Journal January 23-29 2009

Friday, January 23, 2009

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

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

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

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

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

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









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







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






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





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





Saturday, January 24, 2009, 3:22 PM

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

Yours in Christ: Dick

9:12 PM

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


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

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

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


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



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

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Monday, January 26, 2009



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






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



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


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



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

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

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

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



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








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







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









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

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Wednesday, January 30, 2009

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


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



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

Well it is bedtime once again.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Thursday, January 29, 2009

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


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

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



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



Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal January 17-22 2009

Saturday & Sunday January 17 & 18, 2009


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

Lots
of
kids
around
the
house,

especially
during
meal
time.

. A few soccer games,



. . .

. . .

.. . . . . church,

&
.
more
.
food.

Monday, January 19, 2008

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

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

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

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



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



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


Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Tuesday, January 20, 2009, 8:35 PM

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

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

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

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

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

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

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


Thursday, January 22, 2009, 5:11 PM

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

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

Mark 10:15-16

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

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

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal January 13-16

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

This morning was another exciting go to the dentist and then do computer work at the shop mornings.This afternoon Calin Joined me and we went back to the aldea where Maria lives. I had promised Rosa the blind girl’s mom that I would pick her and her two children that were staying there up and get them back to their home where two more of her children have been staying by themselves for several days. Tomorrow morning I plan on picking her up and bringing her in to see a doctor at Hermano Pedro. She had been having such severe headaches and dizzy spells that she and two of her children have had to stay with a friend in Maria’s Aldea, that is caring for her. This is hard for her because two of her daughters one of whom is blind, have had to remain in the families one room dwelling here in Chimaltenango.

I am going to keep this one short because the kids that are in my house seem to be in more need of attention than my computer.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick















Wednesday, January 14, 2009

(Click on any photo to enlarge) . . . . . . . .

Any of you that keep up with my journals already know how much I enjoy film crews (NOT), but back a few months ago in one of my weaker moments I promised a friend that I would spend a day with one that was coming in to Guatemala to film various mission projects. Well today was the day that I had promised to do this. So at 9:30 I met with a fairly large group of people that all had cameras that were bigger than most of the kids that they were coming to film. I at least figured that my entire day would not be wasted because I had to bring the lady that needed to see a doctor in to Hermano Pedro anyway. I guess what bothers me the most about taking professional photographers through the orphanage and into the villages is that often times the story takes priority over the person that the story is about. Today however proved to be pleasantly different. Yes I still hated to be fitted with a cordless mike and those big cameras still looked intimidating (Why they can’t use alittle pocket camera like I took these pictures with is still beyond me), but today was different. These people really cared about the people that they were filming. It was refreshing to see several of them wiping tears from their own eyes, or laying down their cameras to hold one of the kids that would much rather be held for a few minutes than have an hour documentary made about them. I can honestly say that my entire day with them was an enjoyable one and that they left a lasting impression on those that they visited in the orphanage, in the homes and villages that we visited, and the kids in my home. Thanks gang for showing those that you visited that they were more important to you than nice photos and a good story.



Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Thursday, January 15, 2009, 12:19 PM

This is a rather strange time of day for me to be writing in my journal but I am learning to grab what ever free time I have to write or I seem to fall way behind. I got up early this morning and took Rosa back in to Hermano Pedro. They wanted to see her again today so that they could run some more tests. Thanks to the staff at Hermano Pedro they once again allowed her to be one of the first patients that they saw. I cannot get over how accommodating they are to everyone that I bring there. Even allowing yesterday’s film crew to come in is something that is generally not done. I brought Rosa back to her home about an hour ago and figured that I would stop off at home for just a little quiet time. It did not work out that way though because even though I left my car about a block away to be washed I was quickly discovered. I am starting to wonder if the kids have hidden cameras or some type of alarm in my house because some how they always seem to know when I am in the house. Any way I guess that I better go and open the gate before they wear out the new set of batteries that are in my doorbell.


More later if I find the time.

