Daily Reflections – First Church of Winsted Youth Mission Trip to Mexico

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Stumbling down from my hotel room in the airport at 4:10am, I find everyone already waiting for me at the Delta ticket counter. Even though Delta doesn’t officially open until 4:30, a few agents are checking-in passengers. The extremely nice person who checks me in offers to check in our entire group in the first class line instead of doing to usual group check-in at some other location. This makes the process go much quicker, and we are on our way through security with time to spare.

We arrived to Atlanta early and we deplane at the international terminal, make the long trek between terminals unnecessary. So we then do what will become a trademark of our group: just about everyone descends upon the restaurants in the food court. The flight from Atlanta to Mexico City boards late and then is delayed because it is oversold. Once on the plane, we are further delayed because they need to take off luggage of people who could not be accommodated onto the flight. Arriving into Mexico City 40 minutes late, our flight is relegated to one of the infamous remote gates where we have to wait for people movers to take us to the terminal. Since there are two people movers, the group is split and one group has to wait for the other before we can all make the long trek to the immigration area. Once there, we are processed without any hitches (they didn’t ask us for parental permission slips!), and our baggage is waiting for us in the baggage claim area. Going through customs, a few of our group get the “red light”, but interestingly enough, the inspectors only look through one person’s bag and they waive the rest of the red lighters through without any inspection. We must look like a bunch of really honest people!

As we walk out of the customs area, a representative from the bus company is waiting for us and he escorts us to the bus waiting area. Our bus arrives quickly, the luggage is loaded, and we are off to the hotel. Our bus has panoramic windows, and it was neat to watch the expressions on people’s faces as they saw Mexico City for the first time. The ride to the hotel only took a half an hour, and things moved quickly at the hotel. All of our rooms were on the same wing of the same floor. Everyone got settled into their rooms and after a short break, we assembled in the executive lounge for a quick briefing.

Then it was off to a nearby OXXO store. The group had its first lesson in “pedestrian rights in Mexico” as some tried to cross the street after the light turned green for the on-coming traffic. They were greeted with a symphony of honks, but the drivers noted that we were foreigners and let the group cross! Once at the store our group purchased more snacks and beverages than usually sold in an entire day. The clerk was very gracious and accepted either American or Mexican money, and he trusted the group to pay for everything we took (not normally the case when such a large group descends upon a little convenience store). A small group then returned to the hotel to rest while the rest of us took a walking tour of the City’s historic district. We walked a short distance on Paseo

de la Reforma, a wide, tree lined boulevard with a nice mix of modern and colonial architecture. We debated whether the yellow “Caballito” monument really looked like a horse (or a dolphin), and then proceeded to the Alameda Central (Central Park). Many in the group quickly noticed the Mexican tradition of being openly affectionate with your partner, and a police officer in a traditional colonial Mexican uniform graciously allowed the group to photograph him atop his horse and allowed everyone to pet his horse.

Navigating the narrow, crowded streets leading to the Zocalo was quite an experience. We watched a native Indian dance demonstration in the center of the Zocalo while also noting that the towers of the Cathedral were tilted because of uneven settling of the building. The Zocalo was decorated in green, red and white (the colors of the Mexican flag) in anticipation of the Flag Day/Independence Day/Constitution Day celebration in September. We then walked through the back streets to the hotel, passing through various different neighborhoods (one filed with hardware stores, another filled with bathroom fixture stores, still another with restaurants, etc.). Wherever we went, children of families would whisper to their parents that we were walking by. Everyone offered our group smiles as we passed. Our feet were pretty tired after the nearly three mile hike through the city, and the day ended with an evening meal (all purchased at a local Wal-Mart store!) and games and relaxation. Surprisingly, it appeared that everyone slept the first night.

Sunday, 19 August 2007

The group had breakfast in the Executive Floor lounge courtesy of my friend, Israel, who agreed to work on his day off to serve our group. Trying to make the most of our “soft landing” into a new culture, many of the group ventured to Starbucks and Duncan Donuts for their morning coffee. I reluctantly curbed my pastoral instinct to escort people to get their caffeine fixes, fearing that Debby Kane would give me a black eye if I told her that I didn’t think she was capable of be going across the “glorieta” alone to buy coffee. Contrary to all that is written about Mexico City being unsafe and the police being useless, the traffic police helped the various groups of our people cross the eight lanes of traffic to get to the shops and everyone was greeted with smiles. Once again, our group ensured the economic well-being of Mexico City with both their purchases and generous tips for the servers at the coffee shops. I was beginning to have serious concerns that no one was going to have any spending money left by the end of the second day in Mexico…

Our charted bus arrived earlier than scheduled and the porters efficiently loaded our luggage onto the bus. On the way out of the City we stopped at the Monument of Independence (the Angel), a gift from France to Mexico in recognition of Mexico’s independence from Spain. The youth quickly made the connection between the Statue of Liberty and the Angel, both being gifts from the French people. (So much for the nasty rumors that they weren’t paying attention in History Class.)

