Journal August 10-15 2008

(Click on any picture to enlarge)

Sunday, August 10, 2008, 9:47 PM

Today was just a typical Sunday and did that ever feel good. I love the groups that come in but every now and then I have to reminds myself that I have to break away and concentrate on the kids in the orphanage and the ones at home. Since I got home a bit late last night not all of the kids were around so only 4 of them came along to church this morning. That worked out for the best though because after lunch we headed straight to the orphanage to meet up with some of the people from the States that I had been with most of the week. I find that if I take to many kids along with me to the orphanage it can get a bit to wound up if I don’t keep a constant eye on them. As things turned out our group showed up about an hour late but another group that was told earlier that I could not be with them ended up getting a mini tour until the other group showed up. Both tours were a rather condensed version of those that I generally give but I wanted to keep an eye on my kids and I wanted to simply spend time with the orphanage kids. It must have been a week since I had been to the orphanage and both the kids and I really missed each other.

Most of the kids are doing well. In fact a few of the kids that were in malnutrition have gone back to their homes. Unfortunately one of the little boys that went home returned back to the malnutrition ward only 4 days later. It is amazing how much weight he has lost in such a short time. He is in pretty rough shape. Luis Andres, a little boy that Chris and I brought in nearly 2 years ago has been doing well even after he was moved down into the ward where the permanent kids stay but today I was surprised to see that they had a feeding tube in his nose. Know one knows why but about 5 days ago he stopped eating. This is very unusual for him because he usually eats like a horse. They have run all kinds of tests on him but can’t seem to find anything wrong with him. Pleas remember him in your prayers.

At around 4 PM I decided to bring the kids home while Chris and Donna took the group junk (Souvenir) shopping. It seem like I always get left out when it comes to shopping. I had intended on dropping the kids off in Chimaltenango and then meeting back up with the group for supper but when I got home I was reminded that I had intended on spending this Sunday the way that I do when we do not have teems down. By around 7:30 well over a dozen well fed kids were playing on one of my computers, Break dancing, Playing football, or just visiting. Now things were getting back to usual.

10:30 PM

I finally got all but 4 of them to go home. I think that they are all trying to make up for the 4 days that I was on the road. For of them want to make sure that they get caught up, so they are spending the night. Tonight’s showers may be a bit of a challenge because we are once again without water. I think that this water outage is going to make the 2 weeks with out water that I experience a few months ago seem like kids stuff. Today at around noon the water tower that supplies this part of Chimaltenango collapsed and fell over. It is located right next to the house where Alex and his family live. Fortunately the tank fell to the west, which is the only direction where there are no houses. Damage was still done to 2 homes but no one was hurt.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Monday, August 11, 2008

I ate breakfast with the group that is here from the USA then Chris and Donna took them to a village that is about a half hour from here to build a house for a needy family. I had previously intended on going along with them but ran into too many wheelchair needs while I was at the orphanage yesterday. It seem like whenever I am gone for a few days all of the wheelchairs break at once. I made up my mind that even though I had a lot of work to do at the orphanage I was going to take a few kids out to lunch and I also took and hour off to swim with the kids. I don’t know who suffers more when I am gone for a while, the kids or me.

Since I could only find one volunteer to come along with me I was only able to take 2 of the kids out to lunch. It was next to impossible to choose whom to take because I know that there would be others who would cry if they colud not go. Ervin was the hardest to leave behind. He had not let me out of his sight all morning. When I told him that I would have to take him another time he screamed so loud that you could hear him a 2 blocks away.

I ran into 4 or 5 people who were at the hospital seeing doctors who desperately needed wheelchairs today but all I could do was give them forums to fill out. Hopefully we will be able to supply them with wheelchairs in the not to distant future. I would love to be able to give them each a wheelchair right away but the needs greatly outweigh the number of wheelchairs that we have.

One of my most grateful customers today was Byron whose power wheelchair had been out of commission for the past several days. He is pretty hard on head controllers so I had to rebuild his today. I don’t dare to add up the hours that I spend on keeping Byron and Fidel’s power wheelchairs running, but if you saw the difference that these chairs make in their lives you would agree that it is worth it.

I guess that old saying the squeaky wheel gets the grease is true. After talking to anyone that would listen to me for the past 8 years most of the kids at the orphanage are not being put back to bed at noon each day and left there until the following morning. Instead most of the kids are taken from their wheelchairs and placed outside on mats for an hour or so and then put back into their wheelchairs until around 3 or 4 PM. I am not sure how happy the caregivers are about this but it is much healthier for the kids. I would still like to see each care giver being in charge of her 6 or 7 kids instead of the hit and miss way that they do things by having 5 or 6 of them working with a whole room full of kids, but perhaps that will come in another 8 years. One thing about Guatemala is that you learn to have patience if you don’t go crazy first. I think that God is slowly teaching me the patience thing but I wish that He would do it faster.

I had intended on stopping off at Cesar’s house and changing the dressing on his leg but a thunder storm broke out just before I left the hospital so I called and told him that it would have to wait a few days.

Tomorrow I plan on driving to Huehuetenango where I hope to pick up the starving 9 year old boy that we met at last week’s wheelchair distribution. We just received word that he is still alive but it sounds like he is not doing well at all. I pray that we can get him in to the hospital in time. I can not help but think of the 9 year old girl whose home I went to 2 weeks ago only to discover that she had died a few days before we got there.

Well it is time for bed I have to get up at 6 AM to shower because that is when they plan on turning the water back on for an hour.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Tuesday, August 12, 2008

I am pleased to announce that someone wants to sponsor the family that has the 3 kids that showed up for wheelchairs at the distribution that we had in Huehuetinango last week. I also have leads on someone who may know where I can get an artificial leg for another child that was at the same distribution. Thanks so much to those of you who responded to these needs.

I managed to get up early enough for that shower but judging by the color of the water I am not sure it I am now cleaner or dirtier. I guess now that it is not going into the water tank the dirt is not given any time to settle. Perhaps the weight of the settling dirt is why the water tank fell over .

