Journal December 21-25

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

Well things are finally back to normal. That is if you can call a 24 by 22 foot house that seldom has anything less then a dozen kids in it normal. I totally enjoyed all of the groups of volunteers that have been here the past few months but all of the activities that went on kept me away from home way too much. I have decided to spend a good deal of the Christmas holidays doing stuff with my kids. Nothing special just mostly hanging out with them and letting them come along with me when I do go places. When they are allowed to be part of what I am doing they love it. There are of coarse times when I can not include them but I feel that the future of Guatemala lies in their hands and they will be the ones that will be able to impact there generation a lot more than those of us who were not born and raised here.

Today we went to church, then out to lunch, and then up to the cross that over looks Antigua. There are a lot of trails up there and it is a great place for kids that have had to sit still in church for a few hours to go and burn off some energy. The nice thing is there is also a road that runs to the top of the hill so I always make myself designated driver and meet the crew at the top of the hill. After that we headed for home and just hung around there. Kids kept showing up all day, picking out the shoes that they wanted for Christmas from several large boxes that friends from the States have brought down throughout the year. Even though every one of the kids knows exactly what they are getting for Christmas they insisted that all of pairs of shoes get individually wrapped and put under my tree. Abner and Alex offered to do all of the wrapping but I don’t think that they realized what a big job that would be but fortunately they talked some of the older girls into coming over and helping out as well. Funny thing, even though the kids know exactly what they are getting for Christmas they are still shaking their gifts and trying to poke little holes in the wrapping so that they can have a peek at their new shoes. Tonight my house looks more like a dormitory than a house. I think that the kids are worried that their gifts will disappear if they do not sleep near my tree and guard them.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Monday, December 22, 2008

After the kids and I made breakfast four of us headed to Hermano Pedro. Even though far more than three kids wanted to come along with me I only took three of them. Since the first three that asked to come along were three of my more energetic ones (Nice way of saying hard to control) I figured that three kids would be plenty.

When we got to Hermano Pedro we discovered a long line of people that were waiting to get inside. Every year they hand out gifts to families that are in need. It was still a good two hours before they were going to start letting people come in to receive their presents but the line up was already over a block long. Fortunately the priest that was guarding the door knows me so he let the boys and myself come inside. Benjamin, my friend from Canada, offered to help us take some of the kids out to lunch, but since most of the kids that remain at the orphanage during the Christmas season are some of the more severe ones, and two of the three boys that had come along with me were not my usuals, and the third was Abner. I decided not to have them be responsible for feeding any of the kids. We still went to lunch though and Benjamin and I each took one of the adults that stay at Hermano Pedro along to lunch. I did a bit of visiting with the kids after lunch and even managed to get up to the malnutrition ward for a bit.
Lionel is doing great and they seem to have his seizures under control. I am going to try to have a meeting with the staff of Hermano Pedro in a few days to see if he can continue to stay there until his parents feel that they can care for him at home. It must be so hard for them. They would love to have him at home with them but realize that his chances of surviving there would not be good. Hopefully in a year or two that will change. Alex is still up in the malnutrition ward and seems to be doing a bit better. He is still very week though and certainly needs our prayers. Just today I was told that three of the kids that returned to their homes in the past few months have died. Two of those three kids were in great shape when they went back to their homes. It is so hard to know what is best. I would hate to see these kids stay in the orphanages for life, but in some cases their families simply cannot give them the care that they need.


At around 2 PM I decided that it was time to get my three boys out of the orphanage before we got kicked out. They were not doing any thing bad but it was not hard to see that yesterday’s hike up to the cross had not burned up enough of their excess energy. By 3 PM we had picked up another 6 kids from home and were on our way to the hot springs for a swim. Normally If I saw 30 drunk Guatemalan men having a party at the hot springs I would turn tale and run but I figured that if we did leave, that dealing with 9 kids that I had promised to take swimming would not be much safer so I chose swimming. Things went all right but it would have been far more relaxing had the drunks not been there. Fact is one of the men who had previously asked me if I wanted to fight him became my friend after I grabbed hold of him and pulled him to the edge of the pool when he was going under for the third time.

It may not look like it, but my new friend on the right is the only one in this picture that has been drinking.

On the way home we stopped off for hamburgers and now some of the kids are playing on the computers while others are guarding the Christmas tree. I promised a few of them that I would play a game with them where we see who can be the first to tell me the English word for pictures that I show them in a book, so I better close for now. We have tried the game in reverse, where they would point at the pictures and I would try to say the name in English but we all unanimously decided that it would be far easier for my entire neighborhood to learn English than for me to learn Spanish.


Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Today the kids and I gathered up all of the toys, tooth brushes, shoes, stuffed animals, what ever else we had in the house, bought some groceries, and headed out to visit some of the families that we know that will not be giving each other gifts for Christmas. Before heading out we picked up Benjamin and Mary Margaret from Antigua. When I called them they were both excited to come along with us but after the teasing that they got from my boys I am not so sure. I think that some of my boys have found their calling in life, but I am not sure what the need is here in Guatemala for "Meet a Mate" services.

We all had a good time though and it was great for my kids to be able to give gifts to people who had far less than they have. Many of the kids that received the remainder of the shoes that we handed out would not have been allowed back into school in January with out them.

I am not sure where the day went but it is getting late and I am down to a reasonable number of overnight guests so I think that I am going to call it a day.


Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Wednesday, December 24, 2008, 8:43 AM

I woke up to the smell of breakfast cooking. Fernando and Esben had decided to make breakfast. I must admit they did an excellent job of it to. We had pancakes and eggs and unlike when some of the other kids try their hand at cooking, most of what they made ended up on our plates rather than on the floor and ceiling. Some of the other kids are now sweeping the house and doing the dishes while I get caught up on my journal. Tonight I plan on going over to the neighbors to celebrate Christmas eve so I think that the kids and I will go pick up a cake and some fire works for the party.

7:10 PM

I ended up going all the way to Antigua for the cake. Not simply because I am Dutch and cakes are about a dollar cheaper there, but because I got a phone call from a lady that wanted to see the orphanage. Calin and Esben came along and played with the kids while we were there. We did not stay very long because I knew that my alley would be swarming with kids that would be eagerly waiting to open their Christmas presents. I had told them that we were not gong to open them until 6 PM but having once been a kid myself I knew that they would be there early. Back when I was a kid we always opened our presents one person at a time so that everyone else could see what the other person had received. At 5:59 I announced that we were going to do that tonight. At 6:01 I discovered that any of my kids that had know any English had mysteriously lost any comprehension of it and all of the gifts had been opened. I am now catching my breath for round #2. In a few minutes I will go over and wish some of my neighbors a Merry Christmas. The number of homes that I visit will be regulated by the amount of food that my stomach can hold because none of my neighbors will allow me to leave until I have eaten some fof the food that they have prepared for anyone who happens to stop by. After that I plan on going over to Abner and Fernando's uncle and aunts house for supper. I hope that they do not expect me to eat to much. This is always followed by a bonfire and fireworks out in the alley. I am not sure that it will be quite as exciting as last year because the neighbors that have always put a Christmas tree on top of their house didn't do that this year. I guess they were afraid that Etiline would once again throw a sparkler on top of their roof and burn the tree up. At midnight everyone in town lights of what ever fireworks they have left and then everyone starts hugging each other and wishing them a merry Christmas. After that it is more food and then more fire works. I am writing all of this ahead of time because if I head back to my house anytime before 2 AM, and try to do some journaling before heading off to bed I will be considered the neighborhood party pooper. Anyway it is time to go and find my earplugs and then go out and join the neighbors.

