Journal March 8-14

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Saturday, March 8, 2008

I received a phone call earlier in the week from some people that wanted to go to the orphanage today and then take some of the kids out for lunch so I told them to give me a call Friday night so that we could set up a time to meet. I am not sure what happened but I never herd back from them. I told the kids that I would wait around until 11 this morning just in case they still called but if we did not here from them by then we were heading to the zoo. After saying that I had to periodically check to see if one of the kids disconnected my phone because they were all worried that I would receive a phone call and not take them to the zoo. As it turned out I never got the phone call so 9 of my kids and myself headed for the city. I usually watch my budget when I have this many kids with me but today we simply had fun with out worrying to much about what things cost. As soon as we got to the zoo we got some pizza because the kids were hungry. Then again when are kids not hungry. Then we spent the rest of the day looking some animals, riding the bumper cars, looking at more animals. Riding more bumper cars, and then buying ice cream cones for everyone.

When we got home I told the kids that I needed a bit of time to myself to get a little bit of work done. I also planned to sneak away by myself and get some supper. Silly me, I should have known that if I went to eat anywhere less than a mile from my home I would be discovered. I was. Now all of the kids are telling me that since I took Calin out to eat I should have taken them as well. I was going to explain to them that Calin found me at the restaurant but then I reconsidered telling them that for fear that they would scout out all of the eating places any time that I was gone.

Fernando, Abner, and Calin seem to have pretty much taken up residence here as they are once again beading down for the nigh. I think that I will look into getting a set of bunk beds so that they at least have beds to sleep in when they are over. Speaking of beds, mine looks mighty inviting so I think that I will go try it out.

Goodnight.
Yours in Christ: Dick


Sunday, March 9, 2008, 10:10 PM

Six of the kids came along with me to church today. It took us nearly an hour to get there because of all of the Easter festivities that are going on in Antigua. I know that Easter is still 2 weeks away but in Antigua it is celebrated for nearly a month. There seem to be continual processions of some type going on and most of the streets that don’t have a parade going down them are usually blocked off because someone is doing some type of floral design on them. Add to that the fact that more tourists are in Antigua during this time of year than at any other time and it makes driving a real nightmare. To make things even worse they stop each car that goes into Antigua during the weekends and charge them Q20 each. Often times the traffic is backed up for nearly a mile as the person giving out the tickets slowly counts out the change.


Monday, March 10, 2008

Today I went in to Hermano Pedro early enough that I could swim with some of the kids. Unfortunately when I got there I discovered that they had once again canceled the Monday morning pool therapy with the kids. Why? Good question. Sam Sam had not yet been taken out of his crib. Nor was he taken out the entire day. Why? Another good question. Ervin had at least been taken out of his crib but was tied in his wheelchair and the sheet that was used to tie him into his chair had been run through the wheels of his chair so that he could not move around in it. Why? Another good question, so I started asking the care givers. The first few that I talked to gave me no reason. Finally I found someone who told me that Ervin and Juan Carlos had both been found in the hallway outside of the gate that goes into the area where they stay. Someone had left the gate open. I have been talking with the powers that be about instaling a spring and a latch that automatically close and latche the gate but have been told that these things take time. That was 4 years ago. I went streight to the head office and put in a requisition for some old IV poles that I could attach to the back of Ervin and Juan Carlos’s wheelchairs so that they could be extended so that the wheelchairs can not make it under the entrance to the gate. I was told that it sounded like a good idea and they would consider it. I think that they put it in a file right next to the request for a new gate latch. With in 15 minutes I had improvised a bamboo poll that I found onto the back of Ervin’s wheelchair. Some times it is easier to say I am sorry than to ask for permission. I have been told that it is far better to focus on the positive than on the negative but I am positive that if we all gave up and quit fighting for these kids little would get done for them.

Today I also met with a group of people who have been doing mission work all over the world for the past year. It did not take much time for them to get to know the kids and soon they were fully involved in playing and visiting with them. We didn’t take any of the kids to lunch but we took 7 of them out to the park this afternoon. Judging by their enthusiasm I think that we will be seeing a lot more of this group at Hermano Pedro.

On the way home I nearly got ran into by a truck that ran a stop sign in front of me. A passenger in the truck motioned out of the window for me to stop as they ran the stop sign and seemed rather upset with me for not stopping when their truck nearly ran over my car. I guess a hand out of the window means more than a stop sign here in Guatemala.

I did not let the kids stay around to long this evening because I found out that the new computer that I ordered this morning was on back order and would not be in Lynden in time for my friend Ralph to pick it up before coming down on Saturday. It took me several hours to get my order canceled and to reorder from another company. It seems that the bank that issues my credit card can not get it into their computers memory that I can be in Guatemala and still spend money in the USA when ordering something. Their wanting to call my home phone number in the USA to confirm that it was really me that was calling them to get my credit card reinstated added to the confusion.

In spite of a few bumps in the road today has been a great day. I saw a lot of smiles on a lot of faces and that made the entire day worth it. It is so amazing how just a little bit of attention can bring such joy to so many of these kids. A special thanks to the group that accompanied me today. You gave your all to the kids and they loved it.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Tuesday, March 11, 2008, 10:08 PM

Another full day at the orphanage today. When I arrived at the orphanage I was told that one of the care givers that works in the ward where the children are, had just received a phone call from her son. The police had phoned him telling him that his father, who is a buss driver had just been shot to death by some one who was robbing his bus. It seems that violent crime here in Guatemala is on a steady increase.

