Journal January 28 - February 1

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Monday, January 28, 2008, 10:34 PM

Some times I have to be reminded why I first came to Guatemala. This morning was one of those times. It seemed like a weeks work piled up on me when I went to Saloma for 2 days. When I got home last night it took me 4 hours just to catch up on Answering e-mails and returning phone calls that I had missed in the past 2 days. I then stayed up until 2:30 am getting caught up on my journal. When I finally drug myself out of bed at a rather late hour this morning I had some new e-mails that presented a few other issues that I had to deal with so I barely made it out of the door before noon. I was watching the clock closely because I knew that if I stayed home much longer the kids would be out of school and at least a half dozen of them would be begging me to take them along. I really didn’t want to deal with that because I wanted to meat with a few people from Hermano Pedro with out any interruptions. Besides that I have kids with me almost 24 7 and it is nice to have a break every now and then. On my way into Antigua I was still trying to schedule a bunch of things in my mind and drive at the same time. Anyone who has ever driven or even ridden in a car here in Guatemala knows that when you are driving a car you have to put 110% of your concentration into your driving. Perhaps that is why when I drove by a lady that was dragging herself with her hands down the sidewalk at the outskirts of Antigua I scarcely paid any attention to her. However about a block further down the road it dawned on me that one of the primary reasons that I came to Guatemala was to share the love of Jesus by helping to provide wheelchairs to those that truly needed them. There was no doubt in my mind that this lady could use a wheelchair. As I kept driving a lot of reasons not to turn around and go back ran through my mind. One of them was that I was on a one way street. There was no way I could turn the car around and go the wrong way down a one way street. I must admit this excuse didn’t hold much water. So many people in Guatemala drive the wrong way down one way streets that it is impossible to know which way the cars are suppose to be going if you look at the traffic. I also reminded myself that there are thousands of people in Guatemala that need wheelchairs and we can’t possibly give wheelchairs to all of them. I also had a lot of things going on today and I didn’t need anything else added to my schedule. Besides that after thinking through all of these reason not to go back I was a good 6 blocks down the road. Besides that there are a lot of tourists in Guatemala, surly one of them would offer to help her out. Although judging by her appearance so far no one had. But even if I turned around chances were this lady had already gone inside one of the many buildings that lined the street and if I happened to find her there was this thing that I have about not knowing the language. Suppose I did fined her would I have to do another pantomime to try to get her to understand what I was talking about? Although I must admit after this many years of surviving without knowing much of the language my pantomime skills have greatly improved. Ever have those times when even though you come up with dozens of great excuses why you should or should not do something you still can’t convince your self? Don’t you just hate it when that happens? When I finally turned the car around I was a good ten blocks away from where I had seen the lady dragging her self down the side walk. I actually had to drive a lot further than that because no self respecting Guatemalan would ever drive more than just a few blocks in the wrong direction down a one way street, so I actually tried to go a block over and then back. However the street workers had put up some barricades so that they could repair the road and I ended up zigzagging all over Antigua. I had doubts that I would find this lady back but knew that my conscience would not rest if I didn’t at least give it a try. Finally I found myself back on the street where I had originally seen the lady. There she was not even a hundred feet further down the side walk then where I had first seen her. I had driven over 20 blocks while she had gone less than a hundred feet, and even though I had done it in the comfort of my car I had likely done a lot more grumbling and complaining than this dear lady had done in years. Was it a GODINCIDENCE that just when I got out of my car and walked up to her an American who knew both English and Spanish walked by. Considering about half the people in Antigua are foreigners who are studding Spanish you could possibly say that it wasn’t but I believe that God often works through very normal circumstances that come along and if we are available they are still as much of a God Thing as some of the things that I have seen that seem to be down right miracles. After a wonderful visit I discovered that this dear lady has a wheelchair but from what I could understand it either needs a lot of work or has to be replaced. Either way she promised to get in contact with Bethel’s wheelchair shop and get the help that she needed. Funny thing is something that I almost considered a bother made me forget what ever it was that was on my mind that was trying to ruin my day. The fact is this inconvenience ended up making my day and so did the kids at the orphanage and the 12 to 15 that were in my house tonight. Isn’t it funny how the things that we try to avoid are often the things that are best for us?

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Tuesday, January 29, 2008

I had to get my car fixed again today. Nothing serous, I only had to get a few exhaust brackets replaced that were torn off wile I was in Saloma the other day. They actually have paved streets there but it seems that some of the steel grates that cover the drains in their streets are missing. The drains are about 3 feet square and bottomless. I guess one of the 2 times that I missed seeing one of them it must have broken the brackets when the wheel of my car dropped in. It cost me a whopping $12 but at least now my exhaust is fixed. I considered asking the mechanic if he could do anything about my bent wheel but I figure that I have a 50 50 chance that the next time I hit another pot hole it will straiten the wheel back out.

After leaving the mechanic I headed to Hermano Pedro. I had promised Carlos that I would fix a problem that he had with his power wheelchair. I may have been able to get it done in less than an hour but I had lots of little helpers because many of the kids are starting to come back after spending the Christmas holidays at home.

Ervin is now back and unfortunately has not gotten any better at not screaming his head off when ever things do not go his way. He is a really neat kid but if he keeps this up he will soon once again be avoided by most volunteers. I wish that he would realize that by doing this he gets even less of the attention that he wants and needs.
Most of the other kids that are back have not changed much. Some have lost a bit of weight but not to much. One of the girls came back quite sick and was found to have hepatitis.

