back to work

Well, here I am! Back in Guatemala!! Man, is it hot here! Such a change! It was actually cold when I left over a month ago, which got me ready for Alabama's weather. But when I stepped off the plan in my pink peacoat and scarf, I thought I would've passed out! Poor Steve and Shyrel had been waiting for me an hour when I finally got out! I was almost the first one off the plane and the first through customs, but almost the very last to get my luggage! I was getting a little worried and I've been through this many times before, waiting to get my luggage and I'm pretty used to it, so you know it had to be a loooooong time for me to get worried! But back to the smog and bus exhaust I am!!

I unpackd pretty much in one night. Although, unpacking to me is just taking the stuff out of the suitcases and putting the suitcases away, so I still have a little to do.

Today I went with Shyrel up to San Lucas (the roads are great, btw!) to Orphan Resources warehouse. They are moving and asked Shyrel if she wanted to come up and go through the clothes and stuff. It took us all morning and we came down the hill with the van packed to the ceiling!! He even gave us two whiteboard easels which will be great for the four kids who are going to be tutored at the house this year! We got plenty of clothes and I even got a pair of pj's and some bright red loafers!! (No one in Guatemala has feet as big as mine anyway!!)

After a "Nais" lunch, I went to help unload and see the kids. I was so excited!! It took about 2 seconds before all I heard was "AMANDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and saw so many arms reaching out for me! It was a great welcome!! I wish I could've taken video of Flor when she first saw me. It was priceless. She looked and I could tell she was thinking for a split second before it came over her like an electric shock and her body sort of jumped and her face lit up and she came running over with her arms in the air! I missed her! I missed them all!!

The new children are precious! Bryan and Angel are so sweet and Angel always has a cute little smile on his face. Bryan is deaf but is really fun to "talk" to. While unpacking the clothes, he "helped" by picking out things he liked and grunting to see if he could have them and then carrying them to his room. He's so cute! And little Fernanda seems so tiny because all of the other babies are so big now. (Big, and FAT!!) Also, yesterday another girl came. Maria Fernanda is 12 years old. I'm not sure exactly what illness she has, but she is a sweet heart and GREAT with the kids!

friendly faces and familir places

This was a good week.
First of all, Mike Smith was down from Alabama. It was great to see a familiar face. Friday was spent showing him around the places where I spend most of my time. We went first to Parramos to visit Victor and Chici’s boys’ home. Chici is in the States and Victor was busy, so one of the house parents helped me show Mike around the house. I was disappointed because most of the boys were at school, but he did get to meet some of the older boys.

Then we headed back to San Cristobal to the Osborn’s. Then believe it or not, the Osborn’s weren’t there either!! But I talked to them and found out when they’d be there, so we went for lunch and came back. I really think Mike enjoyed the children and I KNOW they enjoyed him. They ALL were trying to sit in his lap at the same time! Flor, who is usually very shy, was being very possessive of him. Eunice, who is always somewhere by herself, was amazed at the animal noises Mike could do. She really responded to him! She even tried to imitate the noises he was making. It was such a fun day.
We didn’t leave the Osborn’s ‘til after 7 and there’s been a lot of road work from San Cristobal to San Lucas, so I, thinking I was being so smart, decided to take another way home. So, I went down through Barcenas to Villa Nueva and came in the other side of the city. I thought I was doing so well until I ran into traffic much worse than that going down the mountain from San Lucas. It took me an hour to get back to the city, not including getting home from there. I’ve never been so happy to get out of my car!
Oh yeah, we also went to see the Osborn’s new house yesterday too. It is so beautiful. There are seven bedrooms and, to me, it’s beautiful in the details. There’s not as much of a back yard, but the more room in the house more than makes up for the lack of back yard.

Flor de Maria

I want to show all of you some before and after pics of Flor de Maria!!
The first day I met Flor, a few months ago.
Flor de Maria last Thursday after lunch!
Can you believe the difference?!? She's still so beautiful!!!
Hopefully I'll see some of you these next few weeks while I'm home!!

Flor's new mouth

I wanted to show a before and after pic of Flor's mouth.

The first day I met Flor a few months ago:

And Flor now!