A group that is staying at the YWAM base in Antigua joined me for a good part of the day. Since there were around 15 of them I introduced the entire group to the younger kids than split the group and showed half of them around the orphanage while the other half played with the kids. After that the second group was shown around while group one played with the kids. Once again there was not time to take anyone to lunch but a lot of friendships were established.

This afternoon I repaired some wheelchairs and set Julio (the 17 ½ pound 9 year old) into his new stroller type wheelchair. The improvement in this child from 4 weeks ago is amazing. After that I Spent about an hour holding some of the kids that are up in malnutrition. Easter is usually a time when there are more volunteers at Hermano Pedro than usual but there are still a lot of children who never get held. I think that a lot of it has to do with a fear that the volunteers have that they may hurt the child. That is why I try to take time each day to hold some of the kids that look as though they could break in 2 of you held them incorrectly.

Before leaving I took Moises across the street for a coke. When ever he helps me work on the wheelchairs I try to do this. I always tell him that this is his payment for helping me but he knows that I would do it anyway, and I know that he would help me anyway.

Tonight’s supper crew consisted of 10 of us. I will not tell you what we had for dinner or you will get the idea that all I feed the kids are hot dogs. A few more kids showed up after we had finished eating so they had to settle for something that was not as nutritious.

Everyone that is going home has now left. Only 2 kids, Abner and Fernando are staying tonight. They are both becoming quite self sufficient so if I don’t want to get up at 6 and feed them they will do just fine at fixing their own breakfast. They are already asleep and even though I am still sitting at the computer I am nearly asleep myself, so I will say goodnight.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Wednesday, March 12, 2008, 9:53 PM

Yesterday I was invited to be part of a team of people that were going to get together and speak with the caregivers in several of the sections of the orphanage. Jessica, a physical therapist, a feeding specialist, and myself had talked it over and felt that the care givers would possibly do a better job of caring for the kids if they better understood why some of their ways of feeding, handling, and treating the children should be changed. I think that all of us were wondering how well excepted any of our comments would be but both of the 2 hour sessions went well. We tried to do more listening than talking and let the care givers know that we were there to work with them and not against them. I could tell that most of the care givers really do care about the kids and were egger to learn anything that they could that would make caring for and feeding the children easier and more pleasurable to all. I think that the meeting helped the care givers realize that we all want what is best for the children and that what seemed like more work for them was more like an investment that would reap a lot of benefits for both them and the children in a verry short time. All of us went away with a better understanding of why things are being done the way that they are and also why we need to see some changes. Please pray that we can all work together to make the environment a better one for all.


It was past noon when we finished up but since most of the care givers were at the meeting some of the kids still had to be fed. I had not eaten much all day so I quickly signed out Minor and took him to lunch with me. Since Minor only knows one of the Mayan dialects when he came to the orphanage about a year ago he and I are on about the same level when it comes to knowing Spanish. Fortunately we both have a fairly good understanding of Spanish when it comes to food though so we had no problem communicating with the waitress at Camperos. When we were about half way finished with our meal we were joined by my friend Carlos.

Carlos has been doing a lot of traveling with Faith in Practice lately. They are the volunteer origination that sends a lot of doctors to Hermano Pedro throughout the year. Lately they have been sending teems of doctors into some of the villages as well and Carlos has been joining them as an interpreter. Carlos seems to be enjoying it verry much even though it is hard work.

This after noon I got together with a man that I met at church last Sunday. I think that he and his wife are at a point where they are considering making some changes in their lives, one of those changes could involve moving here to Guatemala. I tried to answer as many of his questions as possible but I am not sure that I told him exactly what he wanted to here.

I just erased close to a page that I wrote because I figured that you are not reading my journals to hear a sermon. Perhaps some day I will use it if I am asked to speak about total surrender, in a church somewhere.

This evening we sort of started eating dinner at around 5 PM and finished up at around 9 PM. It wasn’t that the kids trickled in one at a time. Most of them were here right from the start. It was more like they just could not get enough to eat tonight and even after the 3rd attempt to fill them up some were still asking for more. All I can figure out is that they are trying to fill up because word got out that we have a group coming in this week end and I won’t be home to cook for them for a few days. Actually the head cook (me) didn’t do all that much tonight. Fernando pretty much took over for me while I did some work on my car.

Well it is now down to only Calin and myself hear and he is already fast asleep. I think that the others would have stayed longer but at around 9 I asked them to leave. Then at 9:15 I told them to leave.

As soon as I sweep up the broken glass from tonight’s soccer game I am going to head off to bed. Alex promised to pay for this one by washing my car. The only problem is the list of kids that owe me a car wash because they broke one of my windows is getting so big that I am going to have to have it washed at least twice a day for the next week.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Thursday, March 13, 2008, 6:49 PM

I made up my mind that I was going to spend the entire day working on wheelchairs at Hermano Pedro today so that I could get caught up. How was I to know until I got there that so many of the kids would want to help. Between that and showing a few volunteers around the day went by much too fast. Some of the kids will be going to their homes during Easter vacation in fact Moises and a few of the others already left today.