The trip from Mexico City to Oaxaca took six and a half hours, and we ate lunch on the bus (once again all made from ingredients purchased at Wall-Mart just an hour before our

departure!). The traffic leaving the City was lighter than expected and we made good time getting to the beginning of the toll road. But what should have been the fastest part of the trip turned out to be the slowest, as the highway was under reconstruction and in numerous places only one lane of traffic could go by at a time. Everyone tolerated the curvy, bumpy roads well, and once again everyone was mesmerized as we traversed mountain peaks over 12,000 feet above sea level, dropped down through an area of desert filled with saguaro cactus, and then climbed another mountain range into the State of Oaxaca. The group was especially captivated by the view from the top of the final set of mountains as we could see the valley over a mile below us.

Arriving into Oaxaca City it was evident that this part of Mexico did not have the economic resources of Mexico City. We got lost trying to find Casa Hogar, and our bus driver, Ignacio, had to navigate dirt roads that looked like they couldn’t handle a small car, let along a huge, 42 passenger tour bus. But he got us there safe and sound, thanks to his amazing driving skills. I was also impressed when we had to make a quick stop in the mountains to clear the air conditioning drain tube (the a/c condensation backed up into the bus and showered those sitting in the back of the bus). When we couldn’t open the drain hose with our hands, he just go on his back, slip under the bus, put the hose in his mouth and sucked as hard has he could…..that cleared the hose, and the leakage was a thing of the past!

As the bus pulled up to Casa Hogar, we were greeted by a delegation of children. It surprised me that there was not an adult to be found, but a couple of children told me that they were expecting us and then helped me find Bryan, Kristen and Ivan, our contacts at Casa Hogar. The bus was too big to get into the driveway of Casa Hogar, so we emptied the 48 pieces of luggage at the road and the children (mostly 7, 8 or 9 years old) helped us carry it all to the building that we would be calling home for the next week.

Our two bedrooms are in the attic of a two story building. The roof of the building slants down to the floor of the two bedrooms, and all the women are in one room and all the men (except for me) are in another room. (I slept outside the two rooms in a room that was basically like a porch, kind of like a night watchman making sure that no one tried to leave their room!)

After a quick orientation we were given a tour of the facilities by Kristen. We met some of the children of Casa Hogar. Both Esther and her brother Fernando are blind, but they are excellent musicians. Esther sang a couple of “welcome songs” for the group: “Open My Eyes, Lord” in Spanish and then a Beatle’s tune in English. Fernando plays the guitar, learning to do so five years ago with lessons from a friend. Ricardo, born with cerebral palsy, just went through an operation last week on both of his legs (they had to severe and reconnect many of his leg muscles). He is confined to bed with both his legs in hard casts connected at the knees by an old broom stick. Given our Americanized standards of medicine, it breaks your heart to look at such a crude set-up, but his smile as each of the 24 from our group marched into the library (temporarily his bedroom) to shook his hand and said “Hola” to him helped us to forget the sight of the casts and broom stick.

Our first interaction with the entire group of children was dinner. We had hotdogs outside. The children lined up ahead of us, and a few from our group helped serve. We ate at picnic tables, and it kind of reminded me of a junior high school dance in the early 70’s. Each group at first was cautiously eying the other group, but as dinner progressed, the children began mixing with us. The language barrier melted by the end of dinner, and the night air was filled with the happy voices of children as they challenged our youth to a Mexico verses USA soccer tournament while another group was enthusiastically engage in games of UNO. Shortly thereafter the games of tag began, and everyone was interacting in one way or another with people they hadn’t known for more than a half an hour.

I was especially struck by the love of seven year old Alex, who attached himself to me before the dinner line formed. After getting our hotdog, condiments and chips, we went to a picnic table where a woman in a wheelchair was seated with three other young girls. They were extremely shy, so I offered to get them some food. Alex left his dinner to join me in getting four other meals…in fact, he insisted on getting three of the four hotdogs himself, and then he proceeded to get drinks for all four. By the time we sat down to eat, our hotdogs were ice cold. But my heart was warmed by how a seven year old boy was so focused on taking care of others that his own dinner didn’t mean anything to him. Over dinner he told me that he enjoyed soccer and was a goalie.

