When things move…they really move!

First, I want to thank everyone who prayed for and responded to our need for a sponsor for Britani. I am pleased to let you know that we found a family to provide the support for her and her mom within a couple of hours of my post. And the offers kept coming and stacking-up! Thank you all!

On Monday we arranged for her mom to take her to Hermano Pedro to be seen by a doctor. As expected, they sent them down for an X-ray and they are supposed to return to see the specialist at the end of May. They stopped by Hogar de la Esperanza after they received the X-rays to bring back the change from the money we gave them for the appointment. I took a look at the X-rays and my heart sank. Not only is her hip displaced, but her hip socket is greatly deteriorated and broken. I suspect that she will require significant reconstructive surgery and six to eight weeks in a Spica cast. Of course, I didn’t mention any of this to her mom. That news, if it comes, needs to come from the doctor. Please pray for Britani and her mom in the days ahead.

On Sunday I preached at our home church, Vida Nueva y Paz. At the beginning, I introduced myself and the ministry we do here in Guatemala. After the service I was approached by a lady who told us about her neighbor who has a little boy “who is six years old but cannot walk or talk.” We gave her a ride home from church to find out where she lives and made an appointment to meet her Monday morning to go visit the family.

When we arrived, we found little Rafael who has cerebral palsy and is very undernourished. His mother, Judit, was abandoned by her husband (an all-too familiar story) and is struggling to survive with her two children and her mother living with her. She runs a used clothing store out of the front of her home to try to earn a living, but only makes about Q.60 each month (about $7.40). Rafael’s anti-seizure medication costs about Q.180 each month. She has been borrowing money to pay for it.

As we talked with them more, we realized that they were out of his meds and did not have any food in the house. Looking at the weight of Rafael, his mom and grandmother, I decided that we didn’t have time to wait. So, we arranged to give them one of the monthly food distribution boxes along with a full box of Kids Against Hunger food packets. We also provided a months worth of medication for Rafael. We prayed with them, and as we left Judit hugged me and cried in relief. I am pleased to say that I contacted one of the families who had offered to sponsor Britani, and they agreed to sponsor Rafael instead. Praise God this need is already met!

Much of our work is done in rural village settings, but I am always finding myself amazed at how close great needs are to us. Britani and her mom live about 100 yards from our house. Rafael and his family live about 15 minutes from here on the edge of Antigua, one of the biggest tourist attractions in Central America. Yet both of these families were hungry and desperate. It has caused me to wonder how many others are right under my nose every day. How many doors do I pass with desperate needs right behind them?

Things are on schedule for the opening of our day care program for children with special needs. We will officially open our doors on May 22nd, and we are working to get everything in place. We will begin with four children, one day a week. Once we develop a rhythm and gain experience, we will open it to more children for more days. This is kind of a test-run and on-the-job training for our group home.

Speaking of the group home, I am excited to say that things are happening! The first year was getting things in place to begin our licensing, including developing a support network and obtaining wise council. At last, everything is ready for us to officially begin the licensing process. I praise God that He has provided us with an excellent man who is highly recommended from numerous sources to oversee the work. His name is Edy Tum and he and his team will guide us through the process and serve as our staff social workers once the home opens.

We met with Edy on Wednesday and things are moving quickly. He assured us that our home should be licensed in eight to ten months, which is much faster than we were told to expect. We are now pulling together documents, forming a Guatemalan board and obtaining some required signatures and equipment. We meet again on Tuesday and expect to take some other significant steps in the process that day.

Please pray for this process. Specifically, please seek God for:

1. Wisdom for us as we formalize our board, vision statement, and the specifics of our group home.
2. Approximately $5500.00 in legal fees and expenses that are required to obtain our license.
3. An additional $1500 a month support for Hogar de la Esperanza to cover the cost of a staff doctor, psychologist and social worker (which are required by the government) and a couple of trained nannies to assist with care.
4. That we will be able to raise these additional funds without me having to travel home to speak. I cannot afford the time away.
5. Favor in the eyes of the government officials with whom we will be working.
6. A smooth and quick licensing process.

Thanks for all your prayers and support! We couldn’t do any of this without you!

Daryl, Wanda and the Crew

Help Needed for Britani

This morning a desperate mother rang the bell at Hogar de la Esperanza. We invited her and her daughter, Britani, inside and listened as she told her story.

