Another lovely day here at Dorie's is coming to a close, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to describe it! Lindsay and Mark worked all day on murals and wall decorations. In the isolation room, they painted a castle, and Mark used his hands to make little footprints along the walls. The difference in this room from Monday to today is almost unbelievable. Monday night, it looked like a prison cell, and today it looks like a room for kids to dream in! And tomorrow, when the trim is put back up and the furniture is moved in, Sophia will do just that!
In the afternoon, Mark and Lindsay decorated the Yellow Room in Casa 6, copying pictures from the girls' quits onto the walls. So far it looks great, wait until you see the pictures! It's so amazing to me that they can look at a picture on a blanket and transfer it to the wall with so little effort!
The BIG project here today was to repair the roof over the storage room in the administrative building. It slopes in the wrong direction, and there is actually a gutter INSIDE the room to collect the water and drain it through a pipe. Serious design flaw. Fortunately, we have a resident architect, Craig, who climbed around in there yesterday and figured out a solution. So today, Craig, Ed, and Ron spent the day fixing it. I can't even tell you what they did, other than smash some bricks, cut a lot of wood by hand, and use five tubes of something to seal the whole thing. There was some flashing involved, and we really hope that it's watertight now! The suggestion was made this evening to have Desi stand in there while we hold the hose on it, and see what happens! We'll let you know.....
I had the most fun of anyone, as usual! [Actually, I think there are a few people here who would argue that point, but I stand behind my statement!] Desi and I went to the neighborhood Costco-type store this morning and bought giant tubs of ice cream. I'm sure you can imagine what comes next - ICE CREAM SUNDAE PARTY! The 5-12 year olds came up to Casa 1 and spent the afternoon with me. They were happy when I brought out the bowls of ice cream. They were excited when they saw the sprinkles. But when I pulled the can of whipped cream out and Brayan's mouth hung open, I couldn't resist squirting it right in, and then they were ecstatic! Of course, then I had to squirt it in everyone's mouth, but hey, it was a party, right? After the ice cream, we hung around in the living room, some coloring, some talking, some looking at pictures of my family and home. It was an afternoon well spent.
Tonight after supper, a bunch of us invaded the Baby house, which I'm not so sure the Mamas loved, although the kids and we did! After we sufficiently riled them up, most of our team left, and I stayed to help get the babies to sleep. It's so peaceful and quiet, and the babies are so content, I could have stayed all night, but it was time to move out! Tomorrow the babies can have their whole house back, which will make the Mamas REALLY happy, and I will be very sad. I can't wait to hug my own kids, but I wish I could bring all of these kids with me. All I can say is, we'll be coming back here again, and hopefully soon, because there is no place on earth like Dorie's Promise Guatemala!
February 3, 2011
Thursday 2/3/11 (Dump and Limonada)
We had another great day in the dump and Limonada today! We went to the dump at around 9 am to start framing the building for the community center. The people had kept the concrete moist so it could set correctly, and it was nice and solid when we got there. They had also already moved all of the lumber we needed to frame to the lot for us (it had been it little ways away). Those people are unbelieveable. If we needed anything, from water to nails to wheelbarrels, they jumped on it as fast as they could. And it was never just one or two of them. Every single one of the group of probably 40 or 50 people that was there rushed to help. There was one time one of us told Ashley we needed 4 cinder blocks. She translated to Spanish for the president of the dump, who announced it to the crowd, which rose all at once and brought over about 30 blocks. It's really great to see that these people not only care about this project, they want to be involved, and they have been invalueable this week. By the end of the day, we finished almost all of the framing. Tomorrow we hope to start putting on parts of the sides. So, we made a lot of progress on the dump community center today.
Being a 15 year old girl, I'm not much of a builder, and I really couldn't do much with the framing. But I got to spend a lot of time just talking to people and playing with kids today. We all put a bunch of stuffed animals in our bags (thanks so much for those, GMHS!), and before we'd been there for half an hour, they had all been handed out. It started with just kids, then adults started coming from all over. It was a mob scene. The looks on those kids' faces were indescribable.
I can't really descirbe the way these people are, not effectively and to the extent they deserve. To put it most simply, I suppose they are a community the way communities are supposed to be. Nobody has much of anything, but they share every bit of what little they do get. Every day this week, the same core group of kids has been hanging around the lot, and we've gotten to know a lot of them pretty well. There are two brothers, Eduardo and Cristian, who love sports and have a prized collection of 10 balls. Then there are Karina (a.k.a. Smiley), Maribel, and Dulce, three sisters who basically fend for themsleves because they don't have a father and their mother works in the dump all day. Karina is 10, Maribel 8, and Dulce 1. Karina carries Dulce around on her hip all day long. Franklin is the second youngest of 12, who all live and work in the dump. Louis has sandy hair and a face that's almost freckled. There are two kids that nobody knows anything about because they are deaf and can't talk. They're nameless, ageless strangers, even to the other kids they play with. It's heartbreaking. We played ball for a while, with one team on one side of the sewage ditch and another on the other. Then Tom brought over his giant bag of bubble gum, adn it ended. I siad, "Chicle!" and they swarmed me. It took almost 10 minutes to hand it all out, and by the end, each kid had like 6 pieces. Then three other kids that we hadn't really seen popped out from an alley, and the kids with gum each gave one piece for them to divide up. It was amazing. There are so many kids in the dump, all recognizeable as much by their clothes as by their faces. They are the poorest, dirtiest, most content kids I have ever seen.
A little after lunchtime, a few of us left the dump and went over to the Limonada to finish moving cinder blocks and sand up to the church there. It was hard work, and it took a few hours, but it was great to be working. Apparently a lot of people here sniff glue to get high because they can't afford drugs, and I think we saw 3 or 4 of them today. One was passed out on the ground, and two people stole money from his pockets. It's a horrible situation.