Moises just got back today and was having a bit of a hard time after his father dropped him off without hardly saying goodbye. At around 3 PM I finished up on Carlos’s wheelchair so I decided to take Moises out for a hamburger.

Even though I had something to eat a few hours earlier I could see that there was no way that I was going to get out of feeding the kids in my neighborhood tonight. I only lost one when I announced that tonight each one was going to help with the cooking or with cleaning up and their payment was going to be tonight’s meal. Needless to say after the last dish was washed and put away Abner, who was the one that didn’t want to help, announced that he was hungry. Needless to say I announced to him that he was going to stay that way until morning and that it would be his turn to do dishes then. He did remarkably well with it though and didn’t go into a 3 hour crying spell. Abner is slowly becoming a pleasant young man, most of the time. It’s just those other times that he can still drive you crazy. I love him though and thankfully I don’t have to remind myself of that nearly as often as I used to.

Well it is time to ask my 15 dinner guests to leave and head off to bed.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick



Wednesday, January 30, 2008

This morning Benjamin joined me for a 2 day road trip. Christopher, who lives in San Francisco a small town near Xela, has been without his power wheelchair for several days. It has been at our shop for repairs. Without it Christopher can not go to school unless his mother caries him down the trail that leads from there house to a road and then pushes him to school in a manual wheelchair. We also needed to get more medicine in to Erica, the girl that has the skin disease, and some bed sore medicine to a young man who is having a problem with bed sores.

The drive from Chemaltenango to Xela can sometimes be done in around 3 hours. Sometimes but not today. For the past few years now there has been a lot of road construction taking place on the Pan American highway that leads to Xela. It will be a big improvement when and if it ever gets completed but right now it is a big mess. Signs telling you where detours are or which lanes of the rode suddenly narrow down or worse yet still have no bridges over rivers and ravines, are virtually non existent so you have to continually be on guard for what ever lies around the next corner. There are some places where they have flag men trying to stop traffic but those places are not much better. Much like the situation that I ran into last week end, these flag men stop traffic for up to 2 hours at a time. The only diffrance is that the road that I was on the other day only sees a few cars a day on it, but the Pan American highway is filled with Busses, trucks, and cars, and not all of the drivers have a great deal of patience. There is always someone who decides that they will squeeze there way to the front of a mile long line that is waiting for the road to open up by passing all of the stopped traffic in the oncoming lain. It is usually the busses that do this but once they do they are often followed by a number of cars and trucks. With out fail they are met on some narrow corner by one of the gravel trucks that is working on the road or by another buss, that is being followed by a dozen or more trucks and cars, who had also decided not to wait until the flag man reopened the road. Seeing who gives in and which procession is willing to back up for a mile or so can be a real comedy. I must admit that sitting on the fender of your car and watching this helps relieve the boredom of a 2 hour delay.

We finally made it to San Francisco (Guatemala not California) at just past noon. We then hiked in to Erica’s house with the medicine that she needed. She is doing quite well and her face, arms, and upper body, although still not totally smooth, are free of the thick black crusts that once covered them. Her feet and legs however once again looked like they were covered with rotting leather. Her mother told us though that the medicine was a God send and that Erica seemed like a new person. She said that the thick crust on her legs occasionally come back but over all Erica is doing well. Erica’s older sister is still home schooling her and Erica loves it. Before leaving Erica’s mother brought us out a big lunch. Neither Benjamin nor I were very hungry because we had stopped off for something to eat about a hour earlier. We ate all that we could though because we knew what a sacrifice it was for this family to offer their food to us.

On our way out from Erica’s house we hiked up to the edge of the cliff where Christopher lives. Christopher and most of his relatives have all moved back into the houses that did not disappear over the cliff during the heavy rains of Hurricane Stan 2 years ago. Some of the homes that they moved back into are literally at the edge of the cliff but the people have no where else to live so in spite of the danger they have return to homes that were not destroyed or to those that only had one or 2 rooms disappear over the cliff. Christopher was not at home when we arrived but we were told by some relatives that he and his mother would be returning soon. Since we knew that they would be coming up the trail that led to our car we decided to head out and meat them. Sure enough about half way back to my car we met Christopher, his mother, and brother and sister coming up the trail. Christopher’s mother who is a small lady was carrying 13 year old Christopher on her back and his younger brother was carrying his wheelchair up the narrow trail. We stood there and visited for a while and then we all headed back out to my car to get Christopher’s power chair. Christopher was verry excited to get his chair back because now he would be able to go most of the way from his house to school under his own power. I think that his mother and Brother who had been carrying Christopher and his wheelchair were equally as happy. After unloading Christopher’s wheelchair from the car we noticed one broken part that had been over looked at the shop but fortunately I had my tools with me and even though I did not have the needed part I was able to improvise and the wheelchair should now be fine until our next visit.

Christopher’s mom told us that the doctor thinks that the mass that is located just above Christopher’s brain has been there since birth and is not growing so they have decided not to operate. Christopher has not had any seizures for quite some time now so I am praying that they are right. I know that if he was someone who was living in the USA his family would likely have a lot more tests done but here in Guatemala it is not all that simple and not many families have the resources to take there children to doctors or anything other than a government hospital that many of the people consider nothing more than the place that you go to to die.

I was glad though that the seizures have stopped and that Christopher’s over all health looked much better than it did the last time that I saw him and I pray that he continues to stay healthy. Far to many children that I know have died within just this past year.