Goodnight
Yours in Christ: Dick


Thursday, December 25, 2008

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I did not get up all that early this morning due to the fact that I did not get to bed until 2 AM. Even at that I still hold the title of neighborhood party pooper. Going to bed earlier than most of your neighbors has other disadvantages as well. One of them is discovering at 3:00 AM that your neighbors still have a good supply of fire works left. For some reason a string of fire crackers landing on your roof while you are sleeping seems to get your attention no matter how tired you are. I did manage to drift off to sleep once I calmed down and stopped shaking though. (That must have been about 2 hours later) When my door bell rang at around 7:00 AM Cesar and Keven had a hard time understanding why I did not invite them in or why I did not respond all that enthusiastically to their, "Merry Christmas". I sure hope that neither of them knows the Spanish interpretation to "Baa-humbug".

After a bit more sleep I got more into the spirit of Christmas and opened up the house to the kids. Most of them were not all that energetic either because they had stayed up even longer than I had. At around noon I went to Chris and Donna's house for a wonderful Christmas dinner. My kids were not all that thrilled about having me leave for a few hours but I promised them that I would take them somewhere later this evening. Once I got to Chris and Donna's house it felt a lot like home. They have about as many grand kids as I have street kids, the only difference being most of theirs have faded skin and blond hair. We had a great time together and the food was delicious. Chris, Donna, Benjamen, and Cindy will be leaving for the States tomorrow and plan on being there for over five weeks. They seldom find the time to take a vacation so I hope that they really enjoy themselves.

Even though I was anything but hungry tonight I took 10 of my kids out for supper. Camperos was closed for Christmas but fortunately our second favorite gourmet restaurant was open. I don't know what we would have done if Burger King had been closed. Three of my older boys were going to boycott going when they discovered that I had invited Etiline along, but hunger got the best of them and they jumped into my car just as we were pulling out of the alley. They chose to eat at a separate table though but once everyone had finished eating and started playing around on the playground equipment they forgot about being to grownup to be with the littler kids and joined right in.

Well it is nearly midnight and the festivities of Christmas are just about over. Neat thing is the true gift of Christmas is with us 365 days a year. Looking at everything that is going on in this world now days I can not imagine what it would be like to be without the gift of Jesus Christ. Have a marry CHRISTmas for ever and ever.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal December 12-20

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Friday December 12 - somewhere around Tuesday December 16, 2008

You guessed it. I somehow managed to get five days behind on my journaling so once again you are going to get a condensed account of what has been taking place during the past several days.

A lot!

OK I will try to go into a bit more detail and will keep this as accurate as possible but since so much has taken place you will have to forgive me if I get the order of events and exact days that they took place wrong.

Due to snow storms in Texas. It took a day or 2 before everyone that was involved in the four days of wheelchair distributions arrived here in Guatemala and even longer for some of their clothing and supplies to arrive but fortunately the gift shop that is located in the hotel that we are staying in had a lot of deodorant on hand so none of us had to room by ourselves. Even though this was primarily a Joni and friends wheelchair distribution I counted at least nine other ministries that took part. I would love to mention all of their names and the names of all the people that took part in this outreach but fear that I would accidentally leave a few of them out. All I can say is that when Christians unite with the common goal of sharing the love of Jesus Christ a lot can be accomplished. It is not often that you get the opportunity to work along side of such a verity of people and I loved it. Some of the people on our team were wealthy businessmen from the USA. Others were people who wondered where their next meal was coming from. My interpreter was an x-gang member who had spent the better part of his life in jail. He and some other x-gang members spent all four days with us not only interpreting but also helping fit the wheelchairs. I never thought that anything could bring more tears to my eyes than seeing some of the suffering that those that we gave wheelchairs to were going through, but watching these once hardened criminals cry and pray over them was simply awesome. These men are sold out to God. Life is not easy for them or their families though. Most of them are covered with tattoos that they received wile they were in their gangs, so even though God has changed their lives no one will give them jobs.

All of the X-gang members loved helping
out with the wheelchair distribution.

They are also targets for other gangs and they had to be very careful when we went out to other parts of the city to do wheelchair distributions. Funny thing though many of them reminded me of my kids at home. Much like Calin and some of the other kids that hang out at my house these men just want to be recognized as human beings. It amazed me how much a pat on the back or a thank you meant to them. I think that many of these grown men never got that at home and that is why they turned to the gangs. For most of these men the gangs were the only family that they knew. Now that they were part of a new family, the family of Christ, I felt honored to call them my brothers. Fact is they are going to contact me in a few weeks so that they can come to Antigua and help me take some of the orphanage kids out to lunch.

This is one of the houses that was built this week.

Actually during the past few days there were a number of things going on at once. Chris for the most part spent his time with a group of men that had come here to build two houses in a village not far from Chimaltenango, while I spent most of my time in Guatemala City with the wheelchairs distribution teem. Actually Chris some how managed to be both places at once. This is a feat that am finding a bit more difficult to do at my age. All of us stayed busy though and even though I would not have missed the past four or five days for the world I will be glad to get back to Chimaltenango and spend some time with the kids. I have spent only one night at home in the past ten days and my kids are not all that happy about it.

I could write volumes about the marvelous ways that we saw God working in the past few days but I simply do not have the time so I hope that these pictures will at least tell part of the story.

Yours in Christ: Dick

Being born with no legs
and only one hand
has not slowed this
two year old down.

Receiving a walker as well as a wheelchair made for one satisfied customer.

*
A
few
more
satisfied
Customers
"



_________

Receiving early
Christmas presents.
_________

This single mother of three children has a large tumor. She will likely die soon unless we can find help for her. Her 15 year old daughter is trying to make enough money to keep the family alive.

The 26 year old girl in this picture has a body that is so twisted that I decided to fit her in a few weeks. It will likely take a full day to get her seated properly.

All of the people that came in to the distributions were visited with, prayed for, and given the opportunity to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008, 8:56 PM

The past few days have been great but it sure feels good to be back at home. When I got home last night the kids quickly started showing up. I am not sure just how many there were, partly because I was to tiered to count but mainly because it was after dark and I had no electricity. I had water though, so two out of three wasn't all that bad. Even though I was able to run an extension cord over to my house from the neighbors, Having no lights gave me a good excuse to load all of the kids into my car and head off to burger king for supper. Since I had been gone so long the kids were anything but quiet. I loved it though.

Today I knew that things were really back to normal when the soccer game that tool place out in my yard produced two broken windows. I managed to get into town and pay a few bills. I made sure that my electric bill was the first one that got payed. The electric company told me that my lights should be back on by tomorrow morning. I am not holding my breath though. They seem to be much faster at disconnecting things around here then they are at reconnecting them.

