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!
February was a change of pace from the normal routine. Now that I'm back to working alone I decided to take a break from the construction and finish up lots of random projects around the orphanage. Also I was able to help out some people on our staff with their own personal projects. I went at a little slower pace than usual and I got to spend some more time with the kids during the day. I even had some of them help me with a few of the jobs.
I did lots of work to better our bunny situation. I added some more divisions in the main cage. Now we have 7 spaces for pregnant bunnies to have their babies, plus the big section in the middle of the cage for all of the rest of them. Also I made another cage that is portable with wheels. It is covered in chain link fence so grass can get in and they always have food. This cage is for the rabbits that are next on the list for us to eat. Since they will be constantly eating (and cutting our grass...an added bonus) they will be getting fatter and putting more "meat" on their bones...literally.
I finally fixed our castle bridges. A local worker "fixed" them months ago but did such a cheap job that they fell apart shortly afterwards. I was waiting for him to come back and fix his work but he never did. One bridge was hanging by a thread and had been blocked off for a while and the other bridges were missing parts of the guard rails. It definitely would've NEVER passed safety code in the USA. Now it's good to go and our kids can play safely again.
I helped Eli, the woman in charge of the boys' building, make some really big versions of board games. Unfortunately, Eli will be leaving Dulce Refugio next month and this will be her source of income when she leaves. She plans on renting these games to schools and for private events. I welded some structures and cut lots of wood that she will paint and piece together.
The tower is a huge version of a game like "Ker-Plunk." I welded the base for what will be a huge game of "Battleship." She also has lots of other ideas.
Cesar & Pilar, a couple that is on our staff, will also be leaving next month and moving into an apartment offsite. I am helping them get their place in order and we started installing a fence around their yard to give them some extra protection. We got the posts and part of the chain link fence up. I just have to weld some doors for them.
For now, our "wall of fame" is finished. Junior, a long time volunteer, helped finish the last mural. And for me this is the one that means the most. Children of Hope is a Canadian organization that helps orphanages in Mexico and they are responsible for supplying most of the funds and missionaries that built our current location. Duane Visscher was the "white guy" who spoke English that I met in a local church here back in 2007. He is one of their missionaries and he told me about the project. I showed up one day to help, fell in love with the place, and I'm still here today...12 years later. I thank God for this ministry and for all of the wonderful work that they are doing throughout Mexico.
Two of our older kids enrolled in a soccer league. Victor & Ariana are both great kids and when they asked me if they could play, I was more than happy to sponsor them.
(Ariana's photo reminds me of my AYSO days, taking pictures posing with the soccer ball like that.)
We received 2 new kids this month. Juan & Jonathon are brothers and were transferred from a rehabilitation center. We were a little skeptical because we have had problems with older boys in the past, and the fact that they came from a rehab center made us nervous. They turned out to be two wonderful young men. They had great attitudes and were more than willing to work and help out...it was a reminder for me not to judge people before I get to know them. Anyway, they were only with us for about 2 weeks because the government located a brother of theirs in a different state and sent them off to live with him. We were sad to see them go but happy that they will be with family.
WE HAVE CHICKEN POX!! Many of our kids broke out with chicken pox. The boys definitely got it much worse than the girls.
We found a really cool park. Sundays I usually take the kids out to do something fun and we started going to a park that has a HUGE slide. It kind of burns your butt cheeks if you don't have anything under your bottom to protect you so on our 2nd trip to the park, we brought a bunch of cardboard and plastic to avoid the burn. I went down in a plastic box and ended up going so fast that I flew off the other end of the slide by about 10 feet. Here's a link to the video of my crash landing:
https://www.facebook.com/bobby.seski/videos/10156320348248507/
And finally we had a small celebration for Valentine's Day. Here in Mexico it is known as the day of love AND friendship. We had a nice dinner of cheeseburgers and cheesecake (Mmmm, my favorite dessert). Also, we decorated the dining hall a little bit and put a nice message on the wall which translated says: "Jesus is the best love story that touched my heart."
