Journal October 16-24, 2010
It is remarkable what a difference 5 weeks can make. On September 13 (link) I was at a wheelchair distribution down near the coast holding a little girl in my arms wondering if she would survive a 3 hour car ride to the malnutrition ward of Hermano Pedro. Just 5 weeks later that little girl has gone from starving to thriving. I wish to thank all of those involved. Had it not been for Hope Haven international we would never have found Jessica in the first place. Thanks to Ammy and Maria's willingness to take over I could walk out in the middle of a wheelchair distribution to take Jessica and her mother to Hermano Pedro. Thanks to a generous sponsors, Jessica and her family are now receiving food on a monthly bases. Thanks to more sponsors and Bethel Ministries it looks like we will soon be going in and building a home for Jessica and her family. Thanks to Hermano Pedro, Jessica is regaining her health. Thanks to my good friend Pat Duff a trust and friendship has been established with Jessica's Mom that has made this all possible. The list could go on and on. I am thankful that so many organizations and people were willing to work together to make this possible. Most of all I want to thank God because I know that with out His leading none of this would have happened. To God be the glory!!
3 of my boys saying goodbye to Jose.
After nearly 2 years Jose will be leaving the malnutrition ward
of Hermano Pedro and returning home to his family.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Since I have been gone so much lately I have once again decided to spend very little time writing in my journal and a lot of time with the Orphanage kids and the kids that hang out at my house. Thankfully Pat has spent a good deal of her time with us and has still found some time to write so once again a good part of this week's journal was written by her.
Dick
Dick wrote
Guess what my boys and I did most of the day today? (Saturday)
Need
I
Say
More?
# 1 teem for the 3rd year in a row.
Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick
Saturday & Sunday, October 16-17, 2010
Pat wrote
Hair Weaves in the Park
This weekend was pretty calm, especially when compared to last week. Saturday passed very quickly, with me doing housework and paperwork. Had wanted to get to see the kids at the orphanage, but time just got away. I continue to be amazed at how much time is required just to take care of the things required in daily life. I would SOOOOO much rather be with the kids, but I guess I still live in the real world.
Sunday, after church, I ate lunch with Dick and the kids at Camperos. I continue to be amazed at how willing the kids are to let an old gringa tag along with them. While we were waiting for Dick to move the car, the kids and I watched a street mime entertaining right outside the restaurant. While not the most impressive performance I've ever seen, it was fun to watch how he engaged the audience.
On the way to Hermano Pedro after lunch, the kids wanted to get woven yarn braided into their hair, so we spent some time in Central park. I was a bit surprised at these macho boys wanting a "hair weave" but they seemed to have fun. A bonus was that it was a woman from our church to was doing the weaving.
Today I spent time just holding and playing with the kids. They love to do "trabajo" (work) but sometimes I feel so busy shuffling activities that I don't feel like I have much meaningful contact with them personally. Today was good for my soul!
On the way back to the car, the boys dared us (Dick and me) to get "hair weaves" also. Dick couldn't resist the challenge and decided to get two put in is beard! Not to be outdone, I did get one in my hair. If you ask me, Dick looked like he had two worms crawling out of his mouth, but the kids seemed to have fun and that's what counts.
In all, it was a good weekend that passed way too fast (don't they all?)!
Pat
I don't want Pat to feel left out so I am adding her picture as well.
I guess if the man with the worms coming out of his mouth doesn't scare the kids half to death the lady with the pink snake coming out her head won't do much more harm.
Dick
Monday, October 18, 2010
Pat wrote.
Dick brought in two of the boys, so, with Anita, we were able to take 5 kids to lunch. It's always amazing to me to see the kids outside the orphanage. I've never worked much with Beverly, though she almost always reaches out and "calls" to me when I walk by her chair or crib. Today, she was my lunch partner, and we had a great time. She totally surprised me when I discovered she could finger feed herself (the nurses had said she needed very tiny bits of food only), and even grabbed a french fry from my plate! I was speechless when her ice cream came and she could eat it herself with a spoon. There is so much more to these kids than I realize, and I am thrilled every time they surprise me with their hidden skills.
After lunch we played in the park for a while, and I think they all had a pretty good time. The fountain is always a favorite stop, and the wetter the kids can get us by splashing us, the better they like it. Today was a pretty good day for them, and I was grateful that Antigua is warm during the day!
When we got back, the kids who had not gone really wanted to work, so we did. There are a couple of new volunteers who really are into doing activities with the kids, and though I miss working directly with the kids, I enjoy helping them find activities the kids can do. And there was so much less calling "Patty" today, that I actually got to start taking pictures of activities so I can make a choice board for the kids. I think this might be progress. . .
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Pat wrote
A visit from Jessica's family
The mom, sister and brother of Jessica Vanessa (our little one in malnutrition) came down to visit her today. Dick has found someone willing to provide food for this family on a monthly basis, and so we needed to open a bank account for her. I really am getting to love this mom, and we got to spend quite a bit of time together today.
You'd think opening an account would be a simple matter, but, it sometimes seems that nothing is simple here. We did take her to the bank I use, and they were willing to open an account for her, but there was a snag in that she has neither electricity or water in her house, and so had no way to prove her address. So, because Bethel Ministries would be depositing into this account, they agreed to accept their phone bill as proof of their address.
