Once again I have gotten overwhelmed and almost two weeks have passed without a blog update. As I was thinking about catching up, I realized that the best (and quickest way) of doing so was to use more pictures and less words. So, here you go…
Since my last blog we were able to find a wheelchair for Joni, one of the young men from our neighborhood. That along with a new mattress that we provided, a sponsoring family in the US who will be helping with food and medicine, and just some love from us will make a huge difference in the lives of Joni and his family.
While my friend, Dick Rutgers, was recovering from surgery in our home he was surprised by a wonderful gift. Chris and Donna Mooney pulled up in a brand new 2011 Land Cruiser and handed him the keys! A gift from an anonymous donor, the new vehicle is almost exactly like his old one, but with a few nice additions, including a snorkel and a winch.
With the addition of the new Land Cruiser, Dick’s energy improved. I had planned to take a trip out the next day with Jessica and Paul and Elizabeth Branch to deliver a wheelchair and check on a few people, but suddenly Dick was ready to go along. So, we broke-in his new vehicle together. The next day, Dick left our home to complete his recovery at his place. It was good having you with us, Dick! We miss you!
Our first stop was in La Gomera where we delivered a wheelchair to Jorge. This handsome young man has Spina Bifida and is suffering from a couple of bed sores. However, he seems to have a wonderful family, and his mother has done a great job of caring for him. The medications he needs has been a strain on the family financially, but I am pleased to say that we now have a sponsoring family. So, those medications will now be provided for him each month.
While we were in town, we also stopped at the home of a little guy named Alexandro. He is an 18 month old who has struggled to thrive, but is quickly improving. His father was laid off from his job, so the family is going through a challenging and scary time right now. We will be providing Kids Against Hunger packets to the family along with some vitamins for Alexandro. Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of this cute little guy.
From there we went to La Gomera to check on a couple of people. If you will recall, we met Reyna the last time we were there. She is the elderly lady that Jessica diagnosed with pneumonia who was also struggling with diabetes and anemia. We were very concerned that she would not survive, even with our intervention. We arranged for her to go to a local clinic which hospitalized her for five days. We were pleased to find her at home and much improved. Her color was back, her breathing was much better, and she had a smile on her face. We were welcomed to the home with hugs and love by the entire family. Above is an x-ray of her lungs that was taken when she was first admitted to the hospital. I don’t know if you can tell from the picture, but I have never seen lungs so crowded with fluid.
We also stopped in to see Ponceano to whom we had provided a wheelchair on our last visit. He was sitting up on his porch having just completed his exercises and stretches that we had prescribed. I have really grown to love and appreciate this man and his family.
One of the things that has become increasingly apparent is that we don’t have to travel to remote villages to find great needs. Still another family from our town came to our gate last Saturday to ask for help for their 19 year old son, Carlos. He has CP, is malnourished, and has a seizure disorder. The medication for his seizures have been costing his family almost $75 a month, which is over half his father’s income. Praise God we found a provider who will sell it to us for $53 a month and we now have two families in the US who are covering these expenses. This will make a huge difference to their family.
On Monday (June 6th) I traveled to the town of El Progresso with Jessica, Marissa, Brittney, and my Spanish teacher, Alba. Alba’s father is a pastor in that town, and he informed us of several people who needed help. So, we made the 2 1/2 hour trip so he could take us and introduce us to them. One family has two daughters, Manuela and Marsela, who were born with genetic conditions that influence their cognitive abilities. Both daughters also have epilepsy. We will be providing some food and vitamins to them.
We also met Olga, an elderly lady who had a stroke two years ago and needs a wheelchair. We measured her and are seeking to come up with the necessary $90 to get the right travel chair for her.
Meanwhile, our entire family has been volunteering each week at Los Gozosos, a group home for children with special needs in Chimaltenango. Carissa (along with some other patient helpers) teaches four of their young ladies ballet. Some of the rest of us work with a little girl named Gabby, teaching her to walk with forearm crutches. I also do some maintenance around their home.
After a month with us, we took Jessica Huwer to the airport yesterday so she could fly home to her family and be a part of her brother’s wedding. We miss her already and our household of 12 still somehow seems empty without her. Thanks, Jessica, for your servant’s heart! We love you!
This morning I went with my friend Gerardo to meet his cousin, Mynor. He is 20 years old and lost his left arm and both legs below the knee when, at the age of 10, he climbed a power pole and touched the wires. He has been wearing the same prosthetics since he was 12 years old, and they are wearing out. We are investigating a US charity to see if they can provide new prosthetics. If not, we will need to raise approximately $1600.00 to have new ones made. (Similar prosthetics in the the US would sell for over $10,000 each.)
Last Saturday Jeremiah’s soccer team had a game in Ciudad Vieja. Since we have a 15 passenger van, we were asked if we would transport the team. So, we piled 23 of us in the Nissan and headed out. I don’t know if the kids had more fun playing soccer or riding. At one point, we took a wrong turn and one of the kids wanted to know where we were going. Another shouted “Los Estados Unidos!” and everyone cheered.
Well, that’s a quick summary of the last two weeks. This Saturday we welcome another team and will have three straight weeks of teams following. Life is full but good!