Calin got out of school at around 11AM and Lue arrived by buss from Antigua a short time later. The 3 of us then headed out to Huehuetinango. We made it there in record time. I figured that we would not get there until around 6 PM but the traffic was light and the construction delays were few, so we arrived shortly after 4 PM. Tonight we are staying in the San Francisco Hotel. This is one of the nicer hotels that I stay in here in Guatemala. It is a bit pricey at $20 for a single and close to $30 for a double room but I have heard rumors that 5 star hotels cost even more than that in the USA. We even have wireless Internet so I am going to take advantage of it and get caught up on answering dozens of e-mails. I promised Calin that I would play him a few games of foos ball first though so I guess I better go.

Yours in Christ: Dick

Wednesday, August 13, 2008, 5:28 PM

After breakfast we headed for San Sabastion, which is about a half hour from Huehuetinango. Dionial (spelling), his father, mother, and Uncle were already at the Catholic church next to the central park waiting for us. Both mom and dad looked very nervous. I am sure that they know that there son would not live much longer if they did not allow him to come with us to Hermano Pedro but this is an aria that is extremely untrusting of white people. Less that a year ago after taking some other Americans into this area we received a phone call from a Guatemalan family that we know telling us that we had really frightened the people by going into that area with hat many Americans. Some of the people were worried that we had come there to scout things out so that we could kidnap their kids. I am not sure what the feeling was but a lot of eyes were on us today as we walked through the park and into the Catholic Church where Dionial’s mother was waiting for us. As we talked with Dionial’s uncle and Father his mother sat silently, with tears running down her face, holding her starving son in her arms. I soon realized that father had as much concern for his son as mother did. Letting us take him to the malnutrition ward of Hermano Pedro was not an easy decision for them but I think that they know that it was the only way that their son had any chance to stay alive. They told us that they had both wanted to come along to Antigua but since there were 6 more children at home there was no way that they could both go. Father asked if he could stay in Antigua at least a few days to make sure that his son was getting good care. I told him that he could stay as long as he wanted. A lot of people stopped what they were doing to watch us as we left the church and walked through the park back to my car. I was glad that Dionial’s family was with us. I don’t mind barbeques but they are not all that great when it is you that is being roasted. I am sure that not unlike Julio’s case several of the villagers had told this family that they were making a mistake by allowing their son to come along with us. I do know though that if he can be returned home in a few months in better shape it will open things up so that others will allow their children to get the help that they need. I also know that this little boy would die if we didn’t do something so we had no choice. Why 2 days drive to get 1 kid to the hospital? Because God had led us to him.

When we arrived at Hermano Pedro 5 hours later I had expected to do nothing more than get a paper signed that gave us permission to have Dionial and his father stay at Casa De Fe for the night. Generally you have to be in line at the door of Hermano Pedro by 6 AM to see a doctor. All of the doctors had gone home for the day but the people that work in the social work office went out of their way to help us. They even bent a few rules and got most of the paper work done so that tomorrow morning instead of arriving at 6 AM and standing in a long line we can arrive later and go directly to see the doctor. I have little doubt that once the doctor sees him he will admit him into the malnutrition ward.

I have once again snuck over to Camperos to get yesterday’s and today’s journals done. I can’t believe that I have managed to hide out here for nearly 2 hours with out being discovered. Woops my cover has just been blown wide open. 5 kids are suddenly at the table with me and 3 more are looking in through the window. Fortunately I have already paid my bill or they would all want Chicken. Tonight they are going to have to settle for pizza. I can go out side and buy them, 2 pieces of pizza and a coke for 10Q ($1.30) each. Mark Richard has just showed up and offered to treat the kids to ice-cream cones.

Well I better go before more of the kids show up.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Thursday, August 14, 2008, 8:16 PM

Fernando came along to interpret for me today. You guessed it, he had no school today. We picked up Dionial and his father at Casa De Fe and took them to Hermano Pedro. The office did not have his paper work finished yet but told us that we could go straight up to the doctor’s office and they would bring the needed paper work when they had it ready. I could not believe the red carpet treatment that we were given. Everyone seemed so caring and went out of their way to help Dionial and his father feel welcome. We had to wait a while before the doctor showed up but when he did we were the first ones that he saw. He was very friendly and took a genuine concern in Dionial. Even though he already had dozens of patients waiting out side of his office he took his time with examining Dionial. He was also very patient with Luis (Dionial’s father). Luis’s Spanish is quite limited since the mane language spoken in his area is mam. Mam is just one of 23 different Mayan languages spoken here in Guatemala. There was no question as to 9 year old Dionial being malnourished. He tipped the scales at 17 pounds. The Doctor told us that there was one thing that could keep him from being admitted into the malnutrition ward though. By listing to Dionial’s breathing there was no doubt that there was fluid in his lungs. The doctor told us that he would have to have an x-ray taken and if it showed that there was an infection in his lungs he would have to be admitted into the national hospital instead of the malnutrition ward of Hermano Pedro. I know that his father would take his son back home before he would put him into a national hospital and frankly I didn’t blame him. All we could do is pray that there was no infection, and pray we did. An hour later we got the good news that Dionial was going to get to stay at Hermano Pedro. I can’t express how happy I was. I didn’t realize how relieved I would be but the unsuspected tears started flowing. Not only will this little boy be given a chance to live but also if he does well I think that it will open up the opportunity to help more people from where he lives. It is still going to be an uphill climb for him so please continue to pray for him and his family.
I know that a lot of people believe that some of these families bring more hurt then necessary upon themselves and their children by having such large families but until you fully understand there culture please don’t be to quick to judge. All I know is that there are children and adults that are starving to death and I know what Jesus told us to do for them.

I managed to get away from Hermano Pedro for a short time and with the help of Fernando, Lue, and Carlos we took 4 of the kids from the orphanage out to lunch. We had another GODINCIDENCE thing happen today. On our way back from lunch Carlos took a slightly different rout through the park than the rest of us. The next thing I know he was calling me to come over to where he was. He had accidentally run into a family that was carrying their 16 year old son who could not walk. They gladly followed us to the orphanage where I took measurements and filled out some paper work that will insure that this boy gets a wheelchair in the not to distant future.