The only snag was that Bethel's shop is in Chimaltenango, a twenty-five minute drive from Antigua. Since Dick still doesn't have his Land Cruiser back, we all piled into the pick-up (yes, the kids rode in the back. . .illegal but commonplace in Guatemala. We talked with Carlos in the shop, got the needed papers, and actually tried to open an account at a bank in Chimal. We had NO luck with this, and decided we needed lunch, so we went to (where else) Campero's.
Hector, Jessica's brother, seems to have fallen in love with Dick. His dad died about a year ago, and it seemed he really enjoyed getting attention from a guy. It didn't seem like Dick minded too much either. Blanca, Jessica's sister, is a beautiful young woman, who absolutely adores her little sister and helps care for her. These were two of the most well behaved kids I've ever eaten lunch with. I'm sure that the chicken they had was more food than they usually have to eat in an entire day. . . and they each took a piece to save for later. It was a good reminder of just how well off I have it, and it was a pleasure to watch them enjoy their meal.
After lunch, we went back to Antigua, and, thankfully, the bank there opened an account for her. So, all things considered, it only took about 4 hours to open one bank account. But we did it! I was rather satisfied with my ability to navigate this system without help, and feel like I'm starting to acclimate to the way things are done here. Jessica's mom only had to help me out with understanding the bank officer one or two times. (No, she doesn't speak English, but is very good at explaining things in a way I, or any three year old with equivalent language skills, can understand.)
Pat
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Pat wrote,
 |
| The "good grades" crew |
Pat
Thursday, October 21, 2010
This morning Cesar, Kevin and I Headed out toward Xela to finish up on the last of the camp recruiting for the year. Chris and Donna usually do this area but this year they have so much going on that they were unable to do it, so Jeorge and his 2 sons or doing part of it while 2 of my boys and I do the other half.
One of our visits was to the home of Erica. Erica who has a rare skin disease contacted us earlier this week saying that she was running low on the medicine that we provide so today we brought her some along with her invitation to camp.
We also paid a visit to Christopher. Christopher has a power wheelchair that he use to drive to school but due to the steep narrow trail that leads to his home he has to keep it at a home that is located about a quarter mile from his house. Unfortunately no that Christopher is getting bigger his mom can no longer carry him down the trail to where his wheelchair is kept. So Christopher no longer attends a regular school and only leaves home on rare occasions like camp. We have found a teacher that comes to his home and teaches him a few times a week but he still misses going out to school and seeing his friends.
Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: DickFriday, October 22, 2010
Dick wrote,
This morning we shifted gears a bit and headed over to the orphanage in Xela. Befoer heading out on Thursday we stopped off at Bethel's wheelchair shop in Chimeltenago and picked up a power wheelchair that Alturo has been putting together for Javiar, a boy that lives at Xela orphanage. To say that Javiar was thrilled with his new power wheelchair would be an understatement.
The rest of our day was spent repairing more wheelchairs and visiting with the kids.
We had intended on heading for home this afternoon but yesterday I received a call from Ronny's father. Ronny who lives near the coast has muscular dystrophy. Ronny's dad told me that for the past several days Ronny has been very sick and that there was no way that the family could get him in to see a doctor. Even if they had the money to see a doctor they would have to walk a long way and then catch a number of different chicken buses just to get to a doctor. This would take several hours and considering how hot it is near the coast there would be no way that Ronny could tolerate the trip. That is why we are now in a Motel in Mazatenango. Tomorrow morning we plan on driving the rest of the way to Ronny's home.
Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick
When we arrived at Ronny's house this morning we were told that both parents were out picking some lemons that they were going to try sell so that they could buy some medicine for Ronny. Ronny was sitting in his wheelchair but he did not look well. His breathing was labored and he appeared to have pneumonia. Ronny's older sister was preparing the meal for the day and asked if we wanted to stay for lunch. Even though we were hungry we politely declined. Neither the boys or myself have acquired a taste for iguana. With in about a half hour Ronny's parents and the rest of the children returned home. After a short discussion it was decided that Ronny's health was more important than lunch and the iguana was put on hold. Soon my 2 boys, Ronny, his mother and father, and 2 brothers were in the pickup truck and on our way to Santa Lucia to try and find a doctor. 
When we got there we located a Guatemalan lady who was not a doctor but she seemed to have a lot of medical knowledge. She confirmed my suspicions that Ronny indeed had pneumonia and said that he should be in a hospital. I really did not want to take him to the National hospital but after trying several other options that did not pan out, a few hours later we found ourselves in Esquentla at the door of the National hospital. I must admit the doctor that Ronny had seemed quite knowledgeable and ran a lot of tests. The National hospitals leave a lot to be desired though. While we were there a lady who had been shot died in the bed right next to Ronny. At about 7PM the doctor told us that he was going to prescribe some medicine and send Ronny back home. Normally I would have argued this decision but knowing the lack of care patients get in most national hospitals I felt that he was better off at home. The doctor does want to see him again on Monday. 
It is now 10 PM and the 3 boys and myself are safely in a motel here in Santa Lucia. Yes 3 boys. I somehow let my 2 boys talk me into letting Ronny's little brother Arlindo come along with us for a few days. I plan on bringing him back home on Monday when I return to take Ronny back to the doctor.
Sunday, October 25, 2010
It is Sunday Morning, the boys and I went for a swim at the motel we are staying at. I am now trying to convince them to play on their own so that I can get this journal out but they keep telling me that they want me to join in on the fun. I think that sounds like a good Idea so that is going to be it for this week's journaling.
Have a good weekend,
Yours in Christ: Dick
posted by Dick | 10:56 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home