After the Limonada, we went back to the dump to meet the rest of our group and headed back to Dorie's, which is where I am right now. I've been wiriting for a while now, and I think some other people want the computer, so I'm gonna wrap this up. Please just pray for our generic safety and effectiveness on our last day. Gos has blessed each day so far, and we're ready to do whatever He wants to happen tomorrow. Thanks for your prayers! I'll write once more tomorrow.
(Ellie)
Being a 15 year old girl, I'm not much of a builder, and I really couldn't do much with the framing. But I got to spend a lot of time just talking to people and playing with kids today. We all put a bunch of stuffed animals in our bags (thanks so much for those, GMHS!), and before we'd been there for half an hour, they had all been handed out. It started with just kids, then adults started coming from all over. It was a mob scene. The looks on those kids' faces were indescribable.
I can't really descirbe the way these people are, not effectively and to the extent they deserve. To put it most simply, I suppose they are a community the way communities are supposed to be. Nobody has much of anything, but they share every bit of what little they do get. Every day this week, the same core group of kids has been hanging around the lot, and we've gotten to know a lot of them pretty well. There are two brothers, Eduardo and Cristian, who love sports and have a prized collection of 10 balls. Then there are Karina (a.k.a. Smiley), Maribel, and Dulce, three sisters who basically fend for themsleves because they don't have a father and their mother works in the dump all day. Karina is 10, Maribel 8, and Dulce 1. Karina carries Dulce around on her hip all day long. Franklin is the second youngest of 12, who all live and work in the dump. Louis has sandy hair and a face that's almost freckled. There are two kids that nobody knows anything about because they are deaf and can't talk. They're nameless, ageless strangers, even to the other kids they play with. It's heartbreaking. We played ball for a while, with one team on one side of the sewage ditch and another on the other. Then Tom brought over his giant bag of bubble gum, adn it ended. I siad, "Chicle!" and they swarmed me. It took almost 10 minutes to hand it all out, and by the end, each kid had like 6 pieces. Then three other kids that we hadn't really seen popped out from an alley, and the kids with gum each gave one piece for them to divide up. It was amazing. There are so many kids in the dump, all recognizeable as much by their clothes as by their faces. They are the poorest, dirtiest, most content kids I have ever seen.
A little after lunchtime, a few of us left the dump and went over to the Limonada to finish moving cinder blocks and sand up to the church there. It was hard work, and it took a few hours, but it was great to be working. Apparently a lot of people here sniff glue to get high because they can't afford drugs, and I think we saw 3 or 4 of them today. One was passed out on the ground, and two people stole money from his pockets. It's a horrible situation.
After the Limonada, we went back to the dump to meet the rest of our group and headed back to Dorie's, which is where I am right now. I've been wiriting for a while now, and I think some other people want the computer, so I'm gonna wrap this up. Please just pray for our generic safety and effectiveness on our last day. Gos has blessed each day so far, and we're ready to do whatever He wants to happen tomorrow. Thanks for your prayers! I'll write once more tomorrow.
(Ellie)
February 2, 2011
Wednesday at Dorie's...
Most of us went to the Dump and Limonada today, but a small but dedicated crew remained here at Dorie's! [It's tough work, but SOMEONE has to stay here and carry Jose around!] We started with painting - the second coat on the bottom half of the pink room in Casa 5, the bottom half of the purple room in Casa 5, and the two toned greens in the Isolation Room. Just when we thought we were nearing the end, Desi came down and said, "Oh, hey, guys! We have some cream colored paint here, too, maybe you could paint the hallway, too!" Craig just sighed and picked up the blue tape and started covering trim, and Bob picked up a clean roller.
I had to bow out of the painting after lunch to get ready for my next cupcake party with the 4-11 year olds. This one was a little calmer, and very fun! We all fit at one table, and the kids loved teaching me new words in Spanish and learning English phrases. I drew pictures with Ana, and she made a picture with a Spanish message for my Ana at home! We went outside and blew bubbles [thanks, Mrs. Klopfer!], and really just hung out and had fun for over an hour. When they left, I went back down to see the painting, and found Lindsay in the baby room, playing with Mauricio, who really looks like a miniature Sumo wrestler, with a constant smile! He is SO cute! Of course, when my little Jose heard my voice he started complaining, so I held him for a little while and then forced myself to put him down to go back up to the guesthouse to clean up the party mess. He managed to wrap Lindsay around his other little finger, because a half hour later she turned up in our kitchen holding the grumpy little guy. I got to feed him his bedtime bottle and get him ready for bed, and when I left, all the babies were almost asleep.
Ellie and I ran down to Casa 6 to visit Jonatan, who showed me a really cool origami trick today. Ellie is really good at origami, so I'd asked him if he could show her. We were mobbed when we entered the house, and I'm not so sure the Mamas were as happy to see us as the kids were, but we used the rest of the package of construction paper making "avions" and flying them around the dining room, until the Mama in charge had enough and sent the kids to settle down in the living room. We ended up back there a little while later to video Pastor Evan's haircut. Don't worry, Beth, he still has a little hair, but the sideburns, well, I'll just let you see it when he gets home....
Nayeli braided Desi's and my hair with colored ribbon tonight, and I played with little Ana's hair for a while, and finally it was time for the kids to get to bed. The older kids [4+] leave every morning for school at 6.30 AM, so they go to bed early. One of my favorite things about these kids is their absolute happiness. Sure, the have fights, and some complain, and sometimes some of them have bad days. There is always someone who doesn't feel good, a runny nose to wipe, or tears to dry. But if you have a moment, even one moment, to hug a kid or sit quietly with one of them, you will ALWAYS come away feeling better. I often feel that they are blessing me so much more than I can bless them, even though we can do so much for them physically. These kids are awesome, and God really lives and works here at Dorie's Promise. So tonight, I go to bed with some paint spatters on my feet, some frosting in my hair [along with the ribbon], a smile on my face, and gratitude in my heart. I'm so thankful that I'm able to be here. I'm so thankful for Dorie's Promise and the amazing staff here, and I'm so thankful for all of the prayers being sent up on our behalf. If this trip accomplishes nothing else, it has changed the lives of most, if not all, of us. And that is something to truly be thankful for.
