Wheelchairs and New Additions

The irony of having a blog and running this kind of ministry is that when there is not much happening, you don’t have a lot to write, but there is a lot of time to write it. However, when there is a lot happening there is a much to write but little time to write it. It seems like the last year has been filled with the latter, and the last 16 days have been no exception. So, here is a whirlwind view of the last two weeks…

I went down to Nueva Concepción to visit Rosario after her discharge from the hospital. She was released after a six day stay, still weak but free of infection. Her responsiveness was much better, as was her energy. However, she is still not eating very well and is anemic. So we made a trip to a local pharmacy to purchase liquid vitamins and Incaparina (a nutritional, high calorie drink) to help her gain weight. We had a very nice visit with her and her family. We praise God that, due to your generous response to the need for Yosselin’s surgery, we had sufficient funds left over to pay for Rosario’s hospital stay and medicines. Thank you!

My brother and sister-in-law, Rusty and Vanessa, came down and brought a team from their church. They spent a week serving alongside us, and what a blessing they were. Their church donated $2500 toward the purchase of a therapy hot tub. This, combined with another large gift from Millies Pearls gave us the funds we needed to make the purchase and prepare for the installation. Dale Beyer is overseeing the project, and I honestly don’t know what I would do without his experience, know-how and hard work. He and the team poured the concrete pad and a wheelchair-friendly sidewalk leading from the back door to the pad. Electrical work is continuing to get the needed power supply to the back of the house. When the tub is installed we will be able to use it to provide better and more pain-free stretches to those children with high-tone cerebral palsy.

In the midst of this project I received an incredible call. A gentleman contacted me and explained that he represented an anonymous Christian who wanted to invest in our wheelchair ministry. We spent time talking about our desires and goals for the ministry and I was told they would be in touch. Two days later I received a call notifying me that a check for $10,000 has been sent to Joni and Friends wheelchair ministry to provide wheelchairs for Ministerio de Esperanza! This means that we have between 40 and 60 wheelchairs provided, depending on the kind needed!

This gift could not come at a better time. We currently have seven people awaiting wheelchairs. Meanwhile, Dick Rutgers contacted me and explained that he needed seven wheelchairs for a community up near Huehuetenango. So we will be traveling together to make those deliveries once the funds clear and arrangements are made.

Over the last week we have added four new families to our rural village ministry. In addition, we have several families awaiting our visit for assessment. Yesterday we finally visited a family that had been waiting for almost a month, and this took us to a new village.

There is a cross on the side of a mountain that overlooks Antigua. It is a popular tourist destination, and I have been there many times with my family and with teams. But I have never continued up the mountain beyond, until yesterday as we drove about 15 minutes beyond it to the village of El Hato (the herd). And what a drive it was. Narrow roads, at times dropping sharply off the side down the mountain. A few times the road was so narrow my wheel was inches away from the edge with brush scraping the far side of my vehicle. We finally parked and began walking, first down, then up a narrow trail. Near the end it was so steep that we had difficulty walking and slid a fell on a few occasions.

But at the end was waiting a precious little guy named Brandon. He will turn five years old on Friday and has a smile that can light very dark places. He now suffers from cognitive delays and cerebral palsy, but it was not always that way. When he was two he could walk and talk and was progressing normally. But then he came down with pneumonia and his fever shot up. His parents took him to the national hospital, but they failed to treat his fever properly. When the hospital returned him three days later, he could no long walk or speak.

He also has a seizure disorder and seizes four or five times a day. They took him back to the national hospital where he was seen by a neurologist, but he gave them medicine that sedates him without treating the seizures. So today Manuel took him to our neurologist to get him on the proper medicine to control his seizures. They just returned and the doctor has prescribed medicine for his seizures while waiting for us to get an EEG and Cerebral TAC done. Please pray for him and his family. They are very poor and have seven beautiful children. The father works in the fields to provide for them, but it is not enough.

While I was in El Hato, our home was receiving a delivery. Little Rosalinda joined our home yesterday afternoon. I know…a while back I announced that we were full and would be saying a firm “No!” from that point forward. And we had, until I received a message on Friday from a friend. The Erickson family runs Redeemer House Ministries here in our area, but their ministry also works in the Department of Solola. And in the town of Concepción they had discovered a little girl who needed help.

The initial message told us that she was malnourished with brain damage and heart problems, and her health problems sounded quite severe. So, after talking with Wanda and praying, we decided to say yes. At that point, we believed that her life was at stake, and we could not turn away and let her die.

So, late yesterday afternoon she was delivered to our door via ambulance. However, her health was better than we had anticipated. She was very malnourished, but she shows very little signs of brain damage, if any. Likewise, we were informed that she had a hole in her heart, but that is seems to have closed. So, in essence, we simply have a malnourished child who needs a chance to grow and gain weight. (Please note: The information we received regarding her health did not involve any type of deception by the Ericksons, Redeemer House or any of their workers. It was simply some miscommunication resulting from having numerous people in a chain of communication. All of the above are wonderful people doing wonderful work, and we are so grateful for them!)

Most of her hair has fallen out from the malnutrition. She also has some type of allergy that has caused a rash over a large part of her body. Our doctor will be coming this afternoon to examine her, and we will be making appointments with our neurologist and cardiologist. But developmentally she is not very delayed. Her lungs are very healthy, and she has demonstrated that with her loud cries and screams for much of the time since she has been with us.

When she was brought to our home she was accompanied by her parents who were distraught at having to give her up. They were very attached to her and she to them, so the last 24 hours have been difficult. She has been held a lot, apparently, and does not like to be put down, even for a moment. She displays lots of anger and fights almost everything we do. So, we have some challenging days ahead. She may very well turn out to be the most challenging adjustment in the history of our home.

However, her prognosis looks good, and we are grateful. Please keep her and us in your prayers in the days ahead.

While this is, by no means, a complete listing of the activities over the last two weeks, it at least hits the high points. Thanks for all you do to make this possible!

Blessings!

Daryl, Wanda and the Crew

BTW, here is a recent Fulp Family photo, taken by Kathlyn Beyer. Thanks, Kathlyn!