Day 7: Silence Alone is Being

There have been times in my life when I could not find enough depth in words to express feelings. Such a place or person can exist where feelings are so powerful silence is sometimes the best or only option because words have not yet been created to describe the emotion. Today I experienced such a moment. 

Installing Mrs Velazquez's plastic all-purpose wash station was no easy task. As mentioned in my blog this week, Mrs Velazquez's house is on top of a mountain. Carrying 100 lb concrete bags up a mountain at almost 10,000 ft above sea level is a serious physical challenge. With the help of members from the volunteer group named Grupo Magnificat we got the job done. 

Mixing cement began around 06:30, it had been raining that night and it was very cold. So we worked quickly to warm up a bit. 

The wash station below is what the Velazquez family used in the past to do laundry and bathe before Project Genesis donations afforded the family a tough plastic all-purpose wash station. 

The project was almost complete when I decided to look for Mr or Mrs Velazquez and inform them we were almost done. I knocked on the door to a room and called out for them. Instead, I heard a baby sound coming from the room. I opened the door and walked into a dark damp room. Two small heads popped out of blankets and I saw a baby laying on a blanket with his head on a piece of ply wood. 

 

I moved in close to say "hola" and thought it would be prudent to move the baby away from the edge of the bed. I realized the blankets were all damp and some wet. I looked up and saw holes on the aluminum roof above the beds. They'd been sleeping in damp beds all night. I moved away and just stared at the children. They smiled. Silence. Emotions. Words yet to be invented. Children. Innocence. Human. Touch. Human being to human being. 

We continued and finished our work in the Velazquez home. But we didn't leave. As a group, we decided to take measurements and figure out a way to buy a new aluminum roof for the Velazquez family. I told the volunteers there had been a recent $130 donation to my GoFundMe account. If both people who donated $100 and $30 are reading this thank you. It was the exact amount needed in Guatemalan currency to buy the new roof. It arrives tomorrow. 

In the evening we held a meeting with at least one family member from the 20 families selected for Project Genesis. Grupo Magnificat and I explained who we were and where the money came from. I explained to the families how 29 people in the US had donated their money to help their human brothers and sisters in Sibinal, Guatemala, without expecting anything in return. I also shared a bit about myself and who I was. I turned the floor over to the families for comments or suggestions on how we could better serve them. Five people spoke and not one person asked for more. They were all simply grateful that 29 people in the US were willing to donate money so that they could have an all-purpose wash station, latrine, stove, or concrete floor. Some cried as they explained in detailed stories how the government or other agencies would promise them different items but never came through. Some said they did not believe they would get any of the items Project Genesis had promised them. I was filled with pride knowing that I knew 29 people who knew their donations would get the job done as it currently has. A lost dream coming true for an abandoned community. Advocating and empowering human beings.