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!
April has been a very productive month. Between the construction projects and hanging out with the kids, because they were on vacation for 2 weeks, I hardly got any down time. But it's alright because I love to see the kids happy and the project advancing. Here are the highlights...
In the construction...
Juan is back for a little bit. Juan was a faithful employee of Dulce Refugio for over 6 years. Now when I have some extra money and a big project I call him to help. We built 3 massive concrete columns to give support to our wall. We built the wall in December and it was a little wobbly (it's 15 feet tall and only 5 inches wide). Now with this extra support I don't have to worry about any walls coming down.
We dug out and poured the 3rd and final curb in front of the school. This is all part of a design with colored rocks, grass and trees that will be in front of the building. Juan and his helper Jose helped with this project as well.
We finished the rock floor in front of the school. This was a big project and took about 40 bags of cement...each bag weighs over 100lbs. Soon we will be putting in grass all around the stones.
We got invited to a "cabaña" (cabin) outside of the city. It was a very nice place with a pool, jacuzzi and lots of grass to play soccer. The kids loved it and it was nice to hang out with everybody.
We were invited to "Mundo A," a local water park. It has a ton of pools and water slides. The kids loved it (the adults too) and we must've gone on the slides about 50 times. It was a great vacation day for all of us.
Wera had her baby! Elías Galvez was born on April 6, 2018 and is a cutie. Wera and her baby will be living off site but she grew up in the Casa Hogar and spent the weeks after her pregnancy at the orphanage. (The tradition in Mexico is that the woman stays with her mom for a bit after the baby is born.) Welcome to this world Elías!
Philip & Jennifer Ardrey came down with their 2 daughters, Iris & Grace. They came down to see one of our older girls, Fernanda, who they are in the process of adopting. The adoption process has been going on for a while but now all the paperwork has been submitted and it is coming to an end. Very shortly they will be able to take her home.
The director of the orphanage, Marcela Ortega, won an award from the Rotary Club for being a model citizen. We took the older kids to the event and afterward there were drinks and appetizers. I tried caviar for the first time. It was pretty fancy.
Somebody donated another bunny. Our total is now 14. This one is a little different because her ears hang down instead of up like all the rest. Should make for some interesting babies.
We had to say goodbye to Nacho. We tried so much to help but he proved to be very difficult. There were lots of disciplinary problems and we couldn't allow this to disrupt the lives of everybody else. Nacho came with many issues and I hope that he will get the help he needs. We will be praying for him.
A group of vounteers from Wal Mart came for the day and repainted the inside of the boys dorm. There were lots of places missing paint that needed to be touched up. Thank you for donating all of the material and your time. We appreciate it.
The last day of the month in April is "Día del Niño" (Day of the kid). Every year we put on a big event for the neighborhood around us. This year it was a Disney theme and we gave a gospel message about "reality vs fantasy." We explained that the things of the world can't satisfy/save us and that the reality of it all is that we need a Savior. We shared about Jesus to the kids and about 400 came to the event. Each child got some pizza, a drink and a toy to take home. It was a blessing.