Dionial made it through the entire day with out a tear but when his father told him that he was going to leave for the night it was too much for Dionial. This father has so much love for his son that it is amazing. Even though Dionial made it until the end of the day without crying his father did not. Nor did his mother when we drove away with her son yesterday. This family may not have much in the way of material goods but I think that there are a lot of people that would envy them in some ways.Well it is once again getting late. I have already taken my shower because 6 PM seems to be the magic time that they turn my water on for about an hour. Tonight I filled a glass container with water just to see how much dirt was in it. Lets just say that if you get clean while taking a shower it is not because the water is clean but you have more than likely been sand blasted.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Friday, August 15, 2008, 9:14 PM

How to learn patience even if you don’t want to.


-First you stand in line at the bank for a half hour then you go and stand in line 2 pay 2 bills and it makes the wait at the bank seem like nothing.

-Next you wait for the group that never arrived as planned yesterday to arrive. At least today they call to tell you that they are running an hour late. 2 ½ hours later they arrive.


Once they did arrive we had a good time together. Chris had planned on showing them through the wheelchair shop but had grown impatient and left for Guatemala City. Actually he had to leave. His son Judah had stopped in from the USA to visit for a few days before heading off to Paraguay for a year and he had to leave today.

After I showed the group around the wheelchair shop I took them to Hermano Pedro orphanage and showed them around. They quickly fell in love with the kids and had a great time there. I think that they all wished that they could stay longer but they were still going to try to drive to El Salvador tonight.

Dionial, whom we brought in yesterday seems to be doing well. His father has been with him the whole time except to go to Casa De Fe to sleep. Father told me this morning that when he called home his wife told him that all of the other children had been crying. They were all worried that their brother might not make it.

Minor, who came along with us to lunch yesterday, suddenly got very sick this morning. I am still not clear as to weather he had a seizure or if it was some type of breathing problem. When I went in to see him early this afternoon he was on oxygen but was non responsive. However at about 4 PM one of the nurses came and got me and said that he had been asking for me. He was still week and could only whisper so I put my ear down by him he grinned and softly whispered, “Camperos.” I told him that we might have to wait a day or to but I promised him that I would take him there as soon as he was feeling better.

Before heading for home Calin and I (Yes, Calin had been with me the entire day. Why no school? I didn’t bother to ask.) stopped off for something to eat. Tonight I told him that he could order what ever he wanted. He had been a great help today. It seems that Luis (Dionial’s father can understand Calin’s Spanish better than anyone else’s. I think that it is that touch of Spanglish that he accidentally throws in every now and then.

There were only a few kids at the door when I got home but the numbers have gradually gone up all night. At last count there were 13 kids and myself. I know that because Calin and I didn’t eat again and each kid had exactly 2 ½ hot dogs and I made 30 of them. I have found that you really have to do your math around here because if any of the kids gets even a bite more than the others I hear about it for the rest of the night.

Well I guess that I will call it a night. Tomorrow I am planning on playing. I have been promising Ronny’s family that I well take the 9 of them to the water slides for quite some time now. Originally I was only going to take Fernando along as an interpreter but having only 11 people in one car seems like such a waist so I think I will give in and let a few more kids come along.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal August 4-9 2008

(Click on any photo to enlarge)

Monday August 4, 2008

Not much for news today because I was still under the weather so I stayed at home. About the only exciting thing that happened was that Fernando broke my window. Actually that isn’t anything all that exciting because that happens about every other day.

I hope that I get over this sore throat and head ache soon because the home remedies that some of my neighbors are giving me are going to give me an upset stomach before long.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Tuesday, August 5, 2008, 5:01 PM

Today I decided that I had enough of this lying around the house and headed for Hermano Pedro. I felt like a big meaney though because I didn’t get close to any of the kids due to the sore throat that I still have. The main reason that I went there was to fix Fidel’s power wheelchair. It broke while he was on his way to Carlos’s funeral last Thursday. Fidel gets depressed quite easily and loosing his friend Carlos has been hard on him. I knew that if he did not have his power chair to move around in that things would be even tougher for him. A phone call that I got from the orphanage indicated that Fidel’s wheelchair had broken in half so I was prepared for the worst. Although the chair was indeed in 2 separate pieces it is designed so that you can take it apart for transport so after replacing one broken bolt and tightening the other it was soon back together. Fidel was happy to got out of the his old manual wheelchair because he is has to rely on some one to do everything for him when he is in it.


Even though I had tried to make this orphanage visit a secret several of the kids found out that I was there so I had to explain to them that I still was not feeling 100% so I could not spend time with them today. They are smart kids and I think that most of them understood but it did not make it any easier for them or for me.

I am taking it easy this afternoon because we have a large group coming in from the States tonight and we are planning on driving up to Huehuetenango tomorrow and then having wheelchairs distributions on Thursday and Friday.

I just got a phone call from Chris. He had good news and bad news. The bad news is that most of the luggage that the group who is coming in tonight started out with is going to come in a day late. The good news is that since there is very little luggage arriving tonight. This means my car will not be needed to pick the group up. I usually love picking up the groups but this will give me one more night to get over this crud that I have.

Perhaps the drive to Guatemala City would have been more restful but the kids were glad that I stayed at home even if supper was about a dozen top robins of assorted flavors made in one large pan. I made sure that the kids got a well balance diet though. For fruit we had grape cool aid and only Fernando missed out on his vegetables. He didn’t want any ketchup on his top robin noodles. The kids are good about eating what ever I give them besides that I promised that as soon as I get back from this distribution I will stock up on good food. I hope that they still have that sail on hot dogs. Everyone has left except for Abner and Miguel. Some one has offered to help out with his education so I was able to tell him that tonight. It looks like he will no longer have to work all day then go to school at night. I don’t want him to think that he is just getting a free hand out so I talked to Chris about having him work a few mornings a week in the wheelchair shop and going to school in the afternoons. This will also give him the opportunity to learn how to repair wheelchairs. I asked if his father could possibly chip in a little for his education as well but Miguel says that since he makes only $130 per month and has to pay $38 per month to rent the dirt floor house that they live in there is barely enough money to put food on the table.

