Journal January 23-29 2009

Friday, January 23, 2009

This morning I took Abner, Fernando, and Calin along with me to Hermano Pedro. I am not sure that the combination of these three boys was the best choice, but then I have yet to find the right combination when Abner is part of it. I honestly believe that he has a lot of potential and believe that is capable of becoming a fine young man some day. That is if I don’t strangle him first. I let him off with a verbal warning after he slugged Fernando for no apparent reason while we were at the orphanage, but when he slugged him again, because Fernando told me that Abner slugged him I told him that he would not be allowed to come into my house tonight. Guess what? I no more than turned around and Abner slugged Fernando a third time for telling on him a second time. Abner is now out for two days. As far as I know he has not retaliated with a third slugging so hopefully he is getting the point.

Before all of this took place we managed to get a few wheelchairs repaired, visited with the kids, and even took a few of them out to lunch, so our entire day was not a battle. When we got home I made Spaghetti for the crew. There were 13 of us altogether. 14 if you include Abner who was standing just outside of my gate. I think that he was hoping that I would lighten up and at least bring some food out to him, but then again perhaps he was just waiting there to ambush Fernando. Never the less Fernando and the rest of the kids have now gone home. Well almost all of the kids have gone. It seems that I once again have two that have included lodging with their free meal.

I don’t hear any crying out side of my gate so I assume that Fernando has made it home safely and that Abner realizes that I made sure that no one is going to bring any food out to him. Boy I feel mean some times. If I didn’t love that kid so much I would probably have made sure that he had gotten something to eat.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Here is an update on a few people that
I had previously asked prayer for.

Mary Tieken, who fell and broke her femur when she was visiting here a few weeks ago, was flown back to the USA for surgery and the last time I herd from her she was doing well.









Silvia, the single mother of three children, who has a tumor, made it in to Hermano Pedro for a check up a few weeks ago. The doctors there referred her to a cancer clinic in Guatemala City but the results were not good. The cancer has spread to a point that there is nothing that the doctors there can do for her. Her pain is increasing by the day but she has no money for the morphine that the doctors have prescribed for her.







Alex, is still up in the malnutrition ward of Hermano Pedro. He has gained some much needed weight and overall seems to be doing better than he was doing a few weeks ago.






Sam Sam, was moved to a different orphanage in Guatemala City a few months ago and I have heard nothing. I am going to try to go and see him soon if they allow visitors.





Lionel, is still in the Malnutrition ward of Hermano Pedro. Since he has gained a lot of weight and his seizures are now under control I think that they will soon move him downstairs with the other kids.





Saturday, January 24, 2009, 3:22 PM

This morning all of the kids (except for Abner who is still being punished) helped make breakfast and then everyone just hung around the house until about 12:30. I had once again reserved a soccer field for the kids. It was a bit warm for playing soccer on a cement surface but they all had a good time and it was $3:50 well spent. I don’t like playing soccer on cement because at my age I don’t bounce very well, besides that the kids needed someone to be spectator and cheer them on so I took on that job. You should have seen their mouths drop though when I announced at the end of the soccer game that I was going to be gone for a few hours and that I was going alone. It is not often that I do that but today I needed a kid break. Believe it or not right now I am sitting in a hammock in what used to be an old plantation and as far as I know there is not a kid with in miles. Fact is I have the place pretty much to myself. A few years ago this place which is located only 15 minutes from my house was fixed up as a conference grounds, restaurant, and hotel, but I don’t think that many people think of Chimaltenango when they want to do that sort of thing. There was a group of six people at another table in the restaurant when I had lunch but they left and as far as I know, other than a few of the workers I have the entire plantation to myself. I plan on returning home in time to make supper though because I am sure that the kids (especially Abner) will be hungry. I think that I will just kick back and enjoy the silence for an hour or two before heading back home so I will say, “Good afternoon.”

Yours in Christ: Dick

9:12 PM

I have returned home and back to reality. I just regained use of my computer because a number of kids were using it to call parents that are in the states. Some of the kids are still finishing up on their dinner. Guess they are making up for lost time because I did not make any lunch for them today. Others are playing uno and I think that 2 or three are in the shower. Things are definitely not as peaceful as they were when I was relaxing in the hammock up at the old plantation a few hours ago but then again two or three hours of that can get rather boring compared to this.