Magdalena and her daughter were abandoned by her husband two years ago. Since then she has struggled to make ends meet by making crafts to sell in the market. Her income each month is Q.200 (about $25). Meanwhile, Britani (age 6) is in need of orthopedic surgery to repair dysplasia or her right hip, but Magdalena cannot find the money to properly feed the two of them, much less pay for surgery. She had heard about our ministry several months ago, but was ashamed to ask for help. Finally, with no food in their home, she reached a point of desperation and came to us.

We immediately loaded up one of the boxes of food we give out each month in our distribution along with a box of Kids Against Hunger packets and drove them back home. We also arranged for Britani to go to Hermano Pedro on Monday morning to see a doctor and get a referral to one of their orthopedic specialists. We provided the money they needed for that appointment and x-rays. We are hopeful that she will be put on a list to be seen by the next Faith in Practice team who will provide her surgery free of charge.

Ironically, as we drove them home in our van I realized that their house is only about 100 yards from Hogar de la Esperanza. She lives in a wooded section behind our house, but it is about a 10 minute drive on rough roads to get there. From this point forward, I will be using the 4-Runner to visit them.

What we are in need of is a sponsor to pay for monthly food to be provided to Magdalena and Britani. We would like to make their food amount higher because of the desperate nature of their situation, so we are seeking a $45 a month sponsor. If you can help with some or all of that need, would you please write to me at daryl@hopeforhome.org?

Thanks so much for all your prayers, support and encouragement! Blessings from Guatemala!

Daryl, Wanda and the Crew

Exciting News to Share!

Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. – Psalm 115:1

Today my blog entry is serving as a newsletter on behalf of Hope for Home Ministries and Hogar de la Esperanza. There is a lot of news to share, so let’s get right to it:

Introducing Our New Maternity Care Director

Some time ago I shared my desire to begin a ministry to pregnant mothers in Guatemala. Many of the special needs that we encounter here could be prevented or reduced through good care during pregnancy and having trained personnel available to assist with deliveries. So, it has been my desire to have someone to oversee a program that would meet those needs.

I am pleased to announce that Rachel McCray will be joining our team sometime next spring or summer and will serve as our Maternity Care Director. She will provide regular check-ups of pregnant women in their homes, advise them regarding nutrition and lifestyle during pregnancy, distribute vitamins, and assist with births. Our desire is that she will also train other midwives in rural villages to duplicate that ministry.

Rachel currently resides in Warsaw, Missouri and graduated from Heritage College in Kansas City with an Occupational Studies Degree in X-ray Medical Technician/Medical Assistant. She is currently completing her training as a midwife and gaining experience in that role.

We are excited to have Rachel join our team here in Guatemala! Please pray for her over the next year as she raises support, completes her training and makes her transition to her new home and country. If you have questions or would like to invite her to share at your church, you can contact her at rachel@hopeforhome.org.

A Transition for the Ecklebargers

Even as we are welcoming a new team member, we are saying goodbye to Ron and Melanie Ecklebarger and their family. At the end of this month they will be moving back to the States and Ron will be transitioning into his new role as our Communications Director. The reasons for this move back to the US are numerous, but high on the list are the medical needs of their children.

The Ecklebargers have adopted five children from Uganda, and three of them have special needs which need to be addressed. Of particular concern is some surgery that their daughter, Immaculate, needs that is quite extensive. As a result, they will be moving back, having these medical needs addressed, and seeking God for their next step.

However, even as they are looking for God’s direction, they will be serving a valuable role for Hope for Home. We have lacked a person to speak on behalf of our ministry in America, and they will now be filling that much needed position. They will be available to speak in your church and, due to their time here in Guatemala, have a greater understanding of both the needs and the opportunities we face.

Meanwhile, Ron’s parents, Bob and Jane Ecklebarger, will be staying in Guatemala and continuing to assist with our ministry and others. They have become valuable ministers to the people of Guatemala, and we are glad to still have them as a part of our team on the ground.

Please pray for Ron, Melanie and their children as they move back to the States. Pray especially for God’s provision and for their children as they address their medical needs. If you would like to arrange for their family to speak are your church, please contact Ron at ron@hopeforhome.org.

A New Kids Against Hunger Distribution Point

If you follow my blog regularly, you have seen me mention the huge blessing that a ministry called Kids Against Hunger is to our work here. They provide high calorie/high nutrition food packets to us free-of-charge that we distribute as a part of our rural village ministry. They have not only helped us, but numerous other ministries in Guatemala as well.