The children began to get ready to go to bed around 9:30, and the transition from ear piercing joyful noise to eerie silence was a shock. By then we were all exhausted! This was the first trip I’ve ever taken with our Youth Class when many of our youth asked to go to bed! The altitude change (Oaxaca is over 5,000 feet above sea level as compared to Winsted being 271 feet above sea level) has getting the best of us, or at least that’s how we justify being between in every soccer match by a bunch of kids between seven and eleven years old.

Because of the joyous, frenzied time together, we forgot to notify the phone chain that we arrived to Oaxaca safely. Sorry to those who were waiting to hear from us!!! I just wish you were here to share with us in the interaction that took place. It was a miracle of God, and the staff of Casa Hogar commented to me that a visiting group has never integrated so quickly with their children.

As I very unsuccessfully tried to tune out the neighbors dog and the obnoxious mosquito buzzing me all night, in my exhausted state I could only give thanks to God for the youth of First Church. I know that many of them have given their parents a run for their money and the road through adolescence has not always been easy. But many of their parents would not have recognized their own children as they hobbled together their knowledge of Spanish to communicate with the kids of Casa Hogar. Throughout the evening, I was bombarded with “Mr. Wu, how do you say such and such in Spanish.” You can’t image how much love they showed to everyone here just two hours after arriving. They magically and instantly morphed from the Starbucks/Dunkin Donuts crew to become the

barrier busters, putting aside cultural, language and socio-economic differences to show the children here that someone loves them and cares for them.

Monday, 20 August 2007

My alarm clock went off at 6:10 am, and I reluctantly put on my sneakers to venture down the concrete ramp to the first floor bathroom. (The women took over the second floor bathroom, and the men were relegated to the bathroom used by the rest of the staff next to the kitchen!) Sure enough, there was no water when I turned the knob. Another reminder that we are in Mexico!!! The sun rises a little later here, so I got to watch the sun rise as Casa Hogar came to life.

Mary and Kate dutifully appeared for kitchen duty at 6:50, and we cooked scrambled eggs and bacon. We had our breakfast on picnic tables in the open air. The group and staff were all fed by 8:30, and Tom, Kyle and Debby went to work at cleaning up. Before 9, we had our daily orientation that started with a prayer of thanks for a safe trip and for the children and staff of Casa Hogar. I then showed the group a pile of gravel that had to be moved. It was dumped in front of the trailer that is used to haul trash to the dump. This created a huge back-up of garbage that was creating a not-so-pleasant odor throughout the facility. We were also asked to move two mounds of dirt to various locations (including the street outside Casa Hogar where it was used to fill potholes and level the road).

One group of members picked up working gloves and shovels while the rest went to work on our first crafts activity: personalizing foam rubber visors with names, words and pictures. It’s just a little after 11 am here in Oaxaca, and the gravel has been moved, the first load of trash is on its way to the dump, and many of the children are walking around with their new visors. Some of our youth are now caring for the infants (I just fielded a question about finding a diaper to change one of them), others are engaged in other games with the children, and some of the diehards are still moving dirt.

There’s no question that there is more work to be done than can be accomplished in a week. While the physical environment leaves so much to be desired, the emotional environment satisfies the soul. Many of our group have already commented that separating ourselves from the children on Friday is going to be one of the hardest things we’ll have to do in our lives.

There’s no question in my mind that our week here at Casa Hogar is going to be a life-changing experience for all of us…both youth and adults.

Thanks to all in Connecticut for your prayers! We’ll do our best to update our link on the Casa Hogar website on a daily basis with reflections on our activities and photos.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

More on Monday’s afternoon and evening activities…

The rains yesterday afternoon were harder and lasted longer than those of Monday, and as I watched the road in front of Casa Hogar become a river, it dawned on me that the actual name of the street is “Arroyo Seco” (in English “Dry River Bed”). The dry river bed fills with water whenever it rains here, and answers that question in our minds as to why it is in such poor condition!

Dinner last night was with the children, and we had eggs, refried beans and potatoes. The clean-up crew from our group was perfectly synchronized with the kitchen crew of Casa Hogar, and when I asked Mary if she wanted some help doing dishes, I was politely but firmly told to find something else to do…

After dinner the children sang “Las Mañanitas” to both Jaron and Kyle. It was Jaron’s birthday and Kyle’s birthday is on Saturday. “Las Mañanitas” is the Mexican equivalent to “Happy Birthday”. Most couldn’t understand what the children were singing, but it was the most spirited singing we had heard in a long time (ending with the children pounding their fists on the plastic dining room tables for about ten or fifteen seconds). For good measure the children then sang “Happy Birthday” in English to Jaron and Kyle.