It seems that the meeting that we had with the nurses yesterday has helped a bit because Ervin was up the entire day. Well almost the entire day. I actually put him in bed for an hour as punishment for trying to get my attention while I was trying to carry on a conversation with one of the volunteers. I didn’t really punish him for interrupting me but for the way he interrupted me. When I went to get him out of his crib an hour later he gave me a big hug and then pulled up the sleeve of my shurt to survey the damage that his teeth had done to my arm.

Before Heading for home Byron, Fidel, and I snuck out for a coke. When ever I think that that giving out power wheelchairs is a mistake because of the endless maintenance I take a look at one of the people that have received one over the past few years. It wasn’t that long ago that both Byron, who is now in a head controlled wheelchair, and Fidel, who operates his power wheelchair with his foot, had little more to do than sit in a wheelchair all day and hope that perhaps someone would come along that would at least move them to a different part of the room so that they would have a change of scenery.

I let the kids in for about an hour when I got home but then told them that I needed a couple of hours to do some writing. At around 8 I will let them back in. While they were here the first time Abner called his mother who is in the USA. The conversation was short and when he hung up Abner looked at me rather sheepishly. I asked him what was up. He told me that his mother wanted to know if I could help her out by sending her some money. I thought about going into detail about how she was there making money and I was ….. but instead I kept my conversaton short as well, I smiled at Abner and said. “No”. Some day I will get use to the boldness in which many of the Guatemalan people ask American’s for money. I use to be offended by it but have come to realize every culture has it’s own thing. Most Guatemalans look at Americans as being verry bossy and pushy and compared to most cultures we are.

Well I still have time for a quick nap before the troops storm the place so I will close for now. I won’t say goodnight because once I open the gate the evening will just begin.

9:28 PM

The soccer game is still going strong. I am surprised that the kids have not tired out yet because they are all playing on full stomachs. Once again I parked the car sideways in front of the house to protect the windows but I am not so sure that is a good idea. Granted car window do not break as easily as house windows but they cost a lot more if they need to be replaced. I think that I will tell the teems that they have 60 seconds left in the game though because I am sure that my neighbors are getting tired of my car alarm going off. I remember back to the days when I took pride in my well kept yard. Funny how I thought back then that a neat yard was more important than a happy kid. Well I am going to close for now so that I can watch the final few seconds of the game.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Friday, March 14, 2008

Today I felt drawn to go and visit the people at the clinic that had introduced me to Julio and his family. I was not sure just why, because I had just been there about 2 weeks ago. At that time the doctor there told me that if I could bring them some crutches and canes the next time that I visited he would appreciate it so I stopped off at the wheelchair shop and got some before heading out. Before heading out I also called Carlos to see if he wanted to come along. He had not yet seen Ronny’s new house so I told him that since it was only about 45 minutes from the clinic we could stop in and pay them a visit as well. We arranged to meet at Hermano Pedro and then head out from there. When I got to Hermano Pedro I saw that Juan Carlos the little boy who often tries to sneak out of the gate was once again tied into his wheelchair and his chair was tied up so that he could not go anywhere in it. I quickly connected a telescoping pool to his wheelchair and untied the wheels. Now much like Ervin Juan Carlos can go all over the court yard of the orphanage but the height of the pool prohibits him from getting out into the hall ways.

Another volunteer got talking to Carlos and myself and when we told her where we were going she asked if she could join us. Soon the 3 of us were on our way to the coast. The 6000 foot difference in elevation made a big diffrance in temperature. I would have guessed the temperature back in Chemaltenango to have been in the high 70s but out near the coast it was down right hot.

Our first stop was at the clinic where we were greeted by the Cubin doctor, the man that directs the clinic and later the mayor’s wife. They were happy with the half dozen canes and crutches that we brought them, and were absolutely delighted with the 2 walkers that we gave them. The doctor told us that just yesterday he had a lady come in that needed a walker so he was going to get word out to her that he could now give her one.

As we visited the director of the clinic told us that just a few days ago he had happened to find another little boy who much like Julio was also starving to death. The mayors wife said that she had also heard of another child who much like these 2 was starving to death. They asked if we had time to go and see them. I told them that even though we didn’t know it when we left home I was sure that was a big part of the reason that we had come today.
Soon we were at the first home. The father greeted us at the gate. Through the open gate we could see 2 children sitting in a hammock and a mother that was holding a child that appeared to be strving. At first the father seemed a bit apprehensive about letting us in but after a while he motioned for us to follow him to the house. As we visited we were told that the family had taken 3 year old Milton to doctors shortly after he was born but they had been told that there was nothing much that could be done for him. The father told us that a few other doctors looked at him as well but as soon as any money that the family had was used up the doctors would no longer help them.