Our next stop was at the home of a young man who we gave a wheelchair to at our last distribution. I had promised that the next time I was in the area I would drop off some bed sore medicine. Unlike our visits with Erica and Christopher this family was not overly friendly to us. They thanked us for bringing the medicine though and then we were quickly on our way.

Tonight we are in Mazatenango at the Bamboo Motel. Other than the cement beds this is still one of my favorite motels. The rooms are nice, the food is good, the prices are right, and they even have a swimming pool. After putting on our swim suits and getting to the pool we discovered that the filtration system has been broken for a few days so it was more like swimming in one of the local ponds but it still felt good and a quick shower afterwards got rid of most of the crud that had built up on our skin while swimming.

Well I am getting tired enough that I think I can fall asleep even if it is on a cement bed that has a 2 inch piece of foam rubber on it, so I am once again going to say goodnight.

Yours in Christ: Dick

Thursday, January 31, 2008

After breakfast Benjamin and I headed east towards Ronny’s house. Once again this normal 2 hour drive proved to take much longer. Much like where we were yesterday there is a lot of construction taking place on this highway as well. If they ever get all of the construction completed the highway system should be a lot better and taking into account that many cars and buses are having accidents and being destroyed during the construction there should be far less traffic on them as well. Travel on the roads that have no construction on them is not much faster because of the sugar cane trucks that are on them. Not only do they move very slowly when loaded but the loads that they carry often hang way out over the top and sides of the truck and you have to be extremely careful when passing or meeting one of them.

Ronny’s parents told us that since Ronny knew that we were coming he had wanted to stay home from school but they convinced him to go. Actually I don’t think that he had much choice because his power wheelchair was once again having problems so his mother had pushed him to school in his manual wheelchair. Both he and his brothers and sisters are doing well in school though and they really seem to enjoy it. Ronny’s mother told me that 6 year old Arlindo is so thrilled that he can now go to school that he is always out of bed and cleaned up for school by 5:30 AM.

At around noon Benjamin and I walked to the school along with Ronny’s mom. School was not quite over yet but knowing how eager Ronny was to see us his teacher let him out of class a bit early. When we got back to Ronny’s house all of the kids showed us the school work that they had been doing. Seeing how much they love school makes it hard to see so many kids not going simply because they don’t have enough money for school supplies.

Ronny was delighted that we were once again able to get his power wheelchair going because I had originally told him that I possibly would have to take it back to the shop with me for a few days. I am praying that it continues to work for a while but bumpy trails and the dust and mud seem to take a high toll on power wheelchairs.

We stayed quite a long time just visiting after we had repaired the wheelchair. Ronny’s entire family is extremely eager to get into there new house. Some local brick layers that we have hired have gotten a good start on it but we are leaving the rest for when the group from the USA arrives in a few weeks.

After leaving Ronny’s house we briefly stopped of at Angelica’s house to see how she was doing. She was happy to see us and quickly showed us that she is now starting to walk a bit and the operation on her femur seems to be a success.

While we were at Ronny’s school I talked with Ronny’s teacher about the clinic that she had taken us to that was in her town about a year ago. She told us that even though they had verry little money to keep it going it was still operating and that they were seeing about 50 people a day there. The teacher met up with us at Angelica’s home and we then drove to her town to once again visit the clinic. The administrator and doctor at the clinic immediately recognized me and asked where I had been for the past year. They showed me the pictures of several people that were in need of wheelchairs and asked if we could help. I told them that I would bring them some wheelchair forums soon and we would try and get these people in to a wheelchair distribution. I asked them about one little boy Who’s picture they had shown me the last time that I was there. He had stuck in my mind because he looked so skinny and it appeared that he was dying. They told me that since he was nearly an hour from the clinic that they simply had not had the opportunity to follow up on him but feared that he had died. After just hearing about the 2 kids that died when I was in Rabinal last week I just could not wonder though. What if he were still alive and what if something could still be done for him? I am quite certain that Antonio would still be alive if only we could have gotten him the help that he needed in time. I asked the doctor and the administrator of the clinic if we could go and see if this boy were still alive. They told me yes and that all I had to do was pick the day. I quickly picked it. 15 minutes later the doctor, the clinic administrator, Ronny’s teacher, Benjamin, and myself were heading off to where Julio lived. Julio’s home was nothing more than some rusty tin nailed to some boards. It didn’t look like the family would be much wormer or dryer in it than they would be if they lived right outside. Mother, father and 4 other children were there but I did not see Julio. After the doctor introduced Benjamin and myself to the family he asked weather or not Julio was still alive. The mother nodded yes and took us over to the side of the house where a hammock hung between 2 trees. There in it was one of the skinniest children that I have ever seen. Julio’s mother told us that he has had diarrhea all of his life and any food that she ever gave him would go right through him. It was hard to believe that this child who had to weigh less than 20 pounds was 9 years old. To my surprise though he was quite alert and fairly limber considering he has spent his entire life lying in a hammock. It was obvious that his parents cared about him but with no money and 4 other children to feed they were unable to do much for him. Nor did they think that anything could be done for him. The only doctor that had ever seen him was the one that was with me. He had given him medicine for parasites but one look at the families water supply made it evident that even if the medicine had worked new parasites were in this child’s body with in days. I am sure that the other children in the family had parasites as well but since Julio also had cerebral palsy it had taken a far worse toll on him. I told his parents that we gave out wheelchairs but that right now this was not a priority. We had to figure out a way to keep this child alive. The family had never met me before and to my knowledge had likely only heard stories about Americans. Unfortunately many of these stories are of Americans who want to kidnap their children or offering to take them to hospitals where the children either die at or simply never get returned to there homes. Never the less all I could do was try. I was grateful that the Cuban doctor, and 2 Guatemalan adults were along, perhaps this would ease the minds of 2 nervous parents. I will not go into detail about the conversation and exactly what went on but I consider the decisions that Julio’s parents made to be a real God thing. Tonight Julio, his mother, and baby sister are all staying at Casa Defay in Antigua. Tomorrow morning at 6 AM I will pick them up and take them to Hermano Pedro where we will see if we can get him admitted into the malnutrition ward for a few months. This is not always an easy process but I am convinced that if God made it possible for a Guatemalan family who had never seen a white man, to allow their child and the child’s mother to get in a car with 2 white people and go to a hospital that they had never heard of, that God will make it possible for Julio to get admitted into malnutrition.