Say hello to the new and improved Flor de Maria! This is an amazing story! There was a surgeon volunteering with the group from the States last week that is a specialist in this sort of thing. On the day before the group left, we took Caterin to get her walker that they GAVE to her, and on the advice of another doctor, we brought Flor to see if he might fix her lip. She only had her soft pallet done just before Mother's day. We were told not to get our hopes up, but one look at her and he said it wouldn't be a problem at all!! So, the next day we took her in and she went into surgery kicking and screaming, just like she came out 3 hours later. She's wearing splints on her arms to keep her from touching her face for three weeks. What a difference. She looks like a completely different girl!!

Flor

A very generous doctor at a clinic called "Climasa" volunteered to do Flor's soft pallet surgery. I had the honor to take the sweet baby to pre-op. She was terrified and clung to me when it was time for her to be taken back for surgery. She came through just fine and will not remember anything from today thankfully.

Bless her sweet little heart. I'm so glad I could be there for her.

Feliz Dia de la Madre!!

Well, today there was a mother’s day celebration at Fundabiem. Oh yeah, in Guatemala, mother’s day is celebrated on the 10th of May, no matter what day it falls. So, they weren’t having regular therapy classes today from 9 to 12, only fiestas with piñatas and snacks and games. On Wednesdays, Eunice has therapy, so we didn’t go. First of all, I’m not a mother. Second, on Monday, I had a pretty hard morning with Eunice. She didn’t want to go into her first class, physical therapy, but the therapist came out and carried her in. But when it was time for her special education class, she threw a fit, biting herself and kicking me over and over again in the leg and ankle and stepping on my foot. I didn’t know what to do. Everyone was looking at me and I was on the verge of tears, so I gave in and brought her home early. So, Steve and I decided not to take her today.
I stayed home, cleaned house, etc. The old man who does the gardening in the neighborhood came by and cut my grass and trimmed the hedges.
More good news is that I finally got a plumber to come out yesterday and fix the leak in the shower. It was so bad I was keeping a bucket in there just to save the extra water to wash dishes and flush toilets when I run out of water, or to water the garden. Ironic thing is that a few hours after to dude left, I ran out of water. So, I’ve been without for almost 24 hours now, and my bucket is now empty, but I’m about to ask the neighbors if they will let me fill my buckets with their hose. Water shortage is getting bad all over Guatemala. It’s worse in the rural areas, of course. But we’re seeing the effects here too. A huge blessing was that the plumbing job only cost me about Q300 ($40)!! That’s labor and supplies! It’s so different here. I waited about 3 hours for the guy to get here from zone 1. He came by bus with his tools in a backpack. So, when he needed parts, I took him to Cemaco, which is a Home Depot-ish type store, and then another construction supply store in the city to finally find the exact parts he needed. The parts altogether cost about $16, so for his work it cost me only $24!! Unbelievable!! So, when I do finally get water, hopefully it will come in tonight, my shower will no longer leak!! Now if I could only get the widow-maker to work again!! Thank goodness for hot weather that makes a cold shower seem not-so-cold!!!

Floricita

Yesterday morning I took little Floricita to get blood work done for her upcoming cleft pallet surgery. Poor thing! I’m not a big fan of needles and blood, and worse I had to hold that little girl still while they did it to her! I don’t know which is worse. I think I would’ve given my own blood to have not seen her shake like that! She was so scared! But she drank her bottle and went to sleep on the way home. At least she won’t remember it. This whole surgery process will be taken out of her mind once it’s over.

therapy and surgery

Well, I was going to post this ton of pictures that I have from my last few days at Monjas, but my hosting site is down or something, so maybe tomorrow or Thursday.

I had this list of things I needed to do today and I have managed to get a few of them done. But a cool thing happened as the Osborns went last Friday to Fundabiem, a physical therapy center, and two of the girls were accepted for therapy. I had agreed months ago that I would take the ones who were able to go. So I went with Shyrel today for their first treatment. Catarin and Eunice were the ones accepted. Catarin can't walk on her own at all. Her legs are basically limp. Eunice is autistic and suffers from seizures. They thought at first that I would be able to take both of them on the same day, but we quickly discovered today that it would be basically impossible, at best it would be completely exhausting. So, I will now be taking Eunice Monday and Wednesday, and Catarin will be Tuesday and Thursday, both girls in the morning. Catarin is easy because she is very calm and very sweet. Eunice likes to wonder and doesn't take well to being told what to do. At the home she was at before they apparently just tied her to a chair and left her because she was too hard to deal with!! It makes a lot of sense now to why she doesn't want to trust and obey. It was very interesting today and I think both girls will benefit tremendously with these efforts. I can't to look back in a few years, months even maybe, and see how far they've come!!