At last count there were 15 people in my house that is roughly 10 less than an hour ago. Everyone found out that several of my friends have brought school shoes for the kids so they are coming in and picking out which ones they want for Christmas. I will not let them take them home yet but am allowing each of them to tape their names to the bottom of the pare that they want.


It looks like five of the kids are staying so I guess I better go and heat up some water so that they can take showers. A shower is mandatory for any kid that stays here over night. It helps cut down on unwanted critters.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick





Thursday, December 18, 2008



This morning Keven, one of the five kids that stayed over last night showed me a sore that he had gotten on his foot while I was gone last week. At first he did not want to tell me how he got it but then he told me that he and another kid had gotten into a bit of mischief by throwing water balloons at people that were walking by. Evidently one of these people did not think to highly of what they thought was fun, and he pulled a gun out and shot at Keven. Fortunately the bullet only grazed Keven's foot but it gave him quite a scare.









At around 10 AM 5 of the kids and myself headed to the coast for a birthday party that Ronny's family was having for him. He turned 15 today. Since Ronny had not been able to attend camp this year I had promised him and his brother Arlando, that they could come over for a few days so after the birthday party they came home with us. Fernando offered to sleep near Ronny because he often wakes up at night and asks to be repositioned. As rapidly as Ronny has been loosing strength I can not help but wonder how many more birthday's he will be celebrating. Calin is also staying here tonight. It is actually easier having all four of them stay because they all get along marvelously and Fernando and Calin watch over Ronny like a mother hen.










I had to send Esben and Elder home early tonight because they were acting up. Three weeks ago they returned to live with their mother who had originally deserted them. Marco's mom had adopted them, but she died a little over a year ago and it was difficult for Marco's older brother to take care of them and his own brothers and sisters. After I sent them home I was told that they are once again living with Marcos and his Brother. I guess their mother once again decided that she didn't want them. After hearing that I can't say that I blame them for acting up.

.. . . . .. . . . . .. . .Elder

Well it is getting late and I thing that the kids that are still here have wound down enough that they will soon go to sleep, so I thing that I will do the same.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Friday, December 19, 2008, 10:09 PM

The night went fairly well but Fernando who was sleeping next to Ronny did not wake up nearly as easy as I did so I ended up getting up several times during the night. Not only is Ronny unable to role over on his own but he can no longer move his arm more than a few inches. He is still able to drive his power wheelchair but if his head happens to fall forward or to the side he can not lift it back up on his own. At least he seem to be enjoying himself because he even asked if he could stay a few more days. I still plan on bringing him home tomorow though.

Today we spent a good part of the day just hanging around the house. Fernando and Arlindo made breakfast while Abner and Calin put up the Christmas tree. At around 2PM Several of my regulars, Ronny, Arlindo, and myself went down to the mall to see a movie. This was a first for Ronny and Arlindo and they really enjoyed it. I think that I have spoiled them rotten the past few days but they don't get spoiled all that often. After seeing the movie and then getting something to eat. We took my car to the upholstery shop to pick up the drivers seat that I had left there in the morning. Had it not been for the honesty of the man that ran the upholstery shop, my $20 upholstery job may have cost me a lot more in time and money. I had accidentally left some very important paper work stuck between the springs under the seat. Had the man that found it decided to he could have sold them for a fare amount of money. I seldom loose things but these past two weeks have been a bad ones. First my Passport, now my Guatemalan Identification papers. Thankfully I found my passport, got my identification papers back, and even found my cell phone that I had lost. Oh, I didn't mention loosing the phone. It evidently fell out of my pocket at the movie theater. Fortunately Madagascar II is a rather noisy movie so who ever sat in the row that we were in during the next two showings failed to hear it ring so it remained on the floor under the seat where is was sitting for several hours.

Tonight Alex, and Windy's mom came over to my house. her kids have already gone through the two large boxes of shoes that I have and picked out the school shoes that they want me to give them at Christmas. This family has very little ,but tonight mom was not looking for help fer her family but for a family that lives next door to them, whom I had never met before. Alex's mom told me that her neighbors are a widow and her five children. Two of the boys that come along with her but the others were to shy to come. The two boys hat were with her were also quite shy and very dirty. One was waring a pare of shoes but I was told the other one was bare foot. His feet were very dirty so we washed them before he tried on any of the shoes. When I told him that he could keep them he lit up brighter than the Christmas tree that my kids put up earlier today. Alex's mom told me that he had not owned a pare of shoos for as long as she could remember. Alex's mom told me that one of the little girls needed a pare as well, so I gave her a pare to take home to her. By the looks of the two boys that were here here I think that this family may be in need of a lot more than just a few pare of shoes.

Well, Fernando, Ronny, and Arlindo are fast asleep on the two soffas in the living room. Abner is in a mattress that is on the floor of my bedroom and I am ready to head to bed so I will say, "Goodnight".

Yours in Christ: Dick

Saturday, December 20, 2008, 9:01 PM

I don't know exactly what happened during the night but at around 2 AM I heard Ronny calling from the other room. He told me that he had to use the bathroom so I got up and carried him there and back. When I turned on the light to put him back on the sofa I discovered that Abner who was originally sleeping on the floor of my room was on the other sofa where Fernando and Arlindo were originally sleeping. The two of them had evidently traded places with Abner with out my knowledge. I really didn't care but I found that Fernando had pulled all of the blankets off from Arlindo and the poor kid was lying there shivering. I managed to find some more blankets and get him covered up but he evidently got cold again because I woke up at around 5 AM to discovered that I had company in my bed. Little Arlindo had evidently decided that he liked my bed better than the mattress on the floor. He was actually lying very still and I doubt that I would have even noticed that he was there had it not been for the amount of soda that I allowed him to drink when he was at the movies yesterday. Talk about a scare. Not only did I think that I was getting old and forgetful but for a minute there I was afraid that I was also starting to loose control of my bladder. Thankfully my electricity is back on because I hate cold showers at five o'clock in the morning.

This morning we headed out at about 10 AM. The past few days were not quite as restful as I had anticipated but if you could have seen how much fun the kids had you would know that it was worth it. I can always take a few days off some other time but I have a feeling that Ronny will not be around long enough to have too may more fun filled days. Please pray for the other six kids in his family as well. Each of the for girls have a fifty fifty chance of being carriers of muscular dystrophy and Arlindo and his baby brother have a fifty fifty chance of having it. If Arlindo has muscular dystrophy it will likely show up in the next year or two.