Milton’s father told us that he was giving up and later confided in us that he wished that his son was dead so that the family could go on with their lives. He explained that they had no money for a wheelchair and some one had to always be holding Milton. He asked if we knew of any orphanages that would take his child because he was at the end of his rope. As we talked I realized why this father had such bitterness in his hart. He told us that neighbors and friends were continually reminding him and his wife that it was their fault that they had a child like this. They were continually being told that Milton was a curse from God because they had done some great sin. I handed Milton back to his mother and walked over to the father and put my hand on his sholder. I had been studding Milton as I was holding him and was convinced that Milton had cerebral palsy. With the help of Carlos interpreting I explained to the parents that I had been watching Milton’s eyes and he had been taking everything in. Yes it was true that Milton had many physical limitations but he was verry bright. I also told them about Stephen who is backi in the States and about several of the kids at the orphanage who have CP. I told thim about what they were able to do and about what a blessing they were to all of us who knew them. I then told Milton’s parents that some times God puts things into our lives for reasons that we do not fully understand but that the reason that Milton had CP was not a result of something terrible that they had done but caused by a lock of oxygen at birth. When I said that I could feel father let out a sigh of relief and the stern look on his face disappeared as his eyes filled up with tears. Mother who had been staring at the ground looked up and said “That is exactly what happened!” She went on to tell us that Milton had indeed suffered oxygen starvation at birth but she had never been told by any one that the lack of oxygen was the likely cause of Milton’s problems. Both parents looked like the weight of the world had been lifted off from their shoulders.

We visited for quite some time and discussed what options were available. It was decided that since all of the doctors at Hermano Pedro are off until after Easter, that we would wait until then to do anything. The week after Easter I am planning on coming back and picking up Milton and his father or mother and bringing them to Antigua. The following morning we will see the pediatrician that works at Hermano Pedro. I have little doubt that once he sees Milton he will place him in the malnutrition ward where he can receive proper food and medications. I told Milton’s Parents that usually the kids are kept in malnutrition for around 3 to 4 months and that after that time they can make the decision on weather or not they want to pursue keeping him in the orphanage full time or take him back home. I have a good feeling that after his stay in the malnutrition ward, their decision will be to take their son back home to live with them. Please remember to keep Milton and his family in your prayers.

We had been told that much like Milton the second family that we were going to visit lived only a short distance from the clinic as well. I guess here in Guatemala a short distance is anything under an hours drive. When we got to where this family once lived we were told that they had moved. The director of the clinic told us that the directions that he ad been given to where they now lived were sketchy and since it was not a short distance like this 1 hour drive was suppose to have been he felt that it would be better to wait until I returned to pick up Milton before attempting to visit this family.


After bringing the director back to the Clinic we headed to where Angelica lives. Angelica told us that the antibiotics that we had bought for her the last time that we visited had done the job and that there was no longer any infection in her leg. She even showed us that she is now able to put weight on her leg and hopes to be walking soon. While we were there 1 of her grandaughters that we have helped put into school came out and showed us some of her school work. When I asked her if she liked school she beamed from ear to ear.

Next stop, Ronny’s house. The new house is getting that lived in look and even though it is not yet complete the family is loving it. When we got out of the car Ronny’s dad asked Carlos and Jerry if they wanted to see his families new palace. I know that we are not suppose to rely on material tings for happiness but this new home has certainly brought a lot of joy to this family. Ronny has been feeling a bit better but his parents told us that they simply did not have the money to buy the medicine that the doctor at Hermano Pedro had prescribed for Ronny. I told them that if some one would ride out with me to the nearest drug store we would get some when we left.

Before heading out we went over to see grandma. We had hoped to put a cement floor and windows into her house when the teem was here building Ronny’s house but never had the time. I told her that we would do our best to get it done before rainy season but that I could make no promises. We then visited a bit with her daughter in law that lives with her husband and 6 children in the rusted out tin building next door. I told her that we were still praying but so far could make no promises as to when if ever we could help them out with at least getting a roof over there heads that didn’t leek like a sieve. Today all I could offer were a few misquito nets to put over the families 2 beds. I wish so that we could give her and her family more hope but the prefabricated houses that we get in are designated for widows or families with handicapped children.

When we left Ronny’s mom, one brother, and one sister rode along to a small village that has a drug store. While we were there bartering on a price for Ronny’s medicine, the lady that ran the drug store asked if we could possibly take the time to look at her 10 year old niece who had been severely burned in an accident a few years ago. She told us that scar tissue had built up on her hands and feet to the point that the child could scarcely use her hands and could no longer walk. Since it would be dark soon I promised that I would stop by the next time that I came through and that at that time I would see if she needed a wheelchair and I would also take some pictures and show them to the doctors at Hermano Pedro. Not a quarter mile down the road we drove by a boy who had also been the victim of a fire. One of his hands and his entire face were totally black and looked like charcoal. Ronny’s mom seemed to know him so perhaps next time we will see if there is any thing that can be done for him.

I just received an e-mail in which I was reminded that we can not help the entire world but that God will likely put those that we should help in our path. It seems like today that path had an exceptional amount of hurting people on it. Please pray that God will give us wisdom in know who to help and how to help them.

John 4:35 You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest.

Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal February 29 - March 7

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Friday, February 29, 2008

We all welcomed the cooler weather when we woke up. The dogs woke most of us up before we wanted! The Hotel Rancho Grande Inn was very nice with a garden setting. We all had breakfast at the Rancho Restaurant, with the best pancakes that tasted like sweet biscuits! We went sidewalk shopping where the vendors attacked us and would not let us go, until we purchased their goods. I still don't know who had the best time, the vendors or those of us who were shopping? On our way back to Chimaltenango we stopped at Juan's home and met his wife and 4 children. Juan was lead man on our house building project. He is a local pastor and his church is in front of his house. The church seemed to be quite new. Very nice inside, much better than some of the houses around by far! We are on the move again to see the Mayan ruins. This area has Mayan Indians dating back to the early 1500. This is an area where Mayan people worship their gods, which are many. There are many large mounds of rock and mortar. At the end, there was a ceremony going on with candles, smoke and fire and also the smell of meat being sacrificed. We returned to Chimaltenango, where we had stayed the first night and had lunch/dinner at Comperos. Comperos is known for their good chicken. We brought our luggage to our rooms and then went to the wheelchair shop and warehouse where the wheelchairs are brought and fixed. Many of the chairs come from Hope Haven out of Rock Valley, Iowa. About 1000 chairs are given out yearly in this area. Chris and Dick shared from their hearts. We were moved by the Holy Spirit to pray for their ministry and our involvement in it. We then went to Dick's home to meet some of the kids in his neighborhood that hang out at his place. After a few minutes all the kids and adults felt at home and had a ripping good time! As you can tell we had a busy day traveling! We saw lots of vegetable gardens, many were terraced type.
To God Be the Glory!

(Ralph Lautenbach)


(Saturday) March 1st, 2008

Today is day 10 of our 11 day journey in Guatemala. We started our day with devotions in the parking lot of our hotel. Len quoted the familiar verse of Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you....". Well, today we all knew the plan was to visit the orphanage, but I'm not sure any of us knew what to expect. We had breakfast at Campero's, here in Chimal and then drove to the orphanage in Antigua. I have lost my sense of direction, but it seemed to be right in the middle of town, a very busy town!! It is part of a hospital and very large. We were greeted at the entrance by 2 boys/men in wheelchairs, who were so excited to see Dick! Dick continued to show us thru the whole orphanage. The different divisions we visited were children, teenage girls, teenage boys, babies and the malnutrition children. All with physical or mental handicaps. Dick was so at ease with all of them, he brought so many smiles to children that you may think don't understand, but they obviously did. Some kids you could just mention their name and you could see the joy on their faces. Some we held, some we walked, some we played ball with, or played in the playground with. We helped feed lunch to many of them. I could go on and tell you several names or stories, all of which are very heartfelt, but it would take too many pages! These are all God's children and they will stay in our hearts for a long time. I am so grateful for people like Dick, who volunteer several days each week to show these children that they are cared about and loved and treats them as God's children. We then went to lunch at a Burger King, it was just like any B,K. you would see in the States. After lunch, a few people went and spent more time with the kids at the orphanage. I think Steve V.V. had to take the extra time to hold each baby there! The rest of us went with Chris and walked thru the town. He pointed out places to stay away from and the places that were safe. We saw many things, people sleeping on the streets, people with no legs, horse and buggy drivers talking on their cell phones, some very old churches, and we also walked through one. At about 4pm we headed back to our hotel here in Chimal. Some of us went for a drive to visit Chris and Donna's home. What a wonderful family they are! We then went for dinner to a restaurant called "56" and sat outside and had a great meal for our last dinner here. I think those that were feeling ill the last few days are now feeling better. Tomorrow will be a big day of travel, We need to be up by 3am. I think we are all ready to see our family and friends again. Deut. 33.:27 The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

(Kim Gatterman)


(Sunday) March 2nd, 2008

We set the alarm for 3am - John went around to everyone's room with a wake up knock on the door. Chris and Dick came around 3:30 am to take us to the airport. Today is the day we will be going home again. We had mixed feelings......feelings of sadness to be leaving Dick, Chris & his family, and all the other friends we had bonded with over the past few days. But also looking forward to going home to be with our loved ones. We had feelings of praise and thanksgiving to God our Father who made it possible for us to come and share His love with all the people we met here in Guatemala, and also for all the blessings we received from it. And we had feelings of hope and peace, knowing God is in control of all things. We pray He will continue to bless Dick and Chris & his family and their ministry here. That He will give them strength and clear guidance in the work He has planned for them here in Guatemala. And we pray for the people here -that they may find their hope and joy in the Lord Jesus Christ, even though they live in desperate situations.

We were all ready to go by 3:30am. We gathered together for devotions and a group prayer and then headed for the airport. Our flight left at 7:15am to Houston and from there we arrived in Seattle at around 3:30pm. Lisa, Heather and Sandi and families were there to greet us. The rest of us rode home in "the bus" driven by Dan Kuiper - we kept reminding him he wasn't in Guatemala anymore! We arrived safely at the church parking lot at 6pm.

Thank you Lord for watching over us and protecting us! For giving us the opportunity to be a "small light" in a dark world. For making us aware of how blessed we are and how important it is to share what you have so graciously given to us. May our hearts be forever changed! Open and willing to do whatever you have planned for us.(Jeremiah 29:11)
We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.