Recently I was contacted by Coral Matus from the Toledo branch of Kids Against Hunger. She asked if I would be willing to oversee the opening and management of a new Kids Against Hunger distribution point in our area. It did not take me long to respond with an excited “Yes!”

As a result, we are currently searching for suitable warehouse/storage space to hold a shipping container of food at a time (That is 36 pallets of KAH food!) and making arrangements for hiring the necessary truck to get it from the ports to here. This distribution site will provide the packets for Hogar de la Esperanza and numerous other ministries in our area. Once everything is in place, my right-hand man, Gerardo Hernandez, will oversee the daily operation.

As we begin this new area of ministry, please pray that God will bring together the necessary logistics. Also pray that He will be glorified in the way it is distributed.

Hogar de la Esperanza Opening Soon

No, we still have a long ways to go before we are licensed as a group home for children with special needs. However, we will soon be opening the door to those children as a day care program.

Recently, the mother of a child with severe disabilities approached Gerardo and asked him, with tears in her eyes, if we were able to take her son into our home. She told him that she loves her son, but is unable to care for him properly and go to work. This started my mental wheels turning (always a dangerous thing). What if we were to begin providing a day care/respite program for these children? This would give their parents an opportunity to get a break, go to work, or just take care of errands and chores. At the same time, it will give us valuable experience and help us to sharpen our care-giving skills in preparation for the opening of our group home.

After discussing it as a family, we decided to open such a program on a test basis beginning in May. At first, we will open one day a week and will expand to additional days as we are able. We already have strong relationships with lots of families that have children who have special needs in our community, and we believe a number of them will be blessed by this ministry. Please pray for us as we begin this new work.

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As you can tell, there is a lot going on in addition to our ongoing work. We hope to have even more big news to share in the next month or two.

Thanks for your ongoing prayer and financial support! It is greatly appreciated!

Daryl Fulp

Director, Hope for Home Ministries

Trapped by Alfombras

As I write this my neighbors are busily cleaning the street in front of their homes. Tomorrow morning at 10:00 am our town will have the largest Catholic procession of the year to celebrate Easter. As a result, in about two hours the street in front of our home will be shut down until tomorrow noon as many of the Catholic households will lay alfombras in the street, trapping us in our home. (The photo to the right is one taken last year from our rooftop.

An alfombra is a decorative carpet made of colored sawdust, pine needles, flowers and/or fruit. As the procession comes through, people will walk on each side of them until the float carrying Jesus comes through. Those carrying that float will walk through the alfombra, messing it up. Usually there is a crowd of children following closely behind the end of the procession who rush up and pick-up the fruit.

We are surrounded by religion here. Almost everyone here professes belief in Jesus Christ, but very few reflect that belief in in the way they live. In many cases, Jesus serves much like a lucky rabbit’s foot. You hang his image in your store or Tuk Tuk or name your business after Him, and in return He will bless you and keep you safe…or so many believe. One day my normal barber shop was closed, so I went to another one down the street. As I sat waiting my turn, I was confronted by a picture of Jesus hanging on the wall with dozens of bikini model photos hanging around Him. The name and image of Jesus is frequently used, but the heart of Christ is seldom encountered.

Last Sunday Wanda and I were in Antigua and found ourselves caught in a crowd of people who were awaiting one of the largest processions of the season. As we were standing there, the float carrying Jesus came past and people snapped pictures. Then we found ourselves being jostled and pushed as people tried to get closer when the float carrying Mary came past. My heart broke as I saw this huge mass of people who were interested in Jesus, but passionate for Mary. It is true that she was a devoted servant of God and He used her for great things, but why do we insist on worshipping and serving created things instead of the creator? (Romans 1:25)

Please do not misunderstand me. We have encountered wonderful Catholics here who seem to love and serve Jesus with sincerity. All do not fall into the trap of religion without relationship. And, on the other side, we have encountered many evangelical Christians who seem to only know religion and legalism. And that is the battle we face, cutting through religion and modeling intimacy with Jesus that changes lives. And that is probably our greatest prayer need. Please pray that we will show and live a Jesus that is so much more wonderful than mere religion and draw people to Him.

And, on a note of praise, I now have my 4-Runner back, and it is running better than it has since I bought it! Juaquim returned it this afternoon and walked me through all the repairs. He explained everything that our previous mechanic did wrong (although he was very uncomfortable speaking negatively of someone else’s work) and gave me the receipts for parts. He also gave me a handwritten receipt showing all of his labor and detailing the complete purchase of parts! (This is almost unheard of here.) I drove Juaquim home and realized that I have about 25 or 30% more power and that the engine is running much cooler.