One more window is missing tonight. Funny thing though I never heard it break (although with my hearing that is nothing unusual) and there is no broken glass around. That means that unless some one stole it, Fernando broke it. I know that if it was broken it had to be Fernando because he is the only one that picks up after himself without being told.

Well it is bedtime again so I will say goodnight.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Wednesday, August 6, 2008

After loading around 100 wheelchairs into George’s truck moat of us headed on our way to Huehuetenango for Tomorrows wheelchair distribution. Most of us amounted to around 12 people. There should have been 6 more in our group but Chris had to stay behind to pick 5 of the Americans whose flight from the states was canceled yesterday. We had been told yesterday that it was only their luggage that was gong to be a day late but they were delayed as well. Our drive to Huehuetenango was a bit tense due to lots of construction and a lot of crazy drivers. A few of my passengers accused me of being one of those crazy drivers from time to time but they are not used to Guatemalan driving. If you are too passive you are likely to get run down by a buss. Any way we made it here with little more than a few shattered nerves and shattered eardrums. One of the American ladies that visits each year can really scream when she gets frightened. I promised not to mention her name though because Ardie gets embarrassed easily.

On our way here we stopped of in San Francisco (Guatemala not California) and hiked some medicine in to where Erica lives. The group liked seeing Erica but some were not used of hiking at 8000 feet. No CPR needed but a few looked like they were on the verge. Erica and her family are doing well. They are very happy with the results that they have seen since using the medicine. Before leaving Erica’s mom served us some bread and coffee. We did not stay long because I wanted to make it there before dark. None of us could help but think about the crew that Chris was picking up at the airport in Guatemala City at 9:30. They will likely not get here until around 3 AM. Driving here with so many of the roads torn up for construction even in the daylight is a challenge but in this case they have no other choice than to drive at night or they will miss tomorrows wheelchair distribution.

Well I am going to call it a day because tomorrow’s distribution is supposed to be a big one.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Thursday, August 7, 2008 (Written Friday, August 8, 2008, 2:08 AM)Following Thursday's wheelchair distribution in Huehuetenango we moved on to Sacappulas. Once we got settled in to our motel and had finished supper I got on my computer and tried to write down everything that had happened that day. Putting the things that I had witnessed into words did not come easy for me though. It had been a bittersweet day. Yes we had been able to share the message of the love of Jesus to hundreds of people. We had also given out over 40 wheelchairs and given each person that received a wheelchair the opportunity to see a doctor. For some all 3 were first time experiences. It had been a good day so why was it that I could not get my thoughts together enough to write about it until 2 AM the following morning? I guess holding starving kids in my arms and seeing families that had not just one child but 3 that were in wheelchairs primarily due to malnutrition was just to hard to write about. Sometimes it is not easy to think about such things. Besides that we had done our part. We had worked hard all day doing what we could to eliminate some of the pain and suffering that we had seen. There was nothing more that we could do. Besides that there are so many people like the 9 year old child that I held in my arms that was starving to death that it seemed almost silly to try and reach out and help just one more. Earlier today some one had come up to me and said, “You know just giving someone a fish to eat with out teaching him or her how to fish is only a Band-Aid”. If I hear that line one more time I think I am going to puke. I learned back in my EMT days that a Band-Aid or some other type of first aid was exactly what was needed to keep some one alive until you got them to the hospital. Rehabilitation has it place but you do not try to teach the people how to get back on their own 2 feet until the bleeding has stopped and the hilling process has begun. That is why we continually ask God to give us the wisdom of knowing whom to feed and clothe until we feel that they can make it on their own with the help of a new sowing machine, carpentry tools, a pig to raise, or what ever else it takes to get them back on their own 2 feet. For some it comes quickly, but much like those that we give wheelchairs, walkers or crutches to, some need support their entire lives. In some ways I guess it is a bit like Christianity. Another one liner that I have heard far to often is “Isn’t Christianity just a crutch? My answer to that is, “Yes and that is exactly what a cripple like myself needs.” Face it, none of us can make it on our own. That is why God’s own son had to suffer and die for us. I can’t help but wonder though if we have not become as calloused to His suffering as we have become to the suffering of those around us. I have met many people who have come here on short term missions that say they are glad that they have come here because God has really opened their eyes to the needs of this world. They also tell me though that they have to pray about how to return home and not feel guilty about living the so called good life with out feeling guilty about it. I wish that I had a comfortable answer for them but perhaps God is asking the same question.
After tomorrow’s distribution I will make a call in to Hermano Pedro to tell them that next week we are bringing in another starving child. I will also see what can be done about finding some one who can make an artificial leg for a little boy. We will also try to find a sponsor for the entire family whose only meal of the day consists of 2 corn tortias. Thank God for people like the Mooney family and for many others who are doing what they can to help those that are dying with out food, or without ever knowing what it is like to see the love of Jesus being demonstrated through his own children.

Here is part of a letter that I received a few days ago.

I have been checking your web page out and I plan on keeping myself updated with what is happening in your part of the world. How can life in America be so far removed from what is happening there. What a reality check. I want you to know my life will never be the same again since my visit to Guatemala. I can no longer bury myself in outside influences (TV, work, etc) to the reality of what is happening there and probably in so many other places. One of the things that stands out so much to me is the people who have so little seem to have so much faith. The hand of God is so evident and I would like to live my life with that kind of faith. I have taken so much for granted all my life. I feel I received so much more than I could ever possibly give back. Now that my eyes have been opened, I need to figure out the best way I can help. Thank you again Dick.

Your sister in Christ, R….