10:00 PM

I finally have a bit of time to write before heading off to bed. Then again bed sounds pretty good to me right about now.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Friday, January 16, 2009, 8:40 PM
It’s rather humbling, but it seems that God keeps using the kids that I work with to teach me lessons that I should be teaching them. Just five weeks ago I wrote about Fernando giving his new pare of shoes to a little boy that was on the buss who had none. Well today he did something that once again stopped me in my tracks. Abner, Marcos, and I had already left for Hermano Pedro to repair some wheelchairs, but after stopping off at burger king for some breakfast we turned back towards my house because I had forgotten a drill that I needed. (Forgetting things happens a lot to me lately. They say that there are 2 things that happen when you get older. One is that you get more forgetful, but the other one I can’t remember.) Now where was I? Oh ya, anyway when I pulled back into my alley I saw and old man and a young boy standing by my gate. When I got out of my car the Old man came over and shook my hand. He then asked me if it was OK if he took two warn out pieces of foam rubber that I had set out in the alley by the rest of my garbage. About then Fernando came out of his house and walked over to us. He soon struck up a conversation with the old man and his grandson. I do not know who brought up the subject, Fernando or the old man, but Fernando told me that the little boy and the old man were both in need of shoes. Looking down at the ones that they were wearing quickly confirmed that he was right. Partly out of fear that Fernando would once again give his shoes away I asked them to wait out side while I went in and looked to see if I had any shoes left that people from the states had brought down for me to give away. As I came back out of my house I was actually feeling quite good about myself because not only had I found some used shoes for them but also I had gone beyond the call of duty and found a brand new toothbrush and some toothpaste for the little boy. I was quite certain that he would appreciate this gesture of kindness on my part. When I handed them these treasures they both thanked me but only the old man shook my hand. His grand son could not because both of his hands were full. In his right hand he was holding the foam rubber that was wrapped around the shoes and toothbrush that I had given him. In his left was the new electronic game that I had given Fernando for Christmas. I had given a few things that I would never miss. Fernando had given all he had.

Mark 12:42-44

But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.

They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal January 9-13

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Friday, January 9, 2008

Today was a Hermano Pedro day. Fidel's power wheelchair was completely dead and he was really bummed out, so I decided to make getting his chair running a priority. Abner and Marcos came along with me and once I got them on track they did a fairly good job of helping out. It appears that the horn that Fidel had talked some one into installing on his power chair has shorted out the entire system so we found ourselves having to install a new computer and controller. Fortunately we located used ones that worked so his chair is once again up and running. It no longer has a horn though and the workers at Hermano Pedro have been notified not to install any electrical items on any of the power wheelchairs.




Even though most of my day was spent playing electrician I still managed to spend time with some of the kids. Alex is still up in the malnutrition ward but seems to be a doing a lot better. Lionel is continuing to gain weight but he had another small seizure as I was holding him today. I pray that they can find a medication that works for him with out half knocking him out. Some of the kids at the orphanage are on such heavy medications that they seem like zombies a good part of the time.






Saturday, January 10, 2009

After about two hours at the telephone company, (I won't even go there other than to say that if the gave me a nickel for every needles hour that I spend there I would be rich.) I headed to Antigua and picked up Megan and Toby. We then headed back to my house. Fernando, Abner, and Cesar had spent the night and had breakfast cooking by the time that I got back home. Megan and Toby were quit impressed.

After breakfast we headed to town and bought some groceries for Maria and her family. Maria and her four kids are doing quite well but they were feeling bad that one of the two pigs that we had bought for them had died. After giving birth to six piglets the mother pig decided that she was hungry so she ate them. Shortly after that she got a severe case of indigestion and died. I know that there has to be a lesson there somewhere but am not sure just what it is. Not only did we hand out some groceries but we also had some shoes and backpacks for several children that did not receive any on our last visit.
We were quite surprised when we saw the sister and the brother of the blind girl that we often visit in Chimaltenango. They told us that they had take their mother here because she was sick and there were no doctors that were willing to see her for free in Chimaltenango. Unfortunately once they got to Maria's village they quickly discovered that the doctor that lived there wanted money as well. Perhaps that is for the best though because many of these so called doctors that live in the villages are quacks. After visiting a bit longer with Maria and her family we walked to the home where the mother of the blind girl was staying. She told us that her constant headaches are getting worse and that see can seldom get out of bed without getting so dizzy that she can not stand up. Tuesday we plan to get her in to Hermano Pedro to see a real doctor. We also promise that tomorrow we would go and see her two daughters that have been staying alone in Chimaltenango for the past few days.



When I got home I discovered that Calin's mom had done my laundry twice. As she was hanging up the last few articles of clothing to dry my close line broke and everything fell onto the dirt so she had to start all over again. I did not have any trustworthy rope to use for a new close line but remembered an unused coated wire that ran from a telephone pole in the alley to my house.







Fact # 195 All black wires look the same in the dark.

Fact # 196 Telephone’s and internet do not work when you cut your phone line and use it for a close line.

Fact # 197 It is a lot harder to splice telephone lines then it is to cut them.

Fact # 198 There is always something to be thankful for even in what seems like a bad situation, especially considering electrical wires and telephone wires look quite a bit alike but react differently when you touch them.