(John & Arlis)


Sunday, March 2, 2008, 4:31 PM (Written by Dick)

My alarm went off at 3:20 AM. I can’t say that I was fully rested but I had to get to the motel where the group that has been with us for the past 10 days was staying at. They were flying back home at 7:00 AM so we had to have them at the airport by 5:00. They were all up when I arrived at the motel but I can’t say that they looked much more awake than I did. It has been a marvelous 10 days of house building, wheelchair distributing, visiting, and faith sharing but we are all tired. Would any of us do it again if we were given the opportunity? I think that I am speaking for all when I say, IN A HEART BEAT! I have little doubt that most if not all of our friends from Washington State will be back with in a year if not sooner. Thanks gang for giving it your all and then some! I hope that all of your cuts, bruises, rashes, and stomach problems will soon be forgotten and you will come back soon. We will miss each and everyone of you. I will especially miss those who made my week much easier by writing the journals that I published while you were here. I think that I will ask other groups to do the same when they come down.

We had a great time on the road but it is good to be back at home. I missed the kids and I think that they missed me. It seems that a few of them are displaying their disapproval of my being gone for so many days in a row by acting out a bit. The kids here at home seem to be a lot louder and livelier than usual and even several of the orphanage kids showed that they were not happy that I had not seen them in nearly a week and a half. One neat thing about the orphanage kids is that they are quick to forgive, and given the choice of calming down or going home most of the neighbor kids quickly settled down to a quiet roar. 4 of them came along with me to church this morning, and then to lunch. By the way that they put down the food I have little doubt that what ever I feed them the next few days I will here no complaints,

Well I am going to try and catch a bit of a nap before I once again let the kids back into the house so I will close for now.

Yours in Christ: Dick

Monday, March 3, 2008

You would think that I had enough of the hot weather by now but today I once again found myself at Ronny’s house. Rusty, a friend from church will be going to Belize for a few weeks on Tuesday so this was the only day that he had open to put a cook stove into Ronny’s house. Actually there was a lot more involved than just bringing in a stove and installing it. Rusty actually builds the stoves right at the homes from cement block and brick. Usually he has whoever he is building the stove for gather up all of the supplies before he comes in and constructs it but since I was on the road all of last week that did not happen. The first thing we did this morning was run all over Eltejar and Santa Lucia gatherings all of the material that was needed. Fortunately a truck was already bringing in some cement blocks so we did not have to try to fit 30 of them into my Toyota along with the 40 bricks, 5 sacks of white sand, 2 sacks of cement, stove top, stove door, chimney, tools, and other assorted parts. By the time we got to Ronny’s house and actually got started on the project it was past noon. Ronny’s dad helped us out for a while but then had to go to work. That left us with Rusty to build the stove while I hand mixed cement and carried bricks and blocks into the house. Had I known that it was going to be another 100 degree day I may have hidden the return tickets of the group that was here last week so that they would have had no choice but to stick around for another week. I must admit though that much of the work was done by Ronny’s younger brothers and sisters. I can’t believe the amount of work that they did. I am sure that if they were in the USA child labor would have been after us but none of them broke their backs and all of them seamed extremely pleased that they could help. When 5 PM rolled around we still had a small amount of work left to do on the stove but figured that the men who are finishing up on the house could finish it another day. I think that Ronny’s mom is going to be happy with it. She will still be cooking with wood but Rusty says that it should only use about a third as much wood as the open fire that she has cooked on in the past. All of the smoke will also go up the chimney in stead of going into the house. This had been and still is a big health problem for many Guatemalans who still cook over open fires.

The shower is still not hooked up in Ronny’s house so the kids got cleaned up by either pouring water over them selves or climbing into what ever buckets or wash tubs they could find. I think that Ronny’s mom had heard some where that Americans have this thing about modesty though, because she made some of the kids put some of their clothing back on until we left.

Even though the house is still in need of windows and doors Ronny’s family is moved into their new house. I don’t think that they will ever get the good housekeeping award but the are all verry happy. Now that Ronny has a cement ramp going into the house and a cement floor to drive on he is getting a lot more use out of his power wheelchair. The batteries are also holding up a lot better now that his wheelchair has a smoother surface to run on. I guess progress has a few negative drawbacks, because now that they have electricity they have been given a TV set from some relatives.

Ronny seems to do fairly well during the day but continues to get high fevers at night so we decided that it would be best for him to come back with us to see the doctors at Hermano Pedro. Since his dad is working and his mother is pregnant it was decided that Ronny’s grandmother would accompany us. Tonight she and Ronny are staying at Casa DeFaye in Antigua. I gave them cab fare so that I don’t have to pick them up and bring them in to Hermano Pedro at 6:30 in the morning.

I got home late so I let the kids stay a bit longer than usual. They played soccer and only broke one window. I didn’t figure that was much of a problem until I discovered that some one had dropped something on the 6 spare windows that I have. Oh well it is a warm night and I seldom have a problem with bugs around here.

I Guess that I will head off to bed now.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Tuesday, March 4, 2008, 10:01 PM

I actually got a few thing done around home before heading to Hermano Pedro this morning. When I got there Ronny was just finishing up on a few blood tests. At first the doctor wanted his grandmother and him to stick around another day but decided that they could give me the results tomorrow and I could relay them to Ronny’s family.

One of the people that was here last week left some money with me for Ronny’s family so before bringing Ronny and his grandmother home I stopped off and bought some groceries for the family. I had seen what they had to eat yesterday and knew that groceries were needed. When I got to Ronny’s house I also gave them a large picture that I had taken of their family a few days ago.

