to be a month since I paid it so even though I had not received a bill I decided to go in and check things out. The man at the desk told me that I should be receiving the bill any day now but since I was there any way I could pay it today if I wanted to. Here in Guatemala your phone gets shut off if your bills is not paid for 2 months. Mine was only a months worth but I paid it just the same. So why have I just received a recorded message over my phone telling me that my phone and internet are being shut off immediately? I guess If you do not get this journal it means that I am still being punished for paying my phone bill before I even received it. ONLY IN GUATEMALA!

Some times it is extremely difficult to find the time to write these journals but at times like these I am very thankful that I do. Situations that could drive you up the wall seem to be a lot more humorous when you put them down on paper. I am learning more and more that some of the things that could drive a person wild are the things that make life here in Guatemala so interesting. For instance if I were to loose my temper every time I got stuck in traffic due to something as silly as 2 busses sitting nose to nose an a section of narrow road for nearly an hour knowing that they could get by each other if one of the drivers were willing to back up a few feet, I would be mad half the time. I have to understand that giving in and backing your buss or car up a few feet is not the macho thing to do. It is far more manly to sit there yelling and honking your horn at the other driver for an hour.

During the past few days I decided to write down a few more things that I have learned while living in Guatemala. Perhaps they will come in handy if you ever decide to visit.

No matter how late an American thinks he is he will likely be the first one there.

If you hate standing in line. Don't even think about coming to Guatemala.

No matter how fast you could do something in the States it is going to take at least 3 times longer to do it here in Guatemala.

Modesty is a fad that has not caught on here.

Safe driving in Guatemala is a lot like modesty. (It has not caught on here.)

If your breaks quit working or your lights go out keep driving. If your horn quits pull over immediately.

If you walk close to the edge of busy roads at night make sure that you wear dark clothing so that the drivers of cars don’t panic by seeing how close they came to running over you.

In Guatemala, laws, much like painted lines on the highway are for suggestion purposes only.

Only in Guatemala can you cram 125 people into a bus and occasionally arrive at your destination safely.

There is never a traffic situation bad enough in Guatemala, that a police officer can not come along and make it worse.

No self respecting person in Guatemala would ever pay a bribe to a police officer. However giving him a few buck to show your gratitude for not giving you a ticket is perfectly acceptable.

A friendly driver in Guatemala is one that smiles and waives after he runs you off the road.

A friendly robber is one that says thank you when you hand him your money.

No matter how much you got the salesperson to lower the price, you still paid way to much for it.

Only a true Guatemalan salesperson can tell you with a straight face that it looks great on you while all of your friends are snickering behind your back.

Even though it took mama 3 months to make, the person selling it to you can easily find you a dozen more within an hour.

Only in Guatemala can you get a $1.00 haircut, Then have someone from the USA take one look at it and think that you paid to much for it.

Only in Guatemala can you get a motel room for $2 that would cost you at least $2.50 in the USA.

There is no such thing as a finishing carpenter in Guatemala.

If the floor of a new house is less than a foot narrower at one end of the room than it is at the other you may have found Guatemala’s first finishing carpenter.

Any one who claims that they have never gotten sick while in Guatemala can not be trusted.

Anyone who is not a liar and claims that they did not get sick while in Guatemala, made it through their entire visit without eating anything.

Only in Guatemala can you get electrocuted from a faulty electric shower head and fall head first into the box of used toilet paper that sits next to the toilet.

The only thing in Guatemala that draws more spectators than a soccer game is an American taking a shower.

I am not saying I never get upset but when I do my kids won’t put up with it for long. Especially Fernando, he won’t let me get by with anything. When ever I start thinking that getting work done on my yard or the computer is more important than spending time with the kids he sets me straight. He simply walks up to me and says “You no mucho fun no more. You no mucho play ninoos.” Most of the time it works and I go out and play with the kids even if it can only be for a short time. The funny thing is once I do the kids are generally great about pitching in and willingly helping me with anything that needs doing around here. Yesterday we were running late for Ronny’s birthday party. I was trying to get the kids to hurry and it seemed the more I tried to get them to hurry the slower they moved. I was trying to keep my cool but when we stopped off at the grocery store to pick up some ice cream I was beginning to feel the pressure of being so late. However knowing how much the kids love to go into the store with me I said that it was OK but I told them that we had to hurry. Big mistake, because when I get rattled and try to hurry them they go from slow to neutral, and that is exactly what happened right in the middle of a crowded narrow part of the grocery store. Fernando saw something of interest and made a non signaled stop right in front of me. I bumped into to him a bit as I walked past him with out saying as much as excuse me. He looked up at me and said, “Why you mucho mad today.” “I’m not mad I’m just in a hurry.” I snapped back at him. “Well when you in hurry you always look mucho mad.” He said. I held my tong and slowed down my pace. Was getting to this birthday party on time worth getting myself and everyone around me so uptight that it was going to ruin what was meant to be a fun day? Besides that hadn’t I been to enough birthday parties here in Guatemala that I didn’t realize that even if we arrived a few hours late we would likely be the first ones to arrive. After getting the ice cream and returning to the car I apologized to the kids for being in a hurry which in there eyes was no different than being mad. It’s funny how much kids can teach us if we are only willing to slow down and allow them to.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Thursday, December 20, 2007

Calin has decided that he wants to work at the shop during his school vacation so this morning I brought him down there to help get him started. He took his bike along in the car so that he could ride it home after work. Even though he is only 13 I think that he will do well. He is a good worker and gets along great with the others in the shop, although I must admit he is a bit frightened of Alturo, who’s bark is worse than his bite. I actually think that the 2 of them will get along greatly because under Alturo’s some times grouchy exterior is a hart of gold.

Abner and Fernando accompanied me to Hermano Pedro where we met with John and Jill a married couple who are spending a few months in Antigua with Youth With a Mission. I showed them around Hermano Pedro a few days ago and they have fallen in love with the kids. Today we arrived at the orphanage to late to take the kids out to lunch but along with the help of another volunteer we took 6 of the kids out to the park. Several of the kids that we took out today were ones that I have not taken out in years so it was a big treat to them. Actually it was a big treat for all of the kids especially considering that during these 2 months that many of the kids go home to there families those that have no families to go home to spend the entire time inside of the room that they sleep in. Why they are not at least taken out into the court yard during the day is beyond me.