I received a phone call from Mary's daughter this evening. Yesterday they transported Mary to a hospital in Guatemala City. They thought that they were going to operate on her there but then discovered that they did not have any of her type of blood so the insurance company has decided to medivack her to the States in the morning. This is perhaps a blessing because that is what Mary and her family wanted in the first place. In this case the $50 flight insurance really paid off.

Well it has been a long nigh so as soon as the kids get finished laughing at me I will send them home and go to bed.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Sunday, January 11, 2009Well my Internet is still working and the house has not burned down over night so I guess it was indeed the phone line and not the electrical line and it looks like I didn't get my wires crossed.

Only 10 kids came along to church today so we actually had room to take Megan and Toby back to Chimaltenango with us. After the 13 of us stopped off at Martha's for lunch we dropped of all but two of the kids and headed out to see some Mayan ruins that are located about an hour from here. I am not exactly a history buff but at my age it does my hart good to see that there are still things around that are older than I am. After hiking around for about an hour I realized that the kids still had way to much energy but fortunately there was a large field near where we had parked my car so Toby and the boys had a great time playing soccer. I joined in as well by being one of the goal posts. After a while they saw that I was getting tired so they replaced me with a rock. Seriously I have taken it fairly easy this weekend and feel quite rested so I think that I am ready for another week.






On our way home we stopped off and bought some more groceries and brought them to the two girls who are in Chimaltenango. They are doing OK but told me that they really miss their mom. It has to be scary staying in there one little room in an otherwise abandon building. I gave them money for a phone card and told them to call me if they needed anything and also promised that I would stop off with their mom when I picked her up to take her to the doctor on Tuesday. Hopefully she can be back with them by Wednesday night but she does not want them to come to the village where she has been staying for the past few days until she knows weather or not she will be able to return to her home.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick



Monday, January 12, 2009This morning Calin and Jason came along with me to Hermano Pedro where we spend a few hours with the kids and then we headed out towards that Esquetla area. Toby and Megan joined us as well. It would take me far to long if I went into detail about all of the people that we visited today and even longer to describe our feelings when we visited children like Julio, who’s health is going down hill ever since he returned to his home after spending several months in the malnutrition ward of Hermano Pedro. Even though the family now has a new house, filtered water, and a sponsor for Julio they seem so defeated. Why is it that families like those of Maria’s who we visited only two days ago seem so much happier even though they have even less. Could it be because they have a hope that that is eternal and know that there is something better in store for them? In the midst of all of their suffering and poverty I see an inner peace that only Jesus can give. Sure life can still have its rough spots but without faith there is nothing. That is why even though today was a hard day for me it was also a good one. It is never easy to hold a child knowing that he or she will perhaps not be there to hold the next time that you come into their village, but praise God we were able to hold them today. Enough said, here are some pictures.

Luke 18:16

But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these".

Goodnight:
Yours in Christ, Dick

Journal January 3 - 8

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Saturday & Sunday, January 3 & 4, 2009This weekend was exactly that, a true weekend. A good part of my Saturday was spent swimming at the hot springs with the kids. In fact we had such a good time at the hot springs on Saturday that we went back there again after church on Sunday.

Monday, January 5, 2009

A bit busier today but I still enjoyed it. At around 9:30 the family of the little boy that Calin and I have been building the head controlled power wheelchair for showed up at the shop. Father confessed that he had felt that we had forgotten about them but I explained that we simply had not been able to find any head control units so I finally gave up and built one. I must say though if this family had been discouraged they shurly did not show it by their attitude today. Especially not the boy that was receiving the wheelchair. He was so egger to try it out that I found it difficult to make some last minute adjustments. When I finally got him inot his new power chair and he started moving his family let out a cheer that would have made a Guatemalan soccer game seem rater quiet. At first he had a good deal of difficulty driving it but a few modifications made a big difference and I am confident that with a little practice he will soon be doing as well as Byron does with his head controlled chair. If anyone there was more excited than him or his family it had to be Calin. Although I have to admit that I ran a close second. We have put countless hours into this wheelchair but watching the joy on the faces of this family made it all worth while. Since the little boy's father spoke English I was also able to share with him and his family that the reason we give out these wheelchairs is because of a much greater gift that we have received. No three point sermon here, but by the look on their faces I know that they understood.





After leaving the shop we picked up Abner and Marcos, stopped off for some hamburgers, and then headed to Hermano Pedro. Even though it was to late to take any kids out to lunch, after refitting a few kids in their wheelchairs, Ben joined us and we took five of them to the park. Several of the kids that we took today were younger ones that had not gone before and they had a ball. It was great to see that one little girl and one little boy who's chairs we had just done some modifications to were finally sitting properly and seemed so much happier.