Stay tuned...Ice Cream Party tomorrow!!
[Amy}
Most of us went to the Dump and Limonada today, but a small but dedicated crew remained here at Dorie's! [It's tough work, but SOMEONE has to stay here and carry Jose around!] We started with painting - the second coat on the bottom half of the pink room in Casa 5, the bottom half of the purple room in Casa 5, and the two toned greens in the Isolation Room. Just when we thought we were nearing the end, Desi came down and said, "Oh, hey, guys! We have some cream colored paint here, too, maybe you could paint the hallway, too!" Craig just sighed and picked up the blue tape and started covering trim, and Bob picked up a clean roller.
I had to bow out of the painting after lunch to get ready for my next cupcake party with the 4-11 year olds. This one was a little calmer, and very fun! We all fit at one table, and the kids loved teaching me new words in Spanish and learning English phrases. I drew pictures with Ana, and she made a picture with a Spanish message for my Ana at home! We went outside and blew bubbles [thanks, Mrs. Klopfer!], and really just hung out and had fun for over an hour. When they left, I went back down to see the painting, and found Lindsay in the baby room, playing with Mauricio, who really looks like a miniature Sumo wrestler, with a constant smile! He is SO cute! Of course, when my little Jose heard my voice he started complaining, so I held him for a little while and then forced myself to put him down to go back up to the guesthouse to clean up the party mess. He managed to wrap Lindsay around his other little finger, because a half hour later she turned up in our kitchen holding the grumpy little guy. I got to feed him his bedtime bottle and get him ready for bed, and when I left, all the babies were almost asleep.
Ellie and I ran down to Casa 6 to visit Jonatan, who showed me a really cool origami trick today. Ellie is really good at origami, so I'd asked him if he could show her. We were mobbed when we entered the house, and I'm not so sure the Mamas were as happy to see us as the kids were, but we used the rest of the package of construction paper making "avions" and flying them around the dining room, until the Mama in charge had enough and sent the kids to settle down in the living room. We ended up back there a little while later to video Pastor Evan's haircut. Don't worry, Beth, he still has a little hair, but the sideburns, well, I'll just let you see it when he gets home....
Nayeli braided Desi's and my hair with colored ribbon tonight, and I played with little Ana's hair for a while, and finally it was time for the kids to get to bed. The older kids [4+] leave every morning for school at 6.30 AM, so they go to bed early. One of my favorite things about these kids is their absolute happiness. Sure, the have fights, and some complain, and sometimes some of them have bad days. There is always someone who doesn't feel good, a runny nose to wipe, or tears to dry. But if you have a moment, even one moment, to hug a kid or sit quietly with one of them, you will ALWAYS come away feeling better. I often feel that they are blessing me so much more than I can bless them, even though we can do so much for them physically. These kids are awesome, and God really lives and works here at Dorie's Promise. So tonight, I go to bed with some paint spatters on my feet, some frosting in my hair [along with the ribbon], a smile on my face, and gratitude in my heart. I'm so thankful that I'm able to be here. I'm so thankful for Dorie's Promise and the amazing staff here, and I'm so thankful for all of the prayers being sent up on our behalf. If this trip accomplishes nothing else, it has changed the lives of most, if not all, of us. And that is something to truly be thankful for.
Stay tuned...Ice Cream Party tomorrow!!
[Amy}
Wednesday 2/2/11 (The Dump/Limonada)
We had an amazing day today. God revealed himself in a way that is undeniable. We were in the middle of our devotion time at Dorie's this morning when Ashley called and said that the cement truck, which was supposed to come at 2 pm, couldn't come any later than 10 am. They had actually wanted to come at 9, but Ashley talked them into waiting another hour. The problem with that was that we weren't really ready for the pour yet and were planning to finish up preparing the lot until 2. It was about half past 8 when she called. We jumped into our van right then and left for the dump. The people from the dump were incredible. They had put up a fence to keep out people and stray animals during the night, and the dirt was nice and packed and damp. By 10, we were ready for the pour. The concrete crew was great. I think we all felt a little funny just sitting there watching them do all the work, but they knew what they were doing and didn't want us to interfere.
While we were sitting, we got some interesting news. First, the reason the people had had enough water to keep the dirt damp and packed was that the president of Guatemala's wife apparently heard about the dump community center and sent an extra water truck there that night just for the purpose of packing the dirt of its foundation. So that was exciting. Then, these two nicely dressed men (who were obviously not from the dump) came over and told us that they were professors from some college of engineering, and they were looking for projects for their students. It sounded like they wanted to help with the construction of the community center and then move on to fix the sewage system (which is currently open trenches in the middle of the streets) and maybe even try to install running water to more of the homes. I guess in order to become architects here, students have to complete a building project, and they usually just build stuff and then tear it back down near the university. They said they had just heard about all the work they could do in the dump and wanted to get started ASAP. God is using this building in ways none of us could ever have imagined.
After we finished the foundation at the dump, we headed to the Limonada. We really can't do much there this time (which is perfectly fine considering how God clearly just had a different plan for us in the dump) except move supplies to a church there for future construction. Today, we filled big bags with sand and used wheelbarrels to move them to the church. It was tiring. After that, we handed out bags of school supplies to certain families throughout the Limonada. It was so amazing to walk through those streets again. We recoginized so many faces. We saw Buger and some of the other kids some of us met last trip. We also ran into Guillermo and Elmer. Elmer looked really good. He had his litle son with him, too. It was great to see them all safe and happy.
