For One Another Happenings

I hope this update finds you well, in good health and having a wonderful memorial day weekend.

I am currently in an internet café and I am just bursting with so much to say. We arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico on the 25th of May. Everything has been going good. We rested a couple of days and have visited Iniciativa Comunitaria’s office to get more info on our upcoming Haiti trip.

Of course if you know me I can’t sit still for too long so this last Friday night Stef and I volunteered to work with Iniciativas Comunitaria on the street program. We arrived at 9pm at their rehab center in downtown San Juan, Puerto Rico. They had just finished making the soup and coffee so we helped but the needle kits together and sandwiches in individual bags. By about 10:15pm we were in our Iniciativas vans and heading to our first stop. The first stop had about 5 people there. They sleep in commercial or gas station areas under cardboard or just on the sidewalk. I was a little sad that at our first stop an elderly woman and man did not want any food at all. This means they are really sick or too far out on drugs that they don’t want to eat.

There was another elderly man who was eating a sandwich and also wanted to salsa dance. Here in Puerto Rico everyone young and old knows how to salsa. So Cristina one of the nurses welcomed him to dance and we turned some old fashioned salsa music up in one of the vans. She danced one song and we were on our way. As we left, the old man was dancing away and never looked so happy. A sandwich, coffee and a little love can go a long ways. We stopped at many different stops. We were only allowed to open our doors and get out when the big leader told us it was okay. I usually passed out soup, coffee, juice, sandwiches or picked out right sized fitting clothes for the individual. There were nurses with charts that wrote down certain questions regarding aids, drugs, age of the person etc. We arrived at one stop and there was only one man outside. He was bent over and I immediately saw him put something into his pants. I got out and then we were all told to get back in because he had a knife. The guys stayed out and got him some food and I eventually brought him some clothes. At this same stop we heard very close gun shots and that was a sign that it was time to move on. Everyone jumped in and we were off. How weird that my heart never beat from fear and I never felt scared. Mabey my time in Ecuador has made me a little crazy. Haha! I was as calm as a cucumber. I saw more needles on the ground than I had ever seen in my life. It was quite the experience. I never felt such an overwhelming feeling of how everyone in this life needs love and hope. One guy came to the van for food. We served him and Omar one of the leaders was speaking to him about how he was doing, etc etc. He was so grateful that we were there and kept thanking us. Stef almost started to cry because the things he was saying were so kind.

So many of these addicts and homeless are cast to the side and forgotten or in some cases many are victims of horrific violence from their past. There was beauty in many of the people that I saw and the team I worked with that night. We had one guy sing 2 songs to us that he wrote. He is a regular and they get sung to very often. There our group sat under a bridge in the middle of the night listening to a voice just wanted a little recognition. I spoke to another guy who was dutch American. He has lived in Puerto Rico for 10 years. He spoke to me in Spanish, English and Dutch. He was super smart but every once in awhile he would lose his train of thought and I would have to wait for him to finish. As he walked off I just watched him and wondered all about his life. How did he get here? Does he have family? Does he want to get better?

The medical team that was with us helped in different cases. They did many procedures cleaning abcesses from the needle use etc.  It was a beautiful night. We ended at about 3:00 am. At our 2nd to last stop we had police stop to check out what we were doing because we were working in pretty sketchy places. They stayed for about 10 minutes and I guess they approved and then left.

Now we are getting prepared for Haiti. We are going with a team of 24 people. We will be working this week to purchase medical supplies and because the supplies are cheaper in Dominican Republic we may take a trip over there while in Haiti to purchase supplies. We have a team meeting on June 2nd and then we leave bright and early 5 am on June 4th. We are so excited!!! Please keep us in our prayers. Stef and I are both in great heath and ready to go. I hope that we will be used to our fullest potential with the time we have in Haiti. Thank you to everyone who has supported this trip. It will be a tremendous blessing to the Haitian people. I am so excited to get back and share with you all that you helped us accomplish. A big thanks to my Mom and sisters for making beautiful items to sell and thanks for all who helped support by purchasing them or donating.

On a side note… Before I left Ecuador I had set up for a group visitingorphans.org to visit my little kids at the orphanage in Quito. They went with a group this past week and I have had news from the leader and from the director of the orphanage. They were all so blessed by the visit. Visitingorphans brought baby food, shoes, diapers and many needed items to help this orphanage and they were so grateful. I was so glad even though I wasn’t there to be a part of it. Amanda the leader and her husband were able to play with my little Jonathan and gave me such a great report. Of course you must know that my heart aches for my little kids in Ecuador and I just love hearing that they are doing well. It is so great that I have a good reputation with many at the orphanage and they have been giving me updates.

Well, I believe that is all for now. If I can’t update before our trip please know that I will send an update after I get back. Thanks again for all of your support!!!

2 COMMENTS:

Thanks for the update! It was awesome. . . and you both are awesome! Can't wait to hear more. You are always in my thoughts and prayers.

JUNE 1, 2010 1:56 PM 

Thanks so much for sharing...keep up the great work and although it may seem overwhelming at times remember God is in control. So many people are so proud of what you guys are doing and we look so forward to hearing more. You are making a difference one life at a time...THANK YOU!!!! You will all be in our thoughts and prayers as well as the kids from the orphanage and all those in Haiti.God bless!!

JUNE 3, 2010 9:36 AM