Reuben

Folks often ask me how our kids come to live at Hermano Pedro when they have families.  I’m borrowing this from Dick’s journal to share with you a bit about Reuben, one of our newest residents, and his family.

Reuben is 19 years old and has CP. Even when mom was alive the family had a hard time caring for Ruben, and ever since she died things have gotten even worse. Reuben's father is a likeable person but after his wife died he started drinking and much of what little money he was ever able to earn is now spent on alcohol. Last year Ruben's 12 year old sister dropped out of school to care for him but this year she has returned to school and Ruben is left sitting in his wheelchair all day. A few month ago I dropped in unexpectedly and Rubin was filthy. It appeared that no one had taken him to the bathroom or changed him in several days. Today on our way to a water filter distribution we saw father walking down the road towards Rabinal carrying a bundle of fire wood.  Evidently when Father saw us today he must have figured that we would likely stop by later so he turned back towards home because when we arrived at Ruben's home after the distribution we found father at home and Ruben was cleaned up.

I know that spending what little you have on alcohol cannot be justified but I also know that this father loves his children. Losing his wife and never being able to have enough food to feed and clothe his family has simply brought him to the end of his rope. Last year he asked me if there was any way to get Ruben into the orphanage. He said that he loved his son but also knew that if any of the children were to stay home to take care of him they would have to drop out of school and if he were to stay home he would not be able to cut fire wood or grow any crops. At that time I had promised him that I would look into it but told him that finding a place for a disabled 19 year old would be difficult. A few days after that I met with some of the staff of Hermano Pedro orphanage in Antigua but they told me that their teen section was full. On this visit father once again asked me if I could do anything. I told him that I would try but that I was pretty sure that the orphanage was full and that they had a long waiting list.

Last Wednesday I went in to Hermano Pedro to take some of the orphanage kids to lunch. After lunch I decided to go over to Xiomora's office and ask her if there were any openings in the teen section of the orphanage. Xiomora told me that Luis, one of the teen age boys, had died that morning. Luis was one of the few residents of the orphanage that could actually walk. He was a tall boy who was kept in a cage so that he would not wonder off or hurt an of the other kids. Luis never responded much to other people so not many of the volunteers really got to know him.

About a week ago he got very sick and may have even suffered a stroke. He was taken to the hospital but had gotten somewhat better so he was returned to the orphanage a few days later. Xiomora then told me that Luis suddenly took a turn for the worse and had died earlier that morning. Xiomora said that since this was just a few hours ago she was sure that no one had done anything about the vacancy. She said that if I could get Reuben into Hermano Pedro for an evaluation within the next day or 2 she would do her best to keep the spot open for Ruben.

(Xiomara is the volunteer director who works closely with us.  It is not her responsibility to place kids in the orphanage, and she really has no authority.  BUT, she is a generous and loving young woman who cares more about the kids than you can imagine.  This is only one of the many, many times she has helped us by advocating for a child with the powers-that-be at Hermano Pedro.  She is a great blessing both to the residents and the volunteers.~~Pat)

At 4:30 the next morning Calin, Elder and I were on our way to pick up Reuben and his father. This was not an easy feat because I had to make sure that Father would have all of the necessary paper work ready by the time.  It was not until after midnight that I got things worked out so that Calin could miss school to come along.  (Dick would not allow me to come along on this trip, since he thought the hike in and out—see the pictures below—would do me in. I hate the fact that he is way older than I am and can manage it without breaking a sweat.  Still haven’t figured out if he was really concerned about my heart, or worried about his if he’d have to pack me out!~~Pat)


The road was open (there had been a landslide there the week before) and we made it there in less than 5 hours. the last hour and a half made us wonder if it was worth it though because the dirt road was very narrow, muddy and bumpy. The hike up to Reuben's house only took us about 10 minutes but we knew that it would take much longer coming out. Reuben, and his wheelchair would have to be carried down the mountain to my car.