Well, it is nearly 3:30 Am. I think that I will try and get some sleep. We have another wheelchair distribution scheduled in the morning and undoubtedly we will see a lot more needs. I guess that we will have to remember that we can’t help them all but I still can’t help but wonder if we couldn’t be doing more.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Friday, August 8, 2008, 7:54 PM
I managed to get back to sleep and actually felt quite rested when I woke up this morning. Our breakfast consisted of the same thing that we had last night, beans, eggs, and tortias. Some of these small town restaurants do not have many choices on their menus. This one had none. They gave us a choice of what kind of meet we wanted mixed in with our eggs though. Last night choice was hot dogs or ham. This morning’s choice was ham or hot dogs. Last night I picked choice number 2 and this morning I picked choice number 1. I always liked ham better than hot dogs.

After breakfast we drove to the municipal hall where today’s distribution was to take place. We were happy to see that once again we had a large building to work in. Today we gave out 50 wheelchairs. Which is about the same amount that we gave out yesterday. Once again several of the people that we gave wheelchairs to were quite severe. I could not help but think what they would have been like had we been able to give them wheelchairs 5 or 10 years ago. Several who were in their upper teens or early twenties were so deformed that we could not get them into a seated position or even get their legs uncrossed. I have little doubt that had they received just a little therapy or been seated in a good wheelchair when they were younger their bodies would likely have not been so deformed. Never the less all of them went home happy to be in a wheelchair that at the very least they could lye in.

After the distribution we took a vote and unanimously decided to try a different restaurant to eat at. Although this restaurant was nothing to look at, and you had to sit on long wooden benches that looked questionable in their ability to hold even one yet alone several Americans, the food was delicious. Even though they were on the menu no one ordered beans or eggs.

After lunch we headed to Chichicastenango where we are spending the night. Tomorrow we are planning on heading to Panajachel to spend most of the day at the lake. Personally I would much rather be giving out wheelchairs or spending the day at the orphanage with the kids but I am sure that I can find some place to hide while the others shop.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Saturday, August 9, 2008, 5:33 PM
I am finally back in Chimaltenango but I am still a half mile from home. It was hard not to go directly home after being gone for 4 days but I knew that if I did not stop off at Camperos and use their free Internet I would have no opportunity to catch up on 4 days worth of e-mail nor would I ever get this journal out this week end. The way things look right now the journal thing may still be iffy but at least I will try and get a bit more done.
This morning we went to the lake and after breakfast we decided to go zip lining. There is a mountain along side of the lake where you can do this. I thought that since I use to do a bit of aerobatic flying that this would not be to exciting but I must admit that sliding across canyons hanging from a pulley that is connected to a cable nearly 2 hundred feet above the ground is a bit breathtaking, and the view is spectacular. I tried to take a few pictures from one of the 8 cables that we crossed back and forth on but it is hard to snap pictures while you are hanging on for deer life. Not everyone that was in our group went but those of us that did totally enjoyed it. The ones that chose not to go said that they totally enjoined that they did not have to go. Perhaps when I get old I will feel that way to.

After lunch most of the group decided that they wanted to do some souvenir shopping. Three of the people that were in our group said that they really wanted to get back to Chimaltenango and just kick back at their motel. You all know how much I enjoy shopping for junk that no one back in the states would be caught dead with, but since every one else was as egger as I was to go shopping I made the ultimate sacrifice and offered to head for home early with the only 3 sane ones in the bunch.

When I checked my e-mail a few minutes ago I got the folowing letter that I would like to share with you. It is from a lady that I accidentally ran into in the park a few years ago. A few days before leaving for the wheelchair distribution that we just had in Huehuetenango she just happened to contact me and tell me about a little girl that desperately needed a wheelchair. It just so happened that she lived close to where we were having the distribution and just by chance, even though this lady was in the USA, she managed to gather all the necessary information that we needed in order to bring the right wheelchair, and fortunately she was able to contact the little girls father in time for him to bring his daughter to the distribution. Boy what a stroke of luck. Or was it? Here is part of the e-mail that I just received.

Dear Dick.... I don't know where to start. I want to tell you how much I have appreciated all that you have done to get Elida Dinora Francisco Juan fitted in her new wheelchair. I do believe that all of this was a GODINCIDENCE! I am still floored that I only contacted you last week and Elida now has her chair. I quickly spoke with her father, and he says that he and Elida are very happy with the chair and are most appreciative!! So am I. Thank you so very much! Thank you to everyone involved, it is just amazing!

Sincerely, Tana
God is so good!

Yours in Christ: Dick

Journal July 27-August 3

(Click on any picture to enlarge)

Sunday, July 28, 2008

After Church 2 friends that we met there, the 8 kids that came along from home, and I went to Burger king for lunch. We then went to Hermano Pedro where I was supposed to meet of around 20 people at 2 PM. Unfortunately they arrived close to an hour late and my kids were getting very restless. I had promised a good friend that I would show the group around but was apprehensive about leaving my 8 kids unintended. When they get restless they can make all 240 residents of the orphanage look like angles. Fortunately the 2 friends that had accompanied us to lunch were gluttons for punishment and offered to hike with my kids up to the cross that overlooks Antigua. I was glad that I had stuck around for the group because my friend that was supposed to have accompanied them had gotten sick. The entire group was extremely touched when they met the orphanage kids and even though I had to leave after showing them around they stayed and played with the kids.

Since the hike to the cross from Hermano Pedro was a long one I got there only a little after the kids did. No I am not a faster hiker than they are it simply takes a lot less time when you drive up there. The hike had done wonders for the kids, in fact a few of them asked if they could ride back down in the car instead of walking. I made sure that those still tht seemed the least bit restless walked though.

Tonight the entire crew that was with me today is pretty calm. I only wish that all of the other kids that showed up were this evening as tired. I can’t complain though because only one window has been broken tonight and that was not with a soccer ball. Believe it or not Abner offered to wash my windows for me. He got a little over zealous though and managed to push one out of the frame while washing it.