Miguel just walked into my room and asked if he could talk to me. Wow what a kid! You may remember me telling you about Miguel. He is the boy who had been working in a bicycle shop here in Chimaltenango for the equivalent of $6 per week just so that he could afford to stay in night school. A few months ago a friend of mine offered to sponsor Miguel and his brother Cesar so that they could stay in school so Miguel was able to quit his job that was basically paying him nothing and was not allowing him time for his studies.

Tonight Miguel asked me if he could come along with me more often to the orphanage and help me fix wheelchairs. He said that he wanted to earn more money for school. I explained to him that his sponsor was giving a set amount to him and that if schooling cost more than that he would have to find part time work somewhere else. I told him that I simply could not give him more because there were other kids that we had promised to sponsor that we still had no sponsors for. Miguel told me that I did not understand what he was asking. He said that he thought that he could make it on the amount that we were giving him for his schooling. He then explained to me that he simply wanted to work for the help that he was already getting because he did not want a free handout. Wow! Monday Miguel will be accompanying me to Antigua orphanage.I have made it a practice to seldom ask for money in my journals. That is not why they are written. Fact is you will not even see a neat little (IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GIVE BUTTON) anywhere on my web page. I figure that if God lays it on the hart of some one to help out financially they can contact me and I will them tell them where to send it. That gives them more time to think about it and make sure that it is God’s will and not just a spur of the moment tug of their emotions. I want you to know though that we have kids that we are helping that have no sponsors and others that will not get medical help or be able to get a wheelchair or go to school this year because we simply cannot take on any more kids until we get sponsors for some of those that we are already helping. If God lays it on your hart to reach out to one of these kids please contact me.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Sunday, January 25, 2009, 10:01 PM
After church the 10 of us went out for pizza and then I took the crew up to a park that is located about 15 minutes out of Antigua. Once again the kids wanted to play soccer and since today’s game was on grass and dirt I joined them for part of the game. About half way through the game they replaced me with a six year old because our side was loosing. After I quit playing It did not take long before our side caught up and won though. After soccer the kids asked if it was OK if they swam in a small pool that is located in the park. I said that it was fine with me but told them that I had not realized that they had taken swimsuits along. I was right, but all of them except Elder swam anyway. It’s not that Elder didn’t want to swim, but I talked him into going horse back riding instead because he didn’t have any underwear to swim in.



When we got back home I told the kids that I had to take the Toyota truck that I had borrowed back to the shop and that I could only take two of the kids with me because I was going to have to ride a tuke tuke back home and there would not be room in it for all of us. A big argument soon broke out with some of the kids about who was going to go along with me. I told them that if they did not stop arguing I would simply go alone. They didn’t, so I did. Wow two evenings in a row of being alone. You know I think I could get used of this. Fact is it felt so good that I didn’t even take a tuke tuke home. I walked home and I even managed to sneak into my house with out being seen. The doorbell and the phone have been ringing for hours but as far as they know I am still not back home. Sure it is a bit boring but every now and then it feels good to have a little boring instead of hectic.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Monday, January 26, 2009



True to his word Miguel was at my door bright and early this morning. Before heading to Hermano Pedro Miguel and I went shopping for some school supplies that he needed. After that we headed to Hermano Pedro to repair some wheelchairs. Fernando and Marcos joined us as well. With the help of these three kids we got a lot of chairs fixed and adjusted this morning.






At noon Ben my friend from Canada, and another young man joined us and we took three of the kids from the orphanage out to lunch. Usually I take as many kids as we have helpers out to lunch but a few of those that we took out today are not that easy to feed and those like Jo Jo have to be watched especially closely because of breathing problems. All went well though and we had a great time. I was especially impressed with Miguel who is not only becoming a good wheelchair mechanic but his love and compassion for the kids is right up there with Fernando’s.