Only Reuben and one of his brothers were at home when we arrived. Reuben's brother told us that his father had gone down to Rabinal to get the necessary paper work but that he should be back at any time now. Any time here in Guatemala can mean exactly that, only with out the word now behind it. I must admit that I was a bit worried that once dad got into town he may decide that moonshine was more important than paper work and I was really relieved when less than an hour later I saw him walking up the trail to their home.


Father and brother took Ruben into the house to clean him up but he came out looking much the same. I suggested to father that he take a few extra sets of clothes along for himself and for Reuben, but he told me that what they were wearing were all that they owned. After looking into the bedroom I think that he may have been telling me the truth. Papa then hoisted Reuben onto his back and we started out hike down the mountain.


When we got to my Land Cruiser I could see that father had been crying. Reuben also had tears in his eyes. I told them that this had to be their decision and that I would not be angry if they changed their minds but they both reassured me that they felt that this was the right thing to do.

A little over 5 hours later we were in Antigua. I stopped off at Hermano Pedro to get some paper work so we could put them up at Casa de Fe for the night and also went in and talked to Ximara to let her know that we had made it. She told us that she had already made an appointment for us to see the doctor at 8:00 the following morning. After dropping them off  I headed for home quite exhausted. I had an hour and a half to rest before I had to go over to a birthday party that was being held for Calin's 74 year old grandmother. I was suppose to go and watch several of my boys play Soccer after the party but it lasted much longer than expected so the game finished before the birthday party did.

From there on I can remember nothing until my alarm went off at 6:20 the next morning. It would have been easy for me to turn over and go back to sleep but I knew that Hermano Pedro was going out of their way to see if we could get Reuben admitted into the orphanage. Before picking up Reuben and his dad I stopped off at Marie's and had breakfast with Pat. Pat had several other things scheduled for the day but graciously canceled them all so that she could help me try and get Reuben admitted into the orphanage.

Our visit with the doctor went well. The doctor gave us some paper work and told us that we had to see the neurologist and then go to social work. It was then that we ran into a major hurtle. Not only was the neurologist not in but he would not be in until Tuesday of next week. As Pat and I were discussing where we would have Ruben and his father stay for 5 days the receptionist told us that not only was he booked up for Tuesday but unless there was a cancellation he would have no openings for the next few months.

We then went back to the doctor and asked if there was another neurologist that we could see. She told us that normally that would be OK but that this was the only one who had authorization to recommend that Ruben be admitted into Hermano Pedro. We then went and talked to social work and also to Xiomora. They both told us that it was policy that the neurologist had to OK things before we could go any further but that they would see if anything could be done. 

All I can say is if I ever said anything bad about Hermano Pedro in the past that I take it all back. In the next few hours everyone was scrambling to figure out how to make it possible for Ruben to become a resident of Hermano Pedro. Social work agreed to have an interview with Reuben and his father and Xiomora went to work on seeing to it that if he was accepted into Hermano Pedro that he could see the neurologist after he got admitted instead of before. Pat and I went in to talk to Social work first and they listened carefully to what we told them. Then it was Reubin and his father's turn.

Pat and I both knew that this meeting could take well over an hour and that simply waiting out for a decision would drive us both crazy. (OK I fess up it would drive me crazy) We decided that we would be better off doing something so we decided to take 2 of the orphanage kids out to lunch.

Just as we were about to leave we saw a lady who had a little boy with her. The little boy had CP and was in a wheelchair that was twice his size. We were both already on overwhelm but we could not help but ask his mother if this was his wheelchair. She told us that it was the hospital's and that she was only borrowing it for the day. She said that he had no wheelchair at home and that she had to carry him wherever he went. She went on to tell us that she was a widow with 5 children and that she had adopted this little boy after his parents had abandon him. We quickly filled out a wheelchair application and assured her that we would soon be getting a wheelchair for the little boy.

Another Godincident was that Flori, a social worker friend of ours who also lives in Santa Rosa, just happened to be in the hospital. Flori lives in the same town, 3 hours away and will stay in contact with her.  We were sure glad that we were not to busy to stop and talk to this lady.

