Day 10: From the Corazon

Emily: Walls been broken. The family that I’ve talked about before with the five children with the infections has broken my wall. I’m not going to go into much detail because it's very hard for me to write about this. We gave the children their second dose of medication. This one was more extreme because it required a shot for the oldest child, Fidelia. We hid the preparation of the shot so she couldn't see... we brought her into the room and had her bend over. I brought my phone out to show videos and had candy ready for her, but she knew what was coming. She began to cry and not allow us to pull down her pants. She kept on saying "I don't want the vaccine, mommy, mommy... no". I don't know what happened in me.

Kids cry all the time because of shots. Heck, even I cried a couple years ago because I didn't want a shot. But to me, that cry wasn't just for the shot. It was for her life. Her health. Her innocence. I broke down while trying to restrain her but remembered that I had to stay strong for them and that they can't see us being weak. I gave this advice to Shirley, so why can't I take my own advice? At this moment, I understood why you can't hold it in. In the states, you don't see this kind of hurt. There’s death, there's disease, there's sadness. But over here, it's different. You don't experience the typical sadness. 

This is where your heart really hurts and it's not just a saying.

I understand what a heavy heart is. I understand the feeling of your heart breaking. Tonight, we are going to give the third dose and I don't think I could do it. Seeing their faces will hurt me. Maybe I need a break to patch it up. I don't know. On top of being physically drained, I’m so emotionally drained that it's affecting my ability to do work. I just don't know guys. I wish there was a way to show you how I feel. I don't know. Besos, Emily.

Olivia: Today, I wanted to spend some time talking about my little team and how incredible they are. These last few days have had some tough and emotional moments - especially with the kids. They work so hard and they care so much. I admire them in many different ways.

 When I see Emily, I see someone who dives in with all she has. I see someone who always finds work to be done, and isn't afraid to take a shovel from a person's hands and get to work. I see someone who has a way of making people, especially the children, laugh and smile despite language barriers. I see someone who cares so deeply and who hurts for the children we help, yet she still manages to put on a smiling and entertaining face to help comfort the children while they receive their medication. Her sense of humor and her motivation keeps my spirits up.

When I see Shirley I see someone who brings so much light and life everywhere we go. People gravitate towards Shirley. As a rather introverted person, I love that. Her energy and enthusiasm is infectious. I see someone who works hard even when she's tired, and makes working fun with her music and stories. (Her and Emily seriously know how to liven up a truck ride!)

When I see Franco, I see someone with so much focus, determination and heart. The love he has for this community, the people, this work and this team is tremendous. It shows in his constant desire to do more and his overwhelming generosity. He won't talk about all the things that he does though, he's too humble for that. I see someone who, despite the sadness that is present, finds something powerful here in the people and in the landscape that feeds his soul. Franco helps me push beyond my comfort zones and encourages me to do the best that I can.

This is the incredible group of people with which I traveled to Guatemala. They have so many different strengths that keep me, and the rest of our team, motivated and strong even in the tough moments. I care so much for this little crew and I wish this post would do them justice, but it really doesn't. Thanks for being the cool souls that you are.

On another note, construction of Don Alberto's concrete floor and new stove started today. I'm very excited for Don Alberto and his wife! The space we had to work with and mix the concrete was much smaller than at previous homes, but we made do. We spent most of the morning moving and hauling sand for the cement. I thought I was a pretty a decent pack mule, hauling all that sand, until I saw some of the loads that the people around here can carry! I've seen men my size or smaller carry 100 pound sacks of cement mix on their backs up and down mountains. I've seen children and elderly people carry loads of plants and fire wood twice their size on their backs also up and down these mountains. It's impressive! Needless to say, this pack mule has sand all over and needs to work on her cardio! Haha! Thanks for reading.

Franco: Thank everyone for keeping up with our blog posts. One of the amazing things about Project HELLO is that we don't limit ourselves to just helping the 25 families we have planned and Christmas for Guatemalan Children. As our team members have shared, we have encountered unexpected twists and turns along our humanitarian journey. Every member of our team is running at full capacity right now and we ask that you keep us in your thoughts and if you would like leave us an encouraging message. Although we may not reply because we are busy, trust us when we say it motivates us to read your messages.

Today I split away from the majority of the group to check on other work sites taking place. Remember, it us unrealistic that our team can accommodate 25 families. However, there is not a single work site that goes without being inspected by me personally. The family I visited today is Don Victoriano and his wife Doña Estela.

Thanks to your donations they are literally building a house from the ground up. Don Victoriano is a farmer and his wife a homemaker. Although he struggles to feed his family from the food he plants in the fields, Don Victoriano refuses to leave his family and travel to Mexico or the US. He says he can't bare to he away from his wife and five children. As he told me this he wrapped one arm around his wife as she blushed.

Doña Estela never went to school and is therefore illiterate. She recalled walking barefoot as a child growing up and eating roots and wild plants her mother would forage from the Guatemalan mountains. She says her greatest desire is to break the chains of poverty with her children. Hence why she is extremely thankful for the people who have donated the money to buy materials to build her new home. Below are pictures of the land where construction will begin tomorrow and Don Victoriano and Doña Estela.

In being transparent with readers and donors I would like to say that in the past three years that I have been coming to Guatemala to help families I have never encountered a dishonest family. Today that changed. Unfortunately one of the families we helped, Don Joel and his wife Esperanza and their seven children took advantage of our trust.

Don Joel was given 15 cement bags to build all of the floor in his house. Today, when we inspected the house to see that the work was done correctly we discovered only half of his house had a cement floor. Where were the rest of the cement bags? First, we made sure all of the required material had arrived complete. After we confirmed that all of the material had arrived we spoke to Don Joel and asked him what had happened to the rest of the cement bags and why he had not finished his floor. Don Joel simply stated quiet and refused to give us a straight answer. I gently reminded him that the cement bags had come from money people in the US had donated to help him and his family. No response. I decided it would be best to take pictures of the work that was done in his house which included a stove, aluminum roof, and cement floor. I apologize beforehand to the donors who are reading this as this is my first time dealing with a dishonest family. Thank you for your understanding.

The last home I visited belongs to Don Basilio De Leon and his family. Don Basilio is also a field worker. What impressed me most about this family since I assessed their living situation in the summer was how clean and orderly their home is. Although they needed much more then a stove, Don Basilio said he knew there were people who needed items much more than him and his family. He said he would work harder for the rest of the things he needed to finish building his house, but was grateful for his stove because having a place to cook for his family is important to him and his wife.

Thank all of you for reading our blog. Tomorrow we have a long day ahead of us starting at 6 am. Again, we appreciate your continued support and thoughts.