After we got back from the park the boys played while I went and met with some of the staff from Hermano Pedro. I can not believe that this is the same place that not that many years ago I would walk into each day wondering if I was going to be kicked out on my nose. Today I found all of those that I met with to be nothing but caring and helpful.






The first person that I wanted to talk with them about was Lionel. A few weeks ago I wrote about my last visit to his family. Even though his family dearly loves him they realize that at least for the time being his chances of survival would be very slim if he were to return home so his father had asked me if I would check with Hermano Pedro to see if they would be willing to keep him longer. I had been practicing my speech for days and was praying that they would hear me out. I can still remember back a few years ago when we had a similar situation and had it not been for a miracle Luis Andras would have been sent back to a far worse situation. Today however both the staff of Hermano Pedro and social work were one step ahead of me. They informed me that they had concerns about Lionel’s well being and wondered if I could get the message to his family that they would be willing to keep him for as long as the family feels necessary. Thanks to a generous sponsor who is going to help Lionel's family get on their feet. I am praying that it will not be all that long before Lionel can be reunited with his family but praise God that both Hermano Pedro and his family see that going back to his home right now would not be wise.




An other thing that I wanted to find out was weather I could get Silvia, a lady that we met at a recent Wheelchair distribution into Hermano Pedro to see a doctor about a reoccurring tumor that is growing rapidly. Once again the staff at Hermano Pedro was more than willing to help out. In fact they asked me for her phone number, called her up and asked her if she would be able to come in and see a doctor tomorrow. They even promised me that they would talk with Social work and see if most if not all of the expenses of seeing a doctor could be waved.










We also discussed a girl that I met a few weeks ago when I was up near Huehuetenango who started having severe seizures and lost here ability to walk a few months ago. I was told that there would be no problem bringing her in and that all I had to do was let them know when she was coming.









It is days like this that I am reminded of what my 90 year old friend Father Bernardo said to me a few months ago as we were walking out of the home of Cesar, a man with a badly infected leg, that he had brought me to see. Father Bernardo asked me if he could come along with me more often to help treat patients or give out wheelchairs. I told him that I would love it but, reminded him that even though I spent a lot of my time at Hermano Pedro I was Evangelical and not Roman Catholic and I wanted to make sure that he did not have a problem with that. Father Bernardo who wears the traditional clothing of a catholic priest, looked at me and told me that in case I had not caught on, he wanted me to know that he was Roman Catholic and not Evangelical, then said. "Enough theological discussion, now lets go do God's work." Will I ever agree with his theology? Not on your life, but I found what he said very refreshing in a society that finds churches splitting up over issues like what type of music (God) likes, or the length of the pastors sermons.

On our way home we stopped off at the home of a lady that works in the laundry of Hermano Pedro. We had given her forty year old son a power scooter a few months ago and it was having some wiring problems. Marcos, who is one of my quieter ones jumped right in and started helping me once I pointed to a bad switch that needed replacing. Not only are the kids doing more and more work around the house but they are also starting to show a bigger interest in setting up and repairing wheelchairs. Who knows one of these days I may be able to just sit around while they do all of the work. I hope not to soon though because I would really miss it.



Tonight the kids did supper. Baloney sandwiches aren't all that hard to make but I appreciated their willingness to help. It seems that about half of the kids from across the alley are starting to come over again. Father pretty much made his eight daughters and one son stay in their small three room house but not ever since there second son was born. Now a number of the kids spend a good deal of their time at my house. I guess having twelve people living in one three room house finally got to him, especially ever since he lost his job.

Well it is getting late and I have another exciting trip to the dentist scheduled for tomorrow so I better call it a day.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Today was one of those more exciting days, unless of course you don't consider going to the dentist, sitting for over an hour at the telephone company and doing bookwork exciting.


Wednesday, January 7, 2009

This morning Calin and I went in to Antigua to meet with Mary Tieken, her granddaughter Megan, and friend Toby who had just flown in from Florida. I have been looking forward to seeing Mary for several months now. We have worked together on wheelchair distributions in Vietnam, Columbia, and a few other places. The five of us met for breakfast with Mark Richard to plan out a full week of activities that included, orphanage visits, home visits, giving out wheelchairs and a number of other things. After getting everything down on paper Mark and I reminded our USA visitors to remember that here in Guatemala things seldom go as planned, and told them not to be surprised if things would change. Less than an hour and a half later we found out just how true those words were.