We still managed to take Byron and Julio to lunch and they were both so good that we actually relaxed a bit. That is until I got a call from Xiomora.  She told us that social work had agreed to accept Ruben but that they needed his birth certificate before they could do any paper work or allow him to stay. Birth certificate? Wow! I had told papa to bring all kinds of paper work but had failed to mention a birth certificate. I asked Xiomora if she could delay going to lunch for 5 minutes while we ran back to Hermano Pedro to see what could be done. We made a fast exit from Camperos and headed back towards Hermano Pedro as fast as we could.

When I finally got to the orphanage Xiomora was still waiting for me. I apologized for causing her to miss most of her lunch break but she told me "No problem." She confirmed what I thought she had told me over the phone. We had all green lights except for the birth certificate that was back in Rabinal. Papa could not go back on the buss because the orphanage could not admit Reuben until he had a birth certificate and there was no one that could look after Reuben if papa went back home. If they both went back I would have to take them so it looked like all 3 of us would have to go. All of this would have to be done by Monday because the neurologist had been contacted by social work and had agreed to squeeze Ruben into his already full schedule.

Another little problem was that RENAP where the birth certificate was at was not open on Saturday or Sunday. Don't take me wrong I like Rabinal but 3 trips in 2 weeks is a bit much. I made a quick phone call to Julia my friend in Rabinal and she agreed to go in to RENAP and get the birth certificate for us. She would have to hurry though because it was nearly 3:00 and RENAP closes at 4:00 PM. Social work agreed to let Father and Reubin stay at Casa de Fe until Monday and if they had the birth certificate by then he could then move into Hermano Pedro.

One little catch though. I would have to be the one to go and get the Birth Certificate. Not exactly my idea of a restful week end but if it meant getting Reuben into the orphanage I was willing to do it. Suddenly one of the social workers came up with a brain storm. If the RENAP in Rabinal had record of Reuben's birth certificate on their computer, why would it not be on the computer at the Antigua RENAP that was located across town?

It was now 3:00 PM. We had a half hour. At 3:10 we arrive at RENAP there is a line up of about 6 people but it moves quite fast and we see someone at 3:15. The man at the computer immediately found the right file and printed it up. We are told that we must pay 11 Q or roughly $1.40. No problem, I would rather pay $100 then have to spend the week end going back and forth to Rabinal again.

Problem! the 11 Q had to be paid at a bank that was several blocks away. Evidently they can not trust government workers with big amounts of money like $1.40. It is now 3:22 PM and the guard at the door reminds Pat and me that he will be locking the door at 4:00 PM.

We decide to go on foot. If one of us does not have a heart attack we should be able to make it. I do not know what time it was when we arrived at the bank because we were both to exhausted to look at our watches.

What we did look at though was the long line of people in front of us. There was no way that we could pay the 11 Q and make it back to RENAP by 4:00 PM but we decide that we just as well pay for the paper work since we were there anyway. At 4:08 we finally get our receipt. I thought about taking a leisurely walk back with Pat but that just maybe they would stay open a little longer for us. Besides that if I did not die from a heart attack on the way to the bank perhaps I was in better shape than I thought so I grabbed the paper from Pat and told her to take her time. There was no way that I could do CPR on Pat as tired as I was and as much as I put Pat through today I doubt that she would even attempt to do it on me if she were with me.

As I rounded the corner I could see that the door to RENAP was locked and what seemed to be the last of the workers were heading for home. I headed to my car where I assumed Reubin and his father would be waiting for me but they were not there. I walked back to RENAP and noticed a doorbell next to the door. Even though everything appeared to be locked up tight I figured that it would not hurt to try it. Less than a minute later the same Guard that had told us that they closed at 4:00 PM opened the door and pointed to Reuben and his Father who were patiently sitting there waiting for me. By the time Pat arrived we had Reubin's birth certificate in hand.
Rubin and his father are spending the weekend in Casa de Fe. Pat is doing laundry and resting up at her house. I thought about resting up today but instead I ended up writing this long winded journal.

Faith can move mountains,
but don't be surprised if God hands you a shovel.

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

                                  Matthew 6:34 (The Message)