Hillier (Estardo) a boy who is usually expressionless and usually shows no emotion due to physical abuse that he suffered before being admitted to Hermano Pedro about a year ago had an exceptionally good day today. Jill has fallen in love with him and the feeling is mutual. When ever she hold him he seem to come to life. His otherwise expressionless face lighted up with a smile and he began to look at her and at everything that was going on around him. I am convinced that if there were some one like Jill there for him every day he would soon come out of his own protective little world. While we were at the park another American couple that I know met with us. They had contacted me a few days ago telling me that the lady that is giving them Spanish lessons knew of a 17 year old boy who has cerebral palsy. She told them that he has no wheelchair but was able to walk some with the use of a walker. The problem was that the old walker that he owned had broken in half so now he had no way to get around. After spending a bit more time at the park with the kids we returned them to Hermano Pedro and then contacted the lady who teaches Spanish, by phone. Soon we were on our way to meet the young man that needed the walker. His name slips my mind right now but this young man was an inspiration to all of us. He was standing in his small yard holding on to a tree with one hand and half of his broken walker with the other. His mother told us that he was unable to speak but we noticed right away that he had no problem expressing himself. When he saw the new walker that I had with me he motioned for me to come over to him so that he could give me a hug. He then placed his hand on his hart and pointed up toward heaven indicating that he knew that this walker was not simply given by us but that it was a gift from God. While we were there I took down the information that would be necessary so that he can receive a wheelchair at a future distribution. The walker works great for him but a wheelchair is still necessary if his family is going to be able to take him any distance from their home. His mother told us that he never gets out of his small yard but if he received a wheelchair she knew that he would have a whole new life. I am also praying that next year we can some how manage to find room for him at an already overcrowded teen camp. This young man would be an inspiration to all.


Friday, December 21, 2007, 9:41 PM

I got a rather late start this morning but managed to get in to Hermano Pedro in time to check out 3 of the older boys. John and Jill had told me yesterday that they would be more than happy to join me in taking them out to eat. Instead of the usual Camperos John and Jill took us to a restaurant that is called Gringo’s. We kidded the boys and told them that if they ate the food there they would suddenly forget how to speak Spanish and only be able to speak English. Carlos, Fidel, and David are all usually quite talkative but today they were unusually quiet. I think it was due to what time of year it is. Christmas time is a tough time for the teens and kids, who have no families. Fidel has an exceptionally hard time during Christmas. Just the other day he asked me if I knew of any family that he could stay with for the holidays. Even many of the kids in my Neighborhood have a hard time. Abner has been extra difficult lately and as much as I love him he can be a hand full even when he is just his normal self. Even Fernando who is usually verry up beat and cheery has had a few crying spells and just like every other Christmas he is once again trying to convince everyone including himself that his mother is coming here and taking him back to the USA with her.

Usually I try to have an hour or 2 to myself at night but tonight my doors are still open and the house is full of kids who need to know that they have somewhere to come where they are welcome. In the last 5 minutes I have been interrupted several times by kids who need some thing for sore fingers, ears and throats. Some of the hurts were made a bit better with band aid or medicines most were soothed with a hug.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Saturday, December 22, 2007, 8:56 PM

I have gotten use to to a lot of things here in Guatemala but I don’t think that I will ever get use to some of the needless suffering that goes on. Yesterday Gustavo, one of the men who work at our shop, got a phone call telling him that his brother who had been shot in a robbery a few weeks ago had suddenly taken a turn for the worse and died. I have lost count of the people that I know or have met that have been victims of needless crimes. It seems like many of these criminals are mad at the world. They are often times hurting or even killing people after robbing them even when the people cooperate with them. It seems so senseless. But then I guess that is why we are hear because living without the love of Jesus is exactly that, senseless.

Calin has a few days off from his new job at the wheelchair shop so he came along with me to do some last minute Christmas shopping this morning. I know that I said that I was keeping the gift giving down to a minimum this year but I blew it by looking at the faces of the kids as they looked under my christmas tree as they came into my house each evening, hoping that even though I said that I wasn’t going to get them anything for Christmas, that just perhaps I had changed my mind.

In spite of the Gallo bear Christmas tree in the town square I must admit we are still a little further behind on Christmas than they are in the USA. Here we have not yet learned to say HAPPY HOLIDAYS. We still use that dreaded C word. I even saw a nativity display right out in plane view in front of one of our local groceries stores and there were no protesters marching around it with signs. I guess we have a little ways to go before we catch up with the times. I’m probably a bit old fashioned but I actually hope that it is a long ways that we have to go before it is out of date to say Merry CHRISTmas. Some how I like to keep the word Christ in it. It may be OK for the young folks who have good memories to say HAPPY HOLIDAYS but I guess when you get to be my age you start to worry that if they leave the word Christ out of it some of us old timers might forget what CHRISTmas is all about.

After CHRISTmas shopping I went over to Mario’s house. Mario is one of the people who received one of the prefabricated houses that Golf Coast Supply sent down on a container. He does a lot of work for us, making useable maps from the roads and trails that we record on our GPS while driving in Guatemala. Today we worked on seeing if we could relay the internet signal that we receive at the wheelchair shop to Mario’s house which is about a block away. We still have to set up a few more things but it looks like it is going to work. This will be a big blessing to Mario who is in a wheelchair, because once we get things working properly he will be able to do much of his mapping right from his home.

Saturday night is more and more becoming Dick’s night alone in the house. This gives me the opportunity to get my journal out and also give me the time to look back on another week. God is so good. Yes there have been things that have happened this week that have broken our harts but there have also been plenty of victories. Calin who only a few years ago was stealing from everyone is now working at the wheelchair shop and everyone there loves him. As I look at the kids that come to my house I still see some hurt but I also see a world of growth in almost all of them. Not just physical growth but emotional and spiritual as well. Many of them ask to have a turn to pray at meal time or before bed. Just this week for the first time since I moved here Abner asked if he could pray. No it’s not all perfect but the One who is in charge is perfect and that is why I love being where He wants me.

Good Night and a merry CHRISTmas to all,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal December 9-15

Click on any picture to enlarge.

