Journal September 27-October 3

Saturday, September 22, 2008

Heavy rains kept us from doing a lot today but the kidsenjoyed hanging around the house and playing. We managed to get out to Burger King because I did not want the kids to have to eat all junk food today. That’s right, Burger king is health food compared to some of the things that I whip up. We did fairly well this evening though because the kids helped me make pancakes and eggs. The little guy in the picture, stirring the eggs is Elder. A few years ago his mother decided that she no longer wanted him or his brother Esben. The mother of Marcos, the boy in the picture that is helping me cook, adopted Elder and Esben, but a few months ago Marcos’ mom got sick and died. Marcos’ father had died in a drowning accident not to long before that. Marcos’ older brother and his wife are now trying to raise Elder, Esben, Marcos, and their own children. This is one more family that needs your prayers.

This weekend I am going to stick to my word and keep my journal entries short.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick



Sunday, September 28, 2008, 5:53 PM

(Click on any picture to enlarge)

I feel a bit mean. I just told all of the kids that I needed an hour or two to myself. Perhaps I should not feel too mean though, especially considering that even though they moaned and complained when I asked them to leave for a few hours, they know that they had it pretty good the past few days. Granted they had to put up with my cooking this morning but after church the 10 of us went out to eat at Martha’s and for $3 each they all got more food than they could eat. (I take that back, everyone but Calin got more than they cold eat.) Even Calin was satisfied after he cleaned up on the leftovers that the nine of us gave him.

After lunch the 9 kids convinced me into taking them to the hot springs to swim. Even though it was pouring down rain it did not take a lot of arm twisting to get me to take them swimming. After spending most of the day in the house with these 9 plus about that many more I was getting a it of cabin fever. I knew that the kids were to. I never did find out how Calin put his hand through one of my windows but it was time for us all to get some fresh air. Swimming was great as long as you stayed in the water and it seemed to be just what the doctor ordered.

Well I have used up about half of my time to myself writing today’s journal. I am going to close for now and just kick back and enjoy the silence. Ops, there goes the doorbell.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Monday, September 29, 2008

(Lionel 6 weeks ago)

I finally got to spend a day at the orphanage today. It was great to see all of the kids but hard to give each of them the one on one time that they were crying out for. I managed to swim with a few of them and after that 3 of us took Sonia, Veronica, and David out to lunch. No kid’s meals for these 3 they all 3 of them have big appetites.

. . . . . .(Lionel today)

I got a chance to see Lionel this morning and made it a point to go up to the malnutrition ward and spend about an hour more with him this afternoon. I am happy to say he is doing good and what ever medication that are giving him for the seizures that he had last week are not turning him into a zombie. On the contrary he seemed to be more alert than I have ever seen him. Unlike when he first arrived he now makes eye contact and smiles a lot. I even managed to get him to laugh a few times. The rest of my afternoon was spent repairing some of the kid’s wheelchairs. I did not make great progress on that but all of my little helpers sure enjoyed themselves.


On my way home from the orphanage I stocked up on groceries. Judging by the number of kids that were here tonight I only misjudged what I thought was a week’s supply by about 6 days.

Well I better close for now. I have several kids that can’t understand how I can be sitting here writing when I could be giving them my undivided attention.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Tuesday, September 30, 2008, 7:42 PM

Miguel came over to my place at around 7:30. I had talked to Chris about giving him some work at the wheelchair shop. A good friend of mine has decided to sponsor Miguel so that he can continue his schooling. He has been working in for some one for $6 per week just so that he can go to night school but working 10 hours a day plus going to school and then averaging 2 hours a day doing homework is wearing him out. I talked with Miguel’s sponsor about having him work part time instead of just giving him a free hand out and she agreed that it would be an excellent idea to have him work part time and feel that he is paying most of his way through school. He is a neat kid and I think that he well be an asset to our shop as well. Miguel come from a good family but the $130 per month that his father earns is simply not enough to pay the rent, put food on the table, and keep all of his kids in school.

I really wanted to go to the orphanage again today but it has been several months since I a family brought their son to the wheelchair shop to see if we could give him a power wheelchair. This bright young man was not only unable to walk but also had virtually no use of his hands. I realized at that time that the only way that he would ever be able to operate a power wheelchair would be with his head. Since I have been on the road so much lately today was the first day that I had the opportunity to see what I could put together. I was hoping that I would be able to put something together in one day but having no working head controller proved to make this a bigger job than I had planned on. After a full day’s work I now have a head controler made and a wheelchair running so now all I have to do is find a free day to mount the controller and get the wheelchair set up. Some of these projects are a lot of work but all it takes is one look at the smile on the face of the child that is moving around on his own for the first time in his life to make it all worth while.

I stopped off and got some supper before facing the crowds tonight. Then when I got home I laid out 2 dozen hot dogs and some bread and told the kids that it was the cook’s night off. Several of the boys said that they had homework to do so they have left early so that they can get it done. I can’t quite understand why they have had no homework last night but have lots of it to do tonight. They didn't even have school today. Why no school today??? I think part of their leaving was due to the fact that the girls beat them to the computers tonight.

Some men came a cleaned the dirt out of my water meter again today so that means that I should have running water for the next few days. Even though my water is only on from 5:30 AM to 8 AM the supply tank that I mounted on top of my house give me enough water for all day provided the meter is not plugged water the water is on. I am not going to take any chances on running out of water though. Especially considering five neighbors have already used the shower since I got home.