We all then went to the courtyard outside the children’s dining room for the breaking of two piñatas (also a Mexican tradition). It only took four or five hits with the old broom stick to scatter candy across the courtyard, and the scene resembled a Super Bowl end zone rush with children piled three or four high on top of each other trying to get some of the candy. Most of the Winsted group stayed on the sidelines, but Devan risked life and limb to get a few pieces of candy for Ricardo, the boy with both his legs in casts.

Even though the children were really aggressive while trying to pick up the candy, they were also willing to share. I asked one of the young boys if he would share a little of the candy he collected with Esther, the blind girl with the beautiful singing voice. He gladly gave me a mini-bag of M&M. The smile on her face was priceless as I put the candy in her hand and she placed each piece in her mouth. Afterward, we talked for a few moments and Esther told me that her family lives in a town about three hours from Oaxaca City. In December of each year, her mother and father take a bus to Oaxaca to visit her here at Casa Hogar. Her eyes got teary, and love and appreciation flowed in her soft sweet voice as she told me that they bring her some shampoo and perfume, and as she told me how much she misses her family.

Earlier in the day, Debby and some others accompanied one of the staff to drop off Fernanda, who has a cleft pallet, to her first day of classes as a first grader in elementary school. While there, the school staff brought one of the other Casa Hogar children to the office. He was crying, and it appeared that maybe he wasn’t adjusting well on this first day of school. But the staff explained that the opposite was true. He already attended the morning session of school, and took the bus back to Casa Hogar. Then, he somehow sneaked onto the afternoon session bus and showed up at school hoping to attend a second set of classes. I don’t know many children who would sneak back to school for more classes!

George had an interesting observation. He told me that he didn’t think our group needed any time away from Casa Hogar to “decompress” as is recommended by the Casa Hogar staff. He’s probably right. Although we will take a few hours to visit various places around the city, we could stay here indefinitely and not need time away to get refreshed. This is due in great part because of the very cohesive and tightly knit group of youth at First Church. When we have a few moments alone, the group relaxes, laughs, and plays its own games. This keeps us from being overwhelmed by the environment in which we find ourselves doing Christ’s work.

And now on to Tuesday’s morning activities…

The roosters in the neighborhood began crowing before sun rose this morning (Tuesday), and most of the group was awakened by music from the morning devotional of the junior high students at Casa Hogar. Breakfast this morning was simple: cereal, bagels, juice and coffee. It was funny to hear everyone say that this was the best meal yet. They all said the same thing about the eggs and bacon for yesterday’s breakfast, the chicken we had at lunch, and the potatoes and eggs served at dinner last night. In fact, the youth said the same about the sandwiches we had in the hotel room in Mexico City. Hmmm, amazing what hunger does to change your perspective about life.

The cries of Angel, a three year old, who has been at Casa Hogar for less than a week, pierced the relative calm of a productive morning as he was being forced to walk across the yard. Angel is blind and may be autistic (the doctors are not yet sure). He looks like a one or maybe two year old, and I suspect his size is due in part to poor nutrition.

While one group is making bead necklaces, bracelets, etc. with the children, others are moving more dirt. We already moved cinderblocks to the back of the facility where another project is underway, and later today we’re headed to the City dump. Our objective is to apply water seal to three of the cinderblock houses Casa Hogar has constructed there. Tomorrow, God willing, we’ll go back to the dump and paint all three houses.

HURRICANE UPDATE

We know that many are following the weather reports on Hurricane Dean. We’re doing the same from here, checking on the path and intensity of the storm almost every hour. As of the time of this message (12:15 am Wednesday morning), the hurricane is in the Gulf of Mexico. The current track has the storm headed right for Mexico City, reaching it sometime tomorrow. Being just 250 miles southeast of Mexico City, our guess is that Dean will only bring some extra rain to Oaxaca. Weather.com is calling for rain starting late Wednesday morning and continuing until Thursday morning. Extremely strong winds should not be a factor as the surrounding mountains will likely dissipate the storm as it moves inland.

Although we do not expect the storm to cause any damage to Casa Hogar or the surrounding community, we have made arrangements to move our group to the Fiesta Inn in Oaxaca. The hotel is very modern and I have no doubt it will weather anything the storm might bring. At our 10 pm group meeting Tuesday evening, I told everyone that our regular activities will continue until around noon tomorrow. As the rains begin, Casa Hogar will transport the group to the Fiesta Inn, where we will stay until the storm passes. This will entail an unplanned expense of about $750, but I assume the families will be happy to raise those funds in return for the peace of mind of knowing that their children are in a very secure, storm-proof facility.