Goodnight:
Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal December 6-11

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Saturday, December 6, 2008

I left my house at 3:15 AM and headed off to pick up three of the USA volunteers that had helped out to camp, and brought them to the airport. After saying goodbye to them I located Ben Squires, a nineteen year old who had flown in from Canada to spend some time in Guatemala. Ben has been on a three month motorcycle trip touring the USA. He had considered riding his motorcycle here from the USA but decided to leave hid bike in California and fly down instead. Ben and I got back to my place at around 6:00 AM and tried to get a few hours sleep. He had not gotten any all night and I had gotten very little because of a head cold that I have picked up. At 9:00 AM we were up and soon on our way to Huehuetenango. Calin and Fernando have also come along on this four day trip. Usually I try to take a few days off to relax once camp is over but not this time. The people in some of the villages north of Huehuetenango had been waiting for wheelchairs and this was the only free time that I had to get the chairs to them. We also had medicine and other supplies with us to give them and several other people along the way. Once we arrived in Xela we picked up Rolland Elf, who is helping us with some of the Families that we are sponsoring up in this area.
On our way to Huehuetenango we stopped of to see Erica. When she was at camp the nurses there discovered that giving her oatmeal baths before applying her medicine was giving great results in improving her skin condition. The only problem was that Erica had nothing to bathe in at her home. Now she does.

After a short visit with Erica and her family we hiked over to where Christopher lives. Christopher, who also attends camp, has been having some problems whit his power wheelchair and I wanted to take a look at it. Unfortunately his wheelchair was at another home it town and it was getting late so I told him that we would try to stop by and take a look at it when we came back through on Tuesday.


We reached our motel at around 6:30 PM. and quickly grabbed something to eat. After that I headed off to bed. By 1 AM I was wondering if I was going to be to sick to go out in the morning but some cold tablets helped a bit and by 8:00 we had eaten breakfast and were on our way.


Sunday, December 7, 2008

Where do I start? It is hard to fathom how you can be pulling out of the paring lot of a modern motel at 8:00 AM and seemingly go back in time several hundred years only an hour later. The dirt floor dwelling that we found ourselves in could scarcely be called a home. But that is exactly what it was to the young mother of 3 whose husband had deserted her. Not only did she have a little girl who was severely handicapped but also ever since the birth of her infant son, mother was having seizures. She considered herself one of the fortunate ones though because unlike several other adults and children that we visited throughout the day this lady had some one in the city that was supplying her with medicine that was keeping the seizure activity down to one or two seizures a week. You would think that this lady would be bitter because of everything that was going on in her life but we found her and her children to be warm and friendly. We also found that she was far more concerned about our welfare then her own. She told us that there had been a lot of robberies, beatings, shootings, and kidnappings going on in her village and that ever since she had heard that we were coming there to bring her daughter a wheelchair she had been praying for our safety. After fitting her daughter into a wheelchair, mother insisted on giving us some coffee and bread. As I sipped the coffee I could not help but wonder if this had originally been intended to be the meal of her and her children for the day.

Our next stop was at the home of Rolando. Rolando is a 19 year old young man with CP that I met a few moths ago. Up until today Rolando, who is unable to walk has never owned a wheelchair. Although he is exceptionally bright Rolando has never been to school either. That is about to change though because thanks to a generous sponsor, starting in Januarys Rolando will have a teacher come in to his home and work with him twice a week. I wish that we could offer that to the other 5 kids that received wheelchairs today but perhaps some day.

After fitting Rolando and 3 other children that had been carried out of the mountains to Rolando’s home into wheelchairs, we were treated to lunch. Rolando’s family told us that they and some of the otters had prepared it for us to express the love that they had for us because we were willing to help their children. I was then able to share with them that the chairs were being given to them out of the Christian love that may people from the USA, Canada, and all over the world had for them and that we were only the delivery boys. I also explained that it was because of the love of Jesus that we were there. They told me that they already know that was the reason that we had come. I looked over at Calin and Fernando who were each holding one of the children on their laps and realized that some times actions say a lot more than words.






We would have liked to stay longer but the people told us that we should not be there after dark. We still had one little girl to visit though so Marie Garcia who is one of our key people in the village arraigned to have the family of the little girl meet us at her house. This girl was 12 years old had never owned a wheelchair. I had not known that we were going to see here today so I had not taken anything along that was her size. We did have one small wheelchair but it did not provide the support that this child needed because her mother told us that her daughter has one or two seizures every day. When I asked the mother what type of medicine the girl was using mom told us that the family simply did not have money for medicine.

It was dark by the time we left. Maria and the others said that they were worried about our safety and that they would be praying for us. It brought tears to my eyes to think that these people live with this and so many other things on a daily level, but still there mane concern was our well being and not theirs. I could not help but wonder if we were to exchange roles, would we do the same?

We are now back in the comfort and safety of our nice motel room. Oh yes, tomorrow we plan on going out into the poverty stricken villages again. We plan on being there for the day. Most of these people are there for a lifetime.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Monday, December 8, 2008, 8:24 PM

This morning we met with a lady that Rolland just happened to meet on the buss a few months ago. This chance meeting ended up in a conversation where Rolland was told of a 13 year old girl who for some unknown reason lost the strength in her legs about 4 months ago. Not long after that she began having Seizures many of which lasted all night. In desperation her mother took her to some one that claimed that he could cure her, only to find out that once the family ran out of money this person would no longer have anything to do with her daughter.




A few other doctors were contacted but most of them would do nothing for her because the family had no money. It sounds like one of them ran a few tests but when nothing was found the girl was sent back to here sod house where she has remained in bed for the past several months. It just so happened that we had a few wheelchairs left after yesterdays mini distribution so when we had driven as far as we could up the dirt trail that led to her house Benjamin, my friend from Canada, put one of the wheelchairs on his back and we hiked in to where this girl lived. The one room house was dimly lit and it took our eyes some time to adjust before we could see this beautiful young girl lying in a bed in the corner of the room. I quickly sat down next to her partly because I was tired from walking up the steep trail that led to her house and partly to keep from hitting my head because the doorway and even the ceiling of the mud brick house could not have been over five feet high. Both she and her family were tickled to get the wheelchair that we had for her but you could tell that there was a great deal of concern as to what was wrong with her. I told her family about the specialists that come in to Hermano Pedro and asked if they would like me to take some pictures and tell these doctors about her. I told them that I could give no guarantees but asked if they would be willing to have her go there if the doctors felt that they could do something for her. Mom said that they would like nothing better but that there was no way that they could do it because they had used every cent that they had on the person that claimed that he could make her better. I told her not to worry and that we would see to it that her expenses were taken care of if the doctors were willing to see her. Silly me. I get myself into a lot of trouble that way but God always seems to bale me out. We will see what happens.



After talking to mom about the possibility of getting help for her daughter I walked out side and found Calin talking to one of the brothers of the girl that could not walk. He later told me that this boy had been crying and had told Carline that he did not want his sister to go to any hospital because he loved her and was afraid that she would die there.



When we were about to say goodbye the family of this girl took her out side in her new wheelchair so that they could all wave goodbye until we disappeared over the hill. As we drove back down the mountain we decided to chalk the chance meeting of Roland and the lady that took us to see this girl up to being a GODINCIDENCE.

The lady that took us to see this girl did not live to far out of the way so we told her that we would take her home before going up to Lionel’s home. Once again I was stunned when I discovered that this dear lady who had taken time from her day to help a friend didn’t have it all that good herself. I was told that her husband had died from a stroke, and when we got to her home we discovered that her and her four children lived in one room of a two room house that could not have measured more than ten feet by ten feet. The other room was home for her sister and her sister’s kids. More and more I am discovering that many of the Guatemalan people that have the least are the ones that are willing to give the most.



