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!
June has been a great month. So much has been completed in the construction and we have been very blessed to see old friends and meet new faces. A team from Ohio & Michigan was here for 10 days and lots of events were planned for the kids. Thank you Lord for your many blessings!
In the construction...
All of the 5 bathrooms are now finished with tile, grout and "yeso" (plaster). They will still need a coat of paint but one of our regular volunteers will be here for a week in July and she plans on taking care of that.
I installed a handrail on the 2nd story stairs. The long metal bars behind it were a little weak so I had to put in something to strengthen them. This handrail also has spots for flower pots to give everything a little extra color.
We had our laminate wood floors installed. The floors were donated a long time ago and the donor agreed to install them whenever we were ready. It took a while because we had to put in the windows and level the floor before the wood laminates could be laid down. Now they are in and they look great.
The older girls cleaned up the entire school. They wanted to help in the construction so they cleaned up the entire place...a job that was long overdue! Things definitely looked much better when they finished. They emptied about 5 wheel barrows of trash.
Before
After
We hosted a team from Ohio & Michigan. 10 people came down for 10 days and helped out a lot in the construction. We completed many of the jobs I had on my list and the place looks a lot different. Most of the hallways got painted, the last classroom was tiled & grouted, the last 3 bathrooms got grouted and all of our guardrails & door frames are installed, sanded & painted. What a huge blessing. Thank you so much team!
But it wasn't all work. The team also had lots of fun activities planned during their trip. I took them to Zacatecas, a touristy city about an hour away. We hiked to the top of "Picacho" (the local mountain), went to a local church's children's outreach, toured downtown Aguascalientes and got souvenirs. We had lots of time to hang out with the kids and had a goodbye carne asada BBQ with everybody. It was a lot of fun hanging out with the team. I got to see old friends and meet new faces. I hope you guys will be back soon. I know the kids will miss you!
Also another team of 17 people from Indiana showed up for half a day to help out and play soccer with the kids. They dug 2 trenches: one to drain water away from the bunny cage because it was getting flooded during the rainy season and the other so we can install a new water line for the boy's dorm. They left glow sticks and soccer equipment for the kids...they enjoyed the glow sticks that night.
The Federal Police came to the casa and hung out with the kids. They drove them around on their 3 wheel motorcycle, let them use the sirens and loud speaker, and talked to them about their jobs. It was a good time and the kids really enjoyed it.
Lolis turned 15. Her birthday was on June 4th and we celebrated her "quinceañera" (15th birthday party) at the Casa Hogar. This is a very special age for a girl in Mexico. The following weekend I took Lolis and some of her friends from school out for a nice dinner and a couple hours of hanging out downtown. I have known Lolis since she was just a couple of years old and I am so proud of the beautiful young woman she is becoming.
We said goodbye to Viviana. She was a sweet girl. A little quiet but she was starting to come out of her shell. Her older sister left the previous month so the government agency relocated her. We wish her the best.
We got invited to a dance performance at the local Aguascalientes Theater. We all went but I must say that the girls were definitely more excited to go than the boys. I think I fell asleep after the 2nd song...oops. I felt very refreshed after the show!
And finally, we celebrated Father's day here at the orphanage. Some of the older girls saved up money to buy me a cake. They were doing odd jobs to raise money in order to buy it. I was honored to be part of this special day and I appreciate the very nice gesture. I am the only guy on staff here at Dulce Refugio and am doing my best to show each and every child that I love them. Sometimes I feel like I am so busy that I don't get to spend as much time with the kids as I would like, but this was a nice reminder to show me that they care.