We also took Flor this afternoon to a plastic surgeon to see about getting her cleft pallet fixed. This doctor is a friend of a nurse who used to work at Casa Aleluya and is doing this surgery for free!! What a blessing!! He said Flor's was the worst he'd seen in years, very deep, or high, whatever is the correct term. It's bad, is all. He said it would take two surgeries just to correct the pallet, first the soft, then the hard, if he could even fix it completely then. Then another to correct the gums. Her teeth will have to be removed. Thn finally her lip, and another for her nose. He said the lip is usually done first, but with her being 1 1/2 years old already, it would affect her speech too much to wait any longer. He's starting next week!! There is blood work to be done as well. Please pray for Floricita, and those who are caring for her.

Flor

We took Flor this afternoon to a plastic surgeon to see about getting her cleft pallet fixed. This doctor is a friend of a nurse who used to work at Casa Aleluya and is doing this surgery for free!! What a blessing!! He said Flor's was the worst he'd seen in years, very deep, or high, whatever is the correct term. It's bad, is all. He said it would take two surgeries just to correct the pallet, first the soft, then the hard, if he could even fix it completely then. Then another to correct the gums. Her teeth will have to be removed. Thn finally her lip, and another for her nose. He said the lip is usually done first, but with her being 1 1/2 years old already, it would affect her speech too much to wait any longer. He's starting next week!! There is blood work to be done as well. Please pray for Floricita, and those who are caring for her.

New Arrivals!!!

Amor Del Niño received 8 children from the home in Antigua that shut down. I got to meet them all last week and they are so precious!! They are now up to 12 children, not including their own son and granddaughter. 5 babies, and all of the children have special needs.
Adriana, is about 9 months old and was born without one leg, as you can see in the next picture. But she is all baby, and sweet baby at that!! I love her smile!! She will need surgery for a prosthetic leg when she's a little older.

...and don't worry, I changed that diaper right after I took this picture!!
I love this picture!! This is Floricita, who needs cleft pallet surgery. She smiles with her eyes, doesn't she?!?
Lety is 6 years old and she's all little girl, except she's held back a bit by her legs which are disfigured, to descibe it best, I'll say they're "moon shaped", if you can imagine that. But she walks and even runs, so she's learned to get by, but will hopefully have correcting surgery soon.
I guess Martin is the only one that doesn't have any serious dissabilities. He seemed to cry a lot when I was there, but maybe he just didn't feel good.
Sindy's a healthy little girl as well. She didn't smile a lot while I was there, but then again, maybe she was just in a bad mood.
Tanya doesn't talk, and has some apparent mental dissabilities. She is a quiet little girl and stays mostly to herself.
Aw, Selvin. I met THE Selvin as soon I got there!! Imagine any little 6 year old boy, hyper, always talking, always has something to say, needs a lot of attention, etc, that's Selvin!! But as you can see, he needs corrective surgery on his eyes. He likes to sit in your lap, but his little boney-bottom hurts!! He doesn't seem to mind it though!!
Of course, you all know Jose. See his little cast? He's getting around pretty good now, considering that he uses his arms a lot to push himself around on the floor, it was hard for awhile!
And Monica, sweet as ever! She's such a good girl!
You might remember Danny from back at Christmas, when he was rushed to the hospital in Chimal for emergency treatment. He's God's little miracle as much as anyone at Amor Del Niño, and he is such a CHUNK!!!
Gabby, the Osborn's granddaughter.
Waiting for their spaghetti!
So, there are most of them. I don't have a picture of one of the new girls. She wouldn't let me take her picture, and she kept trying to eat the crayons!! Also, Helen and Hannah were at school.