Next we headed for the home of Lionel. I had just seen his father at Hermano Pedro last Friday when he was visiting Lionel at the malnutrition ward, but wanted to visit the family when Rolland was with me so that we could get everything set up for getting Lionel’s older sister and brother into school. Even though the cost of schooling is not all that great It is more than father makes in a year. His income for the entire year last year was right at $200, hardly enough for a family of eight to live on. When we started talking about schooling Lionel’s father told us that for some reason unknown to him his 13 year old son had decided that he did not want to go to school. He is a rather shy boy and at first he would not say why he had changed his mind but later told us that he felt that he should stay at home and work to help support his family. He said that he really wanted to attend school but he felt that he had to try to earn what ever he could to help keep his younger brothers and sisters in school. I asked him that if we would see to it that we they got the shoes and backpacks and school supplies that the other children in the family needed if he would continue his education. He said yea as his normally expressionless face suddenly took on a glimmer of hope.
I was glad that I had taken my computer along because Lionel’s entire family crowded around it to see some recent pictures that I had taken of Lionel. We discussed Lionel’s future and with tears in his eyes Father told us that he know that he knew that Lionel would likely not survive if he were to return home and that he felt that it was best if his son remained at Hermano Pedro for at least a year or two. I know that this decision was not an easy one because Lionel’s entire family loves him dearly. But due to the fact that Lionel still is still having occasional convulsions and continues to have a lot of lung congestion I was forced to agree. I am praying though that Lionel’s health improves rapidly and that Lionel can soon be reunited to a family that dearly loves him.

Lionel’s family told us that they would be honored if we stayed for dinner but we told them that we would have to do it another time because Roland had to catch a buss back to Xela before 5 PM. Even though this family has next to nothing and goes hungry a lot of the time I could see that they really wanted us to stay. So we promised that the next time we visited them we would join them for dinner.

On our way back down the mountain I received a phone call from Marry Margaret. It appears that Alex has taken a turn for the worse. They have finally moved him from the children’s ward of Hermano Pedro to the malnutrition ward, something that I have been pleading with them to do for years. Please remember this precious little angle in your prayers. If you would like to read more about Alex you can click on Marry Margaret's blog (You Gave Me A Fire) located in the upper left hand corner of my web page.

Tonight we are back in Huehuetenango. Roland has gone back to Xela and we plan on working our way back home tomorrow. It this will give me one day to relax before joining a teem from Joni and Friend for several days of wheelchair distributions. After that I plan on locking myself in my house and resting for at least a few hours before taking on anything new.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Tuesday, December 9, 2008,12:20 PM

Normally you would not find me writing in my journal in the middle of the afternoon, but then again you would not normally find me riding a buss from Huehuetenango to Chimaltenango in the middle of the afternoon either. Actually we caught the buss about 20 miles out of Huehuetenango because that is where I burned up the motor of the Kea van. The temperature gauge indicated that everything was OK but the smoke and steam pouring out of the van indicated otherwise. After letting things cool down a little bit we managed to limp in to a small aldea that had a store where we parked the van. The lady that ran the store was very friendly and told us that we could leave the van there until Elie, our ever busy mechanic, could make the 5 hour drive down to tow bar it home. The buss that we managed to flag down after about an hour is much nicer than the average chicken buss. We actually have room to put our knees in front of us unlike the tight seats of the chicken busses where anyone that is over five feet tall has to stick them out into the hall. So far it is not at all crowded either so everyone is able to ride on the inside of the buss. I will perhaps do a bit of writing later but our driver just managed to pass the slow truck that was in front of us so it is once again hang on time.
It is now 4:28 PM and we are still on the buss. We had almost caught an earlier buss that went by about 10 minutes before this one but I happened to be on the cell phone telling Chris about the van at the time that it went by so the guys did not flag it down. I guess you could call that another GODINCIDENCE because about an hour later we saw that same buss lying half way on its side nose to nose with a flipped over truck that it had collided with. Whatever kept the buss from flipping over all of the way or any of the passengers from being severely hurt has to be more than a GODINCIDENCE it was a down right MIRACLE. About an hour and a half later they had enough of the accident cleared up that we were once again on our way. Now our once nearly empty buss is fully loaded with passengers. Everyone that was on the wrecked buss simply unloaded their belongings and got onto ours.







A few miles further down the road a boy and his grandfather got on our buss. Even though the old man was blind no one offered him their seat until he reached where we were sitting. When he got to where we were Calin quickly got out of his seat and gave it to the old man. Fernando climbed onto my lap and told the boy to sit down next to us. It did not take my boys too long to strike up a conversation. Calin noticed that the shoes that the boy was wearing were totally worn out so he asked me if it would be OK if he gave the boy his shoes. I said yes but we found that Calin’s shoes were much to big for him so at the drop of a hat Fernando had both of his shoes off and he handed them to the boy. They fit him perfectly and so did the new smile that was on his face. He and his grandfather only stayed on the buss for about a half hour but by the time they left we were all friends. When we got home this evening I am going to make sure that Fernando gets a new pare of shoes.

Quite a few of the kids showed up at my house when I got home tonight. The first thing that I was asked was when I had to leave again. It was difficult for me to tell them that I would be Heading to the airport at 5:00 AM to pick up a group a group that was coming in and that we would be busy building houses and doing wheelchair distributions for the next several days. Don’t get me wrong. I love seeing these groups come in and love being going out and visiting the villages but I also wish that I had more time to just hang out with my kids. So many of them consider my place home because of situations in the places that they come form and it is hard for them when I am gone so much of the time. I am thankful though that I can often take one or two of them along with me when I am on the road.

I better quit for now because Calin is once again standing in the isle of the buss and he wants to visit with me. I asked him why he was no longer sitting in the seat behind me and he told me that he gave his seat to some one that just got on the buss.

Friday, December 10, 2008

I headed out for the airport at 5:00 AM while Benjamin and two of the boys that stayed over last night stayed at the house. Benjamin is great with the kids. After looking in my refrigerator, he promised these 2 and a few others that he would take them out to Camperos for breakfast this morning. I do plan on restocking my refrigerator as soon as I find the time but right now it could just as well be unplugged.

Chris and I picked up the first half of a large group that is coming here with Joni and Friends, to ut up some houses. The rest of the their teem is planning on coming in later tonight. These will be the people that will help out with the three wheelchair distributions that are planned for this week. It is going to be a busy one but it should be a real blessing for the some needy people here in Guatemala.

I managed to get back home for a little while after helping get the construction teem out to where the houses are going to be built. I am staying out of this one because I will be busy enough once the wheelchair distribution starts. Besides that a film crew has come along to where the houses are being built and I hate being on TV. (I hate scaring people).

A managed to get home for about an hour and spent some time just horsing around with the kids. Benjamin has been having a lot of fun with them as well. They were quite disappointed when we told them that Benjamin was going ot Antigua and that I would be spending the night in the City. Abner broke my hart when he asked me if I was planning to move out of the neighborhood. I assured him that I was not moving and that I was going to have more free time starting next week. I even promised the kids that we would put up the Christmas tree on Wednesday.