So, we had a great day. I'm not going to bother saying anything about what our plan for tomorrow is because it never works out that way anyway. But please pray that God will continue to use us for somrthing bigger than just this week. Thank you for your prayers for our safety. I'll try to write again tomorrow.
(Ellie)
P.S. I got sun-burnt today while you all shoveled snow! Haha!
While we were sitting, we got some interesting news. First, the reason the people had had enough water to keep the dirt damp and packed was that the president of Guatemala's wife apparently heard about the dump community center and sent an extra water truck there that night just for the purpose of packing the dirt of its foundation. So that was exciting. Then, these two nicely dressed men (who were obviously not from the dump) came over and told us that they were professors from some college of engineering, and they were looking for projects for their students. It sounded like they wanted to help with the construction of the community center and then move on to fix the sewage system (which is currently open trenches in the middle of the streets) and maybe even try to install running water to more of the homes. I guess in order to become architects here, students have to complete a building project, and they usually just build stuff and then tear it back down near the university. They said they had just heard about all the work they could do in the dump and wanted to get started ASAP. God is using this building in ways none of us could ever have imagined.
After we finished the foundation at the dump, we headed to the Limonada. We really can't do much there this time (which is perfectly fine considering how God clearly just had a different plan for us in the dump) except move supplies to a church there for future construction. Today, we filled big bags with sand and used wheelbarrels to move them to the church. It was tiring. After that, we handed out bags of school supplies to certain families throughout the Limonada. It was so amazing to walk through those streets again. We recoginized so many faces. We saw Buger and some of the other kids some of us met last trip. We also ran into Guillermo and Elmer. Elmer looked really good. He had his litle son with him, too. It was great to see them all safe and happy.
So, we had a great day. I'm not going to bother saying anything about what our plan for tomorrow is because it never works out that way anyway. But please pray that God will continue to use us for somrthing bigger than just this week. Thank you for your prayers for our safety. I'll try to write again tomorrow.
(Ellie)
P.S. I got sun-burnt today while you all shoveled snow! Haha!
February 1, 2011
Sigrid huelo mal
haha...ok so that title wont make sense to most....but im pretty sure at least Sigrid and Charlotte will get a kick out of it. The truth is that Guatemala in general huelo mal (smells bad). It is one of those things that you never quite get used to....but i suppose thats a good thing. Today I started at the dump, then went to the limonada, and then back to the dump again. I have to say that one of the hardest things to see here in Guate is the little kids running around completely filthy and barefoot. Just running and jumping and playing....as happy as can be...but totally barefoot. It really makes you think about all the things back home that you think you have to have....iphones, laptop, new clothes, etc and here there are kids with no shoes. There was one little boy at the dump who had shoes but no laces....and as he was sitting there he was digging around in the dirt and found a piece of wire that he was trying to string into his shoes as make shift laces. It totally just broke my heart. I asked Joey if he had any string and he didn't but he said he had more laces on his boots than he needed so he cut off a piece of his laces and strung them onto the boys shoe. You should have seen how the little boy just lit up! and of course he then proceded to follow joey around where ever he went with a huge grin on his face. For me, it reminded me that sometimes it really can just be the smallest things that we can do for each other that makes all the difference. Imagine how much better of a world it would be if every day we all looked for something our neighbor lacked...even if it is as small as shoelaces.
Lindsay
Lindsay
Happy Tuesday!
AT THE DUMP....
When the guys arrived in the dump this morning, there were about 30 people waiting with tools to help! The main job was to prepare the site where a community center is going to be built. As a little background, 20,000 people live in and around the dump of Guatemala City. They include a large portion of Mayan people, who migrate here from the north, looking for work. Many of them "work" for the city/government, sorting and collecting trash for pay. There is little if any running water and/or electricity, and most of the people have to pay to have showers, which they can't afford. But this morning, many of them were waiting for our crew to arrive, to assist with the work!
Shane ran the caterpillar machine, leveling the site, which is 20 feet by 50 feet. He also plowed [yes, plowed, in 80 degree weather] a path through 6 feet of garbage to allow access for cement trucks to arrive tomorrow. They built retaining walls at the top edge of the site, and also a 2 block high wall in the middle of what will be a split level building. Three of the people stayed all day to help, and worked hard. Most of the people helped until they were just in the way of the machine, and then got out of the way. Our guys shared their lunches and fruit with the many kids who came by to watch, and were thanked by the president of the community association at the end of the day. "We could not have done this, or afforded to do this by ourselves, and we can never repay you." It was quite a change from our last trip to have people helping, pitching in as needed. A few women even hauled buckets of water to mix the cement, filling 50 gallon drums for our use.
IN THE LIMONADA....
This morning, two truckloads of crushed rock and one of sand were dumped outside the Limonada, and our guys spent most of the day shoveling the materials into bags, piling them into wheelbarrows, and pushing them about 200 yards to a house, where they stacked the bags inside, to keep them from being stolen. As Craig was answering my question, "What did you do in the Limonada today?" I was thinking, "This doesn't make for very exciting reading!" But think about it. Our guys spent 4+ hours shoveling, pushing, hauling, and stacking sand and stone. This will eventually be used to build a retaining wall by the Christian school to provide more security and stability. Tomorrow, they are doing it all over again. As I sit here in the office, I can hear them all chatting and laughing about the day, and I am wondering how they can even be awake, much less happy! All I can say is, here we are more aware of God in the little moments than we are at home. Even as we were traveling here, the plans were changing, emails were flying, cell phones were ringing. But never once did we doubt that whatever we ended up doing would be exactly what God wants us to do this week. Sure, the guys are tired. Lots of coffee is being consumed, and I got a round of applause for buying the biggest bottles of Coke I've ever seen to go with dinner. But it's the best kind of tired there is, knowing that you have given your all to accompish God's will. It's an amazing feeling!