Sunday, December 9, 2007, 9:38 PM

This morning the 4 of us came straight home from church because it was Kimberly’s 15th birthday calibration today. This is the big one for girls here in Guatemala. Much like Wendy’s birthday a few weeks ago this one also resembled a wedding without the groom. I played it smart today and showed up an hour late. I was still one of the first people to arrive but only had to wait about an hour before things actually got rolling, and since I only live 2 houses away I was able to sneak out for about an hour until the loud band stopped playing. I am still trying to figure out why the bands that play the worst are always the ones that think that they have to play the loudest. I guess they figure that the noise helps drown out the mistakes. It didn’t work! While I was at home I put on my head phones and listened to some music to help drown out the birthday band. An hour later when the windows of my house quit vibrating I took off the head phones and went back to the party. The real noise started after the party though that is when most of the younger people who were at the birthday party discovered that I had a house full of old computers. One of the neighborhood kids also spilled the beens and let several of the adults know that I still had a lot of school shoes left. Suddenly my house looked like a combination arcade and a 2 for none sale in a shopping mall. I must admit that I am beyond tired tonight and since food was served at the birthday party the concession stand at this mall was closed for the night. At 7 PM I ushered everyone out of the house and announced that I was going out to eat all by myself. There was weeping and gnashing of teeth but I refused to give in. I knew that if I gave in and let even one kid come along there would be 20. How Calin found me an hour later is beyond me but I didn’t give in and buy any supper for him. I shared mine with him instead. I know you are probably thinking that I should have made him leave but I just couldn’t do that. He has been sworn to secrecy though and I even made him say good bye when wewalked by his house on our way back home.

The kids were all playing out in the alley when I got home and only Fernando put up a fuss when I told him that they would have to play outside so that I could have a little bit of time to myself. I think that I will close for now and just sit back and listen to the silence until bed time.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Monday, December 10, 2007, 8:30 PM

Today we finally got to celebrate Carletos’s birthday. We had been trying since the middle of lat week but due to various things that came up our plans had to be changed several times. The funny thing is that Hermano Pedro had the wrong date written down for his birthday and just yesterday Carlos found out that Carletos’s birthday was actually today. Who says it doesn’t pay to procrastinate? Fernando, and Calin went along with me to Hermano Pedro where we met with Carlos. We then went in and asked Carletos which of his friends he wanted to invite from the orphanage. We told him that he could invite up to 3 friends along. Soon the car that I am borrowing and Carlos’s pickup truck were loaded and the 8 of us were on our way to a park that is about 20 minutes away. I have driven by the entrance to this park on may occasions but had no idea it was so nice or that it was so large. It has acres and acres of roads and trails winding through it and is a paradise for power wheelchairs. Unfortunately only Carletos and Fidel have power chairs but Carlos, Calin, Fernando, and I took turns being the source of power for David and Tinto. The 4 of them just could not get enough of exploring one road after another. After our hour long hike we had some sandwiches that we had taken along and then the 2 guys with the power chairs went exploring on there own. We made sure that each of them had a cell phone along in case they got lost or stuck. Calin and Fernando were delighted when they discovered that the park had a small swimming pool and were even happier that no one else was around. Next time they said that they would try to remember swim suits though. Carlos and I pushed David and Tinto around a bit but did not venture out as far as the 2 that had power chairs. Our otherwise perfect day was cut a bit short when Carlos tried to help Tinto into the bathroom. The floor to the park bathroom was wet and when Carlos was helping Tinto out of his wheelchair they both slipped and Tinto cut his forehead open. I cleaned and patched the cut but it appeared to be deep enough that it would require stitches. I don’t think that any one was ready to go back to Hermano Pedro yet but we had to. When we got back we discovered that some one else in the men’s section of Hermano Pedro had fallen, so Tinto had to wait his turn to get stitched up. While he was getting his stitches I asked him if he would have still gone to the park if he knew that this was going to happen. He gave me a big grin and a thumbs up. The cut stitched up well and I doubt that it will even leave a scar. Never the less Carlos felt pretty bad about what had happened. I reminded him that in all of the years that we have taken people from Hermano Pedro out nothing serious has ever happened. We are praying that the staff of Hermano Pedro feels the same way about it and does not put any restrictions on taking people on outings.

My house filled up even faster than normal tonight and by the time the pancakes were served there were 16 of us at the table. Actually only 12 of us fit around the table 4 of the kids impatiently waited for some one else to finish up before they were able to sit down and eat. I have a no standing and a no food at the computer rule at my house. That way there is not a quarter inch of spilled stuff over the floor of my entire house. Although it ends up being close to an inch deep under and around the table though.

I have asked the kids to play out side for the next hour so that I can get a bit of writhing done but since 40 minutes of that has already passed I am sure that the door bell will start ringing any minute now. I wish that you could meet all of these kids though because I know that you would fall in love with them all just like I have.

Yours in Christ: Dick
Tuesday, December 11, 2007, 9:27 PM

This morning I woke up with a bit of a chip on my shoulder. It has been 50 days since I brought my car in to the Toyota dealer to have the engine rebuilt. They had told me that it would take a maximum of 21 days so I figured that I had the right to let them know how I felt. I had Lezete make the phone call for me but told her before hand exactly what I wanted her to tell them. She got about a half hour run around but finally they put the service manager on the phone. He told her that he had called a few weeks ago telling me that they had the car running but it was making a ticking sound so they had to check that out. He forgot to mention that he had promised to call back with in 24 hours but then he had made that promise a few weeks before and never did call me back. I told Lezete to tell him that I wanted it don by tomorrow and if it was not finished I wanted them to furnish me with a car to drive until it was done. By the time we got off the phone I was so frustrated that I didn’t even want to go to the orphanage today.

I decided though that it would be better for me to do something than to just sit around and sulk so I headed out. When I got there I looked in on some of the kids and seeing some of their conditions I soon realized that my problems were verry small in comparison to theirs. I had been complaining about the inconvenience of not being able to drive around the country at will and here in front of me were kids and adults who would give their eye tooth to be pushed a few blocks in their wheelchairs. After taking Sam Sam for a walk I had almost entirely forgotten about my car problem that I had thought was so large only a few short hours later. Almost but not quite. perhaps I would have forgotten about it all together had it not been for the fact that the person who promised that my car would be done by November 12 had not even been considerate enough to let me know when it would be done. Perhaps if I did some work on some wheelchairs I would completely get over it. How about Mercedes? Her wheelchair has been in need of a complete renovation for quite some time now. She has out grown it and I knew that it had to be uncomfortable for her. In fact thinking back I had promised her several months ago that I would resize it for her but had been putting it off because I knew how hard she was to fit. HELLO!! Why wasn’t Mercedes feeling the same way about me and my promises as I had been feeling about the service manager at the Toyota garage? She certainly had every right to. She has seen me going in and out of the orphanage almost daily and knew that I could have skipped taking one of the kids for a walk or out to lunch and fixed her wheelchair instead. Not only did she not complain but she greeted me every time I saw her with a smile that simply made my day. Could it be that she had been a lot more loving and tolerant than I have been? Could it also have been that things look entirely different to a person depending which side of the fence you are on. Tomorrow I am going to go into the orphanage and give Mercedes a big hug for teaching me a lesson. I hope that some day I have half as much wisdom as the kids that I work with in the orphanage.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Wednesday, December 12, 2007, 9:11 PM