After lunch we worked on a few more wheelchairs and then headed over to see Caser. Caser is the man whose leg I worked on for several months. He had called me a few days ago asking when we would come and visit. He said that his leg was doing fine but that he and his family had missed our visits since I stopped treating his leg a few months ago. Before heading to his house today I found Father Bernardo, the 90 year old priest that had introduced me to Caser and his family. Father Bernardo was more than happy to come along with us. I think that he is getting even more forgetful though because more of his conversation to me was in Italian or Chinese than in English. When we got to Caser’s house we were mobbed by kids, all of whom wanted to be held. Cesar was sitting up on the edge of his bed. His leg was covered with a towel. When he uncovered his leg to show it to us he got a big smile on his face. I would consider what I saw a miracle. It was not all that long ago that three of the four doctors that we brought in to see Caser told him that the only way that he was going to stay alive was to have his leg amputated. I can remember that it was so infected that I could not even tell if he had any toes. Now all of the swelling is gone and skin has grown back over the open ulcers that covered 75% of his leg. We had a good visit and promised to come back again soon.


Before leaving I asked him about his Friend Cecile. This was a man with a similar condition that I went to see a few months ago. After one Unno Boot treatment Cecile had called and asked me not to return. I am not sure if the treatment was to pain full of if Cecile had simply given up, but I had to respect his wishes. Today Caser told me that Cecile had died. I have seen many people die here in Guatemala and it never gets any easier. I am not sure weather or not Cecile would have made it if he had been treated in time but I know many adults and kids that have died because there were either no doctors or there was no money to see a doctor.



Tonight I took Alex shopping for a new pare of school shoes. Even though friends have brought in dozens of shoes from the States I have once again run out of many of the sizes that are needed. This year Alex’s mom simply did not have the money to buy him shoes and his teacher told him that he had one day to come up with black shoes or he would not be allowed to come to school. Alex needs a sponsor.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Most of my kids had their first day of school today. Calin had spent the night and was up by six. He seemed a bit surprised when he discovered that last years school uniform no longer fit him. He was sure that everything had shrunk but Calin is the one that has changed sizes and not the clothing. The teachers usually give a one or two day grace period before the uniforms that have actually been outlawed by the government will be required. I haven’t quite figured that one out but there are a lot of laws here in Guatemala that are simply on the books but are not enforced. This morning Calin said goodbye then headed out of the door. He only made it a few steps the he turned, walked back to me and gave me a hug. “Thank you for school.” He said. It was hard to believe that this was the same kid that used to spend his days steeling from people while other kids were in school?

Esbin has not started school yet. I am not sure just why because he goes to the same school as Calin and most of the other kids in my neighborhood, but he was told that his teacher will not be there until next Monday. In a way I am glad that he could spend the day with us though because he is a bit of the underdog and seems to get more than his share of teasing by the other kids. I talked to a few of my kids about it and they promised to try to be nicer to him. Calin even thought back to a few years ago when several of the kids at school teased him because of his weight and told me how badly it made him fill. I asked Calin, who has not lost any weight if he still got teased. He looked at me an grinned. “No but now I am so big that no one dares to tease me.” He said. Talk about a problem solving itself. I know that there must be a moral there somewhere but I haven’t yet figured out just what it is. Anyway today Esben got to come along with Ben, Andy, and me to Esquentla, and I think being the only kid along was good for him. I had promised Ronny’s family that we would show up there today and take the five kids that are going to school this year shopping for school supplies. Not to my surprise, mom, dad, and the two younger ones also joined us. Thirteen people in my car seemed like a breeze though. Unlike the day that we had 21 people in my car today we actually had room to breathe. The nearest town where we could get school supplies was about an hour away but everyone seemed to enjoy the ride, especially Arlindo who sat on my lap and steered my car most of the way there and back. When we got to the store that sells the school supplies the kids looked around with a seance of wonderment as one of the clerks in the store started gathering up the items that were on the five lists that the teachers had given them. I also took on a sense of wonderment when I saw the supplies begin to pile up on the counter in front of me. For a while there I wondered if I had taken enough money along with me but the total bill came to just a little over $20 per kid. Unfortunately that and the price of shoes, backpacks, and school uniforms keeps a high percentage of kids out of school.



No day into the city is ever complete with out dinner at Camperos, especially considering one of Ronny’s sisters was celebrating her fourth birthday. Ben went and got some pop and a small present for Ronny’s sister while I bought some chicken and with in a few minutes we were having a birthday party.








Today we were also able to get money to Carlos’s mother for the medicine that her son needs so that he does not have seizures. I had not found her at home the last two times that I stopped there so unfortunately she ran out of medicine four days ago and he had seizures each of the four days that he was without medicine.







