Journal May 1-8 2009




Saturday, May 2, 2009


This young lady was so deformed that Calin and I had to start out with a piece of foam that was nearly a foot thick and carve indentations into it that were nearly that deep just to accommodate for the disfigurement of her back. All I could say when her father laid her onto the piece of carved foam was “Thank you Lord.” The look that this young lady gave me told me that it was perfect for her.


Praise God at today’s distribution some of the people that came to receive wheelchairs also made a commitment to place their lives in God’s hand.

Yours in Christ: Dick

Sunday, May 3, 2009

That was all right with me though because I had not seen these kids in over a week. The next few hours all of us spent most of our time playing with or holding the kids



At around 4 pm I headed for home. The group from the USA left the orphanage at the same time as I did, so that they could do a bit of junk, (I mean souvenir) shopping. I said a little prayer for them though so perhaps they came to their senses and did something more sensible.
Well it is getting late so I am once again going to say “Goodnight.”
Yours in Christ: Dick
Monday, May 4, 2009, 9:07 PM



After the football game I took Elder, Alex, and Daniel out for Pizza. It was Elder’s birthday yesterday so I had promised him that that I would take him and 2 other kids of his choosing out to eat. I don’t think that I will try that again though because each of the 11 kids that did not get to come along were not to pleased with Elder for not choosing them. Also I had actually planned on taking them out for something bit healthier than Pizza but there was little in the way of open restaurants in town this evening. How was I to know that all of Chimaltenango was going to be with out electricity for several hours?

Tuesday, May 5, 2009,
. . . . .9:26 PM
Wow! This one is actually getting written on the day that it happened. We had another good wheelchair distribution today. Over 50 people received wheelchairs today and for most it was a life changing experience. Can you imagine having to be carried around by some one all of your life? Or even worse having to spend most of your life in bed because there is no one that is willing to take the time to carry you? I feel so honored to be associated with several ministeries that are willing to not only talk to people about the love of Jesus but are actually demonstrating that love to not only the people of Guatemala but to people all over the world. I am also proud of the fact that their primary concern is to have God receive the glory with little thought to weather or not they or their organizations get any recognition. The last few days has been a good example of that.

This morning a few of us got to the distribution about an hour before it was scheduled to take place We discovered that a good number of people who had been invited to this distribution were already there. After we got things set up I asked Hanna if she would interpret for me while I looked over the children that were already there.


The kids that I fit today were a lot of fun. One little boy was so eager to try out his new wheelchair that had a difficult time trying to get him to sit still long enough to fit him. Since he had never been in a wheelchair before I figured that if I set the brakes he would not be able to figure out how to release them. Wrong! Even though he had use of only one hand he quickly figured things out and I had to do a good part of the fitting while he was moving around the building. Perhaps this sort video of him will give you some idea of how much this kid loves his new wheelchair.
. . . . . . . . . . .


On the other hand “Hurricane” cleaned up on his fish like a tornado. I didn’t do to badly either but contrary to the coaxing of the Guatemalan gentleman sitting next to me some how managed to get full before I reached the head. He told me that the head of the fish and especially the eyes were good for my brain. I convinced him that it was to late.
When I got home tonight the kids and I made spaghetti. I had given some thought to serving seafood but figured that I had eaten enough fish for the day, or perhaps even the year.
Well it is getting late and tomorrow we have another wheelchair distribution scheduled.
Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick
Wednesday, May 6, 2009, 6:53 PM

Two of the teens that were given wheelchairs today looked like they may be candidates for power chairs.


A little later in the day Chris called me over to see a teen age girl that George was setting up a manual wheelchair for. She had not hand use but much like Fidel who lives at Hermano Pedro she has writes and paints with her feet. I ran a few quick tests and I am certain that she will have no difficulty driving a foot controlled power chair. It took no persuasion at all to convince her family to come into the sop in a few weeks so that we can get a power chairs set up for their daughter. Talk about one happy family.

The teem from Joni and friends flies home in the morning. In less than a week we gave out over 220 wheelchairs. Not bad considering a large percentage of them were specialty chairs that required a lot of adjusting and fitting. Pastor Juan told me that several people receive Christ and many rededicated their lives to the Lord as well. Like I said there is no way some thing like that can get humdrum or boring.
Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick
Thursday, May 7, 2009



Lionel is doing well weight wise but hates being locked in bed most of the time. I guess that is only natural for a 10 year old though. As much as I appreciate what Hermano Pedro is doing for these kids I have yet to understand why they Allow the caregivers to keep the kids in bed so much of the time.
The kids that showed up at my house when I got home certainly were not locked in any beds, Although in some of my weaker moments when I have really craved an hour or 2 to myself: the thought has crossed my mind.
Here are a few things that I have learned by having at least a dozen kids in my house most of the time.
-There is no such thing as a clean house.
-There is no such thing as a full refrigerator.
-There is no such thing as leftovers.
(I have not tried cooking liver yet though.)
-There is no such thing as quiet time.
-There is no such thing as a full first aid kit.
-There is no such thing as clean windows.
(There are always plenty of cracked ones though.)
-There is no such thing as a perfect lawn.
-There is no such thing as unbreakable plants.
-There is no such ting as unbreakable plates.
-There is no such things as an unbreakable anything.
-There is no such thing as a dry toilet seat.
(The majority of the kids that hang out at my house are boys)
(And best of all.)
-There is no such thing as not feeling needed.
Well I think that I am ready to put myself in bed for a few hours so I will say, “Goodnight”.
Yours in Christ: Dick
Friday, May 8, 2009, 9:42 PM
This morning was spent doing all of the things that I love the most. “NOT!”




Since I had not gotten my journal out I came up with a brainstorm. Since we were so close to the mall why not walk over and take advantage of the 2 slices of pizza and a coke for 10Q ($1.25) that Camperos sells out in front of their restaurant? This way the kids would be fed and I would not feel guilty telling them that I was going to have the house to myself so that I could get this journal sent out tonight. Why is it then that it was not until abut 15 minutes ago that I got them all to leave? It seems that they came up with every excuse in the book. At one point as I was just getting ready to tell them to leave I walked into my bathroom and discovered that 3 of the kids were using the shower. So I decided to at least let them stay until they had finished. I know that this is Guatemala but I could not send them home the way that they were dressed. Or I guess I should say undressed. My next attempt at getting them home was interrupted by Fernando falling onto the cactus. Then when I discovered that some of them that have mothers were making mothers day cards and had not finished yet, how could I make them leave. Even when they did go Calin and a few others were mad at me because I would not let them spend the night. Calin promised that they would be quiet and let me get my work done. I reminded him that I had been given that same promise a good 3 hours earlier but some how I had still gotten hardly anything that I had intended on doing done. Anyway the gate is locked and as far as I know the house is empty and there is no one in the shower, so hopefully I will get this published before I go to bed.
Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick
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