We will also keep close watch on road conditions. Heavy rains can provoke mudslides, so I advised the group Tuesday morning that flexibility is the key to the rest of our stay here in Mexico. Although I think that roads to Huatulco will be fine so long as the storm continues to track toward Mexico City, we are prepared to cancel that part of the trip. Also, getting back to Mexico City for our flight home may be complicated by unusually heavy rains. We have identified, with the bus company, alternate routes back to Mexico City.

Having done all that we can to prepare for the storm, we now place our trust in God.

Excerpts from some of the Journals of the Youth….

The things that caught my eye in Mexico City were the green taxis and buses. I also thought all of the graffiti was really cool. It makes it look messy but it is also interesting to me. Jessica T.

Mexicans are a lot nicer…like if you would smile they would smile or wave back. The kids are so talented. When we were walking around Mexico City you would see really young children performing dances. Mary M.

We rode six hours and passed through the City, the mountains outside Mexico City, and then finally through the desert. The beds are pretty bad [at Casa Hogar]; mine is a piece of plywood with a camping mattress on top. Will H.

When we first arrived here (Casa Hogar), the children ran to the bus and wanted to help us carry our luggage. [The next day] I … helped lay some bricks. After that we played cards and got killed in soccer… John E.

I feel bad for some of the people here because they are people without homes and food. Today we were DIGGING. Lots of digging. First we had to move a pretty big pile. Then we moved dirt, stone, weeds and roots. Megan K.

I was amazed at how much we got done. Even the kids [of Casa Hogar] helped out, picking up an extra shovel and throwing some dirt in. Then most of the group played soccer in the rain… Chaz M.

None of the kids really knew what to do with us because we didn’t speak any Spanish, or at least very little. They did get over it in a few minutes though and it no longer mattered.... We began to play soccer. The kids were really good. They kicked out butts. Then we played tag until dark. We fell into bed absolutely exhausted. Courtney K.

I worked with a little boy and girl who could not hear. I saw a little boy who was scared to come over. I grabbed a hat and held it out. He slowly got the hat and dashed away. I got some stickies and went to the little boy who hid behind a small cement block. I helped him put stickies on the hat and he began doing it himself… Rebecca A.

All the kids are very cute! Having the kids pull you around and have you carry them was so much fun. I had a little boy putting his hat on me, and a boy that started making up names: Superman, Batman, Spiderman, and they would not tell us their real names! Nadya R.

Casa Hogar is totally mind-blowing! The kids here are so energetic, fun and so happy. Kyle J.

More excerpts tomorrow!!!

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

I’m writing this at 2 pm and the rain has still not started to fall here in Oaxaca. The eye of the hurricane is just touching ground off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and current projections show the storm tracking north of Mexico City (further away from Oaxaca).

Before I write about yesterday afternoon’s and this morning’s activities, I wanted to explain that I e-mail these messages to one of the staff of Casa Hogar. It is then uploaded onto the Simply Smiles website by that person. You have to be here to fully comprehend what it is like to have over 80 children and only four paid staff and a bunch of volunteers trying to meet the needs of all those children. Yesterday’s message was uploaded in the wee hours of this morning because at about 11:30 pm Tuesday night, the staff had to bathe Ricardo, the person I’ve written about with casts on both legs. Because there is nothing that even remotely resembles a handicap bathroom here, the two staff members on duty and two other volunteers used a bed sheet to create a sling that they used to carry Ricardo from his temporary bedroom in the library to a picnic table in the yard. Once on the picnic table, they carried out buckets of warm water and poured them on Ricardo. After the bath, they carried him back into the library. It was then that Bryan had a chance to look for the e-mail with my daily message and upload it to the website.

Although I can complain about not getting enough sleep since leaving Connecticut, Bryan must get less than 6 hours of sleep a day. There has only been one day when he has been able to turn out his lights before I head off to bed, and he is up every morning at the same time I am. We need to thank God for Bryan and the rest of the staff here at Casa Hogar. I can’t imagine Casa Hogar functioning without him and the others.

Finally, as I told most of you during our orientation sessions before the trip, if you are ever concerned about the safety of the group or a particular person in the group, please call me on my Mexican cell phone. From the USA, all you have to do is dial 011-52-55-5454-0230.