To God be the glory.
Yours in Christ: Dick

Friday, February 1, 2008

I was awake before my alarm went off at 5:20. No I hadn’t gotten as much sleep as I had wanted but I was excited to see what doors God was going to open for us to day. Julio’s mother was waiting for me when I got to Casa Defay. I could tell that she was nervous but there was no turning back now. Nor do I think that she would have changed her mind even if she were given the opportunity. She knew that with out help her son would soon be dead and knowing this she was ready to do anything even if it was perhaps one of the scariest experiences that she had ever encountered. Even though it was only 6:30 when we arrived and the offices of Hermano Pedro did not open until 7:00 there was already a long line up of people waiting to see the doctors. I went over to the children’s ward and got some blankets because the morning air was cold. Then we patiently stood in line and waited. Mother was holding her daughter and I was holding Julio. I feared that perhaps we should have showed up earlier because there are times when the doctors can not see every one that comes there. A few minutes before 7 a lady showed up and started handing out numbers to the people that were standing in line. There were a lot of numbers handed out before she finally got up to where we were standing. The lady looked down at the child that I had in my arms and motioned for me to follow her. She went up to the front of the line took out a key and opened the door to the office that had not yet been opened. As she opened the door she told us that she wanted Julio to be the first one to see the Doctor. I glanced at the people who had been in line in front of us knowing that they would perhaps not appreciate the fact that we were being allowed to go first but to my surprise they all looked down at Julio and then looked at me and nodded in approval. The paper work process still took about an hour but by the time we had finished we were at the door of the doctors office before it had opened and were the first ones to see the doctor when he arrived. After the doctor examined 9 year old Julio he laid him on a baby scale. 17 ½ pounds, and that was with a blanket that had to weigh at least ½ pound. The doctor then asked Julio’s mother if she would like him to be admitted into the malnutrition ward. The mothers reply was an immediate yes. A short time later mother was saying goodbye to a cleaned up little boy who was lying on freshly laundered sheets in a warm crib. There were tears as she left but there was also a sigh of relief. The nurses promised mom that they would take good care of her son and encouraged her to come and visit when ever possible. We are praying that he will do well and possibly be able to return to his home with in as little as 4 months. I am also planning on giving his family a water filter and I am going to check and see if there is a possibility of giving the family one of the prefabricated homes that should be arriving in a month or 2, but for now we are just going to concentrate on keeping this one child alive.

I would love to end this weeks journal on a positive note but unfortunately there are far to many children who much like Julio need someone that is willing to reach out to them. On our way to bring Julio’s mother and sister back home this afternoon Jim, and Jill (2 friends from Antigua) and myself stopped off at the clinic in the town where Ronny’s teacher lives. I had some medicine and bandages that I wanted to give them. The doctor who had come along with us to Julio’s home yesterday had told me of another family that needed help. The father who’s wife had died had 2 boys of 4 and 7 years old. The 7 year old boy had suffered some brain damage when he had a severe fever at an early age. It was impossible for the father to care for his older son any longer because he had to work in order to feed his children and himself. He desperately wanted to put his older son into an orphanage, not because he did not love him but because he thought that it would be best for him. After meeting the boy I had to tell the father that I knew for a fact that Hermano Pedro would not take him. Why? Because he could walk. We promised that we would look into other places but had to be honest with him and let him know that the waiting lists were long and that it was next to impossible to find a place that would take a child with a disability. Basically we had to walk away saying goodbye to a father who was standing there with outstretched arms saying, “What am I to do?’ I hope to go back there when I can take someone along who is more fluent at Spanish. Perhaps if we can find some one who is willing to go in and care for the 2 boys while the father works we can help hold this family together. The only problem is we know of so many people who are in similar or far worse situations that it is difficult to know which one to help with wheelchairs, houses, or even our time. Please pray that God gives us real guidance and wisdom.

Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal January 19-27

Antonio 1997-2008
(Click here to see October 12 journal about Antonio and his family.)

Sunday January 20, 2008

Jason and Abner did not do to well in Sunday school today so I had to lay the law down and not allow them to come along to eat afterwards. Abner will be allowed to come back next week but I told Jason that he is going to have to stay at home next week. You may consider not being allowed to go to church a weird punishment. In fact I remember back when I was a kid I would have considered staying home from church a reward and not a punishment but these kids love going along to church.

After taking Fernando, Noel, and Angela out to Taco Bell I headed to the coast to pick up Angelica and her Daughter. Angelica is scheduled to have surgery tomorrow.


Monday, January 21, 2008, 7:59 PM


Calin 4 years ago and now.

