Today I went with Dick to visit the Hernandez family near Santa Lucia. This is a family I’ve known for at least the last 2 years, when I was with a team from Westside who painted their house. I’ve visited them a number of times since then, and was excited to see them.
Their oldest son, Rony, has Muscular Dystrophy. He is barely able to move on his own, and uses an electric wheelchair which had broken down once again. So Dick, Marcos (one of Dick’s “kids”) and I set off with spare parts.
The trip down was pretty uneventful, and it seemed like in no time at all we were at their home. (Really, I think it took about 2½ hours, but with the trips we’ve made lately, that’s not long.) The kids were home when we arrive, and the quickly called their parents who were working in the field nearby.
I’m always so excited to see the girls in this family. They have become very special to me, and I had time to visit with each of them. Estellita is having some trouble in school, and we talked quite a bit about how hard school has been for her. Talking to her mom, it’s the same story I heard many times in the States—she does her work, but does not hand it in. I think there’s a lot more going on here, though, as she was hesitant to show me any of her work, while the other two girls could not wait to do so. She also says she’s afraid of the teacher because she yells at her. I hope to spend more time with this little one, to see if I can figure out what’s really going on here. She just sat in my lap and cried as we talked about this. Please pray for her tender heart.
I brought some gifts for the kids. A young friend in the States, Terryn, had sent down some Barbie dolls for me to give to kids here. Since there were three of them (with wardrobes), I thought these three girls were the perfect recipients. I was especially pleased to see that Yessica, the oldest at 14, was excited to receive a doll. It seems like every time we’re here, she’s working and caring for the younger children. Today was no exception, as she was busy making tortillas while the rest of us visited.
Claudia, the youngest girl, has grown up quite a bit since I saw her last. I don’t think she hardly put down the Care Bear I brought her. She looks much healthier now than she did even a year ago.
Herlindo, the “middle” son, is quite the character. He’s sharp as a tack, but has a definite mind of his own. I really got a kick out of Dovan, the baby, who at age two also knows how to assert himself! I’d brought him a small ball, and if anyone touched it, he’d scream bloody murder! He did play futbol (soccer) with Dick for a while, though.
Dick and Marcos managed to repair Rony’s chair by replacing the wheel bearings. This was the real purpose of our trip, but, as Dick says, you can’t just make a quick stop at this home. This is a family who loves to visit and is always so gracious to us when we do. To thank Dick Marcos for fixing the chair, Momma gave them each sacks of limes to take home.
After the repairs were done, Dick took and printed some pictures for the family. I’m always amazed at what a big deal this is. These pictures I took of him doing this show just how much the family enjoyed this activity.
Soon it was time to go, as Dick needed to get back to Chimaltenango to take his teenagers to youth group this evening. We took a different road back, and discovered that it was covered in water in many places. This is dangerously deceptive, as what seems like a shallow puddle can turn out to be a 2 foot deep pothole filled with water. The Land Cruiser did an admirable job handling this road, even if it was unable to pull the bus we passed out of its “sink hole.” It’s nice to know there are some things even a Land Cruiser can’t handle! It did manage,however, to get us all home safe and sound.
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