On Tuesday afternoon, about half the group went to the City Dump to coat two houses with water repellant. These houses were built by other volunteers for the families who subsist by collecting recyclable materials from the trash that is dumped there. The plastic bottles and jars are crushed into bales higher than I am tall and at least four feet wide and four feet deep. Each bale of number 1 or 2 plastic brings one of those families 40 cents (US money). Cooper wire and aluminum fetches a bit more, but is much harder to find in the garbage.

The houses are on the edge of the dump and to my relief the smell wasn’t as bad as I expected. My team applied the water repellant to the house of Ester and Alberto. They have three children. The house has one room, and the family sleeps on the concrete floor on top of a cloth banner that the family retrieved from the dump. Eight year old Jacobo’s action toy (missing one arm and obviously found in the dump) lay atop the banner on the floor. Beside the banner, the only other furnishing in the house was a plastic crate upon which was a shirt and a pair of pants.

The other team coated the house of Galdina, who has a 17 year old daughter. The houses, when built, are turned over to the neighborhood association, who in turn votes on who needs the house the most. Pedro, the owner of another one of the houses built by volunteers, proudly showed us how he salvaged a glass window from a discarded commercial refrigerator to create a window in his house. I asked if the diploma for completion of a program in computer science on the wall of his home was that of his son. He told me that it was his, and that he had high hopes that the education would help him find a better job. But the economic situation in the area is such that there is no demand for someone with computer skills, and to provide for his family, he spends most of his day collecting recyclable materials in the dump.

Finally, we had the chance to meet Rosalva, the president of the neighborhood association. Three generations of her family live at the dump, and it is her job to protect those in the neighborhood from unscrupulous practices of the companies that buy the recyclable materials from them. Although these people make a living picking through garbage, each and every one of them opened the doors of their homes and had us all go inside. Pedro and many others told me “mi casa es tu casa” (“you are welcome to come anytime; my house is your house”).

Returning from the dump, we found the other half of our group involved in many activities with the children. We washed up and then we all went to visit the Tule tree, a huge tree found outside of Oaxaca. Make sure your kids show you pictures of the tree. We were given a guided tour in English by a nine year old Mexican girl who lived nearby. She was the cutest little thing, and her command of English was admirable. We also stopped at the artisan market next to the Tule tree for some shopping.

Dinner that night was at a restaurant that specialized in tacos. Upon returning to Casa Hogar, we had a short group meeting to discuss our hurricane plans and the impact of the storm on the activities that were planned for the next few days.

On Wednesday morning we took a quick trip to Monte Alban, a series of pyramids and ruins of the city occupied by the Zapotec Indians. As aptly put by Devan, it was like standing on sacred ground. Surrounded by valleys on all sides (so you could see your enemy coming), the Zapotec’s occupied the area from about 300 A.C.E. until the time when the Spanish arrived to the area. We could see for miles as the normally polluted air has been cleansed by the daily afternoon showers.

We got back to Casa Hogar by 10:30 am, and that gave us time to do another craft project with the children who attend elementary school in the afternoon. After a lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches cooked by Devan, Will, Courtney, and Chaz, one group set to work on leveling another part of the yard while others played once again with the children. The junior high girls at Casa Hogar set up a “spa” and gave pedicures and polished nails using the nail polish we brought from Connecticut. The adolescents are the hardest to draw into our activities, but Jess T., Nadya and others have gone the extra mile to find ways to draw them into activities.

I’ve just asked our group to gather what they will need for a one night stay at the Fiesta Inn. Most of the group has questioned the need to be away from the children at Casa Hogar for a day, but everyone understands the need to err on the side of caution. Storm clouds have been slowing moving in from the north, and George, our human barometer, now has a terrible headache indicating that the barometric pressure is changing. Prior to going to Monte Alban, our group offered to give up the trip to the pyramids and instead stay at the orphanage to work with the children. Although the energy level is slightly lower than in the past days, the dedication of our youth to the children of Casa Hogar continues to amaze me. While the experience of working with the children and staff of Casa Hogar is wonderful, it is even more gratifying to see our youth in action and to hear them offer to give up a probable once in a lifetime experience (seeing Monte Alban) to spend more time with the children of Casa Hogar. More Excerpts from some of the Journals of the Youth….

In the first two days I’ve seen more eye-opening things than in my whole life. I’ve had no idea how some people live surviving off the pesos they make from selling gum on the side of the road. I have had it so lucky to have a house with heat, water, and food. The amazing thing is that no matter what kind of situation they are in, everyone is still happy and grateful for what they do have. Jaron M.

Today was sort of a slow day, but I still had fun. I played with the babies, and played some soccer, too. It was really busy having to serve dinner to everyone. I can’t believe these few people can handle it all. Tamsin P.

It’s sad…the orphan situation. They’re excellent kids, but their parents don’t want them. It’s amazing… Ben M.

I had lots of fun today. I’m looking forward to seeing the kids tomorrow. Natalie R.

The kids at Casa Hogar are the nicest kids I’ve met. They love to play tag, and to chase you around. Andrew H.

We played soccer and bonded with the children quickly on the first day. The next day we filled in potholes and trenches in the street and inside the orphanage. Tom M.

One small boy I met, Ivon, is so precious. He is almost one, and just learned how to walk! He was tired by late afternoon, so he ended up taking a nap in our room! He is just so adorable! Courtney T.

Trying to speak and understand Spanish was a challenge. I was excited to actually play games with the kids after just meeting them. It was easy to bond with them. It was fun to just be around all of them and watch them smile. They were happy that we were there. They all were just sweet. It was a great day! Kate R.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Our stay at the Fiesta Inn in Oaxaca was uneventful as the storm strayed further north than expected. Oaxaca did not even receive above normal amounts of rain from it. It sprinkled once or twice while we were there, and that was it. Although most of the youth felt bad that we were not with the children at Casa Hogar, the stay provided an opportunity for everyone to get some rest from the frenetic pace of life at Casa Hogar. “Relaxation” included dinner at the McDonald’s across the street from the Hotel and numerous trips to the Sam’s Club next door to the Hotel for breakfast foods and supplies that we need at Casa Hogar (everything from garbage bags to sponges).

Today morning we did take a few moments to reflect as a group on our experiences here in Oaxaca. All agreed that this has been a very positive experience and everyone would do it again. We also tried a few songs that we might sing on Friday evening at the worship service we will attend at the “Palabra Viva” (Living Word) Church here at Casa Hogar. After trying various different songs, we settled for something simple: “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” We wanted to sing without any accompaniment and without reading the words…something that would come from our hearts. As long as the group is as animated as they were in my hotel room, it will be a very spirited rendition with lots of swaying bodies. Hopefully I’ll get someone to videotape our singing the song!

We returned to Casa Hogar around noon on Thursday. The group split into various teams. Those that worked with the children with paper and stickers found that children have a universal attraction to stickers…it doesn’t matter where you are or what your situation….it’s just plain fun to use stickers. The children filled the picnic tables in the

yard and most were in their elementary school uniforms (girls in a white blouse and blue skirt and boys in a white shirt and blue pants).

Another team finished painting a wall that was accessible only because our group moved gravel and dirt so that vehicles could be moved out of the area and the dumpster cleaned out. Others worked on removing dirt (filled with old bricks, concrete and trash) so that concrete slabs can be poured in that area.

After lunch we split into two groups. One group stayed to work with the children who returned from the morning session at school. Many of the junior high school and high school girls at Casa Hogar are being trained to provide manicures and pedicures, so many of our group were given pedicures. The other group went to the City Dump to paint the two houses that were sealed on Tuesday afternoon. When we arrived, it began to rain, and the stench was almost unbearable. Notwithstanding, the group was able to do the first coat on the exterior and interior of the two houses.

Shortly after 5 pm everyone met at a local village where black pottery is made by hand. We were given a demonstration by an artisan whose parents discovered that method to produce a shining black finish merely by compressing the clay after it had dried.

We ended the day with a serenade by a local Mariachi Group. Evidently such a group had never played at Casa Hogar before, and it was great to see the children and staff dancing in the yard as the Mariachi Group performed. Each time the musicians tried to end the performance (I gave them strict orders to end at the children’s bedtime!), the children chanted in Spanish, “one more, one more!” The musicians sang four or five extra songs for the children and then departed. Courtney, Jessica and a few others then went with some of the children and read them a bedtime story (a Dr. Seuss book in Spanish that we brought from Connecticut).

I’d like to close today’s reflections with an account of something that went on last night and this morning. The youth made a very hard decision. On the surface this is nothing new. But it really impressed me that they made this decision without any input from the adult advisers. A few days ago a puppy was abandoned at Casa Hogar. The following day another puppy showed up. We have many animal lovers in our group, and the puppies were loved by both the children at Casa Hogar and by many of our group. However, we learned from the staff that in the past a large group of the children at Casa Hogar became ill after one child sneaked a puppy into his bed at night. Evidently the puppy was sick and then passed on its illness to the child, who in turn passed the illness on to other. The youth discussed the situation amongst themselves and came to the decision that their role at Casa Hogar was to care for the children, and that if having the puppies was a risk to children, it defeated the purpose of their trip. So even though they loved the puppies (especially one, who was named “Lily” by one of our animal lovers), it was decided that the puppies needed to be removed from Casa Hogar. It was a unanimous decision, and from what I understand, any one of the animal lovers in the group had veto power over the decision. It wasn’t a decision anyone wanted to make, but it was decided by the youth that it was the right thing to do. We left the puppies at the

City Dump with a group of dogs who were very accepting of the two puppies. As some are praying tonight that the puppies will be alright (myself included), I also give thanks to God for the maturity of our youth and for their ability to make hard decisions totally on their own.