On my way home I stopped off at a new barber shop that is in town. Had I known that their prices are a lot higher than the one that I usually go to I my have gone there instead. Can you imagine the nerve of some businesses to ask such outlandish prices? I must admit they did a good job considering what they had to work with, (some how that didn’t come out the way I wanted it to.) but $2 for a hair cut and another $1.25 for a shave is outlandish.

I didn’t get home until close to 7 PM but the crew was waiting for me. I think that I am going to have to figure out a better place for the kids to play soccer though because even though no windows were broken tonight my flower bed took a real beating. I also discovered that those expensive 10,000 hour light bulbs are no match for a soccer ball.

The kids got tired of waiting for me to cook them supper so they are whipping something up on the stove. I sure hope that they aren’t making what I think they are making because we are out of Ketchup. Although I must admit nearly half the kids are getting use to having syrup on their French toast.

Yours in Christ: Dick

Wednesday, March 5, 2008, 8:24 PM

I had to catch up on a lot of work so I told the kids that they could not come in this evening. I think that the only ones that liked that decision were my flowers and my lawn. Funny thing how I always wish for more quiet time when the house is full of kids but once it empties out the silence becomes deafening. I think that I will suffer through it though because having 10 or 15 kids in a 3 room house can get a bit overwhelming at times.

This morning I went to the shop and helped Alturo figure out what was wrong with a power wheelchair that he was having problems with. Once we got it running all of the other workers thanked me. Not necessarily for fixing the chair but for helping get Alturo out of the bad mood he was in from trying to figure out what the problem was. Don’t get me wrong Alturo is a great old guy but every now and then it is best to stay out of his way.

I got into Hermano Pedro in time to take Moises and Byron out for lunch. Byron is getting to be a real show off with his head controlled wheelchair and really hams it up when we go through the park. As hard as they try most people that see him can not figure out how he is driving his wheelchair. Often times they look at Moises, who is always being towed behind Byron’s power chair, expecting him to be holding a remote control transmitter of some type.

Today when we returned from lunch all but a small hand full of kids were once again locked in their cribs until tomorrow morning. Jessica has told the care givers several times with in the last few weeks that they can not have the kids in bed 20 hours a day but it seems to go in one ear and out the other. I took Ervin out of his crib, left him in his pajamas, put him in his wheelchair and took him to the far end of Hermano Pedro where the nuns and the father superior have their offices. It did not take long for us to be noticed because they do not like the kids to be out of their rooms unless they are dressed and have shoes and socks on. When I was asked why Ervin was not dressed at this time of day I explained that I had taken him out of his crib because he didn’t like being in bed from noon until the following morning. I was thanked for bringing this to their attention and promised that they were going to have another talk with the careless givers.

The rest of my afternoon was spent repairing several wheelchairs. I really have not had much time to refit or repairs many of the wheelchairs since the kids got back after they went to their homes for Christmas.

Before heading for home this evening I took a few new volunteers up to the malnutrition ward. 9 year old Julio is putting on weight and must be nearly 20 pounds now. They gave him a hair cut so he no longer looks like Mogly from The Jungle Book. Byron and Perla are both putting on weight and Perla is no longer being fed through a feeding tube. I still wonder how they will survive if and when their parents decide to take them home. There are a few new kids that look quite frail but over all most of the kids that are in malnutrition are doing quite well.

Well I think that I will close for now and just sit and listen to the silence. Although to make it completely silent I would have to poison all of the dogs and roosters in the neighborhood and also disconnect my doorbell.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick
Thursday, March 6, 2008

This morning I met with some people from Prairie Bible Institute for a few hours. They are pioneering some programs where some of their students could be plugged in to various ministries for a few months of the year. I shared with them some opportunities such as some of the orphanages that we are involved with, house building, schooling, and the wheelchair ministry. I then took them to our wheelchair shop and introduced them to everyone that works there. They are still in the planning stages but I think that they saw that the needs are endless and it gave them a lot to think about.

I had wanted to visit with a few families for several days now but Mario and his daughter have been sick so he was not able to accompany me today. He thought that perhaps he would be able to come along with me in a day or 2 but wasn’t sure so I decided to wait until the kids got out of school at around noon, and take a few of the boys along with me instead. It took a while deciding who would come along with me but it was finally decided that Calin, Fernando, and Alex would go. I was glad that Fernando and Calin were with me because I had a lot of important things to discuss with some of the families and these 2 boys are becoming excellent at interpreting. Alex’s English is not all that great but I figured that the opportunity to come along and visit some of these families would be a good experience for him.

Our first stop was at the home of Maria and her 4 children. She is the lady who’s husband was killed when he was run over by a truck a few months ago. Maria told us that she is overjoyed with the new prefabricated house that we put up for her. She said that the insulation helps keep it cool during the day and even though they live at an elevation of over 7000 feet the family stays comfortable at night. Since we now have the finances we are also moving forward on getting a pin built and then giving her some pigs to raise. Maria’s older children are delighted that they can now attend school and both of them proudly brought out their school work for us to look at. Maria’s sister who lives next door to them has not been feeling well ever since she had a baby a few weeks ago so we gave her some money so that she can go to Tecpan and see a doctor.