Today was the first day of school for all of the kids. After they left for school I looked at some pictures that I took just 4 years ago when we put some of them into school and was amazed at how much they have grown. It looks like things will never change because Calin soon came back and told me that his teacher did not show up today. At least Fernando’s has the decency to tell the kids that she is going to be sick a few days in advance.


This morning I once again went to the telephone company. I had received a phone call telling me that my phone would be shut off for not paying my bill. The man at the desk told me that I owed them over $100. I told him that I had just paid my bill he told me that the computer said that I was mistaken. I told him that the computer was mistaken. He told me that computers don’t make mistakes. I told him that the people that run them do. He told me that …. Anyway this was beginning to turn into a Guatemalan stand off. I Then showed him the receipt that I had saved from my last payment and reminded him that it had been printed on one of their mistake proof computers. He looked at the receipt then apologized for the mistake that had been maid and wished me a good day.


Calin, David Piper, and I went to Hermano Pedro at around 11 and signed 3 of the kids out to lunch. On the way out of the door we met some people who were interested in volunteering at Hermano Pedro. We invited them along to lunch so that they could get to know some of the kids. While we were there we were met by another friend so the 3 kids got plenty of attention from the 2 to 1 ratio of adults. It was good for them though and they enjoyed it. After lunch I gave the adults that had joined us a tour of the orphanage.

Most of the kids up in malnutrition who had cleft pallet have now had there operations and they are doing great. It is such a blessing that these surgical teems from the USA and other countries are willing to volunteer their time and make a difference in so many lives. Pedro, one of my favorites came down with a cold so he will have to wait another month before he has surgery. Fortunately he seems to be able to eat well and is getting fatter and healthier by the day in spite of a rather severe cleft pellet.

Later this after noon I was joined by David Penner, who is from the Josiah Foundation, and 3 friends who have just arrived here from the USA. I will be showing them some of the things that our ministry is involved in over the next few days.

The kids did not stay as long as usual tonight. My choice not theirs. I like them to get home earlier on school nights but don’t want to send them home to early or they just stay out and play in the alley. Anyway I am going to take advantage of an empty house and head off to bed.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Today was an enjoyable but extremely busy day. After picking up the 4 people that are visiting here from the USA we went to Camperos for breakfast. Benjamin, who was going to serve as our interpreter , was already there waiting for us when we arrived. After picking up a few groceries for one of the families that we were going to visit today we headed out.

Our first stop was at the home of Maria, Fidel, and their grandmother. It appears that the bathroom that we built for them and their relatives was a good investment. When we arrived Maria was just coming out of the shower and grand mother was going in. (unlike most similar situations that we run into here in Guatemala none of us were very embarrassed.) This bathroom had been built large enough so that who ever was using the shower had plenty of room to get undressed and dressed inside of the bathroom. We are considering getting them a door though. Since our last visit only a few days ago the family has torn down most of the old adobe house that Maria had lived in. They are leaving about 6 feet of it stand so that they have a place to store things. I have little doubt that it will crumble when ever the next earthquake hits but at least Maria is no longer living in it. While we were there we made arrangements for the local brick layer who helped us build the bathroom to come in and do the Cement work for the floor of the Prefabricated house that we plan on putting up for Maria. Some of Maria’s relatives are planning to help him but we decided that it would be a good idea to have one trained professional even though it meant having to dish out $6 per day for his services.

Our next Stop was at the home of Maria. No I am not repeating myself. I am beginning to think that close to half of the people in Guatemala have the name of Maria and that the only reason that the other half are named something else is because they are men. With the men there seems to be a broader choice of names but there is still a good chance that their name will be either Jaun or Carlos. Although there are a few families that steer away form the norm and name their sons Jaun Carlos. Anyway this Maria is the one that lost her husband when he was killed by a hit and run driver a few months ago. The group that was with me from the Josiah Foundation wanted to see some of the homes that we had already constructed. For some unknown reason I had felt that out of all of the poor families that we were going to visit today that we should bring some groceries to this family. I had previously been told that the roof had blown off from the structure that they had been in but was amazed to see that everything from about 3 feet above the ground up had been completely destroyed by the wind. Maria and her 4 children had been in it only a few minutes before it was demolished by the wind but she fearing that it would not with sand the high winds she moved the entire family into the new home that we had HAPPENED to build for them only a few days earlier. Only Maria a niece and her 2 younger children were at home. Her 2 boys who up until a few days ago had never been to school were now in school. It is hard to believe that just a few dollars a year had kept them from going in the past. Another neat thing that HAPPENED while we were there was a phone call that I received from Gordon. I had told him a few days ago that we were planning on seeing Maria today. Gordon sounded a bit disappointed when I told him over the phone that we were already at Maria’s house. He said that he wished that he had known a few hours earlier but he had just been told that Maria and her children had run out of food and he had hoped that he could have caught us before we went to Maria’s so that we could have taken her some groceries. The group of people that were sitting with me in Maria’s house overheard the conversation and almost dropped the groceries that they were holding in their hands. I am glad that they didn’t though because the sack of beans would have likely broken open and scattered all over the floor of Maria’s new home, and 2 dozen eggs would have made quite a mess on Maria’s new floor. I wasn’t quite sure weather or not to chalk this one up as a GODINCIDENCE or just a COINCIDENCE until Gordon came back on the phone. He told me that it had to be a GOD THING that we had brought in some groceries but still wished that he had gotten a hold of us because he had received a specific request for beans and eggs.