When we got to Antigua we went straight to the orphanage. Miguel, one of my older boys, had come along with Benjamin and myself It seems so different having so many of the kids at home for the Christmas holidays but most of those that were there have no family to go home to so they need lots of attention. We spend most of our time just holding them and visiting with them. I even managed to get Benjamin into the malnutrition ward for a little while. He had a hard time holding back the tears when I put Alex in his arms. Alex has improved a bit in the last few days and once again manages to give you that smile of his when you say his name, but he is still very week. Before putting him back into his crib I weighted him. He has gained back 2 pounds but 20 pounds is not much for a nine year old.

Ten year old Lionel was nothing but smiles. He still weighted in at only 25 pounds but seems to be doing quite well and has had no seizures for nearly a week now.

I had to drive some people back to the city and am spending the night here. After a meeting in the morning I will be taking some one that arrives at the airport later tonight back with me to Chimaltenango. Friday morning we will be having the first of three consecutive days of wheelchair distributions here in Guatemala City.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Thursday, December 11, 2008 10:41 AM

Wow! Once again I am finding the time to write in my journal in the middle of the day. No broken down cars this time, only a flight that was canceled last night due to snow in Texas. The rest of the team is out looking at the sites where we plan on doing the wheelchair distributions during the next several days, while I remain behind at the hotel to pick up the four stragglers when they come in to the airport. This is actually giving me some time to myself so that I can work on my journal. I know that it is not the end of the week yet but I may send it out today if I have the time.

3:20 PM

I am finally back from the airport. After hanging around there for over 2 hours I figured that the four people that were suppose to arrive had done 1 of three things.

#1 Missed their flight.

#2 Taken the wrong flight.

#3 Fallen off from the airplane somewhere along the way.

Not only did I loose four people today but I am afraid that I also lost my passport. I may have left it at home but I don’t think so. I guess that I won’t worry about it until this distribution is over with.

I was going to get this sent out while I was waiting for the teem to return but the internet in all of the hotel rooms has gone out.

I think that we are going to have a wonderful wheelchair distribution because opposition seems to really be fighting this one. Our team Caption has never lost a battle though so we are confident that this distribution is going to be a good one.

Please keep us in your prayers.

Yours in Christ: Dick

James 1:2&3 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Journal November 29-December 5

(click on any picture to enlarge)

Monday, December 1, 2008, 9:45 PM

My Saturday was spent at the airport in Guatemala City. Chris took an early group in to catch their flight and was back at home two hours later, but my trip took a bit longer than that. It took eight hours to be exact. Thankfully everything went fine on the way to the airport so the group that I took there had no problem catching their plane ,but the plane that brought two volunteers in from the states was several hours late, and when it did arrive so did several other planes so getting through customs took a long time for all of the incoming passengers and getting out of the airports new parking garage took even longer. Thankfully every one arrived safely though.

Sunday only four kids came along to church with me. Abner and Fernando went to another church were Kimberly was being baptized. Jason and Esben took a Sunday off from going to church. This was by choice, not theirs but mine. Last Sunday they caused a few problems in church so I told them that they would have to sit this one out. Funny thing, back when I was a kid I always thought that going to church was a punishment and staying home was a reward. Not any more though and thankfully most of my kids feel the same way about it.

After church I took the kids to Piccadilly’s to eat and then called Pastor Bill (That’s one time Barb) {private joke} to see what time he and the volunteers were coming in to Antigua. I had planned on taking some of them through the orphanage once they had eaten lunch. Pastor Bill (#2){same joke} told me that their church service had gotten a bit lengthy and that it was going to be a few hours before they got in to Antigua. I asked him if the preacher that they had at the service that they went to in Chimaltenango had gotten a bit long winded. He Said, “Yes but if I ever preach there again I promise to give a shorter sermon."
Since we had several hours on our hands the boys and I hiked up the hill that over looks Antigua. At around 3:30 I called Pastor Bill (#3) again and discovered that the entire group had decided to go shopping and no one was coming to the orphanage. I am now once again concerned about the mental stability of this group but can only hope that one trip to the junk shops has cured them. The boys and I decided to go to the orphanage anyway and were pleasantly surprised to see a large group of Guatemalan adults and kids there playing with the orphanage kids. They were having a real party with food games, and even a piñata. When I asked what all of the celebrating was about a Guatemalan gentleman came up to me and explained that it was his little boys birthday and that the family had decided to have the birthday party at the orphanage so that the orphanage kids could celebrate with them. This man’s son was not someone that was in the orphanage and he had no disabilities but the family thought that it would be nice to share their party with the orphanage kids. Wow! It was not all that many years ago that most Guatemalans would have nothing to do with anyone that had a disability.

When we got home Fernando asked if he could call his mother in the USA. I was quite surprised because I have not been able to get him to call her for several months now. They talked for over an hour and I think that it was good for both of them. If it were not for the Internet I would shutter to see my phone bill but a program called Skype allows me to make unlimited phone calls to the USA through my computer for $3 per month. I constantly have neighbors coming over to my house so that they can call family members in the USA so they love it as well.

Today (Monday) was our first day of adult camp. At last count we had 70 campers registered and several of them brought more than one family member along so we are bursting at the seems. I originally brought 5 campers and one care giver from the orphanage but ended up bringing Jose, one of the campers back to the orphanage because it was impossible to fit 6 people into one room. I guess I could have roomed with a few of the campers but after staying with four of the orphanage kids last week I was anxious to spend this week sleeping in my own bed.

















Since Jose has never been to camp before he did not seem to mind going straight back to Hermano Pedro. I made the trip back to the orphanage a fun one for Jose and we even stopped off at Camperos for lunch. I did not mind going back there either because this morning while I was at Hermano Pedro I stopped off at the malnutrition ward to see how Lionel was doing. Just as I got to his crib he had a seizure. It was not a big one but I was told that it was the third one that he had with in about an hour. They thought that they had things under control since he has had none for several weeks but evidently the medication that they were giving him wasn’t doing the job. When I got back there this afternoon they told me that the doctor has put him on something else. I was worried that it would be something that knocked him out, like some of the other kids at the orphanage but other than being a little groggy he seemed to be doing quite well. I even managed to get him to smile once or twice this afternoon. Please keep this precious little boy in your prayers.

Well it is getting late and I promised the camp nurses that I would help them treat some bedsores in the morning. Sorry no pictures, I would not want to make you sick.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Tuesday, December 2, 2008, 8:45 PM
This morning Alice, one of the volunteers from camp, and myself took Pedro, one of our campers home due to a medical problems that he came to camp with. It was nothing serious but since it was contagious we felt it would be best if he did not stay at camp. Alice has been here for several of our camps but has not had much opportunity to get into the back country, so after dropping Pedro off in Tecpan we bought some groceries and brought them in to Maria and her 4 children. When we arrived at Maria’s home we received a warm welcome and were soon surrounded by kids. I never got a head count but we must have handed out three dozen lollypops. Maria, who had been sick the last time that we visited was filling much better and she proudly showed Alice her new house and the two pigs that we had gotten for her. Any shyness that the kids had in the past is no longer there and once again the same kids that used to run and hide from us were begging to be held. I promised that I would come back and bring shoes to the kids before school started back up in January. On our way back home Alice said that this visit was one of the highlights of her trip to Guatemala.
This evening I had to take one of the older men back to Hermano Pedro because he seemed to have a touch of the flew. After that I worked on more bedsores. This year we have quite a few campers that have bedsores. This is not my favorite job but over the years I have gotten a good deal of experience in treating them, and if left untreated they often times lead to death.