Calin and I went straight to Hermano Pedro orphanage while Mark took Mary, Megan, and Toby to see Hope Haven's new wheelchair factory. We all agreed to meet in front of the orphanage at 10:30 so that I could give them a tour of the orphanage and have them meet some of the kids. While waiting for them I met with Silvia and her family. Silvia is the lady with the tumor that I had met at a wheelchair distribution in Guatemala City. Thankfully she had gotten transportation and showed up as planned to see a doctor at Hermano Pedro. After examining her they told her that a teem of specialists were scheduled to be at Hermano Pedro next week and that if she could get some tests done in Guatemala City and the results were right she could have the surgery done when they were here. The only problem was she and her family had spent everything that they had on hiring a car to bring them from the city and the tests would be $200. We quickly took care of that problem and they were on their way. To us $200 isn't all that much especially when it could save a life but I have seen people suffer and even die because they didn't have aeven $5 for needed medicines.

After saying goodbye to Silvia and her family, Calin and I went back into the orphanage and got Jo Jo and Hiler. I figured that we could push them around while giving the tour. We had barely gotten outside when Mary and the others showed up. Fidel had also joined us in his foot controlled power wheelchair and our guests had a great time visiting with them. Marry asked if it was OK to take pictures and I told her that it was OK while we were outside. That is when it happened. As she stepped back to take a picture she tripped over a small ramp that leads into one of the doorways of the orphanage. Several people rushed to help her back onto her feet but I could see in her eyes that she was in a great deal of pain and quickly told them not to pick her up. Fortunately there were doctors inside that were on duty and within minutes she was in Hermano Pedro's ex ray room. The ex ray's confirmed what I had thought. Mary had broken her femur in two places. The ex rays also confirmed that she would indeed need surgery. Since the two doctors that were on duty were not orthopedic specialists and the American teem that was there this week did only plastic surgery, it was decided that she should be taken to a private hospital on the other side of Antigua that specializes in this sort of thing. Hermano Pedro graciously offered the use of their ambulance but told me that there driver was not there, so guess who suddenly became a qualified Guatemalan ambulance driver. All of you who have ridden with me in Guatemala would have been shocked though. Even though we had the red lights flashing and used the siren to get through a few intersections I don't think that I ever exceeded 10 miles per hour. Even though the doctors at Hermano Pedro had given Mary an injection for pain the cobblestone streets of Antigua were almost more than Mary could tolerate.

The hospital that we took Mary to is also called Hermano Pedro but as far as I know it is not connected with the orphanage. The doctors there are very professional and ran all kinds of tests. After consulting with the doctors and contacting Mary's friends and relatives in the USA It was decided that trying to get Mary back to the States for surgery would cause too much trauma and was out of the question. The doctors in Antigua were hoping that they could operate later in the day but when they were told that marry is on a blood thinning medication she was told that they could not operate until she was off from it for over 48 hours. The head doctor also told me that it will be at least 12 days after the operation before she can even consider flying back to the States. Tonight her granddaughter Megan is staying at the hospital with her. Calin who has been one of our main interpreter throughout this whole ordeal graciously offered to stay there as well. This was a big relief to both Mary and Megan who speak little Spanish. Mary's Daughter is flying in at 6:15 AM so I will leave for the airport at around 5:00 AM. Please keep Mary in your prayers. She has had some hart problems in the past and her blood pressure was very low this evening.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Early this morning I headed to the Airport and picked up Mary's daughter Julie. It will be good to have her here with her mother because she knows all of Mary's medical history and can make the decisions on what is best for Mary. From what I am hearing medivacking her back to the USA for surgery is still an option.

Mary had a fairly good night but Calin and Megan didn't get much sleep. Nevertheless they decided to join us for the day so the two of them joined Toby, Alex, and my self and we went up to Santa Maria DeJesus to see Judy Kerschner and some of her students. Several of her students have either warn out or out grown their wheelchairs so we spent a good deal of time measuring some those that had gathered at her school to see us and then went to some of the homes. This was a real eye opener to Megan and Toby who had never been in Guatemala before. Even though Santa Maria DeJesus is less than a half hour drive from Antigua You find your self in a totally different world once you get there. The town is nearly 100% Mayan and although most of the people are friendly they are not all that fond of tourists.






Not all of the people that we visited were students that attend Judy's school. She also introduced us to some adults that were in need of wheelchairs. One of these was an old man that seemed to have some type of CP. All of his life he had to walk with the use of a long stick that he used for a cane. Judy told us that even though it took him forever to get even a few blocks he spent most of his time visiting and praying for sick people that lived in Santa Maria DeJesus. When we got to his house He told us that he was afraid that he was going to have to stop visiting people because he could no longer walk more than a few feet at a time. When Judy told him that I was there to see if there was a possibility that we could get a wheelchair for him you should have seen him and his family light up. This man was such a delight to visit with that we all hated to leave. Even though he had nothing he had a radiance about him that made me wish that I could be more like him. This man was so filled with a God given love for others that he had forgotten about the poverty and pane that he himself was in. From there we went to more homes. None of them were anything fancy but that didn't seem to matter. You could instantly feel which ones were filled with love and which ones were simply dwellings.

