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!
Well I hope everybody had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 2017 is now over and we say hello to 2018. As we take a look back, December was a month packed full of activities and fiestas. But it ended with family and time to rest...a great way to close out the year.
December was FULL of "Posadas" (Christmas parties)!! Many local groups, businesses and organizations had parties for the kids. Almost every day there was an event...sometimes 2 in one day. The kids loved getting all of the presents and eating good food.
The parties were full of fun things to do. Santa showed up, we had clowns, face painting, a professional choir to sing us Christmas carols, tons of presents, and my personal favorites: the taco & the churro carts! Mmmmmmm.
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After
We painted our castle. A Mexican company, "OXXO," decided to donate the material for a fun project. So now the play area matches the rest of the casa with LOTS of colors.
We were blessed with a visit from Duane. He was in town and wanted to see how things were going at Dulce Refugio. It was good to see him and show him the progress on the school/orphanage that he started building.
(Duane was in charge of the construction for about 10 years and is the man responsible for starting the project at the current site. He is an awesome man of God and someone I respect very much.)
We welcomed Ariana to the Casa Hogar. She is now one of our older girls and fitting in nicely. She has a bright personality and does a lot to help out.
We said goodbye to Jorge. I was sad to see him go. He is a good young man and he always helped me in the construction when I needed it. He had some problems with the director and was asked to leave, a decision that I did not support, but I have to respect the authority that God has put in Dulce Refugio.
We went to the Donaldson Christmas party. It's a huge event for thousands of people. Donaldson is an international company that has factories in Aguascalientes. They are one of our biggest supporters/donors and we really appreciate all of their help.
The kids had a great time at the event. Some of the kids performed some dances for the crowd. They also had tons of astro jumps, arts & crafts and paintball.
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After
Juan came for 2 weeks to build the wall. We've had some problems with break-ins recently, so we thought we'd raise up the wall where it was too low (a project we've wanted to do for years). I helped with the project and we got all 1,000 bricks laid before the Christmas break.
It was good to work with Juan again. He had been a faithful employee for 6 years but is no longer part of our regular staff.
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After
I also filled in a weak spot in our wall. This entrance is hidden in the far corner of the orphanage and is located right behind the school. Nobody can see it at nighttime so we took out the old chain link fence and put in bricks.
We were invited onto the field of the "Rieleros de Aguascalientes," the local baseball team. They are a minor league team and they had a big event for many different organizations in the community. There were piñatas and astro jumps and some of the players were signing autographs for the kids. It was a good time.
It got down to -4C (25F) one night and all of the water froze inside of the pipes that were on the roof. Many of them burst and had to be replaced. The girls were without water for a few days. Thankfully everything is fixed and it's all back to normal. I hope there aren't anymore freezing nights in Aguas.
I got further on tiling the bathroom walls. I've just about finished the 1st bathroom, but because I'm always getting side tracked with other projects, it's coming along slower than I'd like.
We had a Christmas celebration at our home church. Comunidad Cristiana had a manger scene and some of our kids were in it. Also, many of the Samaritan's Purse Christmas shoe boxes were donated to our church and all the kids who attended got a box. It was a fun time of fellowship with other members of Comunidad Cristiana.
AND on December 22nd I flew home to San Diego to spend the holidays with my family. I will be going back to Aguascalientes in mid January, so until then I will get some down time with the family and pick up some shifts whenever I can.
May God bless you in 2018 and may you "seek the Lord with all your heart" this new year. God is good!