Hay I just remembered that I said that I was going to keep my weekend journals short.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Monday, July 28, 2008, 9:06 PM

Today Fernando, Marcos, and Cesar came along with me to Hermano Pedro. (No School again????) For the first time in a month they used the pool today. My 3 kids did a great job of helping out with the orphanage kids. The more volunteers that we can get into the pool, the more kids they can put in for therapy. Some times therapy consists of little more than holding a child motionless for close to an hour but once we convince the adults who were trying to keep their hair dry that this just ain’t going to happen they seem to loosen up and have fun with the kids. I had to quit swimming a bit early because another group was arriving that wanted a tour of the orphanage and they also wanted to take some of the residence to lunch.

It seems some groups are hit harder than others with the reality of institution life. Today many of the members of this group broke down and cried as they met the adults and the kids. I had to remind a few of them to just zero in on one or two kids whom they could make a difference to today. Those are easy words to say but often times when I am saying them I have to remind my self to listen. It is so hard to know who to give the attention to when there are so many. The 3 kids that came along with me from home were even a bit upset with me today because I did not sign some of their favorites out for lunch. They are quick to forgive though and once I explained to them that I had taken those kids out a few days ago they cheered up and really helped out with the kids that we did take to lunch. Today we took a mixture of teens and younger kids and it seemed to work out fine. A few of the kids that that had come along to help got a little carried away and what started out as a bit of splashing in one of the fountains turned out to be a full fledged water fight, but all of those involved seemed to enjoy it.

Every thing went well all morning but perhaps I got a little too confident with the perfect little angels that I had taken along with me from home because as I later discovered the water fight did not end there. Several of the people that I had shown around this morning asked me if they could see the malnutrition ward. Kids are not allowed up there so I asked my three boys to stay and play down in the ward where the younger kids were, while I took some of the group up to the malnutrition ward. About a half hour later I got a visit from Jessica. She told me that Fryer Francisco had caught them splashing and playing by the pool which is off limits when therapy is not being done. I don’t think that they really did that much out of the way but Fryer Francisco has a way of seeing things differently. I asked Jessica if I should go and talk to him but she suggested that I let her try and calm him down first. I had a talk with the boys though and they are truly sorry that they caused any problems. They even offered to go and talk to Fryer Francisco themselves but Jessica suggested that we give that some time as well.

Tonight I was feeling a bit under the weather so I told the kids that I was going to have the place to myself. I don’t know why it is that I only have to tell one kid that we are going to have pizza, or I am planning on taking them swimming, and every kid in the neighborhood immediately knows about it, but when I tell one of them that I am not feeling well and don’t want any one ringing my door bell, they have to come over one at a time to see if I am going to let them in tonight. If they all came at once it would not be so bad but in the past three hours, ten minutes has been about the longest that I have had between visitors. One thing for certain, if walking is good for a headache I should be better by now.

I have now had over 15 minutes of silence so perhaps they have all gotten the message, even Elder who has been told three times that I was not letting any kids in tonight, has not been back. Then again perhaps the batteries have gone dead on my doorbell or they have sneaked in and are hiding in some of their favorite hiding places. Either way I am going to say goodnight and head off to bed.

Yours in Christ: Dick


Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Today I took another large group of people through Hermano Pedro. Much in the same way as the dozen or so groups that I have had the privilege of taking through the orphanage in the past few weeks, this group also fell in love with the kids. At noon we took 9 of the residence to Camperos. Today we took mostly teen age boys out to eat. On our way back from lunch we played in the park until a thunderstorm started to move in. We beat the rain by about 30 seconds because we no sooner got back to the orphanage than it started to pour.

This after noon I took some of the group up to the malnutrition ward where they held and helped feed the kids. Since I can only bring 3 or 4 people in at a time I had each group stay for about a half hour and then another 3 or 4 people would come in. In a few cases I almost had to pry the children from the arms of the adults who had fallen in love with them. The kids were not overly fond of the idea of going back to their cribs either. After all 3 groups had held and fed children it was time for me to go as well. One of the nurses pried the child that I had been holding the entire time from my arms and I said goodbye.

Miguel who is 15, has been showing up at my house every Sunday to come along to Church. I seldom see him any other day of the week though so when he showed up at my house this evening I had Abner tell him that I wanted him to know that he was always welcome here and does to have to limit his visits to Sunday. Miguel thanked me but told me that he has little free time. He explained that there are 6 other children in his family and that his father is a hard worker but only makes 1000Q ($130) per month and by the time that he pays rent on the families 1 room dirt floor house, and tries to put food on the table there simply is not enough money left for Miguel’s schooling. Miguel has found a job at a bicycle repair shop so he now works there from 8:00 AM to 5:PM every day and then goes to night school. When I asked Miguel how much money he made working at the gas station he told me that he was paid 50Q a week. That is bout $6.75 a week, or just a little over $1 per day. He told me that he got very tired and found it hard to find the time to do his homework but he desperately wanted an education. I asked what it would take to get him back into school in the afternoons. That is when most junior high students go to school. He told me that he thought that the owner of the bicycle repair shop would let him work half days for around $3.40 a week so if he could somehow come up with another $6 or $7 per month he thought he could make it. I told him that we would talk more soon because I was quite certain that I could find someone that would be willing to sponsor him.

9:45 PM

I just returned from Alex’s house, where I had a long talk with him and his mother. Tonight while Alex was at my house I found him ripping up some pants that he had found in a drawer. He told me that they were his and he was making cutoffs out of them. After he left I found the ripped up pants in my garbage and realized that they were not his but were a new pare that belonged to Kevin. I am not sure why Alex chose to destroy these pants but I doubt that it will happen again. He was pretty humble when I told him that what he did was bad enough but lying to me was even worse. He was in tears when I left and said that he was sorry for what he had done. I put my arm around him and told him that I loved him but I did not like what he had done. I also told him that he was welcome to come back into my house in 2 weeks. Alex assured me that he would be counting the days.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Wednesday, July 30, 2008
This morning was spent paying bills then this after noon I helped Alex’s family move some of there belongings to the new home that they will soon be moving into. Alex’s mom is unable to come up with the $100 per month rent that they are paying for the home that is near my house so they are moving to some property that her father owns that is located about a 45 minute drive from here. Alex’s grandfather built the house from cement blocks tin and wood. It has no electricity or running water but it’s picturesque setting on a wooded hillside give a charm that makes it feel inviting. Alex, Wendy, Gladys, Elder. and Chio had never seen it until today and had shared with me how much they dreaded having to move there but once we got there they seemed to like it. It will be a big change for them but I think that they are going to like finally having somewhere to live that they can call their own. Alex’s mother was so happy that the children liked the place that she asked me if she could phone her husband who has been in the USA for the past 3 years just to let him know. He was also pleased. We spoke on the phone for a while and he shared with me how much he misses his family but said that he will likely not be able to return to Guatemala for at least a few years because he will have to earn enough money to pay back his father in law for the house before he can return.