I praise God for leading us to this honest and methodic mechanic. And I thank God that my 4-Runner (officially dubbed the Batmobile by some of the Guatemalan children) is back in its loving home and ready to take on more Guatemalan roads!

Thanks for all your prayers and support!

Good afternoon from San Antonio Aguas Calientes!

Daryl, Wanda and the Crew

Faith That Matters

Most of the time when I blog I do so to share information with you, the reader. It is a way of giving you a glimpse into the work and ministry God has given us here and to keep you connected. However, there have been a few times, like today, that I write not because you need to read it, but because I need to write it. It is the equivalent of speaking a truth out-loud to remind yourself that it is true. So, bear with me.

Today started with me sitting down to manage the ministry finances. Emily Vance, our US office manager, does a fantastic job of managing our Stateside accounts, but I am responsible for managing our Guatemalan funds. As I finished making entries and generating reports I realized that Hogar de la Esperanza is out of money for the month. I know that there is only three more days in the month, but this is the first time that has happened since we moved to Guatemala. We have seen a steady erosion of our funds with the decreasing exchange rate and increasing gas prices, and we have had several additional expenses this month, including nearly $1000 in repairs to my 4-Runner. This all came together this month to wipe out our account. This was a sobering reality for me. (Note: Our sponsorship program account is healthy, so all children and families are receiving everything to which we committed.)

At the same time, I received the account reports of our US funds and realized that due to a recent decrease in giving and several large expenses, those accounts have been greatly diminished as well. It was a double whammy.

Upon seeing all of this, my mind immediately went into overdrive. I am a problem solver, so my first thought was about what we needed to cut. I went through our list of expenses to see what might be optional. I realized that there wasn’t much that IS optional. Rent, utilities, gas, salaries…none of these are negotiable. We are running on minimal staff (one full-time, two part-time, and one self-funded), so none can be cut. Everyone is serving a vital function. As far as utilities go, we are very controlling of the usage of lights and electricity and are careful with propane. With gas prices topping $5.00 a gallon, we are driving the bare minimum of miles.

So, my next thought was to wonder if I should start cutting back on our village ministry. With gas prices being so high, that would help.

As I was thinking about this, I was also in the process of driving to Las Palmas to pick-up Ponceano and his family to bring them to Hermano Pedro for an appointment. As God would have it, we arrived and immediately found out that Reina needed to come as well, so we rearranged the back cargo area so Gerardo could ride there and planned to head out immediately. But, it was not to be. Before I knew it, we were surrounded by people who were seeking assistance. Two under-nourished children, an elderly lady with very high blood-pressure and assorted others suddenly became a part of our schedule. And, as I met with each of them, my mind kept going back to our declining financial situation. I found myself seeing each person through the lens of how much it would cost to help them.

We left Las Palmas and headed to Siniquina, where Ponceano’s mother knew of a man in need of assistance. We had to stop and get directions at a church, and when we did the pastor asked us to also visit a lady from her church who was very sick. (Are you starting to see a pattern of how these trips grow and spread?) We visited the man, Luciano, first who has diabetes and has gone blind from it. He continues to deteriorate because he is not on insulin and believes it doesn’t help. We begged him and his wife to seek medical assistance immediately and get him on insulin.

From there we went to visit Elvia, a 37 year old lady who seems to be severely anemic, malnourished, and has a racing pulse and low oxygen saturation. The family is completely broke, with very little food, so we gave them money to get her to the doctor immediately.

We finally pulled into Antigua this afternoon, much later than I had planned. We got both Ponceano’s family and Reina settle in at Casa de Fe and scheduled to see doctors at 7:00 am tomorrow. Then we started our drive home.

Let’s pause for a second to allow you to guess what happened. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------That’s right, my 4-Runner overheated again.

Now, in the middle of all this I kept hearing God’s voice whispering to me persistently:

Do you trust me?

Of course I do, God! If not, I wouldn’t be here doing this!

Do you trust me?

Yes, God! I trust you! Just show me what I need to do to fix this!

Do you trust me?

Would you please stop asking me that?!? I trust you!

If you really trust me, then why are you considering cutting ministry in the face of this challenge? Since when does your bank account decide what I want you to do?

