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!
March has been an incredibly busy month and so much has gotten done! Also we have some new faces at the Casa Hogar but had to say goodbye to many as well. There is never a dull day down here at Dulce Refugio.
This month we said goodbye to 4 wonderful people. Manuel, Evelyn, Wendy, and Juan Pablo (aka Cachetes) have gone home to be with their parents. These kids have been with us for the past 6 years and it was a very emotional goodbye. Just about everybody in the Casa Hogar was crying. It was hard to let go but a judge ruled that their parents have changed and are now capable of handling their children again. We wish them the best and we will definitely be praying for them. They will be greatly missed.
We also said goodbye to (from left to right) Omar, Mayte, Luis, and Daniela & Judith. Omar was our youngest boy and has been with us for several months. He was a cutie. Mayte, Luis, and Daniela & Judith all arrived in January so they had a quick stay. All of them were really good kids and we wish them the best wherever they go.
And lastly we said goodbye to the Tolentino family. They were in charge of the boys dorm and Carlos did most of the driving. They left without giving hardly any notice so we had to scramble to organize how to deal with all of the changes. Carlos, Yesenia and their children moved to Guadalajara and are working with another orphanage there. We wish them well.
It wasn't all goodbyes this month. We welcomed 3 new faces to Dulce Refugio. Esmerelda & Cesar are brother and sister. They are a little quiet but are fitting in nicely. And Ignacio (aka Nacho) has been quite a handful. We have had lots of disciplinary problems with him but we are starting to see positive results. He calls me his "papá" and always asks if I will adopt him. It's sad because I know he comes from lots of problems at home and has issues because of it. We will do our best to give him a good life while he is here.
We welcomed a team of 20 people from my home church, Horizon, in San Diego. It was a huge blessing and a great honor to be able to host this team. We had a great time together and had many activities planned. They hung out with our kids and we were able to take them to the park and had a big BBQ. We also teamed up with a local church to do a children's outreach where we had lots of events and were able to do crafts after with a gospel message.
The team also helped out A LOT in the construction. We were able to get many projects done. We poured a square cement curb in front of the school, both bathrooms on the 1st floor got grouted, the majority of the 3rd story window frames were installed and most of the 2nd floor ceilings got painted,. It was a huge blessing for me and it helped advance the project a lot. Thank you so much Horizon mission team!
I had to weld our window protections. They were originally bolted on and some of the older boys were taking off the bolts and sneaking out. Now they are securely locked in place with steel spikes. Hopefully this will end that problem.
I built 2 more bunny divisions. Last month 1 of our bunnies had 7 babies and we think others are pregnant. We are going to need the space for the pregnant moms real soon...hopefully this will be enough for now.
We got invited to go bowling. A new business that opened up, Bol Kars, closed down 8 of their bowling lanes and let our kids and staff bowl a few rounds. It was a good time and had a cool 1950's USA theme. The kids really enjoyed it.
We had a pool day. It's starting to get really hot in Aguascalientes, plus the kids had some extra days off for Spring Break so we filled our pool and let them have fun.
A group of volunteers from Rotaract/Rotary Club, an international organization, came and painted a mural on our soccer field. It says: "si lo crees lo creas" (If you believe it you create it). They are also going to honor our director with an award for outstanding citizen in the community.
The director, Marce, had a surprise evening planned for the staff and some of our long time faithful friends of the casa. We went out for a nice dinner, heard some live music and received awards for all of our dedication over the years. It was a nice time hanging out with the staff and not having 50 children running around in every direction.
And to end things on a personal note, I got a puppy! She's a tiny little thing and was only 1 month old when I got her. I had no intention of getting a dog but a friend of mine was giving her away and when I saw her face I couldn't say no. Her name is Canela (which means cinnamon in English) and she is fitting in nicely with the kids and the other dogs. But she's my dog so at night, after work she comes home with me. Such a cutie!