AT DORIE'S.....
Dorie's Promise was buzzing today! Ellie and Ron spent almost the whole day painting, putting two coats on the two downstairs bathrooms in Casa 5, and also putting the sealer coat over the concrete that was plastered on the walls of the isolation room yesterday. I don't know how they did it, because I walked down there to see how they were doing, and the smell of the sealer literally took my breath away. I had to go back upstairs and outside!
Jeff and Ed spent the entire day making a cement ramp coming out of Casa 5, which has been a long time coming. Alex, the young man who is in a wheelchair, has had be to carried in the chair down the two steps every time he leaves the house. Obviously, this is not easy for the Special Mothers, who are very happy to have the ramp built. [I think they'll be even happier to have the painting done, so the babies can move back into their bedrooms!] They had to cut the plywood for the forms with a hand saw, and mix all the cement in a wheelbarrow with a shovel and gardening tool, so it wasn't quick work, but it is going to be a beautiful, functional ramp when it dries tomorrow.
I think I had the most fun of anyone today, although I'm still tired from running up and down the steep hill from the guesthouse to the kids' houses all day. This morning I baked heart shaped cupcakes [a challenge in itself, since I've never baked in a gas oven, or had to convert F to C!], and then prepared four different colors of frosting and cups of sprinkles and candy to decorate with. The two and three year olds go to preschool here on campus in the morning, and they came up to visit me for their snack after school. It was so cute to see them all sitting around our two dining room tables, their little heads barely reaching the top of the table. One of the Special Mothers, Diana, thankfully speaks very good English, so she helped with the directions, and we were off! Frosting was being licked off of knives, fingers were being dipped into sprinkles, and most of the cupcakes were decorated in no time! Then, when they were done, they all put their hands down and waited for the Mamas to lead them in prayer, to the tune of Popeye the Sailor Man, complete with the "toot, toot" at the end. I actually got the prayer on video, we've been watching it all night, it's so cute! Not until they prayed did they eat, and then some of them took their time to enjoy every last crumb. One little guy looked at the Mama nearest him, and when it was safe, he picked up his plate and licked it, and put it down quickly again, checking to make sure he didn't get caught. When he saw me taking his picture, I got a big grin. When they were done, we took out some paper and crayons and sitckers, and had a lot of fun with them. Chelsea, about 3, made a picture and gave it to me for "su casa,", and when I showed her I would hang it on the wall, I got the biggest hug. These kids are just so special!
After lunch, I went back to the babies [of course], and my little buddy Jose was crying again. I picked him up, and he spent an hour or so with me, wandering around the orphanage, running errands for people, and checking on jobs. Desi told me today that he was abandoned on a city street and found by someone who called the police. A social worker took him to a state home, but they didn't have room, so someone called Dorie's, and an administrator and Abel went to pick him up. He is about 3-4 months old, and he's really cute, when you can coax a smile out of him he has a little dimple. Yesterday I though the Mama told me his name was Juan, but as usual, I misunderstood! I've discovered the best way to find out their names, feed them a bottle! The names are written on them! So I started out thinking I was just helping the Mama by taking the squawking baby out of the room, but ended up falling in love with a little guy whose mother left him on a city street like so much garbage.
Desi found a few more projects for us to do around here, including fixing a wall to a storage room that leaks, and painting a few more bedrooms in the baby house while they're still moved out. Lindsay is going to repaint a mural of a sand castle in the Isolation Room after the walls are painted, and she's also going to add some colorful decorations to the walls of a recently painted girls' room in Casa 6. Whenever we finish a job and think we can relax, Desi comes running up saying, "Do you need something to do?" I learned today that the majority of the mission groups coming here are comprised of teens, who don't have the expertise that our team has. So obviously, it makes sense for them to make use of us while we're here. That's WHY we're here, after all!
It's time for evening devotions and share time, which is always a lovely mix of laughter, sadness, and marvel. It seems every night we're going to bed earlier, and every morning we're comsuming more coffee! Desi had to make an emergency Costco run for more coffee tonight! Thanks for all your prayers, we really need them, and can feel them. The only thing I wish now, is that you could all be here with us, because there is SO much to be done, and SO much to learn. Stay tuned......
[Amy]
When the guys arrived in the dump this morning, there were about 30 people waiting with tools to help! The main job was to prepare the site where a community center is going to be built. As a little background, 20,000 people live in and around the dump of Guatemala City. They include a large portion of Mayan people, who migrate here from the north, looking for work. Many of them "work" for the city/government, sorting and collecting trash for pay. There is little if any running water and/or electricity, and most of the people have to pay to have showers, which they can't afford. But this morning, many of them were waiting for our crew to arrive, to assist with the work!
Shane ran the caterpillar machine, leveling the site, which is 20 feet by 50 feet. He also plowed [yes, plowed, in 80 degree weather] a path through 6 feet of garbage to allow access for cement trucks to arrive tomorrow. They built retaining walls at the top edge of the site, and also a 2 block high wall in the middle of what will be a split level building. Three of the people stayed all day to help, and worked hard. Most of the people helped until they were just in the way of the machine, and then got out of the way. Our guys shared their lunches and fruit with the many kids who came by to watch, and were thanked by the president of the community association at the end of the day. "We could not have done this, or afforded to do this by ourselves, and we can never repay you." It was quite a change from our last trip to have people helping, pitching in as needed. A few women even hauled buckets of water to mix the cement, filling 50 gallon drums for our use.
IN THE LIMONADA....