Tonight’s journal entry is going to be a short one. After feeding breakfast to 11 kids I went to Antigua and picked up Carlos. He and I spent the entire day in Guatemala City getting my car back. It seems like they did a good job of rebuilding the engine. I am planning on putting some miles on it before I venture into any back country though. And yes, I gave the service manager a big smile and thanked him for fixing my car. Some how my smile did not seem as genuine as the smile that I receive from Mercedes but I will work on that.


Thursday, December 13, 2007, 6:43 PM

I once again realized today that seeing someone get a newly refurbished wheelchair is a lot more satisfying than getting a newly refurbished car. It does not seem like that long ago that I fitted Ascension into a new wheelchair. It was a far cry from the old generic chair that she had been in before that and it has served her well for a number of years now but just like cars wheelchairs do wear out and unlike most cars you can outgrow a wheelchair. Not that Ascension puts that many miles on her wheelchair. Other than the occasional trip to Camperos and her once a year week at camp Ascension never leaves the building at Hermano Pedro that she has called home for nearly all of her life. Never the less Ascension can wear out a wheelchair faster than anyone else that I know. Ascension is a wiggler. With the type of CP that she has her body is in continual motion. Some of her movement is voluntary, like when she turns gives nearly everyone that she sees a big smile and a wave, but some is involuntary like when her arms flail around and she accidentally slugs you when she gets excited. Anyway I think that it is involuntary but by the smile she had after nearly giving me a black eye today while I was adjusting her new wheelchair I sometimes wonder. At any rate she has the knack of completely wearing out a wheelchair from the inside out every few years. That is why I found myself putting her into a new chair again today. I would like to say that seating her in a different wheelchair or readjusting one of her old ones gets easier over the years but it doesn’t. As she is getting older it is also getting harder and harder to get her seated well. The occasional slugs that she gives you when she gets excited are also getting harder. Today she was very excited and from the moment that I walked into the door with her new wheelchair, until Calin and I finally had her fitted several hours later she was one big smile, and nonstop movement. The chair that I had brought in had seat and back cushions that had been custom molded for some one. Their family had donated it to Hope Haven International and they in turn had shipped it to Bethel ministries. Only on the rare occasion have we been able to seat someone into a wheelchair that was custom fit for some one else with out having to put entirely different seats and back rests on them. Those few times that a custom fit chair fit some one it was not designed for I considered a GODINCIDENCE if not an out and out miracle. Today I had to remove some fabric and do some carving on the back rest of the custom fit chair that we brought for Ascension but the rest of the chair fit her perfectly and the end results were definitely a God send. When we finally put Ascension into her new chair she looked happier than I have ever seen her. Those of you who know Ascension personally realize that that is quite a statement considering she is always one of the happiest people around, but it is true. I had not known until now that her smile could get any but it did. She gave out such a shriek of delight that several of the nurses came over to see what was going on. I think that her happiness was contagious because soon everyone was laughing and smiling right along with her. Even some of the nurses whom I thought had forgotten how to smile years ago seemed happy to see her so comfortable. Some of them even took turns having their pictures taken with her.

During the day we also managed to take Guadalupe and 2 of his friends out to Burger King in calibration of his 26th birthday. We also took time out to hold a few of the kids who had been locked in their cribs all day. The only tears that I saw all day were ones that ran down the side of Calin’s face when he was told that the little girl up in malnutrition had left for home with her family an hour before we arrived. Through the tears he looked up at me, smiled, and said that he was happy for her that she was well enough to be able to go back to her family but wished that he had at least been able to say good bye to her.

It’s 7:32 and I promised the kids that I would let them in at 7:30. I am really going to here about being 2 minutes late so I better go.

Yours in Christ: Dick



Friday, December 14, 2007, 8:43 PM


I thought that Carlos and I were going to be in Tikal this evening but for some reason last nigh Carlos let me know that he didn’t want to go. A bit strange considering that we had been talking about doing this for over a month now. I am discovering more and more that it is sometime much easier to understand many of the nonverbal kids that I work with then it is to understand some of the verbal adults. For some strange reason as we get older we seem to think that it is more mature to be evasive then it is to express our true feeling in the way that most children do. Any way I decided that it would still be good to just get away for a few days so instead of heading to Reho Dulci I headed to Mazatenango. Tonight I am in my home away from home the Bamboo Motel. Where else can you get a nice motel room for 6 people with a swimming pool and a good restaurant for $38. Oh yah since I didn’t want to go by my self I invited a few of the kids along. I started out by inviting 2 of them but some how by the time I left Chemaltenango there were 5 kids with me. I told them that this was going to be this years Christmas present. The kids are enjoying it and I am finding that it is a lot more fun than Christmas shopping.

.............................We arrived here at around 3 Pm and other than getting out of the water for a quick bite to eat the kids have been living in the swimming pool. I have been in and out a few times but have also been able to just sit back and relax a bit.

The kids have just come back into the room so I think that I will close for now.