Man! I hate it when He does that! It was a woodshed moment of God’s loving discipline that hurt because I saw so clearly my own lack of true faith.

I suddenly realized that this is one of those moments when God is testing me to see what kind of faith I really have. Is it a faith that comes and goes with circumstances, or is it a faith that keeps me on course through the storms? Is it a faith made of wet cardboard or faith made of stainless steel? Is my faith insignificant or does my faith matter as more than just words?

So:

• The mechanic is on the way to our home to work on my 4-Runner…again. It is an essential tool of our ministry, so God will provide.
• I will not make a single decision about who to help and who not to help based upon the finances we have (or do not have) in the bank. God is way bigger than that.
• We will be frugal with our expenditures, but not cheap for God’s Kingdom.
• We will do everything God asks us to do and trust Him for every penny we need.
• And that is that.

Okay. I wrote-out these truths and now I feel better. Thanks for reading them. Feel free to hold me to each and every one.

For His Kingdom!

Daryl

Update: We just received a call telling us that Elvia has full-blown AIDS. Please pray for her and her family as there is nothing we can do.

Come…quickly!

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”      

Revelation 22:20                       

Yesterday I sat in the home of Mauricio. He is a husband and father who had been in a motorcycle accident. His sister, Alba, is our friend and Spanish teacher, and since we were traveling up to his town, Guastatoya, to visit families she asked if we could visit him as well.

He was returning from Guatemala City when he took a nasty spill on his motorcycle. The bike fell on his leg and he slid some distance. He was taken by ambulance to the national hospital in GC where they told him that they couldn’t X-ray or examine him because his leg was too swollen. (Are you kidding me?) So, he was sent home and told to return in three weeks when the swelling was down. (This has to be a joke, right? Sorry, but it’s not.) I walked in the room and took one look at his severely swollen leg and knew he had trouble. I placed my hand gently on it and he winced in pain as I felt the heat radiating off his leg.

After talking it over with his family, we decided to pay for him to go to a local private hospital for X-rays and an exam. Alba was with us, so she arranged for she and her parents to take him for the exam while we visited other families. They did so, and a little while later I received a text message from Alba explaining that he had a severe infection in his leg and needed to be hospitalized for two days so they could administer intravenous antibiotics. The cost? Q.2000.00 (about $265) plus an additional Q.500.00 ($66.00) for medicine. His entire family works hard and is struggling to survive. No one had that kind of money. Further, I didn’t have that much available to me, which meant I would need to make the three hour trip back on Friday and bring funds with me. (I had withdrawn Q.2000 from a cash machine to take care of the sponsored needs in the town. That is my daily ATM limit, so I could not withdraw more and my bank didn’t have a branch anywhere near the town.) In addition, this is not a budgeted expense, so we just don’t have the funds for it.

I sat and struggled with all these thoughts, along with others. When I thought about the necessary return to town two days later I was reminded of the Good Samaritan who cared for his neighbor, getting him help, and then coming back later to pay the balance, and I realized that we needed to do what was necessary to help.

So, we arranged for him to be admitted. Praise God, Ron and Melanie Ecklebarger were traveling with me and they were able to withdraw and loan me the money for the hospital (along with the assistance and support of Ron’s dad, Bob, back home in Pastores), saving us another expensive trip on Friday. I have since received word that the antibiotics are working and he is improving already.

I keep thinking, what if he had followed the instructions of the doctor at the national hospital? If he had waited, he would have suffered greatly and possibly faced an amputation. Of course, if left unchecked, it could have been fatal. I shake my head often at the medical system here. So many people die and suffer needlessly. A combination of incompetence in some doctors and a flood of needs that overwhelm the good doctors has created an ugly and very dangerous situation.

After that, we visited Carmen and her two daughters, Manuela and Marsela. When we arrived, we saw a lock on the outside of the metal hut. My first thought was the the landlord had evicted them since she is over a year behind on her rent. (She pays a king’s ransom of $45 a month for a tiny metal oven. A rip-off by Guatemalan standards and an unobtainable total for this single mom who has to stay at home to care for her two daughters with special needs.) However, we found out from a neighbor that she had just gone to gather firewood and had locked one of the daughters inside to keep her from wandering away. My heart broke as I thought of this young lady locked inside the metal shack on a 90 degree plus day. She spoke to us through a crack between the door and the wall and stuck her fingers through so we could touch her.