I still wish that they made locks for shower curtains. For some reason a shower is not nearly as relaxing when you have an audience. (Sorry no pictures)

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Wednesday, October 1, 2008, 9:53 PM
Although the City is not my favorite place to be, today I went there to meet with a man that is in need of a power wheelchair. Just a little over a year ago this husband and father of 3 was shot in the neck and paralyzed by 2 men who decided that they wanted his car. Fortunately this man has a supportive Christian family and even though there lives have been deeply affected by this senseless act of violence, I could see a bond of love that each member of this family shared with him and with each other. It was refreshing to see how they were holding on so tightly to their faith in God. We had a good visit and I promised that I would set up a head controlled wheelchair for him as soon as possible.

On my way home from Guatemala City I stopped off at Hermano Pedro so that I could check and see how Lionel was doing. He seemed to be doing well today and has not had a seizure in several days, but I could not help but think about how fragile he is. Please continue to pray for him and for his family.

Since I was at the orphanage anyway, after feeding Lionel, I stuck around the malnutrition ward and helped feed a few more of the kids .



Tonight my house stayed empty for about a half hour, but then it quickly filled up with kids. We had another spaghetti feed tonight and the kids did a great job of helping out. The dirty dishes are still in the sink though. I don’t know what happened but the water tank on the roof of my house, that was full this morning has somehow emptied itself out. Dirty dishes aren’t all that bad but I hate going to bed without a shower. Abner and Fernando wanted to stay but I know that with out a way for them to wash there feet I would not be able to ever get to sleep. Calin is staying here tonight but he changed his sox just a few days ago.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick




Thursday, October 2, 2008, 8:14 PM

This morning the water came on at 5:30 but it was only a trickle. I went out into the alley to see if the men that came yesterday to fix the meter had accidentally forgotten to turn the water back on all of the way. Even though it was turned on there was only a little water flowing into through the meter it was not registering anything. I guess that is one way to keep the water bill down but I would prefer more than one gallon per hour of water, especially considering that they only turn the water on for 2 and a half hours a day. I also discovered that their method of fixing my meter the last few times that they were here had done more damage than good. There was more water leaking out of it than there was flowing through it. I guess that disconnecting it and then beating it against a rock is not the proper way to fix it. I had to admit though that it gave me water for a day and since I had been 24 hours without a shower I was willing to try anything in order to have water, even if it was for a short time. I wasn’t sure that I had the right wrenches to take the meter off and I also feared that the men from the water company might see me disconnecting it and accuse me of breaking their already broken water meter. Funny how things that your teacher told you back in grade school suddenly come back to you, even though you did not understand them at the time. It was more years ago than I care to think about but Mrs. Glensey, my old fifth grade teacher came up with this one. It had something to do with being easier to bring Mohamed to the mountain than the mountain to Mohamed. Sure enough hitting the water meter with a rock had the same results as hitting a rock with the meter. My water suddenly started flowing again. I must admit the meter started leaking a little bit more than it had been leaking before I worked on it but I don’t think that I caused any more damage than the method that the water repair men would have caused doing it their way. After a good shower I headed off to Hermano Pedro to repair some wheelchairs. I gave some thought to leaving my tools at home today and just taking along a big rock but was not sure weather or not the rock that I had used on the water meter had been designed for working on wheelchairs.



I actually managed to get quite a bit of work done today and finally got Evelyn fit into a wheelchair. Evelyn had outgrown her old wheelchair. Today I went into the storage area of Hermano Pedro and hauled out Jefferson’s old wheelchair. Jefferson is a little boy that died a few months ago. The wheelchair needed a lot of modifying but by the end of the day Evelyn had something that worked quite well for her.







Today was not all work and no play though. Three of the volunteers and myself took 4 of the kids out to Camperos for lunch. Ervin was one of the kids that was on my list to take but his continual screaming this morning gave me cause to change my mind. Jo-Jo was more than happy to take his place. We also took Minor, Beverly, and Bobby. I was glad that one of the ladies that came along had the sense to take a few umbrellas along because even though it was clear and sunny out when we left for lunch our walk back was in a rainstorm. The 3 ladies and myself got wet but we managed to keep the kids dry.

Tonight it is still raining so the kids are playing a modified game of soccer in the house. This game has not been sanctioned by the NSA (Not So-happy Adult), but it was tolerated. The kids all promised that if anything were broken they would pay for it. All that means is that if they broke something I would have to come up with a paying job for them.

Well it is about time to start pointing at least some of them towards the door so I will say, “Goodnight".

Yours in Christ: Dick


Friday, October 3, 2008, 8:16 PM

Another busy day today but I loved it. I have met a lot of people who cannot wait until the retirement years when all of the kids are out of the house and there is nothing to do except sit in a hammock and relax all day. I tried that once but got sick of it after what seemed like an eternity. I still rate it as the most boring day of my life. I have to admit there are days that I think I could stand that hammock thing for an hour or 2, but I would not trade where I am or what I am doing for anything.



I had only intended on spending an hour or 2 at the wheelchair shop today and then head to Hermano Pedro but plans have a way of changing around here. The boy that I was scheduled to seat in a chair this morning some how turned out to be 2 boys. One of them took less than an hour to seat but the other one took me until way past lunchtime. Christian’s body was very deformed and twisted and at first when ever I got near him he would tense up so badly that there was no way to keep him in a seating position. It did not take long before he got used of this funny looking white person though and we were soon friends. You should have seen his face when I finally finished and took him for is first ever ride in a wheelchair. No, Christian could not propel himself, but he certainly enjoyed going out side for a ride.