Next we walked over to a home that is located only a little ways up the hill from Maria’s house. This is the home of a mother who has 3 children, 1 of whom is blind. Her husband deserted her and the children just over a year ago leaving them with nothing but a shack to live in. Last time we visited I told her that we would do our best to get 2 of her children into school. The 11 year old girl had gone in the past but had to drop out shortly after her father left because mom did not have enough money for needed pencils and note books. Mom told us that her kids were so excited when we told them that we could possibly enroll her 6 year old son into school and get her daughter back into school. that she went from neighbor to neighbor promising them that she would pay back the $9 that was needed to enroll them if they would lone it to her until we returned, so to our surprise both children have been going to school for the past week. It was good that we showed up when we did though because the neighbors who have next to nothing themselves were asking when she would be able to pay back her debt. The kids were still in need of school supplies, books, and PE uniforms so we are helping them out with that. They were also delighted when we handed them back packs that some friends of mine had brought in from the States. I wish so that the pubic schools here could be truly public. So many kids are going unschooled simply because their families can not come up with money for school supplies or uniforms. It is even harder to see most of the children who are in wheelchairs denied an education simply because they are in a wheelchair.

After having a good visit with these families we drove to where Isabel Maria, Fidel, and their grandmother live. Fidel is still alive but I do not know for how long. The medicine that we brought in on our last visit is helping some for the pain but his grandmother told us that he has stopped eating. He still recognized me and gave me a smile when I sat down by his bed. Isabel Maria is still getting around with the use of her walker but I can’t help but wonder how long it will be until she is bed ridden. The cement has been poured for her new house so now all we have to do is find the time to come in and put up the house.

The main reason for today’s visit was so that I could look over the cement work and then pay the contractor. Even though we had agreed on a price Isabel’s cousin Geronimo told me that the contractor had tried to convince Geronimo into lying by telling me that the job had taken him 3 days instead of 2. Since the contractor was not at home I gave Geronimo the agreed on amount plus the bonus that I had promised the contractor if he completed the job by a certain date. I then told Geronimo to remind him that if the job took 3 days instead of 2 he had to have gone past the due date so if that was the case I would be back for the Q20 bonus. For some reason I don’t think that we will be hearing from this man again. Nor will he be hearing from us because we will not deal with him if he is dishonest.

We took a different rout on the way back home because Fernando’s aunt had been visiting relatives in San Marteen so we picked her up there and brought her back home. Even though the 5 of us stopped off for supper before going home there were still plenty of hungry kids waiting out in the alley by my house. Once again 3 of them insisted that lodging came with the free meal and being to tired to argue I now have overnight guests. Well I am tired even if the kids aren’t so I am heading off to bed before it gets taken.


Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Friday, March 7, 2008, 10:15 PM

Today I was only able to take one of the kids from the orphanage to lunch because there were no other volunteers that wanted to come along. Carlos is always willing to help out when he is around but this week he has been doing some interpreting for some doctors that are here from the USA. Taking only one kid out was perhaps for the best though because I had promised Ervin out to eat. When I arrived at the orphanage this morning Ervin had not yet been put back in his crib for the day. Instead he was tied in his wheelchair and the bed sheet that he was tied with had been run through the spokes of his wheels so that he could not go anywhere in it. If you get this journal by e-mail please go to my web page and look at the movie that I made of Ervin today. The diffrance you will see in Ervin when playing at Camperos and then locked back in his crib at the orphanage is heart breaking.
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. . . . . . . .^ (View Movie of Ervin)

Lest you forget, you may want to take another look at

SAM SAM MOVIE . & . SAM at CAMP MOVIE
^ (To view click titles above ) ^

I left the orphanage a bit early so that I could stop by Judy Kerschner house and help her out with her web page. As soon as she has it set up to her liking I will include a link to it on my site so that you can see some of the marvelous things that are going on at her school in Santa Maria Dejesus.

When I got home I repaired the broken lock on the drivers side door of my car. Yep someone tried to break into my car again today. When I am in Antigua I always try to park it as close to the orphanage as possible hoping that someone who works there will here the alarm go off and possibly frighten off any burglars but today there was some road work going on so I had to park about a block down the street. I was fortunate that nothing was stolen because I had taken my computer along with me and left it under the seat of my car. Nothing was taken so all I can figure is that the alarm scared them off once they got the door open.

The dinner crew numbered some where around 15 tonight but we still had leftover spaghetti. It was not that the kids didn’t like it but Marcos who was my Chef’s assistant misunderstood me when I told him how many packages to open. I never did see exactly how many packages were made but this was one of those rare occasions when I allowed the kids to take food home to family members who were not here. Marcos is more and more becoming one of my regulars. His father died in a drowning accident a few years ago and just a few months ago his mom died from a leg infection.

Tonight’s after dinner soccer game clammed no windows, flowers, or light bulbs but it did have a few protesters. I moved my car up against the house where the games normally take place and had the boys play out near the front gate. The reason that they don’t like playing there is they get less of an audience to show off to. Back when they were smaller I was the audience but now that many of them are approaching their teens they are trying to impress the girls that are often in my house doing home work. Granted the new play area has its drawbacks but the girls are having far less of a struggle concentrating on their school work. And the boys are not needing to be patched up nearly as often now that impressive dives and back flips are no longer done in an attempt to impress someone.

Well it is that time again so I will say goodnight.

Yours in Christ: Dick