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!
Things have slowed down this past month of May. Although we have made advancements on our church building project, we have to wait on materials to come and it's been a slow process. Also the orphanage is still on lock down so the kids can't leave...hopefully this "pandemic" will be over soon!
Well I'm sad to have to start off the blog with bad news. Mary, who was in charge of the girls at the orphanage, has left Dulce Refugio. Mary was asked to leave for a big misunderstanding. Nobody was in favor of the decision but we have to respect authority even when we don't agree. Mary did a great job with the girls and helped out in many other areas. The girls are really sad that she is no longer there and keep asking when she is coming back. It's a difficult situation for them and for myself as well. She is a good friend of mine and we helped each other out a lot in the ministry. I know that God has big plans for her. She will be missed!
In the construction...
We poured the 4 big bases for the steel columns and now we are officially done with the foundations! Before we poured the concrete, I had to put all of the screws inside of the base and line them up perfectly. Each screw is about 3 ft long and almost 1 inch thick. They are heavy duty screws!
I ordered 16 trucks of dirt in order to raise up the land. The land is much lower than where we will pour our concrete floor so we had to fill it in. Later I got a tractor to move everything around and realized that we will still need more dirt! Since the trucks only bring 2-3 loads of dirt per day it has caused things to slow down as we wait. Hopefully we will soon be back at full speed!
Since the church project was slow I had some free days to help out my fellow Horizon missionary, Chevon. I installed some laminates to cover the gap between her roof and her front gate. She was telling me that when it's raining, she gets wet as she pulls things out of her car. Since the rainy season is coming soon, I wanted to have everything ready for her. My helper Jesus painted the structure that I had welded to hold up the laminates and he also did some paint touch ups on her front gate. It's always good to bless other missionaries!
Chevon helped me out a ton when I first moved to Aguascalientes. She showed me the city and did lots of translating for me when my Spanish wasn't the best. I will never forget all of her help and try to always be there when she needs something.
At the orphanage...
We celebrated the director Marce's 60th birthday! It was a 1960's theme and everybody got dressed up. The kids performed a dance and we ate lots of good food. Marce has accomplished a lot in her 60 years and I wish her many more!
We had a bonfire with the kids. Since they can't leave the orphanage due to the quarantine situation, we have to find things for them to do inside the property. They all had a good time and enjoyed hanging out & roasting marshmallows.
We said goodbye to Jonathon. Jonathon was one of our two older boys. He helped out a lot and was a good kid, but due to some inappropriate behavior we had to call the government agency to pick him up. He was with us for over 1 1/2 years and his 2 sisters are still at Dulce Refugio. I hope he is doing well and I wish him the best.
Our garden project is going well. The lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and cilantro are ready and we are waiting on a lot more stuff. Also our orange & peach trees have produced small quantities of fruit but still need more time to grow. Mary was the one taking care of the garden but now since she is gone the responsibility has fallen on me. I hope to keep things going because this project has the potential to be a huge blessing to the orphanage.