Next we went to Tecpan to where Pastor Juan lives. Pastor Juan and his family have had the blessing of having American teems that have come in over the past 3 years build him and his family a nice home and build a church for their ever growing congregation. Much like most pastors Juan has to do outside work in order to feed his family. He has been working on Ronny’s house down near the coast so when the team comes in to work on it in February they should be able to nearly finish it. Today we stopped by his house to pick up some lumber that will be needed there. After visiting a while and then loading the lumber on top of my car we headed back towards Chemaltenango. After stopping off in Chemaltenango for lunch we headed to Antigua and picked up Angelica and her Daughter. Her surgery went well yesterday and she was already being released today. On our way to bring Angelica an hour and a half stop at a detour gave some of my American friends a lesson in patients. The all did reasonably well but no As were handed out. Although I must admit that after an hour and a half of not moving more than a few feet I was getting a bit impatient.

It was nearly dark when we finally arrived at Angelis home and even though we still had to drop off some lumber at Ronny’s house there was no way that we could decline having a coke while Angelica’s husband loaded bananas into my car.

When we finally arrived at Ronny’s house everything was dark except for one candle that was burning under a lean-to next to their house. We visited for a while before giving them the lumber that we had brought and most of the Bananas that we had just been given. We also left a bit more money since they still didn’t have enough to put all of their kids into school. I wish that the public schools did not have to charge the students anything because if these kids don’t get an education there is little chance that the cycle of poverty will ever end.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Since we got home so late last night Benjamin stayed here over night but his grandfather was here for him bright and early this morning. I think that Benjamin was hoping that he could once again join us today but there were horses to feed and school work to do. After picking up the group from their motel we headed straight to Antigua and had breakfast there. The rest of our day was spent at the orphanage. Seeing the kids locked up in there cribs was nearly more than some of the people that I had brought along could take. Even a few of the grown men cried. I was one of them. You would think that I would get used to it but fortunately I don’t.

The kids that are in malnutrition who had the cleft pallets are doing great after their surgeries. It amazes me to see what the team of doctors that operated on them were able to do. Pablo is the only one who did not get operated on because he had a cold but he is scheduled for surgery some time in March. Most of the others will be going back to their homes soon. I will miss them but am happy that they have families to go back to.

Byron, Jennifer, and Perla are gaining a little weight but all 3 are still very frail. Today I readjusted Perla’s wheelchair but had to be extremely careful how I held her and how I set up her wheelchair. I think that the slightest pressure in the wrong place could easily break one of her bones. I can still nearly hide the leg of this precious 5 year old girl behind my thumb. By the time I had finished seating her she had nearly fallen asleep though and that is always a good sign.

We left the orphanage at around 4 PM. We figured that this would give us a chance to rest up a bit before having a giant Pizza feed at my house this evening. On our way home we stoped or at the home of a young man who I had been introduced to through some friend of mine that live in Antigua. We had given him a walker a few weeks ago but he still needed a wheelchar in order to for his parents to take him any distance. To say that he was thrilled whit his wheelchair was an understatement.

I didn’t get a head count of the number of neighbors that came over for Pizza tonight but I know that we ordered 10 large pizzas that’s 8 slices of pizza times ten. I tried to keep the limit at no more than 2 pieces of pizza each, so considering we had no Pizza left by the end of the night there must have been some where around 40 people in and out of my house. We all had a good time though and the group that was here from the States had a great time meeting and playing with the kids. Everyone pitched in and sort of cleaned up so I didn’t have to bad of a mess by the time everyone went home. I am ready for a night’s sleep though so I will once again say goodnight.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Thursday, January 24, 2008, 11:07 PM

This morning I took the group up to Santa Mara Dejesus to see the school that Judy and Amy run. Judy was gracious enough to take time from her busy schedule to show us all around and to share with us how God has blessed them over the years. She took us into several of the class rooms that were filled with happy children who would not be in school if it were not for this school. I think that one of the people who is the most surprised at what God is capable of doing, if we allow him to be in charge, is Judy herself. Little did she know even 2 years ago that a small school that was in a building that was once nothing more than a house would materialize into a 3 story school that continues to grow.

This after noon I took the group to visit Macaria who is the woman who inspired the opening of the Bethel Ministries wheelchair shop years ago. She was seen dragging herself across the highway one night. She received a wheelchair from the first busload of 14 wheelchairs that came down from the States. Macaria lived with her two children in a leaky structure. A few weeks ago we were able to once again share God’s love with her by giving her a new home. While we were there today we put a lock on the door of her house because up until now she had been afraid to leave any of the few meager possessions that she owns in her new home. The group that was with me was truly blessed by meeting this dear Christian lady and her family.

This evening I dropped the group off at a bed and breakfast in Antigua. They plan on spending the next few days in Antigua visiting with a pastor and his family that they met on a previous trip.

Tonight the number of kids that were in my house were less than last night. That was perhaps for the best because I am not sure that I could handle 30 to 40 people in my house every night.

Yours in Christ: Dick



Friday, January 25, 2008, 8:45 PM

After catching up on a few things here at home Fernando, Elmer, David, and I headed to Hermano Pedro. I had been promising some of the teen age girls that I would take them out for lunch and decided that today would be a good day to do that. I think that out of anyone that we takeout to eat the older girls are the ones that get the most excited about going. Just because 2 of them can scarcely eat anything but liquids it does not at all dampen their enthusiasm on going to Camperos. I think that the fact that both David and Elmer are not much older than them added to their excitement. Both were awesome with the girls and didn’t seem to mind in the least feeding some one their own ages from a baby bottle. Fernando who is much younger than our 4 invited guests did equally as well at helping. I was also happy to see the general reaction that we got from most of the people on the streets and in the restaurant. Several police officers helped stop traffic as our little procession of wheelchairs crossed the street and a number of people lent a helping hand when Fernando had difficulty pushing his wheelchair across the cobble stone streets. Even most of the people in the restaurant gave approving looks and several even came up to our table to talk to us and the girls. There was one group of about 20 people that were seated at a row of tables that kept staring at us like they wished that they did not have to eat in the same restaurant as us but they were outnumbered by people that seemed to approve. Besides if they felt that they didn’t want us eating next to them they had the choise of leaving.