We also gave a six year old girl who has never been able to walk her first wheelchair. She was delighted with it and even though she is partially paralyzed on her left side she managed to do quite well propelling herself around.









It has been a long day so I am heading off to bed.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Wednesday, January 30, 2009

A good part of my day was spent in gathering wheelchairs and other supplies for a four day rip that Fernando, Pat, and I plan on taking to Huehuetenango tomorrow. That’s right Fernando did start school yesterday but after two days his teacher announced that he would not be able to make it in to school for the rest of the week. Pat brought the artificial leg that was made for four year old Rudy down with her when she came from the States so we are anxious to go to his home and give it to him. Loren Decker a man in the states whom I have been in contact with only by phone and e-mail donated all of the parts and labor and made the leg for Rudy after I sent him pictures, measurements and a plaster cast that I had made. I know that his labor of love is going to completely change this little boy’s life.


I managed to get into the orphanage for a short time this afternoon where I met up with Pat Duff, a friend that is visiting from the USA for a week and a half. We spend some time with the kids that are at the orphanage. A few of the kids are already back after spending close to two months with relatives and all of them should be back by the end of the week. Ervin is one of them that is back and since he immediately got into some mischief the nurses already had him locked up in his crib. I know that he can be a real pain but locking him up 20 hours a day is not the answer.



Tonight I sent most of the kids home at about 9:30 and only Calin and Fernando are left in my house. Calin does not think that it is fare that Fernando gets to go along with us to Huehuetenango tomorrow so he is being a bit of a grump. He gets over things fast though and I figure that he will be his usual happy self by morning.

Well it is bedtime once again.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Thursday, January 29, 2009

Tonight we are in Huehuetenango. It has been a long day because we drove to Nebaj before coming here. Don, a friend that operates a small special needs school in Nebaj had asked for some therapy supplies so we delivered them to him before heading up to Huehuetenango. Since we passed right by the home of a man who needed a wheelchair, that we met on a previous trip that I was on we stopped off at his place and gave him a wheelchair as well. You may remember me telling about this man in a journal entry that I made a few months ago. He was another one of those Godincidences that we ran into one rainy afternoon.


The following paragraph was written just a little over four months ago.

September 20, 2008 The next hour went well. It looked like we were going to make it home before dark. It was raining but we were in the comfort of a warm car and since I had kept my cool and had not gotten out of my car to tell the buss driver what I thought of his driving, I was nice and dry. That is when it happened, that “Lord I’m here to serve you but today it’s just raining too hard,” thing. Three people were coming towards us down the road. Two older boys were pushing another boy down the road in what appeared to be an old go-cart or a soap box racer. My first thought was why are these crazy kids out on the middle of the road in the poring rain? I said nothing to Fernando though because the earlier incident that I had with the buss driver and the police officer had taught me not to be too judgmental. I could not help but comment on the radical way that the boy that was in the go-cart was driving though. Unlike the bus driver that had been in what I thought was my lane this young man was staying somewhat on his side of the road but he was doing a lot of swerving. As I slowed down to go by the three boys I thought to my self that I was at lest grateful that this contraption did not have a motor in it. At least it could go no faster than the speed of the two boys that were pushing it. As we drove by I took a better look at the boy who was doing the driving. It was then that I realized that it was not a boy at all but an older man who was obviously disabled. He was doing his best to steer this cart that he was driving in a straight direction but it was obvious that it was difficult for him. I gave a friendly smile as I drove by. That is when Fernando spoke up. “I wonder if that man has a wheel chair?” he said. I told Fernando that it appeared that he was doing fairly well in this cart that he was in, so there was no need to worry about a wheelchair. “What about when he is in his house?” Fernando asked. Why had Fernando not stayed asleep just a little longer? I almost commented to Fernando that it was raining but could not help but think abut more than once seeing him scale the bars of some of the cribs that are in the orphanage just to be with the kids that were not allowed out of their dungeon like cribs. As I turned the car around I thought to myself, “If only it were not raining.”



Well today it was not raining and giving this man the wheelchair we had promised him four months ago made his day and ours. Once again he was so excited to see us that it was hard for us to get a word in edgewise. He did stop talking long enough for us to share with that the mane reason that we were there was because of the love that Jesus had for him and for us. He raised his head and looked towards heaven. The smile on his face told us that he already knew this same Jesus that we were talking about. Fernando had a huge smile on his face as well.



Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal January 17-22 2009

Saturday & Sunday January 17 & 18, 2009


This weekend was about as normal as as it gets around here.

Lots
of
kids
around
the
house,

especially
during
meal
time.

. A few soccer games,



. . .

. . .

.. . . . . church,

&
.
more
.
food.

Monday, January 19, 2008

This morning Jason, Fernando, and I headed to Antigua where we picked up Junior and his wife Carol. Junior is in charge of Hope Haven’s wheelchair factory in Ireton Iowa. I first met Junior about six years ago at a wheelchair distribution in Mexico but have only seen him once since that time. The five of us had breakfast in Antigua then we headed to Hermano Pedro to see the kids. It was neat for Junior and Carol to actually get to meet kids that were using wheelchairs that he and other volunteers in Ireton had made. They had a great time with the kids and had a hard time putting the kids that they held back to bed when it was time to say goodbye.

After leaving Hermano Pedro we headed for Chimaltenango. Our first stop was at my house. We had only intended on picking up my computer before leaving again but the kids started showing up the second I opened the door so we ended up staying and visiting with them for a little while.

Next we went to Bethel’s wheelchair shop where I showed Junior and Carol around and introduced them to the workers.

From there we went to Rosa’s house. She had called me a yesterday asking if I could take her and her family back up to the aldea where I had picked her up before bringing her in to see the doctors at Hermano Pedro a few days ago. I never did got the story straight as to why she wanted to go back there instead of staying in Chimaltenango but it gave me a good excuse on going back there since I wanted my friends to meet Maria and her children. The winding mountain roads are a bit different than the roads in Iowa so Junior and Carol really enjoyed the scenery. They also enjoyed visiting with the people that lived in the aldea where we visited. Since Rosa was not feeling all that good and one of her daughters is blind we helped carry the few bags of clothing that they had taken with them up to the house that they used to live in. It was nothing more than a wooden shack with a dirt floor. There was no furniture or any thing else in it and you could see that streams of water had run right through the house whenever it rained. I asked Rosa where her and her four children were going to sleep and she pointed to the ground. Fortunately it is not the rainy season right now because they hadn’t even taken any blankets along with them. I am not sure how long they plan on staying there but I think that their one little room in the otherwise deserted building in Chimaltenango will look like a mansion to them when they return.



While I was at home I had picked up my computer because I am continually taking pictures of Maria and Rosa’s families, and of some of the other people that live near them so I thought that it would be fun to show them their pictures on my computer. I have my doubts that any of them had ever seen as much as a television set so seeing themselves on a screen proved to be quite a treat. I had a blast to it was really fun watching there expressions and listing to their comments while they viewed each picture. All to soon it was time to say goodbye but I promised that I would return again soon.



Junior and Carol treated us to dinner before we brought them back to their hotel and then we headed for home. Even though we were still full when we got home the other kids told me that they were indeed hungry. Supper was simple, even by my standards but no one complained. I guess baloney sandwiches are not all that bad if you are hungry enough. Three of the kids have convinced me that lodging comes with a free meal so I told them that it would be OK. I made them take showers though and had them put their dirty sox in plastic bags and leave them on the far side of the yard so that the smell does not keep me awake. I kid you not I can still smell them even though the kids tied knots in the top of the plastic bags.


Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Tuesday, January 20, 2009, 8:35 PM

Calin accompanied me to the wheelchair shop today. I had planned on spending only an hour or two there and then heading over to Hermano Pedro orphanage, but a man that I met in Guatemala City nearly a year ago has been lying heavily on my hart. Shortly before I met him he had been senselessly shot in the spine and paralyzed by some robbers to whom he would have willingly given up hid pick up truck. Since that time he has been lying in a bed in his home unable to move anything but his head. When I visited him nearly a year ago I had promised him, his wife, and his children that I would do my best to get him set up with a head controlled wheelchair as soon as possible. Unfortunately up until now I have not been able to locate a head controller that worked. Today Calin and I came up with something that will hopefully work out for him until we can gat something else. It is a bit antiquated but we finally manage to got it to work properly. The wheelchair itself will still need a few days of work before it will be ready but at least we got things going well enough that I was able to call this man’s father and tell him that I should have something for him with in a week. I apologized for the fact that it was taking so long but he told me that the family knew that we were doing our best and that they were simply happy that someone cared. I could not help but think back to a few years ago when I had my gallbladder removed. I thought that I was going to go crazy having to spend just a few days in bed.