When I got home tonight my house quickly filled up with kids. I am going to ask them to leave early tonight though because I have to be back at camp before 6AM. Tomorrow is the day that we take the adults to the beech so it will be a busy one.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Today's journal was easy for me because I did not write a word of it. Lida Merrill, one of our volunteers from New York keeps a journal when ever she comes to Guatemala to help out at camp. I thought that it would be a treat to read someone else account of a day in Guatemala.

I woke Mary Margaret up around 2:00 a.m. to take over the night shift with the men from Hermano Pedro. I showed her how to reposition Manuel because she has never done that type of care. I explained skin integrity and general health benefits of frequent repositioning. I don’t think it was a very thorough lesson because we were both very tired. Manuel prefers to sleep on his right side and he complains loudly about being repositioned differently. I don’t speak Spanish but I recognize when someone is yelling at me in any language! I fell asleep around 3:00 a.m.

After a short night of sleep I almost missed the bus for the beach this morning! Mary Margaret woke me up around 7:00 a.m. Breakfast was done and they were already loading the buses! I thought it would be about 8:30 a.m. before we headed out, so I thought I had enough time to make oatmeal and get my things together. Wrong! The next thing I heard was the announcement that the buses were loaded and it was time to leave! I hurried and made it in time. However, I forgot some things like a towel!

I missed the part of the adventure where we help get everyone on to the buses and load the wheelchairs on to the roof tops of the buses. The teens work hard lifting the wheelchairs to the top and then securing them with bungee cords and ropes. People have to take their seat cushions and footrests on the bus because they will fly away! In years past someone has had to climb on top of the bus and use a broom to lift telephone and other wires over the handles of the wheelchairs because the load is so high! We did not have that issue this year.

Today was a wonderful day at the beach! We drove through beautiful mountains to reach the flat coastal plain. We passed acres of white plumed sugar cane and a large coffee field. Coffee grows best in the shade so there are trees planted above the coffee bushes to provide the shade. I never saw real sugar cane growing- it is a tall bamboo-like plant with long white plumes that resemble feathers and reeds for leaves. This is the time of year that sugar cane is harvested. We passed a field where men were manually cutting the cane with machetes. I learned that before the canes are harvested the fields are set on fire to get rid of the cane leaves, any weeds and any varmints like snakes and spiders that may be at home in the cane fields. The burning process produces a lot of air pollution. Most of the canes harvested in Guatemala are harvested by hand. The people who work in the sugar cane fields put in long days of difficult physical labor during the harvest season. They earn very little for all of their weeks of back breaking labor.


We passed a beautiful volcano that was billowing thick gray smoke. We shared the highway with bicyclists, donkeys laden with sugar cane stalks, chicken buses, tourist buses, a boy pulling a cart with 3 younger children in it, motorcycles and scooters, and pedestrians. There was a supported bicycle team that we passed; well, first it passed us and then we passed it later. Why were we passed by a team of cyclists? Because one of our rented school buses blew a tire so our beach-bound caravan pulled over to the side of the highway. That was one hot blown tire! It smelled nasty and smoked even nastier! The kids enjoyed the opportunity to stretch their legs and run around. We also had a great view of the smoking volcano. That is what we were doing when the cyclists passed us.

It was cold when we left Chimaltenango a little after 8 o’clock this morning. We went about 2 hours and people began shedding layers of clothing. It was hot and humid on the plain. It was a hot, sunny, humid day with a welcome ocean breeze.

We arrived at Hotel Eden Pacific and the adventure really got going! The camp leaders had reserved several ground level hotel rooms for changing rooms. People got changed and headed for the 2 swimming pools. Manuel, Jose and David enjoyed the pool! Manuel enjoyed some time in the pool and then continued his fun while relaxing in a hammock where he could see everything going on. He was so relaxed that he fell asleep! What more could a man ask for in life- ocean air, swimming, bathing beauties, good food and a siesta! Jose was thrilled to be at the resort. He told someone that he came to this place when he was a young child and that he remembered it all. We don’t know if he meant this exact resort or if he was referring to the ocean. Either way he never stopped smiling for the whole day. I have not gotten to know David as well as the other 2 men. He spent some time in the water and then just enjoyed sitting in the shade and watching all of the activity going on.

Maria Isabella is a young woman who I met my first year in Guatemala. She did not come to camp that year, but I was fortunate enough to visit her home. She lives in a rural aldea (township) with her grandmother. When I went to her home I met her grandmother, her brother (Fidel) and her sister (Savilla). That visit to their home 2 years ago was life changing for me. I was confronted by the reality of Jesus’ teaching that ‘whatsoever you do to the least of these, my brothers that you do unto me.’ What does it mean in my life if Maria Isabella, Maria Savilla, and Fidel are truly my brother and sisters? They lived in a one room shack with a rutted dirt floor, running water 6 hours a week, no windows, and only 2 beds for the 4 of them. There was no other furniture. Savilla had the only mattress, and she had that because Dick had brought it to her a couple of weeks prior. We brought a second mattress with us that day. If they are really my family members then what should my response be to their extreme poverty? That question is what made that visit life changing for me. The family did not come to camp that year (2005) because of road damage due to Hurricane Stan and because Savilla and Fidel were too frail to make the trip. Savilla was in bed in her shack and Felix was outside in a hammock. Isabella was walking with a walker and enjoyed her independence. Their parents and grandfather were killed in the Guatemalan civil war in the 1980s. The grandmother has been caring for her 3 grandchildren all of their lives. Savilla and Felix have since passed away and Isabella can no longer use a walker, but uses a wheelchair. Generous donors provided a new home for Isabella and her grandmother.

I have a picture of Maria Isabella on my desk at work. In it she is smiling and holding a beanie baby white bear. Isabella looks very much like her sister. I hope I do not make her uncomfortable because I keep staring at her and remembering the afternoon I spent at her home and how I left there a changed person. So, to today and the outing to the beach: Isabella is of Mayan Indian descent. Many Mayan women still dress traditionally in clothing made from intricately woven and heavy material. She must have been very hot in her traditional clothing. I don’t think she owns anything appropriate for the beach, so she did not get in the pool. Isabella enjoys life and is a very sociable person. She joined us in the shaded area next to the pool. I noticed that when someone did a cannonball jump into the pool that she laughed when she got splashed. I asked Donna Mooney to gently splash Isabella and see if she liked it- she loved it! People nearby kept gently splashing Isabella and she kept smiling and laughing. After a bit she took off the hat she had decorated yesterday and asked someone to fill it with pool water. Next thing we saw she was splashing herself! When the hat was almost empty she put it on her head and laughed as the water ran down her face. Later, when Dick joined us in the shade she loved it when he filled her hat with water and put the hat, water and all, on her head. She has a beautiful laugh and a smile that includes her whole face.