Goodnight.
Yours in Christ: Dick



Saturday, December 15, 2007, 12:09 PM
The kids all drifted off to sleep by around 10 PM and I didn’t hear another sound until around 7 this morning. You would have thought that they got enough swimming in yesterday but that was the first thing that they wanted to do when thy got up so instead of eating breakfast the 6 of us headed for the pool. I hope that everyone else that was staying at the motel had gotten enough sleep because my crew makes a lot of noise when they are having fun and believe me they were having fun. It is always a bit scary watching Calin try to do some of the stunts that the other kids do such as jumping into the water from some of the rock that are on the far side of the pool. He is at least twice as heavy as any of the others and about as graceful as a pregnant elephant. He is a wonderful kid but seems to be a compulsive eater. Speaking of eating I finally got the kids to take a half hour break from swimming and took the 5 of them Burger King for a quick breakfast.
After breakfast the 7 of us went back to the motel so that the kids could swim until check out time. Yes 7, you didn’t read wrong and there is nothing wrong with my math. Somehow we managed to pick up an extra kid while having breakfast at Burger King. Fernando once again was first to spot a boy about his age that was begging for money. Trust Fernando to offer to give him his entire breakfast before he had taken a bite himself. This time I put my foot down by telling Fernando that he had to eat his own breakfast and not give it away. Well I sort of put my foot down. Fernando ended up keeping his breakfast but only after I had given him some money to buy breakfast for the boy who was begging. Soon there were 7 of us at the table and before you knew it all of the kids had made friends with our new addition and soon they asked me if he could come along swimming with us. I asked if he had any parents that we could get permission from but he told us that he had no father and that his mom lived several miles from here. He said that he usually begs around Mazatenango because there are more people there and he finds that it is easier to get food or money when you beg in the larger towns. I figured that it would not hurt him to at least be a kid for 2 hours so as I am sitting here by the pool typing this the 6 boys are having the time of their lives. I will have to finish this later though because we have to check out of the motel in 25 minutes and I know that it is not going to be easy to get the kids to quit swimming.


I never asked him but wondered if perhaps Jose was praying that this day would never end.
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5:55 PM

We made it out of our motel room on time, but by the skin of our teeth. It was 12:59 when I handed the motel clerk the key to our room. I doubt that they would have charged extra if we were not out of our room by 1 PM but telling the kids that we had a deadline helped get them out of the pool and changed in record time. Jose, the boy who had been begging in front of Burger King was the last one to get dressed and out of the door. The kids introduced him to what a hot shower was and I don’t think that he wanted to get out until 10 years worth of dirt had been washed off from him. That may have taken a day or 2 had it not been for the 2 hour presoak in the pool. Don’t worry the pool at the Bamboo has excellent filters and I am sure that once they clean them they will work fine again. Since we had picked Jose up at Burger King we thought that would be the best place to bring him back to, although I am sure he would gladly have stayed with us a few hours or even years had we given him the opportunity. Even though we had eaten only a few hours earlier the boys acted like typical boys and insisted that they were all famished. At least we were at the right place because Burger King has a 15 Q special meaning that I could feed the entire crew for a little over $10.

While we were eating Jose told us a lot about himself. He is 10 years old and one of 7 children. He did not want to talk about his father but it was evident that he is either dead or has deserted his mother and family. Jose’s mom sends him into Mazatenango nearly every day to beg for money. It sounds like this is about the only income that the family generates. If Jose brings enough money home he is allowed to keep 1Q so that he can ride the buss into Mazatenango the following day. If not he has to get up early in the morning and walk for 4 hours to get to town. He told us that the buss fair is suppose to be 2 Q but the buss driver lets him ride for half price. Before joining us today he had collected 3 Q. This would get him home but doubtfully would mom settle for 1 Q so likely tomorrow morning he would have to walk for 4 hours to get into town. When we had finished eating the boys all said goodbye to their new friend and headed out the door. When I got up to leave, Jose reached out his hand, not for money but to shake my hand and thank me for allowing him to be a little boy for a few hours.

I know that it is easy to judge people and say, “Why so many children, especially when there is no father around, and can’t mom figure out some other way to feed her family than to send her 10 year old son out to beg every day?” I don’t know the answers to many of these questions but I know that Jose was hungry and I know that James 1:27 says, Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress.

This 2 day vacation went all to fast but we all had a great time and with a little prodding the kids even remembered to say thank you. They are great kids and it was good just to get out and have some fun with them. Being able to let Jose join us for even a few short hours was an added blessing for all of us. The kids talked about Jose a lot until one by one they each fell asleep on the 2 ½ hour car ride home.

Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal December 2-8

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

Sunday, December 2, 2007, 8:25 PM

The fake Christmas tree is up, there is a $2 string of lights hanging over my doorway and another $2 string on the cement wall that surrounds my house. My extravagant Christmas display is the talk of the neighborhood. It would perhaps be the talk of the town if it were not for the Gallo Christmas tree that stands in the town Square. Gallo is the largest beer company here in Guatemala and they have provided our town with a giant fake Christmas tree, not with out a little publicity involved though. In place of the usual decorations and a star at the top the decorations are all Gallo beer banners and emblems. I guess it cold be tackier, at least they are shaped like Christmas wreaths and not like beer bottles.

The wall and tree lighting ceremony here at my house took place after we had gone to church, the orphanage and then out to eat. I had not been able to spend much time in the orphanage during camp so it was good to get back there today. All of the kids that will be going home for Christmas have now left so some of the wards have move their remaining kids into other wards. The remaining teen age boys have been split up. Some of them are in with the younger children while others are in with the older men.

Sam Sam’s crib is now stuck way back in a corner where in it nearly impossible to open in order to get him out. I guess the nurses don’t mind though because this way it is easier to just forget about him the entire day. I took him out for a while but had to first change him so that I could hold him without getting soaking wet. He seemed to be in good spirits once I got him out. Perhaps he thought that he was getting to go to camp again. Fortunately I did not have to put him back into his bed as another volunteer who had not realized that he was allowed to be out of his crib offered to watch him when I went up to the malnutrition ward. The malnutrition ward still has nearly every bed filled and most of these kids are awaiting surgery or are to fragile to go home. Manwell and his sister Tomisina are not yet walking with out the aid of walkers but are doing well. I met their parents a few days ago and was delighted to hear that they are already signed up for school. I promised the parents that we would provide them with a walker or a wheelchair if they are not walking by the time the go back to their home. Jennifer, the little girl who we made the special bed for a few weeks ago appears to be doing better but still arches backwards to the point that her feet nearly touch the back of her head when she is not strapped into her special bed. Perla the other new little girl seems to have the same condition as Jennifer but her health is so poor that I am afraid that she is not going to make it. Tomorrow I am going to see if we can come up with something that helps keep her head from bending back so far. This should at least make it easier for her to breath. Byron, the boy who was brought into malnutrition a few weeks ago is now out of isolation. He is still very skinny and looks more like a 5 year old than a 13 year old. Tomorrow I also plan on seeing if there is any way to keep him lying in a more comfortable position. Carlos, my friend who spends a lot of time volunteering with the older kids came up to malnutrition for a short time today. Even after 3 years of volunteering at Hermano Pedro he told me that it is still very hard for him to come up there and see some of these kids. At times it is not easy for me either but it only takes a few minutes of spending time with any of these kids and the love you develop for them seems to make any sickness or disfigurement seem insignificant.

