What's going on at Dulce Refugio
I know that many people have passed through this orphanage and left their mark at Dulce Refugio. I want to keep all of you informed about what is going on with the kids and the construction process. Please remember to keep us in your thoughts and prayers; I hope you continue to help us out here at Casa Hogar Dulce Refugio. Gracias amigos!
October was a great month here at Dulce Refugio. Lots of changes going on and lots of work getting done. There are some new faces at the Casa Hogar and many parts of the orphanage got attended to after years of neglect.
Right off the bat I was so blessed this month. We celebrated my birthday on October 1st. Sunday, after our church service, there was a party in my honor. Everybody had a great time and I was just so thankful to God for blessing me with so many wonderful people in my life. I am so grateful to be here in Aguascalientes and to be a part of this amazing ministry.
A new family has showed up to the Casa Hogar. They were serving at another orphanage in Mexico but God called them to come help out here in Aguascalientes. Thank you to Carlos, Yesenia and their children: Angel, Zuriel, and Kendra for being a part of the Dulce Refugio family. Carlos and Yesenia are in charge of the boys dorm and are doing an incredible job. We are so thankful for them being here. Praise God for providing us with more help!
(Also, we celebrated Carlos' birthday this month as well. His special day was October 19th.)
AND we celebrated another birthday in the month of October. Esmeralda turned 18 years old on October 5th. Sadly, a few days after her birthday she decided to leave. Now that she is legally an adult the orphanage is no longer responsible for her and she can make her own choices. She decided to try things on her own outside of the Casa Hogar. We wish her the best and hope she finds what she is looking for. Esmeralda is a sweet young woman, a hard worker and fun to be around. She will be missed.
We also said goodbye to Gabi and Christopher. This was Gabi's 3rd time at our orphanage and due to multiple issues with behavior we decided it wasn't working out here. We tried our best to help her and will keep her in our prayers but we have to protect our kids and preserve a positive environment inside of the orphanage. And Christopher who had a very difficult time adjusting to living at Dulce Refugio has been taken in by his grandma. Best of luck Christopher.
(Christopher on the left)
Christian started school. I was so happy to see this happen! He is 11 years old and has never been to school....until now. When he came to the orphanage about a year ago he had no paperwork so it has been a difficult process to get him enrolled. But now it has finally happened. He is such a good, well-behaved kid and I am so glad he gets this opportunity.
(He looked so good in his uniform on his 1st day and he comes home every day with a big smile on his face.)
The hallway on the 1st floor of the school has been grouted. It looks good with the finishing touches.
I was able to tile and grout one of the bathroom floors of the school...1 down, 3 to go.
With the help of Carlos and the boys we were able to clean out some of our storage rooms (we got 5 done this month)! I have been wanting to do this for a long time and now that there are extra hands around, we are able to get so much done. We took everything out and what we decided to keep I was able to organize neatly.
I wish I had "before" pictures to show how bad the room looked. It hadn't been cleaned in over 5 years so you could hardly see the floor from so much stuff just thrown everywhere.
With all of the extra toys and stuff we found throughout the storage rooms we were able to set some of it up in a room for the kids. Now the "chiquitos" (the youngest/smallest boys) have a really cool play area that they love.
After cleaning out so many storage rooms, I didn't want to stop there. I decided to clean out the tool shed. It also hadn't been cleaned in many years and was long overdue to be organized. We built some shelves, took everything out and I organized it all as I put it back in order. Now I know exactly where to find what tool I am looking for.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Another bunny! Our 1st black one died randomly and this lil cutie was donated to us shortly after. She's doing just fine with all of her new rabbit friends.
2 new washing machines were donated to us this month. This was a huge blessing because when you have to wash clothes for over 40 people the machines tend to take a beating. Some of the older ones we have are on their last legs.
They were donated by a local group who has been very dedicated to helping us out. This same group also told me that they have raised money to buy most of the window materials needed for our school! This is a very generous donation since we still have around 30 windows to go. (Dulce Refugio could not exist without these generous donations so we are very appreciative of all the help).
(The 2 white washing machines on the far left and far right were generously donated.)
And finally here are some fun pictures of our youngest boy, Omar, playing with some Star Wars toys. I don't know where he got the helmet but it was a fun surprise when he knocked on my door and I opened up to this. He's such a cutie.