A few of my kids have already started school but most of them will be heading back next Tuesday. About a week ago I promised them that I would take whatever came up with 20 Q. ($2.50) to the water slides. I had to figure out some way to thin down the crowds because having 21 people in my car like I did when going to the beach a few years ago is just a bit to crowded. Now before you start sending me hate male telling me that it is unfair that I take only those with money, let me explain. None of the kids that hang out at my house have any money but I do have odd jobs for them whenever they ask. The 20 Q really showed me which ones truly wanted to go and who simply wanted a free ride. Besides that my house, car, and yard have never looked so clean. Yes I do have a few sad kids that are still hoping that Dick will get soft harted and let them come along even though they did not lift a finger to do anything, but hopefully they will catch on when we wave goodbye to them tomorrow morning and hopefully I will have to come up with more jobs and perhaps borrow a larger vehicle the next time that we go.

This evening I took Cesar shopping for school supplies. He will not be coming with us tomorrow. Not because he is not a willing worker but because he has already started school. At the end of the school year his father informed Cesar’s principal that Cesar would not be returning to school. Not because Cesar’s father thinks that his son should not have an education but simply because he does not have the money to keep Cesar or his brother Miguel in school. Thanks to a good friend of mine who was willing to sponsor these two boys they are both going to school this year. Since Cesar’s father had told the principal of the public school that Caser had been attending that his son would not be returning to school someone else filled his spot but thankfully we found another school that Cesar can attend. Since this is a few miles away Cesar has to get up fairly early to walk there but he does not mind as long as he can go to school. I am keeping my eye out for a decent used bicycle for him though.

Well it is getting late and even though I told the kids that we will not be leaving until 9 AM I won’t be surprised if my doorbell stars ringing at around 6 AM.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Wednesday, January 21, 2009, 9:45 PM
The kids and I just got back from the beach. I had originally planned on taking them to a cheaper water park that was not quite so far away but I figured that they deserved one last big outing before school starts on ?? (That's right no one seems to know exactly when the public school that most of my kids go to is going to start, not even the teachers.) The manager of this park gave us a good deal though and the kids enjoined being able to swim in both the ocean and in the fresh water pools. I have to admit I backed down just a little on the 20 Q thing though. Elder who is one of the younger kids that hangs out here had tried to earn enough money to go but the bigger kids beat him out on the higher paying jobs so I ended up taking an IOU of 5 dish washings. For sanitary reasons I may not have him wash them five times in a row though because he does not always get them all that clean. I have gotten used of finding a few traces of yesterdays meal on some of my dishes but I have a standing rule that the same food cannot appear on a dish for more than two washings. After all I wouldn’t want the kids or myself to get sick. Actually I am convinced that living at and eating in my house helps build up immunities. We did put the baloney sandwiches that we took with us to the beach in an ice chest though because I heard somewhere that meat should set out in 100 degree temperature for more than five or six hours. Had I known that the temperature in my car was going to get even hotter than that I would have bought ice for the cooler. On our way home we stopped off at one of the better gourmet restaurants here in Chimaltenango and had some supper. After leaving Burger King we headed for home.

Well it has been a long day but a fun one. Who knows, perhaps tomorrow I will do some work.


Thursday, January 22, 2009, 5:11 PM

Hard as I tried I never did get a wrench out of my toolbox the entire day. It seems that the first several hours were filled up with unscheduled visits and phone calls. I managed to get my car in to my mechanic. The sun has pretty much baked the paint off from the hood and roof of my car so he is going to paint them. I had considered having the entire car painted but knew that I would do nothing but worry about the kids hitting the car with a soccer ball or bicycle, so I decided to only have him paint the places that really need it.

