tuesday. june 17. 2015
jarom left to head back to the states today. job and all. we’ve got to figure out how to change our lives from the rat race, to the lives we want to live. figuring this out, isn’t easy. miss you already jarom!
walked down to the dock to catch a boat, and there are probably 20 bags of cement, and two ladies loading them and carrying them with their heads. i think i would just go back to bed if that was my job for the day. but that’s not an option here.
jess and i and the kids got a private shuttle, and drove the 15 minutes to the orphanage this morning. we had no idea what to expect. reading the website and talking to the founder was an incredible story. this couple moved to guatemala in the ’70’s. when women have babies down here, local tradition is to not bathe for 40 days-the baby or the mother-after giving birth. one baby had gook all over his eyes, and had never opened his eyes since being born-for 40 days. this american woman cleaned his eyes and put vaseline on them, and he opened them. the locals thought her a healer. and that’s how the orphanage began. long story short, after many years, they needed a bigger place, and found a $600,000 timeshare place that had foreclosed, and bought it for $160,000. it’s atop a mountain, overlooking the volcanoes and lake. breathtaking. the couple ran it for decades, and now their daughter and husband and children run it. they have a private school on their grounds that other kids in the area can also come to. they feed the very poorest of the poorest children in the village every tues., wed., thurs. they have awesome facilities for the younger kids-toddlers and babies. a sports court that is covered is out back and they are currently building a volleyball court. swimming pool area. it’s beautiful. these kids have about 5-7 outfits each. their lunches even looked yummy-way better than what kids in america eat at their schools.
we spent 3 1/2 hours there hanging out, holding babies, playing with toddlers and watching how things work. one baby is 1-the one camden is holding, but he has seizures and a few other issues, and looks like he’s 6 mos. old. one baby was left in the hospital-the newborn. one baby was left on the road with placenta and umbilical cord still attached. and there was another baby-whose mom was a 16 year old girl who gave the baby up.
watching the toddlers eat lunch was incredible. they sit, they eat, no whining, no complaining, no yelling, just sat, picked up their spoons, and ate. that’s how it should be. we cater way too much to our kids in america. you don’t want this, ok, you can have this. just make a good healthy meal, serve it, the end.
before we left, cam and madison and joselyn did a little magic show for the kids, and nadia and joselyn had made loom bracelets for four months to give out, and they shared those.
it was a lovely day, and our girls will hopefully remember it forever. we stopped by the dispensa on the way home-everyone raves about it, like it’s kinda a walmart. but no. wasn’t great at all. headed to the docks to get home. hiked up to the house just while the first drops started coming down. and then it downpoured. i love being here during the rainy season. it’s awesome! we started getting ready for dinner, potatoes and zucchini, and the power went out. it’s only happened twice before on sunday mornings, when we are trying to get ready, but this one lasted from 4:30 until midnight. we made use of the light that was left, got math lessons done, and some of us went to bed, while a couple others watched a movie. it was a fun, fulfilling day.
p.s. if anyone wants to help a child further their education, $25 will pay for a month of schooling for a child at this orphanage. education is so vital here, since most kids stop at 6th grade, to continue doing what their parents do.
http://www.eaglesnestint.org/index.php