We all enjoyed a picnic lunch of fried chicken (note for those who know me well- yes, I ate the fried chicken, skin and all).



After lunch came the time everyone had been waiting for- we headed out to the black sands beach and the Pacific Ocean! If you have ever tried to push a wheelchair through deep sand you know that is not an easy task! Fortunately the camp leaders provided a corrugated tin walkway for everyone to use. It stretched out ahead of us and made me think of Dorothy following the yellow brick road to Oz. We followed the shiny tin road to the ocean.







I was not sure how Manuel would like the fresh ocean water, so we started out slowly. First I pushed him on the compacted wet sand to just where the surf came up to touch his feet. He laughed and stretched his feet out to splash in the water. I asked Dick to help me get Manuel out of his wheelchair and down to the water’s edge. I sat behind Manuel and supported him from behind. We sat back from the water’s edge, but close enough that some of the rolling surf could reach us. Whenever a warm wave covered our legs he laughed loudly! In between waves I buried his feet with the warm, wet black sand. It was not long before the surf that was reaching us started to get too deep, so we scooted backwards a lot to keep out of the deeper water. I wish that you could have seen Manuel! He is a small man in his 60s, salt and pepper hair, Latin complexion, scoliosis and probably blind in one eye. He does not have much movement in is hands, but I noticed that he kept his right hand in the sand and he kept opening and closing his hand as he dug it deeper into the heavy and wet sand.

Helen (Canadian volunteer) and David were also enjoying the water and sunshine. There are three young men who are paraplegics and they are usually together. They thoroughly enjoyed the beach. They through wet sand at the Confidentes and then acted innocent when the Confidentes looked for who had thrown the sand. One of the young men speaks some English and he kept asking me if I was okay every time a wave came near us. There is another man at the camp who is a triple amputee due to an accident; he only has one arm. He did not let his disability stop him from swimming and thoroughly enjoying every part of the day. Everyone was laughing and having a grand time!

All good things must come to an end, and that includes our day at the beach. When we returned to the resort area we were greeted by a man with a garden hose to spray off the sand from the wheelchairs. People cleaned up as best they could and we all loaded up to return to Chimaltenango. I road in the Kia van with some other volunteers and one of the campers. Due to the lack of sleep the night before, a day in the sunshine, and a motion sickness pill I fell asleep. I woke up when the driver pulled over due to mechanical problems. I think the van was overheating, so we waited for it to cool down. When we resumed our travels the driver babied the van to keep it from overheating again. It was dark and rainy too. At one point in our return home there was a stopped semi tractor trailer stalled in the road with no lights on. Chris, our driver, had to make a quick swing on to the bumpy shoulder to avoid hitting it. It was all a part of the adventure! We arrived back at the camp at 7:30 p.m. I heard that one of the rented school buses had mechanical troubles too, but I don’t know what their problem was. They got back to the camp shortly after we did.

Dinner was one of my favorite Guatemalan meals- mashed potato and squash with a piece of chicken all steamed in a banana leaf. Delicious!

I have no idea what people did for evening activities. The motion sickness pill got the best of me and I went to bed right after dinner.

P.S. I heard this morning (Thursday) that Manuel had an asthma attack and had to return to Hermano Pedro. There is some concern that he may have aspirated some ocean water and be developing pneumonia. Please keep him in your prayers.

Lida

I want to thank Lida for writing today's journal entry. This allowed me more free time to hang out with some of my friends.

"Whoops". . . .
"Wrong Picture"

"At least I wasn't caught
breaking into her room."

Thursday, December 4, 2008




I didn't get to spend much time at camp today but understand that they had a great time. Thursdays at camp are usually game days and believe me our Guatemalan Teens that coordinate all of the activities do a great job of coming up with some really fun stuff.





Unfortunately most of my morning was spent visiting with my Mechanic. Since Land Cruisers are rated as the world's most maintenance free car all I can say is all of the other cars here in Guatemala must have full time mechanics assigned to them. Nothing big this time but it still took the mechanic several hours to get everything put back together. Some times I wonder if cars were actually designed to drive over boulders and cross rivers.

This afternoon I mostly ran around doing errands and only made it to camp for a short time. It is hard to believe that tomorrow morning all of the campers head for home. On Saturday the American and Canadian volunteers head for home. It has been a great year and each and every one that was involved with this camp seemed to give 110% to make it a success. I can sincerely say that the campers witnessed the love of Jesus in each and everyone of them and that was exactly what we were praying for.

Well it is getting late and I have to get the orphanage gang back to Hermano Pedro in the morning so I will say, "Goodnight".

Yours in Christ: Dick


Friday, December 5, 2008

WHO IS IN CHARGE?

They say lightning does not strike twice in the same place but today while I was parked at Hermano Pedro I relived something that happened to me over 30 years ago. On that day I considered my self very lucky when, after stopping off at a truck stop for a bite to eat, I climbed back into the semi truck that I was driving and discovered that the steering wheel spun freely in my hands. Evidently the bumpy gravel parking lot had jarred loose the nut on the tie rod end that a mechanic a few days prior had forgotten to tighten, and the tie rod fell off while I was eating my dinner. Had it fallen off a bit earlier while I was driving down the freeway I doubt that I would be here right now writing about this. From time to time something reminds me of that incident and I keep thinking that it had to be more than just luck that the truck that I was driving lost it's steering while it was standing still in a parking lot rather that out on the highway.


This one could make "Replies Believe It Or Not."
. . . . .A Ford pulling a Land Cruiser
I have been using my car all during camp to haul people around. Just last Wednesday I had driven it down to the Ocean wiht a car load of volinteers, campers, and neighbor kids in it. The 6000 foot decent from Chimeltenango to the ocean is a curvy one. This morning I used it to take the orphanage campers Lida, who wrote Wednescay's journal and myself to Hermano Pedro. The curb in front of Hermano Pedro is painted red to discurage people from parking ther but no one seems to mind if you park there for short periods of time to load and unlod people that are in wheelchairs. After unloading the campers and thier belongings from my car I asked Lida if she would stay withe them while I fond a legal place to park my car. I told her that I would be right back and then I would help her get the campers and thier belongings into the orphanage. When I jumped back into my car and tried to pull away from the curb it did not turn but only went streight. Fortunatly there was nothing parked in front of me but I did end up in the middle of the intersection. When I got out of my car to see why it would not steer I discovered that the part that the tie rod conects to was broken in half. Had that happend a few minutes earler while I was making the 1000 foot deccent from Chimaltenango to Antigua I would likely not be writing about this. I guess that I am relly unlucky that this has happened two times to me but at least I am lucky that both times that it happened I was standing still and not going down the road. Then again, was it luck. Could it possibly have been another one of those GODINCIDENCE things? Perhaps in all of the busyness of camp I needed a little reminder of WHO IS IN CHARGE.


. .Psalm 20:7

. .Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
. . . .. . but we trust in the name of the
. . . .. . . . . . . .LORD our God.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick