We woke early, showered and met downstairs for breakfast. The breakfast buffet was absolutely wonderful with fresh tropical fruits, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hot cakes, etc. I have never eaten tortillas and tamales with hot sauce for breakfast, but there is a first time for everything. We knew this would be our last full meal before our stay in the orphanage, so we relished it.
Jorge, the jack of all trades for the orphanage, came to pick us up at 9:00am. He brought a van and an extra truck to carry all of our luggage. We drove through the streets of Guatemala City to the orphanage and the nice business area became a rougher neighborhood with numerous flea markets. When we got near the gates of the orphanage, Jorge pointed out the very high walls that surround the property and the gate with the round-the-clock armed guard.
Once inside the orphanage walls, the mission team was not allowed to leave unless escorted by Jorge and we were not allowed to walk around the neighborhood for fear of our safety. As I said before, the orphanage does not open its gates after dark because it is so unsafe to do so.
The orphanage grounds were nice and very peaceful. Jorge pointed out that the property contains the only trees and grass in that section of the city (Zone 1). The nuns definitely created an oasis for the children here. Next Jorge unloaded our luggage and we were shown to our rooms. The men stayed in one room and the women stayed in another larger room. The room was like a big college dorm room with single beds and two bathrooms with one large common room. Everyone picked a bed and began to unpack.
Jorge informed us that two men biking around Central America had stopped by the orphanage and were giving a presentation on their travels to the kids. We quickly hurried to listen in. These two men were forest fire fighters during the summer in California, but during the fall and winter decided to bike across Central America starting in southern Mexico. As part of their trip, they reported back to a school in Manhattan on their progress and experiences via the internet. They showed the kids their bikes and equipment and some pictures.
After the presentation, Jorge took us on a tour of the grounds. The orphanage has 85 children presently. They range in age from 3 days old to 18 years old. All the children live in dorm style rooms according to age groups. The different age groups are dispersed throughout the property. The orphanage contains a church (of course), cafeteria, bakery, gym, swimming pool, wood workshop, administrative building and infirmary. Between the buildings are play areas with playground equipment circa 1975.
When our tour was finished, we met briefly with Mother Ivonne, the nun in charge of the daily orphanage operations. Mother Ivonne thanked us for coming and gave us our assignment for the week. Since it was raining, we could not do outside work or painting due to the humidity. Mother Ivonne needed us to help out in the nursery and preschool. Daphne and I volunteered to help out in the preschool class. Antonia and Maria headed to the clinic to setup their supplies for the teeth cleaning and the others headed to the nursery to play with the babies.
Daphne and I were escorted by Ray Vazquez, our teammate and translator, to the preschool class. Since neither Daphne or I speak Spanish fluently, I figured it would be interesting how we would communicate. Ray introduced us to the teacher and we joined the kids by bouncing on these huge balls while singing songs. Daphne and I did not know the songs but, boy, could we bounce. The kids looked at us like we were weird, but we smiled and continued with the exercise. After a half hour and some sore thigh muscles, the singing session ended and the kids colored and read books.
One of the boys gave me a book to read, in Spanish. With my high school knowledge of the language, I was able to make out the words and would stumble over the longer ones. The kids happily corrected me and nicely patted me on the back in understanding. It did not take long for the children to warm up to Daphne and I. We colored and read until it was time for lunch.
The Comedor, or cafeteria, is where the kids eat all their meals. The food was very good and usually included beans and rice. The bread was baked fresh daily in the bakery and all the juices were freshly squeezed. (The orange juice was wonderful!) Wednesdays and Fridays were no meat or dairy days to allow for communion. The kids do not eat until they say a prayer and then they line up to get the meal. Upon finishing their meal, the kids took all their dishes into the kitchen and then stacked their chairs. They would then say another prayer before departing. The kids headed back to their classrooms and the mission team headed back to the nursery and preschool for the rest of the afternoon until Vespers at 4:15.
Since Daphne and I did not find the children back in the classroom, we went to the babies with the rest of the team. There were nine babies, three toddlers and two special needs children in the baby area. We walked into the nursery and were directed to wash our hands, put on a white lab coat, and take off our shoes. Then we picked up babies and took them to the play area. The play area was a section of the room covered with foam mats and toys. The babies would crawl around or sit up and play with toys.
Almost immediately, each baby’s personality began to show. Miguel was the cuddle bug. He would crawl up to you and put his head in your lap. Dora was the explorer and would crawl on, over, around and through anything in her way. Rafaella liked to be held, period. Aracely liked to sit up, smile and play with toys. Jonathan liked to crawl around and whack everyone. Joseph liked to crawl around and stand up. Juan Carlos, the only walker of the bunch, stepped on and over children while throwing toys. David just sat there and just liked to look around. He earned the nickname, Buddha Baby. We had a lot of fun just watching the babies play and the time passed quickly.
At 4:15, we attended Vesper service. My first experience in church was incredible. The kids directed the entire reader service on their own. (Mother Ivonne was escorting a girl to a doctor’s appt and was not present.) One girl read prayers and then all the kids would sing a hymn in Spanish. Then a boy read prayers and the kids sang another hymn. When the kids sang, they sang together in strong voices. Many of the younger children sang very proudly in their off key voices. Certain kids had jobs during the service such as the candle box, the censor, ringing the bells and handing out prayer books. All the girls sat on the left side with their heads covered and the boys sat on the right side. Father Costa read some of the prayers in Spanish and one of the boys helped him follow the service. I wish I had the means to record their voices for you.
After church, there was some extra time until dinner. We took all the kids into the gym for a game of soccer. And WOW, those kids could really play well. Both the boys and girls were very aggressive in dribbling, passing and kicking. Even the smaller kids did not shy away from getting the ball. The mission team, including Father Costa, joined in the game. After half an hour, we were exhausted and let the kids continue to play. Since these kids do not have a coach or watched many organized games, they just knew how to work together to score goals.
After church we went to dinner and then back to our room. Our group met to discuss the day and our schedule for the next day. For the weekend, the schedule is different than during the week. The kids have free time on Saturdays and Sundays. We would divide our time between the different age groups.
The first night sleeping in our room was interesting. The room was basically a store front with floor to ceiling windows. In front of the windows was a locked steel gate that blocked the view to the street and protected us from the outside. The room was not temperature controlled and there was a vent that let the outside air in. We all bundled up in blankets because the room got chilly at night. Also, the noise from the street was loud. Many cars and trucks passed by always honking their horns. The airplanes also flew very low over the orphanage making even more noise. Occasionally were heard gun shots which were unnerving at first. Ear plugs were a must for getting any sleep. I put mine in and fell into a deep sleep, thankfully.