Even though some of the kids from my neighborhood are gone for a few days my house is far from empty. It seems that when ever 2 or 3 of my regulars are not here a few new kids show up. Just where the 3 new boys that wondered in tonight came from or how they heard about my house is not clear to me but their shyness was soon overshadowed by their appetites. By the way that they inhaled their supper I have a feeling that they will be returning tomorrow night.

Well all of the kids that are going to leave for the night have left so I think that I will say goodnight and head off to bed.

Yours in Christ: Dick

Monday, December 3, 2007, 9:23 PM

After gathering up some supplies at the wheelchair shop Fernando and I headed off to Hermano Pedro. Carlos joined us in taking 3 of the kids to lunch. The 3 that we took today do not get out often and 2 of them can not eat solid food but their excitement in just getting out of the orphanage was apparent to anyone who was with in squealing distance. I am afraid that their enthusiasm in Camperos was not appreciated by everyone but they had a wonderful time.

When we returned to Hermano Pedro I met with Jessica and we looked at Perla and Byron, the 2 new kids who are up in Malnutrition. Both of them are so twisted up and so fragile that we hardly dared to pick them up. We started first with Perla, the little 5 year old girl who’s head is twisted back so far that she can scarcely breath. To our surprise after holding her a few minutes her body relaxed enough that we could get her into a seating position and once we got her head into a straighter position she relaxed even more. Tomorrow I am going to try to fit her into a special chair that will hold her in a relaxed position. It is going to have to be something that is highly modified to fit her size though because she only measures 6 inches across the hips and I doubt that she weighs 20 pounds.

Next we went and looked at Byron, the 13 year old boy who was also admitted into the malnutrition ward only a few weeks ago. He also appeared to be so fragile that we were nervous about handling him but it was obvious that he can not survive if he continues to lye in such a twisted position. Jessica carefully untwisted all of the tubes that are connected to him while I gently lifted him up and held him. In much the same manner as Perla, within a few short minutes Byron started to relax and in a short time he was lying in a position where for the first time since I had met him he seemed to be comfortable. It looks like I have my work cut out for me tomorrow but seeing what a difference positioning made in these 2 kids I don’t care how long it takes to make them comfortable. I know that getting them into good wheelchairs is not a guarantee that they will stay alive but it should greatly improve their chances of recovery. I think that the only thing that would do more good for each of them than a good wheelchair would be a good set of arms to hold them but it seems that there are not enough of them to go around. In fact I think that today was the first day that they had been held since they arrived a few weeks ago.

Only 8 of us for supper tonight and 3 of those were the new kids. I think that I will have to stock up on more groceries soon though. Abner called me last night and said that he will soon be back from visiting his relatives in Guatemala City. I am not sure how long the 3 older boys who are working in the city will be gone but it sounds like they will be back before Christmas.

My house has now emptied out. Not with out a little coaxing but it is never the less empty. So I think that I will just relax for a while. Unless of course I fall asleep first.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Tuesday, December 4, 2007, 7:53 PM

Today was one of those bitter sweet days. Calin accompanied me to the shop this morning and we located wheelchairs for Bryan and Perla. Next Calin and I went to Hermano Pedro to give them their wheelchairs. Due to the severity of both of these kids it took over 3 hours each to get them fit properly but by the time we had finished both children looked much better than I had even hoped for. Byron who had shown almost no response until I held him yesterday was now looking all around and even smiled a few times. Today I found out that I was wrong about his age. I had been told that he was 13 but looked much younger. Byron is not 13 years old he is 14. I looked over at Calin who is 1 year younger than him. Calin has to out weigh him by 100 pounds. By the time we had finished seating Byron he had nearly fallen asleep. This is always a sign of a satisfied customer. He looked very relaxed and was no longer struggling for every breath.

Perla was even more of a challenge to seat. First of all I could not find a chair that would narrow down to only 6 inches wide and secondly Perla’s head bends back so far that it at times closes off her air way and chokes her. After several attempts with various head rests we finally managed to hold her head straight with out causing her any discomfort. She also managed to give us a grin.

Jessica came in to see how we were doing and was extremely pleased with the way the 2 kids looked. I could see in her eyes that something was wrong though so I asked her what it was. She told me that Gaspar (Not the Gaspar that I often talk about who was our first camper from Hermano Pedro, but another little boy who left malnutrition a few months ago.) had died at his home. I remember getting a phone call the day his parents came to take him home. I had been asked if I could modify the wheelchair that I had given him when he arrived at Hermano Pedro because he lived on extremely rugged ground. The hospital felt that he was still to sick to leave and should stay there a bit longer but his parents wanted him home. It is hard to say what is best for these kids because in most cases they deeply miss their families and their families miss them. During the years that I have been in Guatemala I have seen far to many of these kids that return to their homes die though.

Well it sounds like about a dozen healthy kids are nearly knockings down my gate so I think I will close for now and let them in.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Since so many of the kids are still in Guatemala City Calin was once again the one that spent the day with me. Carlos and I had promised Carlitos, one of the teens at the orphanage that we would take him and a few of the other teens out to lunch in celebration of his birthday but I figured that I would spend a few hours doing some work around here before heading to Hermano Pedro. My house has not had the outside of it painted the entire time that I have lived here and from its looks it hadn’t been painted in a few years when I moved in. Here in Guatemala everything gets so dirty that you can not tell what color it use to be with in a year or 2. My house was no exception. Yesterday I asked my land lord if the original color was Gray, or brown. She told me that it was white. She smiled a bit when I asked if it had been painted a dark white. Calin and I decided that it would be fun to see how long it would stay white so this morning we started repainting it. At 11 we got cleaned up and headed for Hermano Pedro. Carlitos, Fidel, and David were waiting for us. When I asked where Carlos was they told me that they had not seen him. I gave him a phone call and discovered that he was not feeling well and could not make it in today. Carlitos decided that he wanted to wait until Carlos could join us so we are going to see if he is feeling better by Friday.

I figured that if Calin and I headed straight back home I could get a good part of the house painted today but since we were already at Hermano Pedro I wanted to quickly look in on Perla and Byron to see how their new wheelchairs were working out for them. While we were there the nurses told me that Manwell and his sister Tomisina will be going home this Friday. They are both still verry skinny but have put on a lot of weight since arriving at Hermano Pedro. They are also both able to now get around using walkers. Something that they were not able to do when they arrived at Hermano Pedro. I am going to let them take a walker home with them and I am trying to come up with some type of a wheelchair that they can both fit into since their parents are looking for a way that one of them can get both kids to and from school. Since they will be going home in a few days I am going to have to work fast. Also since they would be leaving soon and absolutely love going to Camperos I decided to once again get my priorities straight. The house painting could wait.