After saying goodbye to Judy we headed down the mountinan and after having some lunch we went over to the orphanage and hung out with the kids. Magan and Toby hadn't goten much of an opertunity to see many of the kids on Wednesday's visit due to Mary falling and breaking her femur but they more than made up for it this after noon. I think that they have fallen in love with the kids. Fact is they asked me if we could go back and spend more time there tomorrow. As much as I dislike orphanages and kids it took a lot of begging but I finally agreed to go back there. (Just kidding, there is no place that I would rather be.)



I must admit I was extremely tired when I got home tonight (Perhaps it had something to do with becoming another year older today) so I told the kids that I was going to head off to bed early and that I was not going to open up the house to them tonight. They are great kids and seemed to understand and promised that they would not make to much noise if I let them play soccer in the alley in front of my house. It is only a little after 8:00 but I am ready to call it a day.

Goodnight:
Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal December 26, 2008 - January 2, 2009

..Real children.

. .Real stories.

. . .Real life.


Don’t just read it.

. . "Live it.”





Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?

James 2:15&16

"One reason why I don't drive a VW Bug"
(Click on any picture to enlarge)

Friday, December 26, 2008, 9:45 PM

This morning I actually headed for Hermano Pedro all by myself. I think that much like the night before most of the kids once again stayed up all night last night shooting off fire works so none of them were around when I left for Antigua. I gave some thought to taking my tools out of the car and doing some needed repair on some of the wheelchairs that are at the orphanage but decided that today would still be a day off, so I ended up spending most of my day just visiting with the kids. Since the kids that do not go home for the holidays are the ones that have no families they are some of the kids that also receive little or no attention so today I decided to spend time with as many of them as possible. Benjamin was already at the orphanage when I arrived and between him and I a lot of kids got at least a half hour of one on one attention today. We even took two of them to Camperos for lunch. One was actually not a kid but a lady that is in her early twenties. I had taken her out one time before but that was a long time ago. I have never seen anyone do more smiling than she did when we told her that she was going. Our other guest was Jo Jo a little boy who has come along with me before but due to congested lungs he has not been along in several months. Jo Jo is a bit unique looking because he has a large head due to water on the brain and a small body because he has dwarfism but his smile and personality make him one of the cutest kids that you have ever met.



This evening Ben came back home with me from Antigua. He is great with the kids and loves to just hang out with them. Calin brought over some fire works that resembled sticks of dynamite. The kids put one in an old warn out shoe and demolished it. It also set off my car alarm and two of my computers that were in the house crashed. Not the safe and sane fireworks that they sell back in the States. Shortly after a few more of these bombs whet off one of the neighbor kids from across the alley came over and asked if we could be a little more quiet because her mother had just given birth to a new little girl. This is daughter number 8. I am still trying to find out if the fire works was simply disturbing the baby which was already born, or if it prompted the birth. Nevertheless I made piece with the family by bringing over a baby blanket and promising that we would keep the fireworks down to something that is a bit quieter than hand grenades.

My group of about a dozen kids dwindled down fast when I asked them to help pick up the shredded shoes and other unrecognizable things that they had blown up. All but two of the kids just sat there and looked at me when I asked them to help clean up. I think that they were having a Guatemalan stand off to see who would move first. It didn’t work though. I am not sure if it was the tone of my voice or the sincerity in my face but they all jumped up at once when I pointed to my gate and shouted, “OK everyone except the two kids that are helping are out of here for the day!!” Esbn and Elder tried the, (If we help now perhaps he will not kick us out, thing.) but I have fallen for that one once to often so when they were through helping I thanked them as I walked them to the gate and told them had they responded when I had originally asked they would not be leaving for the day. Some times I would love it if I would not have to be so strict with these kids but most of them have no rules at home so they need guidelines. Funny thing though none of them are mad at me. In fact most of them have been hanging out at my gate for most of the evening. They have even asked what time I am going to let them back into the house in the morning.


Saturday, December 27, 2008, 10:23 PM

It is the weekend so I will try to keep this brief. The first part of the day was spent at home just hanging out with the kids. I am beginning to realize how important it is to spend more time with them. So many of the kids that hang out here are from far from pleasant surroundings so when I am not here they spend more of their time just hanging out in the alleys then they do in their homes. As the older ones grow up more and more younger ones start showing up. You would think that the numbers would stay pretty even that way but they don’t. I always figured that as they got older they would not come over as often but I still see a lot of the older teens and even some of the ones that have gotten married since I have lived here. Fact is Elmer and his new wife were here a good part of the morning playing basketball with several of the kids. Yes it gets crazy at times but it sure beets sitting around in a rocking chair getting old.