Friday, August 24, 2007

The clouds and drizzle of the afternoon mirror the mood of our group today. Everyone is noticeably subdued as the reality of having to leave tonight sets in. Some react by spending as much time with the children as possible; others begin slowly to spend less time with the children by busying themselves with the task of organizing and packing.

We started the day by making pancakes for everyone at Casa Hogar. Courtney K. mastered the art of sending the pancakes airborne before falling onto the uncooked side. Debby mixed the batter in batches that were supposed to cook 280 pancakes at a time (if I could just figure out how the ladle the same amount each time). A few of the staff of Casa Hogar graciously held back their giggles as they helped us turn on the gas stoves and as they watched us cook. Denise decided that she had to single-handedly wash dishes of about 100 people (the high school boys never get up early enough for breakfast) until pushed out by the Casa Hogar kitchen staff. I have to admit that it was the first time that I have ever seen Denise, Pam, and Debby back down from a standoff….

After breakfast a small group finished leveling the area that will be covered with cement while others made tie dye T-shirts with the younger children. Our youth made T-shirts for the high school aged residents and for the staff of Casa Hogar.

Instead of going to the dump today to paint the two houses with a second coat of paint, it was decided that we would stay at Casa Hogar and help lay pavers between the concrete slabs that were being poured all week long. (It took the entire week because so much of the mixing and pouring of the concrete was done by hand.) Staying at Casa Hogar provided the opportunity for those who wanted to spend some final, special time with the children.

Tom noticed that a front tire on my rental tire was nearly flat this morning, and it took a number of us to figure out how to operate the rudimentary air compressor owned by Casa Hogar. Will solved the mystery by realizing that we never flipped the switch that sent power to the plug. Oh well, we’re getting tired….

I continue to be amazed by our youth. Right now I’m listening to Jessica Toomey carry on a conversation in Spanish with a five year old boy. I only know he is five because it came up in their conversation. In the same vein, a few days ago Andrew was late to lunch because he was “jamming” with a blind resident of Casa Hogar and didn’t realize that everyone had gone to lunch. Andrew played piano while the other person played guitar. Another new toddler (girl) arrived today at Casa Hogar, and she has spent a good part of the day in the arms of our youth.

This evening we’ll attend a worship service at the Palabra Viva (The Living Word) Church that is part of the Casa Hogar operation. Dinner will follow at around 8:30, and then we’ll say our final farewells to the children and staff. During one of the three trips today to Sam’s Club, I purchased two very large bags of Hershey Kisses. When we depart, each of us will share what has become a First Church tradition…the distribution of chocolate Kisses! Today, it will be a symbol of the sweetness of God’s graces to us all. In doing so we’ll also be following the Chinese tradition of allowing each person to have a sweet taste in their mouth during a very bittersweet moment.

You’ve read my point of view all week long, so it is appropriate that for this, our final Simply Smiles update, that I share with you with what each person said to me when asked to summarize the past week in a few words.

A good experience to know that we have so much and they have so little. We have “our” things, but they share everything. Devan

Fun and exhausting. Chaz

Amazing, eye-opening soul vacation. Jaron

A great learning and helping experience. Andrew

We can now appreciate what we have. Kyle

Best thing we’ve ever done. Courtney K.

Awe-inspiring experience. Ben

Absolutely heartbreaking. Mary

Wonderful. Tamsin

Great experience. Kate

Fantabulous! Nadya

Unforgettable memories. Jessica T.

Way better than expected. Debby

Sad to say goodbye. Denise

Eye-opening. Pam

Hard, but extremely worthwhile and rewarding work. Will

Camping in the rooms… Rebecca

Wahoo! It was fun. The kids are great. I want to come back. John

What an experience! Meghan

Hope to come back soon…next year. Natalie

Friends you’ll never forget. Courtney T.

Entirely different experience. George

I don’t want to leave. Tom

We all thank God for this opportunity to have met the children and staff of Casa Hogar. Each, in a very special way, is an inspiration to us. May God bless them all, and may God continue to bless the youth of First Church.

Mike