The third day of our trip we were privileged to return to Rosa de Amor to play with the kids. When we arrived, our leader suggested we walk next door and see where "The Kids on the Wall" lived and we could see where a couple of the bunk beds had been delivered to families on other visits. Again, the conditions were horrible for our standards, yet the people were very friendly and happy.
We were immediately greeted by a Guatemalan woman who told us good morning and invited us to come see her home. Her home consisted of some cinderblock walls with a tin roof, yes she was as happy as could be and was excited to show us around. Walking up to her house we saw that it was a two room home with a covered "porch" area and a dirt floor. The covered area was actually her kitchen. All cooking had to be done outside because the home only had two rooms and those were bedrooms. this lady was a recipient of the bunk bed project around Christmas for her two young children. Even though their beds were all ready showing signs of wear and the mattresses were already getting to be in rough shape, the little kids had huge smiles on their faces as they showed off their beds. In talking to this lady, we learned that she was hoping that sometime she would be able to get another bed. You see, even though she had nothing by our standards, she saw another woman in need and offered to take her in and help her out. She then learned that this lady had some medical problems and needed more assistance. So now, she is really struggling to take care of her family, as well as a stranger with multiple needs.
It was amazing to me that over and over what we kept seeing was the heart of these people. So many of us in the US would just shut the door and ignore there might be someone in need, but here in Guatemala, we see over and over that even though they have a huge need, they are still willing to help someone else. I began to realize where Karter gets his big heart from, and I am honored to be able to help him help other Guatemalan families. It is a process that I plan to continue until I cannot do it anymore... Then, I hope Karter will continue helping the less fortunate forever.
When we walled back to the orphanage, we saw that the Orphan Resource truck had come by and dropped off the monthly food supplies for the orphanage. This consisted of four or five 50 pound bags of rice, beans, some flour and some oil. That is it! That is all they got to feed however many kids came to the orphanage that month. My heart broke and We immediately asked our leader if we could take the bus to the store and help out with that problem. She said yes, and Heather, myself, and a few other team members jumped on the bus. It was very exciting at the store to begin filling carts with food. We split up and had one group fill a cart with fresh fruit and we took a cart to fill with whatever else we could find. We bought 30 bags of pasta, 4 giant cans of powered milk, I think 8 dozen eggs, several pounds of chicken and beef, pancake mix, syrup, soup mix, and much more. Our cart was completely full so we headed to the front to check out. When we got there, the clerk had to call her manager over because we were making such a large purchase and she had to approve it as well as take the money and put it in a bank bag instead of leaving it in the cash register. As I loaded the bags in the cart, I noticed the security guard laughing and pointing to the cart and telling the other security guard to look at how much we had purchased. It did not take long to figure out that they were not use to seeing anyone purchase anywhere near this much stuff. As we totaled it all up and paid out, we began figuring out the amount of money we spent in US dollars. The total cost... Just $249! For an entire cart of food.
We loaded the bus and went back to the orphanage. We began unloading the food at the orphanage, and the looks on the directors faces was priceless. You see, as far as I know, we had not told them what we were going to do. Buying the food was not part of why we went back to this orphanage. It was an awesome feeling as we piled sack after sack of food on their kitchen counters. In fact, we took up all of the counter space and then some. I think the amount of food we were able to purchase was as much if not more than what they had received for the month.
Then the sad part came... We had to tell these children good bye for the last time this week. I would love to go back and see them again, but there is no way to know if any of these children will still be there when we get to return. They are amazing children who just need a chance tin life. I know if they could, they would change the world. What they do not realize is that just by our chance to meet them, they have already helped change the world through us.
That afternoon, we had a chance to go to one of the handicraft markets in Antigua. I love the market with shop after shop filled with the bright colored textiles and trinkets of Guatemala. It is so much fun looking at everything, and occasionally even running into a woman sitting there weaving. We purchased a few items and walked back to the hotel. Then it was off to dinner to reminisce about another amazing day in the always beautiful Guatemala.
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