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 a roller coaster ride. Lots of highs and lots of lows. We set a date for the inauguration of our new church building and shortly after I got injured and couldn't work for a week. But praise God I'm feeling ok and we are back on schedule and getting a lot done!
We set a date for the inauguration of our new church building. The last weekend of May (May 28, 29, 30) we will have a conference and events for the community. As you can see by the photo I have A LOT of work to do, so for the next 2 months I'm going to be very busy!
No less than a week after setting the inauguration date, I stepped on a nail while we were working. I was coming down from a ladder and fell on the nail with all of my weight. It went right into the ball of my foot and went in about 1 inch. The worst part of the whole process was not stepping on the nail but it was the inflammation that set in the next day. Every time I got out of bed and lowered my foot to the ground the blood would rush to the wound and cause a horrible throbbing. I couldn't really do anything for a week except lie in bed and watch Netflix. It was really frustrating because there is so much to do in order to finish in time for the inauguration...but I know that God will help me to accomplish our goal so He can be glorified!
Once I got back to work, we poured a lot of concrete columns and beams. We are right around the half way point with the blocks, so we had to form and pour the vertical columns and the horizontal beams to give the walls strength. The walls will be going up about 20ft so we still have a ways to go.
We stacked a lot more blocks. We had to put a 2nd level on our scaffolding because we are getting up pretty high. Pretty soon things will be all closed off and the building will really start to come together.
We started to stucco the walls. This is going to be a very big job because there are 4 walls that are each about 20ft tall x 50ft wide. I hired another worker, named Halí, and he will be taking over this part of the project. Halí regularly attends the church and has volunteered many times throughout the construction. Now he will be with us everyday and we're glad to have him there. He's a great guy and is going to be a big help.
At the orphanage...
We said goodbye to 2 girls this month:
Aremi is a sweet girl and quite the character. I had a really good relationship with her and she called me her "papá." I would always make her laugh and she knew how to make some crazy faces. I even made a meme of her that says "que tengas un bonito día" (have a nice day) with her crazy smile. I'm gonna miss her!
Jocelyn was one of our older girls and we were having problems with her. She wasn't doing well in school and had an attitude. We gave her many chances and things were not improving, so in order to protect the other kids we had to send her to another institution that can better handle these situations. Please keep her in your prayers. It's a difficult ministry and we can't always help them all.
Aremi
Jocelyn
We welcomed 3 new kids this month:
Estrella, Juan & Ángel are brothers & sister. I don't know about their story and I stopped asking a long time ago when new kids came to the orphanage...sometimes it's better not to know. I just love them if they're in our care. But these are all really good kids and very smart. The 2 boys are in my English class and pick things up very quickly. Estrella is doing online classes with the older kids and they are all fitting in nicely.
And finally...
I helped weld some tables that were donated to our church's feeding program and we bolted them to the floor. The feeding program is called "Drops of Love" and they have multiple locations. In fact, the church building site that I'm currently working on is 1 of their 3 feeding programs. The tables were installed at another location and it is in the ghetto! (So this ministry is definitely a light in a dark place.) A little over a year ago, people broke in and stole everything they could get their hands on...all of the tables, chairs, etc. Now with this donation, they have some heavier tables and they are secured into the floor. Hopefully they won't go anywhere! They're doing a great job of teaching God's Word to the youth in these neighborhoods and it is always a blessing to help out other ministries in need. Please keep them in your prayers and pray that they will have success in this rough neighborhood!