Both of the kids had a great time with us. Manwell has been quite outgoing right from the moment that he came to Hermano Pedro but Tomisina took a long time before she would have anything to do with anyone. Today however she was every bit as outgoing as her brother and the 2 of them were absolute clowns. I am happy for them that they will soon be reunited with their family and am praying that their parents will be able to keep them healthy when they go back home.

We got back home at around 3PM so we managed to get more of the house painted. One advantage to having 14 foot walls all around your house is that it only leaves you with 2 sides of the house to paint. By dark we were well over half done and expect to be able to finish the painting some time tomorrow morning. Quite a few of the kids wanted to help paint but I figured that 3 helpers would be plenty. Daniel did a great job of painting. Calin didn’t do to bad but managed to get about as much paint on himself as he did on the house. I kept kidding him by telling him he was beginning to look more like a white man than I did. Fernando was a willing worker but still needs a few painting lessons. I managed to find enough odd jobs for him to do that he didn’t get to do much of the painting. I didn’t make any supper tonight but took my helpers out for pizza instead. It’s OK because Calin and I both had salads for lunch. I figure that half good meals and half junk food make for a well balanced diet. After we got back from supper I opened up the house to the rest of the kids but told them that the cook was on strike tonight.

All of the kids that are going to leave have now left so I guess I will say goodnight.

Yours in Christ; Dick


Thursday, December 6, 2007, 8:48 PM

We finished up on painting the house at around 10:30 this morning. Other than a few white flowers that were once red and polka dot grass and cement surrounding the house I must admit that the house looks nice. My helpers were also pleased when I paid them even more than I had promised. They deserved it because they really stuck to it until the job was done. I wish that I would have taken a picture of them when they matched my lawn but I didn’t want to take any chances on having my camera painted. At any rate they were all quite proud of themselves and after a half hour shower I could even recognize who was who. When they finally got out of the shower I had a big breakfast ready for them. They had reminded me that it is in this cooks contract that he can not go on strike for more than one meal a week. Even a few freeloaders who had done little more than offer suggestions while we were doing all of the work got to reap the benefits of a big breakfast. I had promised my 3 helpers that I would give them first chance if they wanted to ride along with me to pick up Angelica, the lady who needs a plate put in her leg. Daniel, who is one of my quieter kids chose to stay home but Calin and Fernando jumped at the opportunity. They knew that I was also planning to stop off at Ronny’s house today and they love going along and playing with all of the kids there. Not only that but there is a stretch of gravel road near Ronny’s house that is rather straight and wide and I often let the kids take turns steering my car when we go there.

When we arrived Ronny’s brothers and sisters came running to the car. Ronny was not far behind in his power wheelchair. Ronny’s mom came walking towards the car but she was moving very slowly and did not look well. She told us that she has been running a fever for several days and finally went to see a doctor yesterday. He prescribed some medicine and asked her to return today but she did not have enough money for the medicine or another visit. All she needed was around $4 but to her that was a fortune. Her husband is working in the sugar cane harvest but it will be a few days before he gets paid. I gave her some money and she promised that she would buy medicine with it. From the looks of things the family was nearly out of food as well. Tomorrow when I bring Angelica back to her home I plan on dropping off some groceries with Ronny’s family as well. It is always hard for me to get Calin or Fernando to leave Ronny’s house. Having both of them there at the same time didn’t make things any easier. Both of them have such a love for kids, especially kids who are less fortunate then them. It doesn’t matter if it is at my house, at the orphanage, or in a village, these 2 boys are kid magnets. They love the kids and the kids love them. Just yesterday Calin had an incredibly hard time saying goodbye to a little girl in malnutrition that he was feeding a bottle to. When he finally laid her back down in her crib she would not let go of his finger that she had a grip on with her tiny little hand. Its funny how some of these kids who have been shown so little love by their own parents seem to recognize the need for love in those that have even less than they do.

We finally said our goodbyes but both boys are begging to come along when I return tomorrow. Before leaving Fernando asked if he could have one more ride in an old hammock that is tied between 2 trees. The kids had been swinging each other in it and at times had almost gotten it to make a complete revolution like a lupe-de-lupe at a carnival. I told Fernando that I did not want anyone to get hurt but if he promised to hold on tight I would try to get him upside-down. Guess what. Someone ended up getting hurt. I guess it had something to do with the twisting motion that I did to get him upside down but I must have pulled a muscle in my back because the entire car ride home was pure agony. I am doing a bit better tonight but this is about as long as I can sit with out lying down for a while so I will say good night.

Oh, we got Angelica her daughter and granddaughter to Antigua. Her husband lifted her into the car. Her daughter lifted her out of the car. In the morning the cab driver is taking her from the place where they are spending the night to Hermano Pedro. If I can walk I am planning on going in and seeing how she is doing later in the morning.

Well I think that I will crawl off to bed now.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick



Friday, December 7, 2007, 8:47 PM

I didn’t get to Hermano Pedro until around 10 this morning because my back was still giving me some pain. I called Hermano Pedro earlier and asked them to tell a family who was coming in to get their little girl’s wheelchair refitted that I was running about an hour late. Angelica and her daughters had taken a cab in from Casa de Fe and were still waiting for their 9 o’clock doctors appointment when I arrived. By the looks of the lineup of people that was in front of them it looked like they would be fortunate if they saw the doctor anytime today. The family with the little girl was patiently waiting for me. Calin had come along to interpret and also to help me work on the wheelchair. He is getting to be my right hand man. The little girl who had only received her wheelchair a year ago had grown so much that there was no way that I would be able to make her present wheelchair large enough for her. Fortunately I was able to trade chairs with one that was at Hermano Pedro and with in an hour and a half we had it fitting her perfectly. The family was delighted with the trade and with knowing that the chair that their daughter is now in can be adjusted to last her for several years.