The other little boy, Who’s name slips my mind, loved his wheelchair as much as Christian did. One of his arms was somewhat paralyzed but he was happy that he could at least go in a circle on his own. After I moved the rear wheels of his wheelchair forward a bit he actually tried using both hands. His mother promised that she would keep working with him and I have little doubt that he will gradually be able to go where ever he wants with his new wheelchair.



Not only did these two kids go home happy but also both of their families seemed as thrilled with the wheelchairs as they were. Since I did not have anyone to interpret for me most of the time I was not able to strike up much of a conversation with either of these families but when they thanked me I pointed towards heaven and told them that the thanks was to go to God. Some times I feel a bit guilty because I am one of the fortunate ones that is there when the person receives the wheelchair so I also get the hugs and the thank yous. There are many people that are involved that are behind the scenes and often never receive a thank you. If I were to list them all it would take hours. Besides that I don’t personally know most of them, but to all of you that are in any way connected with giving, collecting, storing, hauling, fixing, building, shipping, sponsoring, distributing, seating, praying, or are in any other way connected with this ministry, thank you from the bottom of my hart, and the harts of those that are seeing the love of Jesus being shared in a tangible way.

. . .
. . . . . . ^ (Click button to play movie.)

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal September 20-26

(Click on any pictures to enlarge)

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Ever have one of those, “Lord I’m here to serve you but today it’s just raining too hard,” days? I almost had one today but Fernando came to the rescue. We had been away from home since Tuesday and we were looking forward to getting back home today. Since it was the weekend and there was likely to be a lot of traffic on the main road that led from Huehuetenango to Chimaltenango, I had decided to take a different way home. It was a longer rout but there would likely be less chance of land slides blocking the road and the amount of construction and traffic on this road was likely to be lighter. One thing that I did not count on was a parade that had us sitting still for nearly and hour. I ran into that only 10 minutes from our hotel so I told Fernando that we were going to turn around and take the main road back to Chimaltenango. 5 minutes after turning around traffic was once again slowed down to a snails pace due to a funeral procession. As slow as these can be it is a wonder that more people do not die on their way to the graveyard. About a half hour into that I once again turned around. I decided that if we were going to be stuck in the middle of something I would prefer that it was a parade and not a funeral. About a half hour later the parade broke up and we were on our way. We had left our motel at 9:30 AM and it was now 11:30 AM. Judging by how far we had come we would likely be home by Early October. A few miles down the road I came up on some mudslides but the good old land cruiser made it through them with out even having to put it into 4 wheel drive. I probably should have gotten out and turned the hubs but it was raining out and I had decided that I was going to stay dry all of the way home. I did fairly well the first few hours but then nearly had to get out of my car to tell a buss driver what I thought of his driving when he came at me in my lane. At first we just sat there nose to nose staring at each other but after about 5 minutes I decided that even though he was the one in my lane I would have to back up and let him by or we would be there all day. I hate to give in when I know that I am the one that is right. Once he got by me I saw that there was a policeman right behind him. Had I known that, I might have stood my ground a bit longer. I was quite sure that one of the police man would have gotten tired of him blocking traffic and given him a piece of his mind. When I got next to the police man he yelled something to me that was loud enough to wake up Fernando, who had been sleeping most of the way. “What is he yelling at me for? It was the stupid buss driver that was on the left side of the road.” I told Fernando. “He was telling you that you were going the wrong way down a one way road.” Fernando exclaimed. I wish that more Guatemalan signs had arrows on them instead of just words. Either that or one of these days I just have to take the time to learn to read Spanish. It sure would be easier if the Guatemalans learned to speak English though.

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.”

It did not take long to strike up a conversation with the 2 young men who were pushing the older man in what was indeed an old go cart that had no motor. Daniel, the young man that seemed to know the most Spanish explained to us that the man that they were pushing was not a relative but some one that he and his friend had met several years ago. At that time the man had no way what so ever to get around. He was able to walk short distances with the use of 2 boards that he used for crutches but was for the most part confined to his home. Daniel said that he fixed up this old go cart that had been discarded and gave it to the man so that he would be able to go places, and a few times a week Rain or shine he and his friend would go over and help this man out with what ever he needs.

Daniel was not the only one doing the talking though. The man that was in the go cart had been talking non stop since we had gotten there. Neither Fernando nor I could understand a word that he was saying since he was speaking one of the 22 Mayan dialects, but that did not seem to matter to him. Daniel told us that he was thanking us for stopping and visiting with him. If you think that he thanked us a lot for just visiting you should have seen him when we took a pare of crutches out of the back of my car and gave them to him. I was glad that they fit him perfectly because once he latched on to them there was no way to get them back. from him. Daniel told us that these would be perfect for short distances but that this man still needed a better way to get around on his own. “What if we got him a wheelchair?” I asked. Now Daniel, his friend, and the old man were all talking at once. Even though neither Fernando nor I could understand one word of the conversation we immediately knew the answer. When things finally calmed down long enough and the thank yous were only a small roar, I went to work on my philosophical sermon of the day. “We are Christians, and it is because of the love that Jesus has for all of us that we are doing this in His name.” I proclaimed. The 3 of them pointed toward heaven, then Daniel spoke. “We knew that when you stopped and took the time to visit with us in the rain.”