Please don’t jump to conclusions and assume this is an abusive and neglectful mom. She is not. She cares for her daughters and is doing her best. But imagine that you are an elderly mother and have to walk two kilometers for firewood that you need for cooking. You have two daughters that cannot be left alone outside because they might wander off. One of those daughters is difficult to control without having a hand free to hold her hand. How do you do it? How do you carry a heavy load of firewood while keeping her from wandering away or stepping out into the street in front of a car? I can honestly say that I don’t know how I would do it as a healthy, reasonably strong man. I certainly don’t know how a sickly 65 year old could do it.

And so, she did the only thing she knew to do. She locked her daughter in to keep her as safe as possible and hurried away to gather firewood as fast as possible. She isn’t a monster, she is a mother in the worst of circumstances.

Soon she and her daughters will be evicted. She owes $630 in back rent plus the $45 a month rent just to keep up. She can’t work because she has to care for her daughters. Soon, if her health continues to decline, she will die and leave Manuela and Marsela alone. If they are fortunate, they will be sent to a state-run institution (as opposed to being left alone to die). But if that happens, you and I do not want to see their future.

As I contemplated all of this, I was overwhelmed with sadness and desperation. I honestly don’t know what to do to help them. And, as I shed some tears, I said a simple prayer. “Lord Jesus, come quickly!”

There will come a day when suffering and oppression will end. Selfishness and materialism will be obliterated and replaced with love. There will be no need for doctors and crappy hospitals. There will be no more single moms struggling to care for their children. No more metal shacks on a hot sunny day with a young lady locked inside. No more disabilities. No more death. No more pain. No more oppression.

And so, this is my prayer:

Jesus, I really want that day to come soon! In fact, yesterday would be a great day for it to happen! But until that day, please help me be a little taste of Your Kingdom. Let me be Your love. Let me be Your justice. Let me be Your hope. Let me be Your healing and peace and mercy and hands and feet and so much more. And, please, let me do it in such a way that points to You and gives You all the glory. Because, after all, You are the King and it is Your Kingdom!

Amen and blessings from San Antonio Aguas Calientes.

Daryl, Wanda and the Crew

Prayers Needed for Jorge

If you have followed my blog, you have read several times about Jorge from La Gomera. He is 14 years old and has Spina Bifida that has caused paralysis of his legs from mid-tibia down. He has also struggled with two severe bed sores, one on his buttocks and the other on his right foot. While the one on his buttocks has improved, we have not been able to make headway on the one that is on his heel. So we arranged for him to come to Hermano Pedro yesterday to be evaluated by a Faith in Practice team from the States that is doing surgeries this week.

Mid-afternoon we received a call from his mother who was sobbing. She explained that the doctor had recommended an amputation of his foot, and she had to make a decision within the hour. I asked to speak with the doctor who explained that his heel bone was almost completely eaten away and that the foot was actually holding Jorge back. He believes that if they amputate his foot and then provide him with a prosthesis and an AFO (ankle and foot orthotic/leg brace) for his his other foot that he could learn to walk. We spoke with his mother again, and she asked us to come in and help make the decision.

So we drove into Antigua where we fought the crowds caused by still another Easter procession. We arrived and found both Jorge and his mom in tears. We counseled them both to proceed with the surgery as we truly believe this will be best for Jorge in the long-term. His mother was ready to agree, but Jorge adamantly refused. He told us that if we forced him to do it he would kill himself. After further consultation with the doctor, we decided that it would be best to wait on the surgery. Jorge needs to own the decision and understand it better before the amputation. We explained to Jorge that it would have to be done sometime in the next year, so he needed to get ready for it, but we also let him know that he could have some time to prepare.

The surgery that the doctor wants to do it called a Syme’s Amutation. It involves removal of the foot and ankle joint and suturing the heel pad back underneath to provide cushion. This allows a prosthetic foot to be placed over the end, enabling him to wear normal shoes and, hopefully, develop a normal gate when walking.

The saddest part of the day is when his mother looked at me and said that I was the closest thing to a father that Jorge has. I love him and this broke my heart to hear. To think that I (a guy who visits once a month, delivers food, spends a half-hour with him and struggles to speak his language) am the strongest male presence in his life grieves me deeply. To see him struggling with the challenges of his disability and such a huge decision without a dad to walk with him makes me a combination of sad, angry and determined.

Please pray for Jorge and his mom. Please pray that God will give them courage and wisdom to make this important decision. And pray for peace for their family.

Thanks for caring about Jorge and the others we serve.

Daryl, Wanda and the Crew