It rained all the way from Chimaltenango to their new house and the going was slow because the road there was full of deep potholes that were hard to see because of all of the water that was on the road. Having 8 people, a bed, a kitchen table, 6 chairs, and a whole lot of other household goods in my car did not help. Actually just before leaving Chimaltenango I had to tell several of their relatives that had already jammed themselves into the car with us that I simply could not take them along this time. I didn’t make any new friends by doing that but felt that it simply would not be safe to drive the steep mountain roads without being able to see where I was going.

Some of the kids and myself unloaded my car while Alex’s mom and older sister swept and mopped the new house. Several of us then went for a walk through the woods and just enjoyed being out in the country. Everyone came back to Chimaltenango with me but Alex’s mom plans on moving in to the house as soon as she is able to get a few more things from home. I think that she is afraid that the house will get broken into if no one lives in it. The children are planning on staying in Chimaltenango until the school year ends in November and then they will move. Mean while they will only stay with their mom on the weekends. I know that I just told Alex that he cannot come over for 2 weeks but if the children do not feel safe staying alone I may have to figure out a different punishment.

Calin just showed up at my door and asked if he can spend the night. Due to situations at home I never ask why. I simply say yes. Chris is suppose to be dropping Benjamin off here pretty soon as well because he and I are planning on joining Mark Richard and several people that are here from his home church in South Dakota for the next few days. Calin has been begging me to let him go as well but he has exams in school tomorrow so I had to say no.

Calin has been giving me that look that tells me that he has something on his mind other than not being able to come along with me tomorrow so I think that I will close for now so that we can talk a bit before Benjamin arrives.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick

Thursday, July 31, 2008, 9:30 PM

After getting Calin off to school Benjamin and I headed off to Antigua where we met up with mark and the group. We then headed to Nueva Consepcion, which is located about 2 and half hours from here. Mark and his church group are planning on having a wheelchair distribution there tomorrow. Our caravan consisted of 5 vehicles, one of which was a truckload of wheelchairs. Once we got to our destination we started to unload the wheelchairs in a large building that was located near the center of town. Even though the wheelchair distribution was not scheduled until tomorrow a few people had accidentally showed up this morning. Some of them live close enough that returning tomorrow would not be a big problem but 3 of them lived several hours away. We had planned on spending the, entire afternoon at the beach but it did not take any arm twisting to get us to stay and fit them into wheelchairs before we left.

When we had just about finished up a mother with a little boy showed up. I am still trying to get the story straight but from what I can gather this little boy was not some one that was on our list of people that would be receiving a wheelchair this distribution. It is not clear weather she had brought her son from their home that was several hours away simply hoping that we would give him a wheelchair or was she in this town with her son by GODINCIDENCE. What I do know is our trip to the beach got delayed for about another hour and no one seemed to mind. When we finally left for the beach it was not until we all said goodbye to a smiling mother and her son who was sitting straight and tall in his new wheelchair.

We still made it to the beach and had a good time there but tonight as we gathered as a group and talked about the highlights of our day the beach was not even mentioned. Instead everyone talked about the people that received wheelchairs.

I wish that I could end today’s journal here because what I am about to write is not easy. I mentioned in Monday’s journal that some of the kids that we took to lunch that day were teens. One of those teens was Carlos. Carlos is one of the 7 kids that we have in our school in Hermano Pedro. He has also been coming to camp each year since he first arrived at Hermano Pedro about 6 years ago. Lately he has been getting weaker due to the muscular dystrophy that he has and because of this he had to cut back on the hours that he spends in school. Just last Monday after taking him to lunch I discussed with Jessica, the head therapist, the fact that I thought I was going to have to come up with a different way for him to drive his power wheelchair. Even though he was still able to drive it all the way to Camperos and back that day I could see that he was getting weaker and told Jessica that I knew that it was just a matter of time before he could no longer push the joystick with his hand. Jessica greed and asked me to do what ever I could so that he could continue to drive it because she knew how much this independence meant to him. Although neither of us wanted to admit it we both knew that the day would come when Carlos would pass away. Today I received the phone call that I knew I would some day get. Carlos had died early this morning. I could write novels on the positive effects that this dear friend had on me and on those that knew him. Even though Carlos himself knew that his days were numbered he always remained positive and happy. He seemed to have an inner piece about him that radiated to those around him. I know that he has gone on to a better life but those of us who knew him will surely miss him.

Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Friday, August 1, 2008

The motel that we spent the night in was not the worst one that I have ever stayed in. In fact as far as small town motels go here in Guatemala it was not bad at all. I think though that for some of our USA friends it was a bit of a shocker. I guess they are not accustom to having the electricity going off for most of the night, and perhaps we should have warned them that if they wanted to take a shower they had better take it when and if the water was on. A few of them also learned the hard way that it is wise to fill a small container up with water before you take your shower. That way you can get most of the soap out of your hair if the water does suddenly stop flowing at 9:30 PM. Oh well everyone did enough sweating once the sun came out this morning that most of the soap and shampoo got rinsed away.

(No, this is not a picture of the motel that we stayed in. It is a picture of A home. Many people in Guatemala have no idea what having running water or electricity is like.)