The rest or the trip home went well and our clothing was mostly dried out when we got there. Only the front of my shirt was still wet but that may have been from the tears.

Goodnight:
Yours in Christ: Dick

Sunday, September 21, 2008

After the big Spaghetti dinner that the kids and I made after getting home last night no one was all that hungry this morning. Abner ran over to one of the small stores that is in the neighborhood and bought some ham and bread and made sandwiches for everyone though. Actually Abner’s entire day went well. I think that this was in part due to the fact that I did not allow Jason to come along to church with us this morning. He and Abner seem to feed off from each other. Jason didn’t even put up to much of a fuss when I told him that he would have to wait until next week to come along, and that if he ever behaved as badly as he did last week it would be much longer the next time.

When we got to church we met up with 8 people that have come down here from the States. Up until now I had only been in contact with them by e-mail but it did not take long for me to realize that they have definitely come here to serve for a week. After Church they treated the boys and myself to lunch and then we spent the rest of the day at Hermano Pedro.



My boys stayed and played with he younger kids as I gave the group from the USA a tour of the orphanage. I can always tell how well a group is going to do with the kids by the number of people that have tears. Today we all had tears. I actually held most of them back until we reached the malnutrition ward and saw that Lionel’s bed was empty. “Where is Lionel?” I asked. The head nurse told me that he had been doing well but on Friday he had 2 seizures. On Saturday he had another, and he was now in isolation. I excused myself and went in to see how he was doing. Even though his face has filled out and he is a lot heavier than he was when I brought him in a few weeks ago he did not look well. He was conscious but not at all responsive. The smile that I had seen the last time that I had held him was gone and he didn’t even seem to recognize me. I did not stay with him long but promised him that I would be back soon and kissed him goodbye.


The rest of our day was spent playing with the other kids in the orphanage. It was hard not to just go up and spend the day with Lionel but there were dozens of other Lionel’s that needed some attention. I had been gone for nearly a week. Thanks to the eight people that are here from the States for a week and my six boys, a lot of the kids got held and played with though.


Wow! Once again my weekend journals have gotten longer than expected, but so much as happened that I just could not help but share it with you.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick
Monday, September 22, 2008

After repairing my printer, paying my phone bill that I never received, and talking with my landlord about my water that is once again completely shut off I headed off to Hermano Pedro. Hopefully I will have water, phone, and Internet by tomorrow, and believe it or not my printer seem to heal itself.

My friends from the USA were already at the orphanage when I arrived. They had several large suitcase of clothing, medical, and school supplies for me. Most of these items will be given out to those in need in several villages. Several of us swam with the kids this morning and then we took 8 of the kids out to lunch. I am seriously considering steeling the return tickets of the group that is here because each and every one of them is awesome with the kids. Even an “Oh oh” from Henry who is suppose to be potty trained did not seem to faze the two ladies that attempted to get him to the rest room in Camperos on time.

We spent a little to long playing on the playground equipment at Camperos after lunch though because the afternoon rains had started before we got out of the restaurant. I told the rest of the group to go on ahead as one of the members of the group and myself stayed with Byron who is a bit slower in his power chair. I figured that if they ran the kids would not get as wet. As it turned out Byron and the two of us were the first one back though. I guess I should have remembered that until you are in Antigua for a while all of the roads look the same. The caregivers didn’t say much about the kids being a bit wet though and I think it really helped when the group from the USA offered to help them get the kids into dry clothing.

After getting all of the kids into dry clothing I snuck off to the malnutrition ward. Lionel is still in isolation and is on a lot of medication to keep him from having more seizures but seems to be more alert. When I picked him up he made eye contact with me and just for a second or two gave me that smile of his that melts your hart.

Still no water but my phone and Internet are back on. Most of the kids are watching a video on one of the computers. A few of us just got back from the store tonight gourmet meal. Tonight we are having cup of noodles. After supper I plan on spending some time with the kids so I will say an early, "Goodnight."

Yours in Christ: Dick

Tuesday, September 23, 2008, 8:37 PM

Today was one of those days that I never made it out of town. Things had been busier than usual (if that is possible) for the past few days so I had fallen behind on several things that needed doing. One of my first activities of the day was getting caught up on my journal. If you think that I had long journal entries the past few day you can just about imagine how long they would have been if I had written them on the actual days that everything happened. Thanks to the photos that I took I think that the accounts of what actually happened are fairly accurate though.


I managed to get out of the house for a little while this afternoon. Shortly before dark Calin and I took an unplanned trip to an area of town that is better off not visited after dark. A girl who’s family we have been helping, that goes to his school, had told him that her family had been without food for several days now. This is the mother and her 3 children that we met while building a house for Maria another lady whose husband was killed by a hit and run driver less than a year ago. This lady and her 3 children, one of whom is blind have since then moved into a room of an otherwise vacant building and we have since that time put her other daughter who is not blind into school. This evening we once again found the family huddled together in their small one room dwelling. For our benefit they turned on the light that was in their room. Mother told us that she had been fighting depression lately and that she was happy to have visitors. I asked her how long it had been since the family had eaten and she simply said that it had been quite a while since they had any food. After visiting for a while I gave her some money for enough food to last until I returned and promised her that on my next visit I would try to bring some shoes and clothing as well. As we left she turned the light back out. I was not sure whether or not it was dark out side because the only window that they had in their room was boarded up. Her one daughter and little boy followed us down the dark stairway and out to my car. They stood there waving until we drove out of site.

