This posting was written on Sunday evening, March 7th but not posted until Monday due to lack of internet connection.
Our team’s last day-and-a-half in Guatemala was spent with the kids of Hermano Pedro. As happens each trip, our group fell in love with those children and treasured every moment we had with them.
Saturday morning was a little tense when we arrived at the orphanage. Apparently the nurses were upset that we had insisted on the six children being fed the night before. I was told by the head nurse that we were mistaken and that all the kids had been fed earlier because they were on a special diet. However, there were a couple of holes in that story. First, we know the children and their eating habits and none of those kids were on special diets. Second, we were with the kids all afternoon and would have known if they had received food. I spoke with a long-term volunteer at HP and explained to her the situation and provided a list of the kids who were skipped during their feeding. She took it to the nursing supervisor who said they would have a meeting early this week to develop a system to assure that no kids would be skipped. Then, at lunch time, the nurses were carrying lists and checking children off as they were given food. So it looks as if things are changing, even if we had to tick-off some nurses to make it happen.
That afternoon we took a group of the younger kids to Central Park in Antigua. We had a blast taking off their shoes and socks and letting them splash their feet in the fountains. We purchased ice cream from a street vendor and let the children enjoy that rare treat. We then returned to HP, after allowing plenty of time for their clothes to dry. (Apparently most Guatemalans believe that children will die of pneumonia if their clothes get wet, even on an 80 degree day, so we could not let the nurses see the children with any dampness on their outfits!) We also returned with ice cream for all the nurses which seemed to make peace with them.
This morning we said goodbye to the kids and left. Most of us did so through tears. I can’t begin to describe how difficult this is. Each trip, as we leave behind the children, we feel as if we are leaving behind a part of ourselves. And each time our urge to get there full-time increases. How much longer will we have to wait until we can move their permanently? We know God’s timing is perfect and keep reminding ourselves of that truth. But, as we drove out of Antigua, I found myself for the first time feeling like home ownership is a curse. If only we could simply call up a landlord and let him know we were moving.
But, for now, we are simply waiting and praying for our house to sale. And while we wait, we continue to face life with part of our hearts in Guatemala.
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Update on Byron’s chair: Thanks for your prayers for Dick’s work on Byron’s chair. He has determined that the head control unit is not damaged, but the problem is instead with the computer. He is hopeful that he can get Byron back on the road by Thursday or Friday. While that seems like an eternity to Byron, it could have been much worse.