I think for most of them any small inconvenience of finding out that a 5 star hotel in Guatemala, is simply one that allows you to see 5 stars through the holes in the ceiling was quickly forgotten once they saw some of the inconveniences the people that came for wheelchairs had to deal with. Having to carry your loved one around on your back because they have no wheelchair has to get a bit tiring for a parent or a spouse. I also felt bad for the parents of 3 different children whose heads were so large that you would think that they would burst open at any time. Oh yes we have kids that are hydrocephalic in the USA but generally they are operated on at a very young age and the symptoms all but disappears. Moat of these children will not live to see their teen age years. One young man who was 20 years old was one of the fortunate ones though. Even though his head was twice the size that it should have been he was still alive. The entire time that we were setting him in a chair he remained expressionless while his mother carefully held his head up. An hour and a half later we put on the finishing touches by installing a headrest that we had to modify to accommodate the size and weight of his head. We were careful to get everything right. I have little doubt that if his head were allowed to fall forward or to the side he would likely sustained serious injury to his neck and possibly die. After I had finished I put my hand on his shoulder and uttered a small prayer in silence. Suddenly I felt a hand on mine. I thought that perhaps it was his mothers hand as she had continually been trying to express how grateful she was to have a wheelchair for her son. To my surprise when I looked down I saw that it was the hand of this young man who up until now had sat motionless with a blank stare in his eyes. He was looking up at me with tears in his eyes. He then opened his mouth and made a sound that was not Spanish or English but none of us had any doubt that this was his way of saying thank you. After wiping away his tears and mine I gave him and his mother a hug and said goodbye.


Another grateful family was the family of a young lady who also appeared to be in her early twenties. I spotted her as soon as she was carried into the door. We usually try to seat the people in the order that they come into the door but since she was one of the last people to show up and knowing that it would take the best part of the day to seat her I immediately asked her family to come over to my work station. I figured that we would be fortunate to have her finnished by the time each of the other seating teams had done 5 or 6 people each. I am terrible on remember names but I think that the name of the man that was helping me was Dean. If not I hope that he forgives me. At any rate he was awesome to work with. Even though he had never before worked on wheelchairs his mechanical skills were great and much like myself he liked to improvise by building what was needed out of what we had. Never before have I had to put a backrest on the side of a wheelchair but that was what this young lady who’s hips were rotated and fused at a 90-degree angle needed. I know it helped that we both liked a challenge but when we had finished we had to stand back and give the glory to God. Not in our wildest expectations had we thought that we were going to end up with a chair that worked out so well for this young lady. In a few short hours she had gone from some one who was lying on her mothers lap in excruciating pain, to some one who although very twisted was sitting comfortably in her new wheelchair with a large smile on her face.

(Click on any picture to enlarge)

I could share many other stories with you of others that I had the privilege of working with today, and those would only be stories of the 5 or 6 people that I personally worked with. Multiply that by about 50 people that receives wheelchairs not to mention their family members that were as happy as they were. Then talk to the over 20 people that were seating them or working with them in some other way and you could fill a novel with the things that we saw God do today. Yes we got tired and sweaty and a few of the Americans had streaks of shampoo mixed in with the sweat but I don’t thing any of us were sorry that we had come here and shared just a little of the love of Jesus with these wonderful people.
Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Saturday, August 2, 2008
Calin turned 14 today so I let him pick what he wanted to do to celebrate. He chose to invite 7 other kids, all of them relatives, to some water slides that are down on the coast. This water park is a bit more pricey than the one that I usually take the kids to but yesterday some friends gave me money to spend on an outing of some type with the kids so we decided to go fro it. We even stopped off at a Camperos in Esquentla and had some lunch. The man that sold us our tickets first told me that I would have to pay adult rates on everyone that was over 10 years old, (that meant all but one of us) but Calin negotiated with him and he let everyone but myself in at children’s prices. Since this water park is located right on the ocean you can go back and forth from riding the water slides and swimming in one of many pools, to swimming in the ocean. We stayed until closing time and then stopped off in Antigua for some Pizza. My kids let me know that they each wanted to do a repeat of today’s activities on their birthday but I told them that an outing of this size could only happen about once a year.

Tonight Miguel and Cesar are staying over. I have come down with a sore throat so I am heading off to bed early. I asked them to lock the gate and turn out the lights when and if the other kids leave.


Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick


Sunday, August 3, 2008, 10:29 AM

I am still a bit under the weather so I have decided to stay home from Church. To my surprise only Miguel and Cesar were here when I woke up this morning. That did not last long though because by the time I had the pancakes made there were a lot more kids. Usually I let the kids help flip the pancakes but I have just washed my ceiling so I decided to do it myself. I told them that they were all going to have to leave right after breakfast but they have been playing so quietly that I have not said any more about it. I think that I will ask them to leave pretty soon though because I could stand an hour or 2 just to myself. Besides that they keep asking me if I have taken some pills that 2 of them brought me. They said they are not sure what they are but just one of them made their mother feel better in less than a half hour, so they are sure that they will do the same for me. The envelope that the pills are in has some Spanish writing on it that leads me to believe that the pills are for morning sickness. Oh well I guess it is the thought that counts. Another reason that I want the kids to leave pretty soon is that I am thirsty and there is no way that they will let me get near the refrigerator for something to drink. Every Guatemalan knows that drinking anything cold when you are not feeling well will make you much sicker. I think that one is right in line with the fact that the kids keep bringing me a jacket and hat to put on. Perhaps I should listen to them but it is already 80 degrease out side. I also need a shower but that is another no no when you are not feeling well. Another reason that I will wait on the shower is that modesty thing that we Americans have. Like I have said before, watching Americans take showers seems to be just under watching a succor game as far as favorite spectator sports are concerned. The only draw back on sending the kids home is that those that have parents will tell them that I am not feeling well and within a half hour I will have people lined up at my gate with home remedies, some of which make cod liver oil seem appetizing. Oh will I guess that I should feel honored that everyone in the neighborhood tries to take such good care of me. I guess they figure that anyone who has not learned Spanish after all of these years needs all the help that he can get.

Yours in Christ: Dick