Lots of kids tonight. I promised them that I would bring home a few roasted chickens but the market was out of them. We settled for chicken hot dogs instead and even though everyone was a bit disappointed only Calin complained.

Goodnight:
Yours in Christ: Dick

Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Howard and Nan showed up at my place at 7:30 AM. After stopping off at the wheelchair shop we were on our way to Queshay. Normally we would have taken the main road but we were told that the traffic had been blocked by demonstrators for the past 2 days so we decided to take back roads that Chris and I had discovered 3 years ago when the main road was closed due to land slides that were the result of Hurricane Stan. The scenery on these back roads was spectacular but this was certainly not Corvette country. I was glad that I had a four wheel drive that had plenty of ground clearance.
When I asked Howard and Nan if they wanted to join me on this camp recruiting trip I had no Idea that they had ever been in this area before and they did not realize that we would be driving through some of the territory where they had served as missionaries when they first came to Guatemala a few years ago, so it was an added treat for them when we stopped off at the place where they had been involved with a feeding program with Living Waters Ministry. Living Waters has 6 different locations where they bring food in and feed children twice a week. This is no small scale effort considering the amount of kids that are fed at each location. The place where we stopped at fed over 500 kids today. Many of the children walk in for miles to get a delicious meal twice a week. Today we had the privilege of joining them for lunch and I was surprised when I saw the quantity and quality of the food that was served. Not only do the children receive food and something to drink but also after lunch the kids go to classes where they learn about Jesus. Looking at the number of kids that were attending these classes I would say that the majority of them get the Living Water as well as a full stomach. I was surprised to see that even though these kids come from extremely poor families each one was dressed in their Sunday best. I was told that this was not a requirement but the kids did this on their own because to them this was a very special event. Howard and Nan had a great time visiting with old friends and I as much as I hate being around kids (NOT), I managed to enjoy myself as well.

After lunch we headed out to visit more campers. One of our visits was at the home of Tim and his family. Tim who I first met about 3 years ago, when I put him into a highly modified power wheelchair, is doing well. It is still hard for me to believe that this young man who is smaller than a two year old is actually 17. Even though his parents have to carry him around like a baby and he cannot even crawl, Tim has a keen mind and loves our visits. Mom and the other children in the family were a bit shy at first but quickly warmed up to us. Even though Howard and Nan speak Spanish our conversation was quite limited because father, who was working the fields was the only one in the family that spoke Spanish. After a while one of Tim’s sisters went and got him, and when he came home we were able to converse.

On our way out from Tim’s house we saw an old lady that was sitting in a wheelchair along side of the narrow dirt road, begging for money. Nan immediately recognized her as some one that she had visited with several times when they lived in this area. We stopped the car and as soon as Nan got out the old Lady lit up like a Christmas tree. I think that these pictures say more about this reunion than I could ever say with words.


More stops and more old friends. Each year it gets harder and harder to convince the people that we visit that we have other campers to visit and that we can not stay and visit all day. I promised each one of them that I would visit more with them when they came to camp but it was still difficult to say goodbye to old friends.

Tonight we are n the town of Qushay. The motel that we are in is very comfortable and we even found a Camperos to eat at. For some reason though I felt wide awake at 3:00 AM so I decided work on my Journal. It is now 4:36 AM and I no longer feel wide awake so even though it is early morning I will say, "Goodnight."

Yours in Christ: Dick


Thursday, September 25, 2008, 8:34 PM

This morning we headed towards Nebaj. Where we visited with a number of families. The traffic was not bad but we encountered a few landslides along the way. We had to sit at one of them for nearly an hour before they got it cleared away enough to get through. By the looks of things more rain would instantly cause more mud and rock to close the road again though. This years rainy season has left many of the paved roads in worse condition than the gravel ones.

We thought that we would likely make it home tonight but one of my wheel bearings evidently took a little to much pounding and it is starting to make some noise. I did not want to break down somewhere after dark so we decided to stop when we reached Chechecastenango. The motel that we are in tonight is nice and I did not think that paying $15 for a room was all that bad. In the morning I will take a better look at my car and then decide weather or not to try to make it to Chimaltenango before having it fixed.

Since My weekend journals were long ones I am going to act like it is the weekend tonight and keep this one short.

Goodnight:
Yours in Christ: Dick


Friday, September 26, 2008

When we started heading for home this morning we were pleasantly surprised by the sound of silence coming from what we had previously thought was my wheel bearing. Evidently a rock that had lodged itself up in the break calipers had fallen out. Nan was not feeling all that well today so we were glad that the there were no long construction delays and made it home before noon.