We had wanted to spend more time in the park after lunch but I received a phone call from the wheelchair shop telling me that some one had come in from Aguacatan which is 6 hours away to have his power wheelchair fixed and they could not figure out the problem. They wanted to catch a buss back to Aguacatan at 5:00 so I told them that I would try to get to the shop by 3:00 and see if I could figure out the problem. By the time we got the girls back to the orphanage we only had about a half hour before we had to head to the shop so we quickly went up to the malnutrition ward to see some of the kids that we have fallen in love with. My hart sunk when I saw that Jennifer’s bed was empty. I prayed that she had not died. With a quiver in my voice I asked the head nurse where she was and was some what relieved to hear that her parents had taken her home for a few days. It still worries me though because she is so frail but I know that they love her and miss her badly.

David had a bitter sweet experience when he was told that Susan a little girl that had cleft pallet surgery a few days ago had gone home with her family as well. It is neat to know that the operation was a success and that she is now back with her family but we will still miss her smiling little face.

When I got to the shop Alturo told me that he had replaced a faulty computer that was in the power chair that a young man had brought in for his friend but was still having problems with the wheelchair. It took a while but I found the problem and had the young man out of the door in time to catch the bus back to his home. He told me that he has to catch several different busses to get all of the way home and would be traveling most of the night.

Spaghetti night tonight. There were 6 of us at first but after I had to send 2 of them home for stilling there were only 4. Of coarse about the time we had finished and cleared off the table more kids started rolling in. I had made plenty of spaghetti though and there was even enough left after everyone had eaten that I was able to take some over to my neighbors.

4 of the kids managed to talk me into letting them spend the night so I guess I better get my shower in before the lines start forming.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Saturday, January 26, 2008, 8:18 PM

Tonight Calin, Abner and I are in Saloma which is about 5 hours from home. I waited until the weekend to come out this way so that at least one of the boys could come along and interpret for me. Ludwig a little boy who I met while he was in the malnutrition ward of Hermano Pedro lives in a small town near here. When Ludwig, who has muscular dystrophy, gained some weight and strength back he returned to his home. We followed up on him making sure that he received a wheelchair and an education. After just a little private tutoring he was excepted into a public school and is doing well there. Last week he called me to tell me that one of the front wheels had broken off from his wheelchair an his mother now had to carry him to school. About an hour later I received a second call. This time I handed the phone to Abner and he interpreted into English what Ludwig was trying to tell me. Some where between Ludwig’s Spanish, a bad phone connection, Abner’s English, and my hearing, I got the message that not only was Ludwig’s wheelchair broken but his mother had broken her leg while carrying him to school. It was only on a follow up call a few days later that I discovered that mothers leg was fine but the wheelchairs leg (front wheel) was broken.

There are 2 ways to get here from home. The extremely long, slightly bumpy, curvy way or the slightly long, extremely bumpy, curvy way. Since option # 2 usually saves me about an hour and a half that is the one I chose. I have said it before and today proved it again, “Nothing here in Guatemala ever goes as usual.” About half way into our 5 hour trip we encountered a road block. Actually it was just some red buckets and a few traffic cones lined up across the road. I stopped and looked over at a man that was sitting along side of the road eating a sandwich. He slowly got up and moseyed over to my car. He informed me that the road that we were on was closed and would not be open for 2 hours and then he wondered off. A little while later he reappeared so I figured I would ask him what was going on. He told me that there were a few trucks working on the road up ahead so they were closing the road most of the time and only letting traffic (Which meant me since we had seen no other traffic for nearly an hour.) through at curtain times of the day. I told him that I would promise to pull over for any trucks that I met if he would let me go through but he told me that rules were rules. (Evidently he has not lived in Guatemala for too long.) I finally resigned myself to the fact that we would be stuck here for another hour and a half but did not want this to happen to us on our return trip tomorrow so I asked him just what hours the road was open each day. I was told that it was open from 6 AM to 6:30 AM. Then it would open again from 9 AM to 9:30 AM. And that it was always open during the truck drivers lunch time which was from 12:00 PM to 1:PM. I looked down at the clock that is in my car and then at the mans arm and realized that he was not wearing a watch. I then pointed to the clock in y car and told him that it was 12:45 and that according to what he had just told me the road block should have already been open when I arrived there a half hour ago and would still be open for the next 15 minutes. He looked at the clock and then at me, then shrugged his shoulders, walked over to the bucket blockade, moved 2 of the buckets out of the way and motioned for me to go on through. As I drove by him he politely wished me a good day. I forget what I repeated to him but am not sure that it was the same.