This morning, two truckloads of crushed rock and one of sand were dumped outside the Limonada, and our guys spent most of the day shoveling the materials into bags, piling them into wheelbarrows, and pushing them about 200 yards to a house, where they stacked the bags inside, to keep them from being stolen. As Craig was answering my question, "What did you do in the Limonada today?" I was thinking, "This doesn't make for very exciting reading!" But think about it. Our guys spent 4+ hours shoveling, pushing, hauling, and stacking sand and stone. This will eventually be used to build a retaining wall by the Christian school to provide more security and stability. Tomorrow, they are doing it all over again. As I sit here in the office, I can hear them all chatting and laughing about the day, and I am wondering how they can even be awake, much less happy! All I can say is, here we are more aware of God in the little moments than we are at home. Even as we were traveling here, the plans were changing, emails were flying, cell phones were ringing. But never once did we doubt that whatever we ended up doing would be exactly what God wants us to do this week. Sure, the guys are tired. Lots of coffee is being consumed, and I got a round of applause for buying the biggest bottles of Coke I've ever seen to go with dinner. But it's the best kind of tired there is, knowing that you have given your all to accompish God's will. It's an amazing feeling!
AT DORIE'S.....
Dorie's Promise was buzzing today! Ellie and Ron spent almost the whole day painting, putting two coats on the two downstairs bathrooms in Casa 5, and also putting the sealer coat over the concrete that was plastered on the walls of the isolation room yesterday. I don't know how they did it, because I walked down there to see how they were doing, and the smell of the sealer literally took my breath away. I had to go back upstairs and outside!
Jeff and Ed spent the entire day making a cement ramp coming out of Casa 5, which has been a long time coming. Alex, the young man who is in a wheelchair, has had be to carried in the chair down the two steps every time he leaves the house. Obviously, this is not easy for the Special Mothers, who are very happy to have the ramp built. [I think they'll be even happier to have the painting done, so the babies can move back into their bedrooms!] They had to cut the plywood for the forms with a hand saw, and mix all the cement in a wheelbarrow with a shovel and gardening tool, so it wasn't quick work, but it is going to be a beautiful, functional ramp when it dries tomorrow.
I think I had the most fun of anyone today, although I'm still tired from running up and down the steep hill from the guesthouse to the kids' houses all day. This morning I baked heart shaped cupcakes [a challenge in itself, since I've never baked in a gas oven, or had to convert F to C!], and then prepared four different colors of frosting and cups of sprinkles and candy to decorate with. The two and three year olds go to preschool here on campus in the morning, and they came up to visit me for their snack after school. It was so cute to see them all sitting around our two dining room tables, their little heads barely reaching the top of the table. One of the Special Mothers, Diana, thankfully speaks very good English, so she helped with the directions, and we were off! Frosting was being licked off of knives, fingers were being dipped into sprinkles, and most of the cupcakes were decorated in no time! Then, when they were done, they all put their hands down and waited for the Mamas to lead them in prayer, to the tune of Popeye the Sailor Man, complete with the "toot, toot" at the end. I actually got the prayer on video, we've been watching it all night, it's so cute! Not until they prayed did they eat, and then some of them took their time to enjoy every last crumb. One little guy looked at the Mama nearest him, and when it was safe, he picked up his plate and licked it, and put it down quickly again, checking to make sure he didn't get caught. When he saw me taking his picture, I got a big grin. When they were done, we took out some paper and crayons and sitckers, and had a lot of fun with them. Chelsea, about 3, made a picture and gave it to me for "su casa,", and when I showed her I would hang it on the wall, I got the biggest hug. These kids are just so special!
After lunch, I went back to the babies [of course], and my little buddy Jose was crying again. I picked him up, and he spent an hour or so with me, wandering around the orphanage, running errands for people, and checking on jobs. Desi told me today that he was abandoned on a city street and found by someone who called the police. A social worker took him to a state home, but they didn't have room, so someone called Dorie's, and an administrator and Abel went to pick him up. He is about 3-4 months old, and he's really cute, when you can coax a smile out of him he has a little dimple. Yesterday I though the Mama told me his name was Juan, but as usual, I misunderstood! I've discovered the best way to find out their names, feed them a bottle! The names are written on them! So I started out thinking I was just helping the Mama by taking the squawking baby out of the room, but ended up falling in love with a little guy whose mother left him on a city street like so much garbage.
Desi found a few more projects for us to do around here, including fixing a wall to a storage room that leaks, and painting a few more bedrooms in the baby house while they're still moved out. Lindsay is going to repaint a mural of a sand castle in the Isolation Room after the walls are painted, and she's also going to add some colorful decorations to the walls of a recently painted girls' room in Casa 6. Whenever we finish a job and think we can relax, Desi comes running up saying, "Do you need something to do?" I learned today that the majority of the mission groups coming here are comprised of teens, who don't have the expertise that our team has. So obviously, it makes sense for them to make use of us while we're here. That's WHY we're here, after all!
It's time for evening devotions and share time, which is always a lovely mix of laughter, sadness, and marvel. It seems every night we're going to bed earlier, and every morning we're comsuming more coffee! Desi had to make an emergency Costco run for more coffee tonight! Thanks for all your prayers, we really need them, and can feel them. The only thing I wish now, is that you could all be here with us, because there is SO much to be done, and SO much to learn. Stay tuned......
[Amy]
January 31, 2011
Our first day of work is over, and Dorie's Promise Guesthouse is filled with some tired people! We're so thankful for the dinner [and lunch for those of us who were here during the day] that was delivered, and are making the second pot of coffee!
AT DORIE'S......