I had promised some of the people from the USA that I had spent time with at Hermano Pedro on Sunday and Monday that I would take them out to visit some of the families in the villages this afternoon so my stay at home was a short one. Fernando (Who once again had no School????) was more than happy to join us as an interpreter. I guess that I can understand his teacher not being at school because after 2 weeks of not showing up he had actually managed to be there for three consecutive days so he obviously needed a rest.
Our first stop was at the home of Maria. She is the lady whose husband had been killed when he was hit by a truck about a year ago. Three of her children were home and they told us that Maria and the baby had gone to a nearby church. We stayed and visited with the kids while Fernando and one of her sons went to tell her that we were there. The family was all excited because one of the pigs that we had given them had given birth. These piglets and those from another sow that we helped her buy will hopefully generate some income for her and her family. It is always our prayer that the families that we bring food and clothing to eventually become self sufficient. The four people that had come along had a hard time saying goodbye to Maria, her family, and all of the neighbors that had gathered but it was getting late and we still wanted to visit more people.
Our next stop was at the home of Maria Isabel and her relatives. This is the family that up until about a year ago had three people in wheelchairs. Maria’s sister passed away last year and just last week her brother Fidel died. Grandmother, who has always been the primary care giver of these three, was not at home but Maria and several family members were there so we stayed and visited until it started to rain.

Since it was raining and also going to be dark soon I decided to postpone seeing the last family that we had groceries for and headed for home. I think that my friends from the USA would have gladly stayed all night though because they had fallen in love with the people that we had visited. When we got back to my place they quickly fell in love with more people though when some of my kids started arriving. After about an hour it was time to bring my friends back to Antigua, because they had to head to the airport at 4:30 AM. I only had room in my car for them, plus four of my kids so I had to make a few very sad one stay at home. Much like lunchtime at the orphanage, It is always hard to decide who gets to come along and who has to stay behind. I try to be as fair as possible but those that have to stay behind do not always agree with my decision.

Tonight it was Abner, Caser, Alex, and Elder that got to come along. Before dropping my friends off in Antigua they treated us all to supper.
Abner and Caser have decided to spend the night. They are still going strong but I am going to say, "Goodnight."

Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal September 12-19

Friday, September 12, 2008

Saul, Hanna, and I finished up giving out invitations to all of the people that we were inviting to camp from the coast. This year we covered that area faster than any other year. One reason is that we are finally getting everyone’s location down on the GPS and another is that with an ever growing list of people to visit we no longer invite anyone who has not come to camp for 2 consecutive years. This also gives us an opportunity to add a few new campers to the list of those that we are inviting. In 4 days on the road we managed to hand out 29 invitations to camp and also visited with a number of families that had medical or housing needs. We got to visit with several of the kids that we have sponsors for and all of them are doing well in school.

(Click on any picture to enlarge)

We also came back home with a carload of broken wheelchairs and walkers that we promised to have repaired before or by camp time. Generally we repair everything that needs repairing when the campers show up at camp but some of these items were either broken beyond use or the person simply could not wait until camp time to have them fixed. It had been a good week but I was ready to get back home for a few days.

Yours in Christ: Dick

Saturday, September 13, 2008

This weekend has been wall to wall kids. I had thought about sending them home for a few hours but as happy as they were to see me I just did not have the hart to do that.

Today some of the kids helped me build up the cement box that is around my water meter. The man that threatened to shut off my water if I did not make it higher had promised to do it but he evidently changed his mind and left a note in my mail box saying that he was going to shut my water off instead. While we were doing the cement work we also cemented in several of the bricks that were loose around my flowerbeds. I think that they were accidentally knocked loose by stray soccer balls that hit the bricks instead of one of my windows. Saturday afternoon I took 8 of the kids swimming at the hot springs.

Tonight Chris and 3 friends from the States that he has been showing around came over with around 10 pizzas and all kinds of desserts. I generally limit the kids to 2 pieces each but since I know that there was no way that around 20 people could consume 10 pizzas I told them that they could have as much as they wanted. Guess what, I was wrong. They not only ate all of the pizza but some of them put away 3 desserts. Marcos held the bragging rights by eating 7 pieces of pizza but there were a good number of us that tied for second place by downing 6 pieces each.

Yours in Christ: Dick


9:56 PM, Sunday, September 14, 2008
Today only 5 kids came along to Church with me because some of the others were participating in a parade with some of their classmates. Five kids still seemed like 10 though because Jason came along with us to church today. It had been about 2 months since he robbed any money from the church so I told him that he was allowed to come along again. Never before have I met a kid seems to have such a knack for doing things without thinking as Jason. Today he did fairly well in church but things went down hill from there. After Church we drove my car over to Hermano Pedro parked it there and then started walking over to Burger king. On our way there Jason got a nosebleed. None of the other kids caused it. It simply started on its own, although the way he was bugging the others I would not have blamed them if they had. Jason did not have a handkerchief so he held his hands over his nose whle we all searched our pockets for a Kleenex or something that would absorb the blood. Next thing I know Fernando was in tears. Jason in his infinite wisdom had taken both of his hands that were full of blood and wiped them on Fernando’s white pants. I mindedly know where I wanted to place my 2 hands but refrained myself. Fortunately we were still close enough to the orphanage that we went back there and found a pair of pants that fit Fernando. I would have taken Jason straight home but Chimaltenango is a good half hour away and I was scheduled to meet Chris and the men from the States in a little while. I thought about making Jason stay in the car while we ate but I valued my car more than that so he actually got to come along to lunch with us.

After lunch Chris arrived and I showed our 3 friends around the orphanage. Before leaving the 5 boys in the play area while I showed our friends around I had a good talk with all of the boys. I told them that they had to be on their best behavior while they were left on their own. When I returned I found out that they had all listen to me. The only problem is Jason’s best behavior still leaves a lot to be desired. I apologized to the nurses for the problems that he had caused in the 30 minutes that I had been gone and they were pretty good about it. They all smiled though when I told Jason that he would not be coming along with us next week. The other 4 boys were smiling as well. It must have sunk in a bit though because when it was time to feed the orphanage kids Jason pitched right in there with the rest of the kids and helped.