I think that Melissa and Scott, some friends of mine, now realize just how wild it can get because they invited me over to their house for supper tonight. They asked me to take some of the kids that hang out at my house along as well. I sent them an e-mail asking how many some was, and they replied by saying the more the merrier. I sent another e-mail saying that I had once heard that saying as well, but reminded them that not all sayings are true. They replied by saying that they loved kids and I could bring as many as I wanted. I must admit all 12 of the kids that I brought along to their house tonight had a ball and so did our gracious hosts. Had I known that they lived in a two bedroom apartment I may have kept it under a dozen though. As we left Scott told me that his landlord lived in an apartment just down the hall from them so tonight at devotion time the kids and I prayed that if they do get kicked out of their apartment, that they will not have a hard time finding a new place to live. Thanks Scott and Melissa, we all had a great time!Eight of the kids have now gone home so I guess I will get out some blankets for the other four then head off to bed.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Sunday, December 28, 2008 6:50 PM

This morning’s breakfast crowd beet last night’s dinner crowd by one and by the time we headed off to church there were a few more. Fifteen people in one car can be a bit comfy but no one complained, not even Abner. Then again perhaps he did and I just didn’t hear it over all of the noise. I promised the kids that I would take all of them that were good to lunch after church and to my surprise that ended up being all of them. Ben joined us as well so now we had 16 of us in my car. Before going to lunch we stopped off and the bottom of the hill that overlooks Antigua and all of us got out and hiked up to the cross. Usually I drop the crew off at the bottom of the hill and then drive to the top and meet them, but this time I figured that if they did not burn up some built up energy I at least wanted to be tired enough that even if they were rowdy in the restaurant I would be too tired to care.

Our first choice of restaurants was Martha’s. This was the kid’s choice because they serve large portions of food, and my choice because it is cheep. However when we got there we discovered that it was the choice of many other people as well. The normally good looking buffet that they have there looked so picked over that you would have thought that my kids had already eaten there. Burger King was our next choice mainly because it was with in walking distance of Martha’s, which meant we did not have to try, and stuff 16 people back into my car. This would not be all that difficult had it not been for the fact that my car has four windows that you can sit by and if we were to load 16 people into the car more than 3 times some kids would get a window seat more than once. According to several of my kids that would not be fair.

I don’t know why but when we got to my house and all of the kids got out of the car I told Ben that I would drive him back to Antigua. He was originally going to go on the buss but some how a car ride with only myself and another adult sounded kind of good to me. Had it not been for Calin yelling at me we may have pulled it off. When I stopped to see what Calin wanted he told me that the neighbors across the alley from me were wondering if I would drive them to the hospital. Their new baby girl was a bit premature, (No it was not the fire works.) She was born a day before the fireworks. She had been having some breathing problems so they had kept her there for a few days. Anyway since an interpreter was needed Calin came along as well but one kid is still less than 14 of them.

When we got to Antigua we stopped of at the orphanage for a while. I know, I know, but I haven’t seen those kids in two days. Alex remains about the same. Some of his days are better than others. Lionel on the other hand seems to be doing better by the day. Even though he does not talk he has a great personality and if you give him the slightest bit of attention he will respond with a smile or a laugh.




Now that we are back home I set my foot down and locked all of the kids out of the house so that I can get some writing done in this journal. See, I can get hard nosed when I have to. I sure miss them though. But an hour and ten minutes isn’t all that long. I promised them all that I would open the house back up to them at 8:00 PM.

Just in case I am to busy to say it later tonight I will say it now. “Goodnight.”

Yours in Christ: Dick


Monday & Tuesday, December 29 & 30, 2008

Both of these days were packed with fun filled stuff like paying bills, cleaning house, and having a root canal done on a broken tooth.

(Click on any picture to ENLARGE)

{but only if you really want to} . . . ... .

Actually I only stopped off at the dentist to make an appointment but walked out less than an hour later having had the root canal done. No insurance here so I had to dish out $90. There are cheaper dentists here in town but this one doesn’t use rusty needles. Seriously he was very professional and I would recommend him to any one that comes to Guatemala. Next week I plan on going back to him to have a gold crown put on the tooth. He wants a whopping $200 for but I think that he will come down if I have him replace the two $75 gold crowns that another dentist here in town put on a few years ago. Not quite as cheep as my $3:50 visit to an eye doctor a while back but I hear that prices are actually a bit higher in the USA.