We split into two groups this morning, and one of them went to the Dump to do a project there [Ellie is going to write about that one at the end of this], and some of us stayed here at Dorie's. I think I mentioned that there is a premature baby who was delivered here about two weeks ago. Her name is Sophia, and there is absolutely no known information about her. In fact, Desi named her when she arrived here! She is tiny, and currently resides in an isolette in the corner of the eating room in the Baby House. Her isolette is draped with a sheet to try to keep her as separate as possible from the rest of the babies, and she has a warm humidifier blowing in her direction all the time. I have yet to see her awake [and believe me, it's not for lack of trying, I was in there many times today to peek at her!], but am told that she is just content and sleepy. Anyway, there is an area downstairs where they were planning to create an Isolation Room, and now there is clearly a pressing need.
So today, all of the babies moved out of their house for the day, and our guys went to work. There was a lot of mold on the plaster walls, which needed to be bleached off, and then the cracked plaster needed to be scraped off and replaced. Ryan, Mark, Lindsay, Bob, Joe, and David worked in the house all day, and got several bathroom ceilings cleaned and painted as well. The replastering is done, and there is hope for painting tomorrow. It was a big job, and I was impressed at how much they got done!
Meanwhile, I went shopping with Desi this morning for GF food and team supplies. We returned a little before lunch, and then after lunch I went shopping with Desi, Ali, and Abel to buy a new washing machine for the Baby House. They have been without a washer for some time, and have been trekking the laundry over to the other house to be done during the night. And then last week that machine broke! It's fixed for now, but we found a great, super-sized machine on sale, and even got a discount for paying cash! It's being delivered tomorrow morning [although we realize we are in Guatemala, on Guatemala time, so that could be anytime this week!], and our guys are going to install it.
When we got back from the last shopping trip, I was walking down the driveway when I heard several babies crying. After a little investigating, I found them in a bedroom of the bigger kids house, where they had been exiled to during the construction. There were seven babies under the age of 1 in the tiny room, with a handful of toys to keep them happy with their Special Mother. It was changing and feeding time, and I decided to stay and help the poor woman, who wasn't too happy about her location [and who can blame her?]. I picked up little Jireh, who needed to eat, and fed him while she changed a couple more diapers, and thus went our afternoon. Two of them are walking, and kept trying to escape whenever a bigger kid came in to use the bathroom attached to the room [we were in Brayan's room, for those of you who know the layout], and we had to keep catching them from running away AND from playing in the toilet when they bathroom door was open. Little Alejandra ended up getting her fingers pinched in the bathroom door a time or two, and Abraham just walked the length of the room endlessly all afternoon. I ducked out for a little while to make the GF dinner, and then I heard crying again. I fed Mauricio, and as soon as he settled down, Juan Carlos started fussing, so I picked him up, never to put him down until he went to bed. I have to say, as the mother of 5, that being a Special Mother is a tough job! How many babies will eat exactly on schedule, and mess up their mother's day? Imagine having seven of them at once! It was a very fun, but tiring afternoon.
And I get to do it again tomorrow, until the messy smelly stuff in Casa 5 is done! ......Amy
IN THE DUMP
We had a very busy day in the Guatemala City dump today. When we first got there, we went to this lot that the dump community has set aside for a community center. There were two little houses there that were in the way, so we tore them down. They were basically just frames with sheet metal and tarp sort of things nailed to them, so it wasn't very difficult work, and it only took us about hour. We made two piles of any salvageable materials (one for each house, becasue they were owned by different people). Some of the women from houses nearby helped pick up the scraps and other trash, which was easy to get rid of, since we were already in the dump. There was this one litle boy who probably worked harder than any of us. He always ran to catch up with anyone carrying anything and grabbed an end. It's hard to say how old he really was, but I think he was about 5 or 6. At the end, we gave him one of our water bottles, and he drank the whole thing in like 30 seconds. It was probably the first clean water he's ever tasted.
The living conditions in the dump were way worse than anywhere else we've seen. I don't think many, if any, of the house have showers inside, so they can only bathe if they pay to use some sort of public bathroom. Judging by their appearance, they can't do that very often. The running water they do have (for bathrooms, dishes, and laundry) is drained directly into little trenches that flow openly in the streets. It smelled pretty bad, and there were tons of flies. I guess there are about 20,000 people living in the dump. Almost 80% of them are women and children because the fathers often abandon. Most of them are indegenous (Mayan) people who move from the highlands to the dump to work there, collecting and sorting trash. They make about $3 a day. There's also problem with extremely high death rates due to exporsure to methane gas. Most people in the dump only live to be 40 or 50. It's appalling how horribly people can learn to live.
After we finished at the first lot, we went to the house of a woman named Blanca and her daughter, Jasmin. It was pretty much one big rectangular room with wooden frames and sheet metal walls and roof. The floor was dirt, and she had asked for concrete for it. She couldn't pay the $40 it would have cost her for labor. We worked all day leveling the floor out as much as possible and putting down concrete. We had to mix it all by hand, so it took a while, but we got it done. Blanca and Jasmin were so happy. God, as usual, provided the perfect opportunity.
The plan for tomorrow is to go back to the first lot (the community center one). We hope to have time to finish the floor, which will also be concrete, and at least start framing the walls. We're having the concrete poured (well, pumped) from a truck because the area is much too large to do it all by hand. The cement truck can't come until Wednesday, so tommorrow we'e just going to level it all out. We're renting a Bobcat or something to help with that. Hopefully everything goes smoothly.
Please pray for the people in the dump. Obviously, they need straight-forward, physical help. But we've been talking a lot about how we can't fix problems unless we get to the root of them, which is sin. They, quite simpy, need Jesus. Pray that He will reveal Himself to those people through us this week, despite how insignificant the structures we leave behind may be. Thank you again for your prayers for our safety and health. We are excited to see what God has in store for us tomorrow!
(Ellie)
AT DORIE'S......