The last of the kids that are leaving have just left. It looks like Calin is my only overnight guest tonight. Last night I had 4 guests. Tomorrow I plan on spending a good part of my day at Hermano Pedro. I will undoubtedly have some company. The kids once again have no School?????

Goodnight:
Yours in Christ: Dick


Monday: September 15, 2008

Calin, Lady, Cesar, and I had planned on spending a good part of my day at Hermano Pedro today. What we had not planned on was spending most of the morning trying to get there. The past 4 days have been holidays that are similar to a 4 day Memorial Day weekend. Today being the final day everybody was out celebrating and the roads were cluttered with cars, Parades, and Joggers. After spending nearly an hour getting to Antigua it did not take me long to realize that It would take me at least that much longer to reach the orphanage. I hated to turn around because I had promise these 3 kids and 4 kids from the orphanage that I would take them to Camperos today but I know that even if I could make it to the orphanage it would take me twice as long to get back home because Antigua was filling up with more and more people and towards evening most of them would be heading back to Guatemala City. The kids at the orphanage would have to wait until another day and my kids would have to settle for lunch in Chimaltenango. This afternoon was spent just trying to catch up on a few things that needed doing at home.

The new water tank that we put on top of my house tooks great. Now if I could only figure out why I am getting absolutely no water to it. All of my neighbors have water every morning for about 2 hours but for some reason I do not. The first thing that I checked was weather they had once again shut my water off due to another mix up in them thinking that I had failed to pay my water bill but my water meter was still there and the shut off valve had no lock on it so I am a bit baffled. Not much I can do about it anymore tonight and I am planning on leaving for Huehuetenango the first thing in the morning. I guess that I will have to deal with it when I return home on Friday or Saturday.

It is getting late and I still have enough water in my new holding tank for a quick shower so I guess that I will go and enjoy my short lived luxury of running water.

Goodnight:
Yours in Christ: Dick

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

This morning I headed out to Huehuetenango to do 4 or 5 days of camp recruiting. Since Fernando will be out of school until the 24th of September I let him come along with me. Why no school???? This time it is perfectly logical, his teacher cut his leg and had to have some stitches put in. Fernando told me that his teacher came to school last week but only stayed long enough to tell the students that his leg was bothering him so he decided that he was going to go home and that he would not be better until the 24th. I think that I have finally figured out why there are no substitute teachers. With all of the days that the normal teachers take off the poor substitutes would work themselves to death. Funny thing is though that I thought that perhaps the director of the school would make an exception and find some one to teach Fernando’s class since his teacher was going to be out for so many days this time, so we stopped off at his school on our way out of town this morning just to check. When we got to the school the lady that lets the kids into the gate told us that the director was not there. I asked if I could come inside and wait. She then told me that the director would not be there today. I then asked if I could talk to the teacher in charge. She told me that there was no teacher in charge. In fact she told me that there were no teachers at all. She told me that since yesterday was a holiday the director of the school had decided that there would be no school today as well. The lady at the gate told me that she was only there so that she could tell the kids that were arriving for school to go back home. I thought about asking for the janitor in charge but one look inside of the gate told me that he had been on vacation for much longer than 4 days.

There was a lot of construction on the road to Xela but we hit the road blocks that can last for up to an hour and a half with near precession timing and never had to stop for more than a few minutes. Another thing that I almost hit with not so perfect timing was a buss. Or I guess I should say he almost hit us. Since we were on a straight stretch of road I could see him coming at us while he was still a quarter of a mile away. He was passing a long line of traffic. I flashed my lights but could see that he was making no effort to gat back into his own lane. There was absolutely no shoulder on the road so I had no choice to do anything other than to sop my car right on the road and watch him come towards me. Had it not been for a not so happy truck driver slamming on his breaks and letting him back into his own lane I do not think that you would be reading any more of my journals. I have had some close calls but this one was far too close. Thanks for your prayers and please keep them coming!

When we got near Xela Fernando and I picked up Rolland. This is the man from Sweden whom I had met at the wheelchair distribution that we did in Huehuetenango about a month ago. Rolland had offered to send this week with me as an interpreter. He also knows many of the people that live in and near Huehuetenango and he has a real hart for helping them. When we got to Huehuetenango we checked into our hotel, had a late lunch and then headed out to visit out first camper.
Marvin’s house is not exactly one of the easier ones to get to, but the long drive and 45 minute hike into his home is worth the scenery alone. Rolland found it hard to believe that up until 2 years ago Marvin’s father carried him each day from his home to the school where we had left my car, just so that his son could have an education. When Marvin turned 12 his father told him that he would have to quit school because it was simply getting to difficult to carry Marvin up and down the steep trail each day. Last year we found a sponsor and a teacher that would teach Marvin right in his home and that is working out fantastically. Today Marvin proudly showed us his schoolwork and told us that he wants to study to be a lawyer. His near excellent school work proves that he can certainly be one if that is what he wants.