I did manage to do a little work on a head controlled power wheelchair that I am putting together for someone but then Mark Richard gave me a call and asked if I could run down to Antigua and seat a little boy that was coming in for a wheelchair.

Other than that it has been wall to wall kids at my place. Seems none of them are getting much to eat at there places so my grocery bill is going to be a big one this month.

Friday, December 31, 2008, 11:34 PM

This morning Fernando, Marcos, and Cesar came along with me to Hermano Pedro. These three kids are easy maintenance so even though I would have to leave them unsupervised part of the time I did not have to worry about them getting into any trouble. We met Ben at the orphanage and after doing some wheelchair repairs we took three of the teen age girls out to lunch.


At around 3 PM the boys and I headed for home. The kids were not all that happy with me when I told them that I was going to the shop and that I was taking no one along with me. I had to get some work done that took a lot of concentration and no matter how well behaved these kids are three of them can somehow manage to distract you at times. I don't know where the time went but befoer I know it the clock on the wall said 9:45 PM. Since I hadn't had any supper I figured that I would stop off at Burger King on my way home. What I did not figure on was that all of the stores in town would be closed because it was new years eve, so I headed for home. Several of the kids met me at my gate and told me that the neighbors wanted me to come over and have some supper. They also wanted me to stay over and do fire works until 3 AM but after finishing supper I told them that I was once again going to be a party pooper and headed off for home. I had planned on going to bed but the fire works out side keeps setting off my car alarm so I guess that I am going to see the old year out, like it or not.

Thursday, January 1, 2009 10:12 PM

Most of my neighbors stayed up all night. I stayed in the house and tried to sleep but by the sound of things you would have thought that the entire neighborhood was right in the house with me. I did not get a very early start this morning but I got out of the house before any one other than Calin showed up. He and I went to the wheelchair shop today. I know it's suppose to be a holiday but try and tell that to some one who has been waiting for a head controlled power wheelchair for well over a year now. I started working on this one several months ago but since I could not locate any head controllers it has sat in the corner gathering dust for quite some time now.


Today Calin and I were finely able to make a phone call to the 10 year old boy who has been waiting for this wheelchair for far to long. He and his family are planning on coming in to the shop on Monday and after a few final adjustments he should be moving around on his own for the first time in his life in no time at all. Calin has taken great pride in helping me put this wheelchair together and I am hoping that he can be at the shop with me on Monday to see why all of our work was well worth it.

January 2, 2009 7:45 PM


It was Abner's turn to come along with me to Hermano Pedro this morning but at the very last minute he had one of those Abner things and decided not to come along. Calin and Fernando were more than happy to take his place and the two of them are always a lot easier than the one of Abner. I did find that they and Fidel got a little wild when I left them by themselves while I showed a group of people around the orphanage but they stayed in an area that is closed during the Christmas season and I think that the floor was a lot shinier after they had finished being drug behind Fidel's wheelchair than it was before they started.

. . . .. .
Click arrow to play movie.

It was to late to take any of the orphanage kids out to lunch by the time I had shown the group around but just being able to go out side of the building proved to be a treat for the three kids that we took for a walk.


This after noon we gave a power wheelchair to one of the older ladies that is a resident at Hermano Pedro. A few days ago one of the nurses brought it to my attention that this lady no longer has use of her right arm. I don't think that this dear lady has ever operated anything that was any more mechanical than a light switch but Calin patiently explained everything to her and a few of the nurses, and soon she was driving her new power wheelchair all over the building.






On our way home Calin, Fernando, and I stopped off at the barber shop and we all got haircuts. their haircuts didn't turn out to bad but the guy who cut mine must have wanted to make sure that I got my money's worth because he did a lot of cutting. Then again it might have been a language thing. I held my fingers close together and indicated that I only wanted him to take a little bit off, but instead he only left a little bit on. Oh well the hair on the top of my head usually grows back pretty fast. I wish that I had not asked him to trim my beard though. Sorry no pictures. You are going to have to use your imagination.

One of the boys just came into my house with the basketball hoop in his hand. I guess one of the slam dunks went bad. Oh well basket ball hoops are easy to replace, kids are not. I lot rather have them horsing around in my yard than being out on the streets. One of Abner and Fernando's cousins and a few of his teen age friends are visiting here from Guatemala City for a few days. These guys are sticking pretty close to either their uncles house or my house because this cousins brother was visiting here a few years ago and was murdered in broad day light only a few blocks from here. I have a feeling that the cousin that is here knows who did it but knows that his life would be in danger if he said anything.



Well I think that I will try to get this sent out while I can. I have been having a lot of problems connecting to my web server this week but things seem to be working well tonight.

Goodnight:
Yours in Christ: Dick