We split into two groups this morning, and one of them went to the Dump to do a project there [Ellie is going to write about that one at the end of this], and some of us stayed here at Dorie's. I think I mentioned that there is a premature baby who was delivered here about two weeks ago. Her name is Sophia, and there is absolutely no known information about her. In fact, Desi named her when she arrived here! She is tiny, and currently resides in an isolette in the corner of the eating room in the Baby House. Her isolette is draped with a sheet to try to keep her as separate as possible from the rest of the babies, and she has a warm humidifier blowing in her direction all the time. I have yet to see her awake [and believe me, it's not for lack of trying, I was in there many times today to peek at her!], but am told that she is just content and sleepy. Anyway, there is an area downstairs where they were planning to create an Isolation Room, and now there is clearly a pressing need.
So today, all of the babies moved out of their house for the day, and our guys went to work. There was a lot of mold on the plaster walls, which needed to be bleached off, and then the cracked plaster needed to be scraped off and replaced. Ryan, Mark, Lindsay, Bob, Joe, and David worked in the house all day, and got several bathroom ceilings cleaned and painted as well. The replastering is done, and there is hope for painting tomorrow. It was a big job, and I was impressed at how much they got done!
Meanwhile, I went shopping with Desi this morning for GF food and team supplies. We returned a little before lunch, and then after lunch I went shopping with Desi, Ali, and Abel to buy a new washing machine for the Baby House. They have been without a washer for some time, and have been trekking the laundry over to the other house to be done during the night. And then last week that machine broke! It's fixed for now, but we found a great, super-sized machine on sale, and even got a discount for paying cash! It's being delivered tomorrow morning [although we realize we are in Guatemala, on Guatemala time, so that could be anytime this week!], and our guys are going to install it.
When we got back from the last shopping trip, I was walking down the driveway when I heard several babies crying. After a little investigating, I found them in a bedroom of the bigger kids house, where they had been exiled to during the construction. There were seven babies under the age of 1 in the tiny room, with a handful of toys to keep them happy with their Special Mother. It was changing and feeding time, and I decided to stay and help the poor woman, who wasn't too happy about her location [and who can blame her?]. I picked up little Jireh, who needed to eat, and fed him while she changed a couple more diapers, and thus went our afternoon. Two of them are walking, and kept trying to escape whenever a bigger kid came in to use the bathroom attached to the room [we were in Brayan's room, for those of you who know the layout], and we had to keep catching them from running away AND from playing in the toilet when they bathroom door was open. Little Alejandra ended up getting her fingers pinched in the bathroom door a time or two, and Abraham just walked the length of the room endlessly all afternoon. I ducked out for a little while to make the GF dinner, and then I heard crying again. I fed Mauricio, and as soon as he settled down, Juan Carlos started fussing, so I picked him up, never to put him down until he went to bed. I have to say, as the mother of 5, that being a Special Mother is a tough job! How many babies will eat exactly on schedule, and mess up their mother's day? Imagine having seven of them at once! It was a very fun, but tiring afternoon.
And I get to do it again tomorrow, until the messy smelly stuff in Casa 5 is done! ......Amy
IN THE DUMP
We had a very busy day in the Guatemala City dump today. When we first got there, we went to this lot that the dump community has set aside for a community center. There were two little houses there that were in the way, so we tore them down. They were basically just frames with sheet metal and tarp sort of things nailed to them, so it wasn't very difficult work, and it only took us about hour. We made two piles of any salvageable materials (one for each house, becasue they were owned by different people). Some of the women from houses nearby helped pick up the scraps and other trash, which was easy to get rid of, since we were already in the dump. There was this one litle boy who probably worked harder than any of us. He always ran to catch up with anyone carrying anything and grabbed an end. It's hard to say how old he really was, but I think he was about 5 or 6. At the end, we gave him one of our water bottles, and he drank the whole thing in like 30 seconds. It was probably the first clean water he's ever tasted.
The living conditions in the dump were way worse than anywhere else we've seen. I don't think many, if any, of the house have showers inside, so they can only bathe if they pay to use some sort of public bathroom. Judging by their appearance, they can't do that very often. The running water they do have (for bathrooms, dishes, and laundry) is drained directly into little trenches that flow openly in the streets. It smelled pretty bad, and there were tons of flies. I guess there are about 20,000 people living in the dump. Almost 80% of them are women and children because the fathers often abandon. Most of them are indegenous (Mayan) people who move from the highlands to the dump to work there, collecting and sorting trash. They make about $3 a day. There's also problem with extremely high death rates due to exporsure to methane gas. Most people in the dump only live to be 40 or 50. It's appalling how horribly people can learn to live.
After we finished at the first lot, we went to the house of a woman named Blanca and her daughter, Jasmin. It was pretty much one big rectangular room with wooden frames and sheet metal walls and roof. The floor was dirt, and she had asked for concrete for it. She couldn't pay the $40 it would have cost her for labor. We worked all day leveling the floor out as much as possible and putting down concrete. We had to mix it all by hand, so it took a while, but we got it done. Blanca and Jasmin were so happy. God, as usual, provided the perfect opportunity.
The plan for tomorrow is to go back to the first lot (the community center one). We hope to have time to finish the floor, which will also be concrete, and at least start framing the walls. We're having the concrete poured (well, pumped) from a truck because the area is much too large to do it all by hand. The cement truck can't come until Wednesday, so tommorrow we'e just going to level it all out. We're renting a Bobcat or something to help with that. Hopefully everything goes smoothly.
Please pray for the people in the dump. Obviously, they need straight-forward, physical help. But we've been talking a lot about how we can't fix problems unless we get to the root of them, which is sin. They, quite simpy, need Jesus. Pray that He will reveal Himself to those people through us this week, despite how insignificant the structures we leave behind may be. Thank you again for your prayers for our safety and health. We are excited to see what God has in store for us tomorrow!
(Ellie)
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