Marvin had some surgery last year and has to return to Guatemala City for more in November so he doubts that he will be able to make it to teen camp. Even though he is a teen I told him that he is welcome to come to adult camp, which runs 2 weeks later if he cannot make it to teen camp. It was hard to say goodbye to Marvin and his family but we had to make a long hike back to the car and were hoping ot get back to Huehuetenango before dark so we finally said good bye. This family is neat to visit. They are so dedicated to their son that the sacrifices that they are willing to make for him are unbelievable. Father shared with us that most of what he earns farming the steep hillside that surrounds their home has gone towards Marvin’s surgeries and that he is in debt because he had to borrow money for his son’s last operation, but he has no regrets. Both he and his wife love Marvin and are willing to do anything that they can for him.

We made it back to the hotel before dark and other than water that only trickles out of the faucet everything is quite comfortable. This hotel even has Internet and they told us that since we were planning on staying for 4 days they would see what they could do about getting it fixed. I guess that I could watch a little TV but Fernando has already laid claim to the remote, and cartoons are just not my thing.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 9:06 PM

First thing this morning we headed for Aguacatan were we met up with Don Feliciano. We have known Feliciano since our very first camp which he and his wife both attended. That was eight years ago and I still consider him as being one of the people that camp had the most impact on. In the eight years that I have known him Feliciano, who is confined to a wheelchair, has gone from someone who was at time so depressed that he considered suicide to a man who is doing great things for disabled people in Guatemala. Not only is Feliciano active in finding people that are in need of wheelchairs but he has started a school in Aguacatan for children and adults that have various disabilities. He is also very active in making the people of his town and surrounding communities aware of the fact that people with disabilities are not people of no value. Thanks to Feliciano we now have close to 30 campers that each attend one of our 3 week camps that we have each year. He has made our job of camp recruiting in his area a breeze because all we have to do is get the invitations to him because he sees to it that they get delivered to the people that are being invited to camp.
After visiting with Don Feliciano we headed for Soloma. The 2 hour drive to Soloma has to be one of the most scenic drives in all of Guatemala. The winding mountain road From Huehuetenango to Soloma takes you from 6000 feet to over 11,000 feet and then back down to 6000 feet again. Today it rained a good part of the way there and back so most of the time we were unable to see down into the valley. We still enjoyed the drive as we traveled through countryside that resembled a lot of the high country of Peru. After reaching Soloma we had lunch and then started visiting the various people that we had come to see. Even though none of these people had met Fernando or Rolland before they treated them and myself like we were long lost family. Rolland has lived in Guatemala for several years now and much like my self he has fallen in love with the people. Unlike my self his Spanish is excellent and he not only does an excellent job of interpreting but his over all love and concern for the people is very evident. Fernando also has a knack for putting the people that we visit at ease. He is always upbeat and his friendly smile seems to make even the most timid person that we meet feel at ease. He is also a kid magnet. If there is a child around, Fernando will be talking and playing with them within seconds. Our only regret was that we had stopped off for lunch because each and every family that we visited with gave us something to eat or drink. These are such delightful people that it was hard to say goodbye but we wanted to get back to Huehuetenango before dark.

Tonight the water in the hotel was running a bit faster than last night so not knowing how long that luxury would last we all took showers before eating. The Internet is still not working but unlike our last stay here in Huehuetenango the electricity has stayed on.

Chris was suppose to drive up from Chimaltenango and join us for the next few days but there have been a lot of demonstrations the past few days and the demonstrators have blocked most of the highways. He is going to see if he can make it here by heading out at around 4:00 AM but is not certain. I am praying that the demonstrations are over by Friday or Saturday because I have other commitments back in Chimaltenango. I feel completely at ease traveling even into the more remote villages but am always reminded that we do need your prayers. Just Yesterday some of the people in one of the towns near where I live decided to take the law into their own hands, when the police refused to do anything about a man that was continually robbing busses. Not only did they set fire to the police station but they also tortured and killed the man that had been doing the robberies. Yes there are dangers here but there are also people here that are hungry, not only for physical food but for someone to share with them the love of Jesus. I know that I am exactly where God wants me and that is why I never travel in fear.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Thursday, September 18, 2008, 9:48 PM


Chris headed out from Chimaltenango at 3:30 this morning and would have gotten here to Huehuetenango before 7:00 AM were it not for a large landslide that blocked the highway for nearly 2 hours. After a quick breakfast Chris, Rolland, Fernando, and I headed out to an aldea that I had visited just a few weeks ago. This was the place where Rudy the little boy that needs an artificial leg lives. Although we did not see Rudy today we saw 3 children that are in need of wheelchairs and had a meeting with some of the key people from this area. Marie Garcia, a lady that I had met with a few weeks ago told us that the needs that we have seen during this visit and the previous one were just the tip of the ice burg. Not only is there a need for wheelchairs but most of the people, many of whom have medical problems of one type or another, that live in the small villages and mountains where we were have never seen a doctor in there entire lives. One little boy that I examined today had clubfoot and could not walk. I have little doubt that had he been born to a family that had access to a doctor he would have been operated on and walking normally. I wish that it were as simple as just bringing him to a doctor and scheduling him for the necessary corrective surgery but unfortunately there would be no follow up therapy, where he lived and within a year or 2 his foot would be back to the way it was today. Today we once again found more kids that have never in their lives attended school. Not nearly all of them were handicapped. May of these families simply can not afford the few dollars a month that it takes to keep their children in school.

Rolando is a young man that I met when visiting this aldea a few weeks ago. He is very bright and extremely outgoing. Since Rolando has CP and does not own a wheelchair he has never had the privilege of going to school. We will soon be giving him a wheelchair but that is not going to get him into school since here in his village kids with handicaps are not