My back was not bothering me to much but I wanted to take it easy so after confirming that Angelica would likely be waiting most of the day to see the doctor Calin and I went up to the malnutrition ward. Calin immediately went over to the crib of the little girl that he has fallen in love with and started playing with her. She is every bit as attached to him as he is to her and cries any time he walks out of the room. I went over to Jennifer’s bed and was sad to see that even though she was properly positioned in the bed that we had made for her she was having difficulty breathing. No matter what I did to try to improve the position of her head she still struggled for every breath. I am fearful that her lungs are filling up with fluid. I finally undid her feeding tube and took her out of her bed to see if there was some way that I could hold her so that she could breathe easier. Nothing seemed to help in fact moving her caused her to vomit. Fortunately I had her lying on her side when it happened. Unfortunately I had her aimed towards me. It didn’t do much for the white tee shirt that I was wearing and since I had come to Antigua in a borrowed car I did not have my usual change of clothing with me. My mane concerns was Jennifer and not the way that I looked or smelled though so it didn’t really bother me at the time. It was only after she had fallen asleep that I could lye her back on her bed. When she sleeps her muscles seem to relax and her breathing improves. Carlos had come in to talk to me while all of this was going on but after seeing her and then seeing that Perla was also having a rough day he left with tears in his eyes. Calin and I stuck around until we were sure that Jennifer was OK. Then I got cleaned up a bit and after that we walked to Camperos for some lunch. We brought some food back to Angelica and her daughters because they didn‘t want to risk missing their turn to see the doctor. I also brought one of the kids from the malnutrition ward and asked Angelica if she wanted to feed her. She absolutely loved it. As things turned out she did not get in to see the doctor until nearly 4 PM and then had to meat with social work to do some paper work. After their meeting Angelica and her daughter looked a bit disturbed. When I asked what the problem was they told me the lady that they had spoken with had informed them that the surgery to put a new plate in was going to cost 5000 Q (nearly $700). That is more money than this family has ever seen and to them it felt like they had been told that they would not be able to have the surgery unless they could come up with the money. I quickly went back in with them to talk to the social worker because I knew that it was Hermano Pedro’s policy to never turn any one away. Calin came along with us and did a marvelous job of interpreting. The Social worker informed me that this was indeed what the operation would cost but that if the family could not pay the entire cost, the operation would be done any way. We finally told them that we would try to come up with the equivalent of $275. This is still a lot of money for these people to come up with but I told Angelica that if they could come up with half of the money I would see to it that the rest was taken care of. Angelica’s worried look had once again turned into a smile. It looks like in just a little over a month Angelica will have her operation and will once again be able to walk.

Since it was getting so late we decided that it would be best if we did not bring Angelica and her family home until morning so we received permission to once again have them spend the night at Casa de Fe

My house was wall to wall kids until 8 PM then I told the kids that I needed a bit of time to myself. It is now 10 PM and time for bed. I haven’t had much time to think about weather or not my back is still hurting but I think that it is doing a lot better so perhaps I will get a better nights sleep than I did last night.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Saturday, December 8, 2007, 7:14 PM

Well my nighs sleep was a bit better but by the time 4 AM rolled around my back let me know that I had laid on it long enough. Actually I enjoyed the 3 hours of quiet time because my self appointed house guests didn’t wake up until around 7. Since my car is still not out of the shop (going on 7 weeks now) I am still having to rely on Chris and Donna for one of their cars. They have gone out of their way to provide me with a car nearly the entire time mine has been laid up but daily vacation bible schools is starting up at their church so starting Monday they are going to need every vehicle that they can get their hands on. Toyota told us today that my car should be out of the shop on Monday. This is their forth promise in as many weeks so I guess that I will just have to wait and see. Today Saul and Hanna let me use their Chevy Tracker but they will be needing it back as well.

Calin once again joined me in taking Angelica her daughter and daughters friend back to their home today. There were other kids that wanted to come along but I only had room for one and needed some one who could interpret for me.

It takes nearly 2 hours to get to Angelica’s home and I was a bit worried about havning to take the Tracker because there is not enough room for Anglia to lye down in it but the ride went well for her. Even though she still needs surgery in order to walk again, thankfully her leg is no longer giving her much pain. When we got to where she lived we saw a large pile of coconuts and yuccas lying in front of her house. Her husband and some of her children told us that they were a gift for us. Some times it is difficult to accept food or gifts from families who have so little themselves but I have learned that they are giving from the bottom of their harts and to say no to such a generous offer would deeply hurt them. I promised that I would return on January 3 so that I could get her in to Hermano Pedro for a final blood test before her surgery on January 19. Why that blood test could not have been done yesterday is beyond me but I was told that it had to be done on the 4th of January. We are all happy though that Angelica is able to have the surgery done at a good hospital and that she will not have to wait very long to have it done.

Our next stop was at Ronny’s house. Ronny’s entire family was at home but his father told us that he would be leaving for work in about an hour. He is thankful that he has work but told us that it takes him an hour and a half to get there and that the job that he is now doing is extremely hard work and is very dangerous. He said that yesterday the man working next to him got run over by one of the sugar cane trucks and is now in the hospital with 2 broken legs.

Ronny’s birthday is coming up in about a week and since I was not sure that I would be able to make it back out to his place before then I suggested that we celebrate today. Since his father had to go to work and 2 of the kids had to stay home so that no one would rob the place while we were gone I was able to squeeze the 7 of us into the car. Calin, Ronny’s mom, and 2 sisters squeezed into the back. Ronny his little brother and I sat in the 2 bucket seats in the front. I had once before taken Ronny and some of the members of his family to the Camperos in Santa Lucia but for the 2 youngest this was a first time experience. Looking at the amount of food that everyone put away I think that taking the family out to lunch was a wise decision. We managed to save a few pieces of chicken for the 2 girls that had to stay behind and even one of the ice-cream cones sort of survived the hour ride back to their home. By the time we reached their home most of the kids in my car were asleep. Just like the kids that I fit into wheelchairs it seems that all of my satisfied customers fall asleep on me.

Calin and I got home at around 5 and we spent the next 15 minutes supplying the neighborhood with coconuts and yuccas. For those of you who have never tried eating yucca, DON’T! Actually they say it isn’t too bad if it is prepared right. I guess that means that all of the times that I was given yucca it simply was not prepared right. I actually like coconuts but always seem to break a finger nail trying to peel them.

Since this suppose to be send out the journal night and my neighborhood is well supplied in coconuts and good tasting yucca I have decided to lock the kids out for the night. I may open up for a few minutes a little later just to hand out some Alka-Seltzer but other than that I am going into hibernation until I get this journal out.

Yours in Christ: Dick