The Florida Baptist Women’s Missionary group is hard at work this week at the Malnutrition Center. Today was All Saints' Day, when Guatemalans visit the cemeteries to pay homage to their ancestors. They decorate the graves with flowers and fly kites in honor of those they have lost. This morning at the Center, the children enjoyed a time of flying kites as well. All the children but the Canaries got to come outside in the sunshine to enjoy the beautiful colors and tricks and turns of the kites. Simeon was so proud that his kite went higher than "Don Ron’s". Billy smiled and pointed his hand making circles to follow the kites’ path. Marta laughed and giggled as she chased the tail of a kite, and Gerson insisted on helping Don Ron with the tangled strings.
One of the great things about returning to the Malnutrition Center is seeing all the remarkable changes that have occurred since your last visit. Not only with the facility itself, but in the lives of the children and the workers there. For those of you who have not had a chance to go to the Center in the last nine months, here are some updates on what you may have missed...
--Thanks to the work of the hospital team two weeks ago and the follow up of Miqueila from our team this week, Dalila can roll over and sit up.
--Luis Fernando is standing on his own and has taken a few steps towards Julee.
--Maria Ascunsion is cooperating with her physical therapy as well and is getting stronger every day. ---To those of us who hold a special place in our hearts for Billy, he is a DUCK! He is walking and happy and participates in activities with the other children to the best of his ability.
--The changes to the way the food is prepared is making a great difference in how the children eat and enjoy their meals.
--The kitchen crew is working hard to make sure meals are ready to be served by 12:30.
--Marta, who never smiled when I was there last January, is so happy now.
--Simeon who had some troubles in the past is now cooperating and is enjoying his time at school.
--The classroom looks like a real school now with the desks and the posters and artwork on the walls. --Simeon is proud of the work that he does in the garden.
--The garden is growing, and the chickens will be delivered soon.
--Bethany on our team has been sharing her knowledge about gardening, composting and chicken care with the kitchen ladies and the gardener.
--The workers now have their own room to change and keep their personal items in lockers, and the stage is a wonderful addition which allows for plays and programs to entertain the children.
--Most of the walls have been repainted.
--The plumbing problem under the Canary Room fixed and the playground in the courtyard improved.
--The mats that replaced the blankets on the floor are so nice.
--The murals that have been added are beautiful and eye catching.
--The clothes and supply closets are overflowing and the craft area well stocked.
--The new schedule is a great improvement helping to make sure that all the children get the attention and help that they need when teams are working at the center.
-- Luz is retiring after over 30 years of work at the Center, and a celebration will be held in her honor this week.
--The biggest change is probably all the new pictures on the walls as children have left and others come in.
--Each child that was there nine months ago has grown so much.
--The Center stays full and yet, there are so many needy children who need the assistance provided there.
God has His Hand on the Malnutrition Center and is using people like you and me to provide the funds, materials and time for all these changes that have taken place. But, all of these improvements could be temporary if those of us who love the children and the workers at the Malnutrition Center do not continue to support the work done there. Have you signed up to sponsor a child? If only 200 of us who have been touched by the work at the Malnutrition Center would sign up to send $30 a month, the Center could have much more stability. Would your church consider sponsoring the salary of a worker, $3500 a year, so that another room and more children could be added to the Center? Could you sponsor a fund raiser or host a garage sale and send the proceeds for a special project at the Center? And if you spent a week ministering to the children, you know what a blessing you received. Why not sign up to return? And like me, you will be amazed at all the progress, and praise God for all He is doing for the children of Guatemala through the Malnutrition Center!
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