A few hours later we arrived in Rabinal where we went to Julia’s house. We gave her some cases of vitamins for the kids that attend the school that she is the principal of. I also gave her some vitamins to give to Antonio an his family the next time that her and her husband hiked in to where they lived. Antonio’s family are the ones that Carlos and I hiked into a few months ago along with Julia and her husband. We had originally brought 10 year old Antonio into Hermano Pedro weighing only 21 pounds about 2 years ago. After gaining a good deal of weight and quite a bit of his health his father took him back home about a year later. On our visit to his home a few months ago we discovered that his health had once again deteriorated and the rest of his family didn’t look a lot better than he did. His mother told us that when his father who was working in another village for a few weeks returned home that she would talk with him about Returning Antonio to Hermano Pedro so that he could regain his health. Since that time I have thought about him almost daily but knew that our hands were tied unless his parents decided that they wanted us to once again help them get Antonio admitted into Hermano Pedro. I was quite sure that Hermano Pedro would accept him back because unlike Juan Jose who’s father had taken him out of malnutrition against the hospitals wishes, the hospital had backed Antonio’s decision to see if he would do alright at home. Today when I mentioned that I wanted Antonio and his brothers and sisters to get some of the vitamins I could see in Julia’s face that something was wrong. Julia told me that Antonio had died. She also told me that Juan Jose who’s parents had taken him back home, even though the doctors at Hermano Pedro had pleaded with them not to, had also died. I am not sure that Juan Jose would have survived even if kept under the care of Hermano Pedro but I have little doubt that Antonio would have gained his strength back quickly just like he did when we first brought him there. I am recognizing more and more that we have to treat everyone that we come into contact with as though it may be the last time that we may ever see them, and by missing the opportunity to share Christ’s love with them we may not see them again for all eternity.

Our second visit of the day was on the lighter side. Ludwig and his parents were glad to see us and even though he has muscular dystrophy he is doing quite well. He scarcely has enough mussel tone left to sit up on his own and can barely push himself around in his wheelchair but his spirits are high. I think the thing that keeps him going is the fact that he is now in school. His body may be slowly fading away but his mind is as sharp as a tack and he loves learning. After looking at his school work I told him that we wanted to take him and his parents out to eat as a reward for the good work that he was doing. Since I used to take him out to Camperos quite a bit when he was at Hermano Pedro I had little doubt as to where he wanted to go for supper. Soon he, his mother, his father, Calin, Abner, and I were on our way to Camperos. Fortunately there was one in a town that was about 25 minutes away. While we were at Camperos we spotted a motel across the street that didn’t appear to be too bad considering Saloma is not all that big of a town so I had the boys go over and check it out. $8 per night per person is a bit steep but the room had hot water, a TV, and 3 beds so after eating I went back over with the boys and paid $24 for our room. The Boys wanted to stay there while I brought Ludwig and his parents back to their town but I did not want them staying there alone. We are now back at the room and the boys are watching TV while I write in my Journal. I think that I will kick back for a while and then head off to bed.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Sunday, January 27, 2008, 9:27 PM

We got back home from Saloma at 4:30 PM. I told the kids that I needed a few hours so that I could finish up on my journal but if I got done before 8:00 I would let them in. That was 4 hours ago and I am just now starting on today’s journal. I have been spending the past 4 hours answering e-mails, returning phone calls, and answering the door bell to tell the kids that it is now looking more like 1 or 2 AM before I get my journal sent out. A few of them asked if they could come in if they waited until I was done but I said no. I hate to do that to them but a few hours of quiet time before morning comes always seems to be needed.

I had a good rest last night and we didn’t get going until nearly9:00 this morning. Our motel room was nothing all that fancy but the beds were comfortable and we all slept well. The motel that we were in had a small restaurant but it was still closed at 9:00 so we went across the street to eat. You wouldn’t believe the name of the restaurant that we ate at today. Camperos! I think that there must be a Camperos in every town that has over a 1000 people in it. The food is always good but I have the menu memorized and am getting a little tired of having to choose between chicken and eggs for every meal. Most of the Guatemalans order Chicken no matter what time of day it is but I had eggs. I figured if everyone kept ordering chicken pretty soon there would be none left and no chickens means no eggs so Camperos would have to close down.

After breakfast we packed up and headed back to Ludwig’s house. I had dropped a new wheelchair off there yesterday but it had gotten to late to fit it so we promised that we would come back there today. Ludwig was excited to see us and thanked Calin for the Camperos chicken that he had brought him. After all he hadn’t had any since last night.

Ludwig’s sister, parents, and 2 nephews were there and everyone but mom wanted to get into the act of setting up Ludwig’s new wheelchair. While Calin and Abner did most of the work I tried to give each of the little kids the opportunity to at least tighten one or 2 bolts. Even Ludwig himself tried to help. Since he scarcely has the strength to sit up on his own and can hardly grip anything in his hands I set him on my lap an together we connected a few brackets onto his wheelchair. It was not until I held him that I realized just how much damage the muscular Dystrophy had done to his poor little body since the last time that I saw him. Hid legs now just dangle like that of a rag doll and the mussels in the rest of his body have degenerated to the point that if his head falls forward he no longer has the strength to lift it up under his own power. In spite of that this plucky 8 year old is still able to move him self around in his wheelchair under his own power. I am afraid that the day that he can no longer do that is just around the corner. When it comes I will be sure that we have a power wheelchair ready for him.

When we finally finished up on Ludwig’s wheelchair his family asked if we would have prayer with them. We didn’t get the opportunity to go to a formal church service today but the next 10 minutes that the boys and I spent with fellow believers will be hard to forget. Working with children who are here one day and gone the next is often heart breaking but being able to do nothing for them would be impossible for me to comprehend. They have all given me far more than I could ever give them.

Yours in Christ: Dick