One From the Road

This is being posted from a hotel on a Spanish language keyboard, so if there are typos, please forgive us!!

Our trip to Antigua with the families was an unmitigated success!!! Plus, we hear from our team in Houston that the support has been phenomenal!!! Thank you all so much.

After our last posting, where we described one of the mothers, we left for Chichicastenango, where we met Miguel, our van driver, and the rest of the families. There were six babies in total on this trip.

Miguel has been working with ASELSI for seven years now and has a wonderful heart for his work and his people. He can read and write, as well as speak K'iche, which makes him quite a blessing for the members of the group who have a limited command of Spanish.

At ASELSI, we had gift bags for each of the families, including diapers and wipes (none of the babies normally wear diapers - they´re too expensive), some bottles of water, vitamins for the moms, and a toy for each baby. We taught the moms how to diaper the babies with disposable diapers, loaded the van, prayed over the families and the vehicles (I think anyway - the prayer was all in K'iche) and headed out.

In Tecpan, we stopped for lunch - a very unique experience for the families (the lunch for each parent cost about a day's wages - $5). They were all very appreciative and sweet. In the van, on the way, Miguel had had a chance to explain what they were going to do, as well as evangalize some. Even though the families were completely out of their comfort zones, they were all such a pleasure to be around. Each one ordered a large chicken or steak dinner (at Miguel's suggestion) and some soup. As we were leaving, we noticed that there wasn't a single scrap of food left on any of the plates. We know it was such an inconvenience for them to leave their families, we at least know that their stomachs were well paid!!!

When we arrived at the Hospital Hermano Pedro, we secured lodging for each family at the Casa de Fe (House of Faith), a beautiful mission facility, and got each of the kids registered. The people at Hermano Pedro were so helpful and friendly, it really made us feel like they wanted us there and didn´t see us as a hassle or a burden. Definitely a positive experience!

After that, the families all went to Casa de Fe for the night, where they were served dinner and slept. The next morning, they all looked like they´d had the best night of sleep they´d had in forever! We passed around a couple loaves of bread from the Doña Luisa Xecotencatl (anyone who´s been here knows how wonderful that is!) for breakfast. Again, not one crumb left. YEA!

Heidi spent the entire morning with the families and the pediatrician. He, like everyone else there, was very kind and helpful. Of the six babies, none were found to have any complicating conditions, other than the expected malnutricion. Four will almost definitely get their surgeries in January, one more is a probable, and the last (one who only weighs 5 lbs 5 oz) will probably have to wait until we can get some weight on him.

We found out, during the morning, that one of the moms is either 47 or 49, depending on who´s asking, has 13 children and 30 grandchildren, including the infant son with the cleft palate. We also learned that Regina (who we wrote about last time and ALWAYS has a smile, by the way), out of seven children, has THREE with cleft palates. We may be doing some more work with her and her family soon - we'll keep you posted on that.

Anyway, all of the kids were seen in the morning, all received return appointments (a major accomplishment), and we were off to Pollo Campero (think KFC). Only one of the parents had ever eaten there before and they were all very excited. (Pollo Campero is about as popular as McDonald's in the US, but a sandwhich costs more than the average daily wage of a field hand - imagine $100 Happy Meals!) Oh, and don´t forget the ice cream cones!!!

So that was that. Miguel took the families back to Chichicastenango. We´ll help them all secure the tests that they need before January, and then we´re back to Antigua again on January 7th.

Heidi and I, along with my parents, spent another day in Antigua shopping and sightseeing, and are now at Hotel Atitlan in Panajachel. We´ll spend one night here, then go back to Quiche for a few days of working around the house.

That´s it from here. We´ll post pictures when we get home tomorrow night. Please keep those families in your prayers. They are all very special. We wish you could meet them yourselves!!