Some times the needs here seem so overwhelming that you do not know what way to turn. While I was at my mechanics he and his wife introduced me to her brother who recently lost an arm in an electrical accident. I told him that I would see what I could do about locating someone who could make him an arm at a reduced price but told him that I could not guarantee that I could find some one. While we were still talking my cell phone rang. It was Dora, my landlord. She asked me if I had time to meet with her. I told her that I would make the time. When we met she told me that the school that her son Geraldo has been attending has moved to a location in a nearby town so it does not look like he will be able to attend there any more. She was quite upset because her son has special needs so a public school was pretty much out of the question. She said that she had located another school but the price was about 3 times as much as the one that he had attended. I suggested that she look into some other private schools or even look into what it would cost for her son to ride a buss or tuke tuke to the school that relocated. She promised to look into it. Next I had a phone conversation with Roland, a friend in Xela. I told him that I was planning on coming down that way in about a week because Pat another friend of mine is bringing the artificial leg for Rudy a little boy that lives in the village that we plan on going into. I said that I would also see what I could do about taking wheelchairs along for a couple of the eight people that we know of that are need of wheelchairs in Rudy’s village. I told him that I would like to take more chairs but we have stacks of applications from people all over Guatemala who have been waiting even longer than these people. We also made arrangements for bringing a girl that has continual seizures back to Hermano Pedro when we return. Next I went to the shop and helped Alturo figure out what the problem was with a power wheelchair that he was trying to get running. I thought about spending the rest of the day there because the head controlled power chair that I have been working on still needs work but remembered that Blanky and Petrinally are starting school in a few days and I had promised Judy Kerschner that I would get there repaired wheelchairs into Antigua. When I got to Antigua I met with Jessica and Marvin to see if anything could be done about getting and artificial arm made for my mechanics brother in law. I also asked them how we could get therapy training for a teacher that works with some special needs children up in Nebaj. Before leaving Jessica showed me a rather long list of names of people in Hermano Pedro that were having problems with their wheelchairs. I looked at my watch and realized that it was not even noon yet. Funny thing though I had not even started doing any of the work that I had planned on doing today and I was already tired. I knew one thing though. I had come to the orphanage to take one very special little boy out to lunch and no matter how busy things seemed this was going to be my focus for the next hour or so. A few days ago I had asked for permission to take Lionel to Camperos for lunch. The doctor that had to give permission for Lionel to leave the malnutrition ward was not in that day but the nurses there promised me that they would see what could be done to take him out today.
It has been just over five months ago since I brought this 17 pound ten year old into the malnutrition ward of Hermano Pedro and up until today he has not left the hospital. Today we got a green light from the doctor. I was given strict orders not to let him get cold when I took him out. It had to be 80 degrees today but getting cold seems to be a big worry of all Guatemalans. The minute we got out side of the orphanage Lionel’s whole countenance changed. His occasional smile turned into something permanent as his eyes gazed in amazement at his new surroundings. On our entire walk to Camperos he never stopped smiling or looking around. Lionel is not the world’s fastest eater and everything that he eats has to be very soft but I ordered mashed potatoes, flan, and strawberry ice cream and that seemed to suet him just fine. It must have taken me well over an hour to feed him but I didn’t mind in fact I think that this was just what I needed. It seems that some times we can get so busy trying to help people that we forget to enjoy those that we are helping. I found that Lionel somehow brought calmness to what was turning out to be a less than calm day. Sure all of those other Lionels were still out there, and they all needed to be held, fed, or taken care of, but for right now it was this little one that I was devoting my time to and that was exactly what the both of us needed. I thought about the story of the good shepherd when he went out after the one lost sheep. Perhaps it felt good even if for only a short time to step away from all of those other noisy sheep and just focus on one of them. I know that this afternoon it was good for me, and Lionel loved it. Fact is after leaving Camperos we went to the park and just sat for, I don’t know how long. When I finally got him back to the orphanage I did not bring him back to his bed. Instead I sat and visited with a lady that was volunteering there. She told me that she started coming to the orphanage close to nine years ago and whenever she is in town she tries to take a day or two to come into the orphanage to just sit and hold kids. I told her that I thought that was a great Idea. When I looked down at Lionel I could see that even though he did not understand one word of the conversation that this lady and I were having, he wholeheartedly agreed. About an hour later I brought a tired little boy to his crib. By now it was past 3:00 PM so I decided that there was not much use in trying to get any work done, so I spent the next hour and a half holding a few more Lionels.

Mark 10:15-16

"I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick