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!
September has been a looong month. It was full of difficulties and tons of work. We started a big project at the local church I attend and it turned out to be a much bigger project than I had expected. But praise God that my part is finished and things are up and running for the congregation.
Early this month I got VERY sick. I talked to my brother-in-law who is a paramedic and who also had Corona Virus and we had the exact same symptoms. I can only assume that is what I had. I will be getting an antibody test soon to see if in fact it was Covid. I was really sick for only 2 days but stayed in my house for a week so I wouldn't spread anything to anybody else. I watched a ton of Netflix and was definitely ready to get back to work when the week was over.
We remodeled the women's bathroom at the local church I attend. This was a HUGE job and more things kept popping up and setting us back. It took us 2 1/2 weeks to complete most of the work and we were working crazy hours to have everything ready for Sunday service. We destroyed everything and built it all back new. We even opened up the floor and put in all new pipes and drains. Lots of us helped with the demolition and the tiling. Later I built and installed all of the aluminum stalls. I was regularly working until midnight - 2am and the last night I was there working until 530am. The new bathroom looks great and I am so glad this job is over!!
Before
After
At the orphanage...
We said goodbye to Martha. Martha had many years on staff at Dulce Refugio and she was in charge of the boys. She was a huge help and did a lot around the casa hogar. She has decided it is time to move out and start a new chapter in her life. She has moved to Monterrey, Mexico, and will be starting a full-time job with a sales company. We wish her the best and pray that God will bless her new journey.
We also said goodbye to 2 boys this month; Roberto & Luis. They were our oldest boys and were acting inappropriately. Roberto has been in the orphanage for many years and we've had disciplinary issues with him multiple times. Luis has only been with us for a couple of months but we felt it was better for him to be relocated. I hope these boys can get the help they need. It's always difficult when having to make these decisions, but our director has to put the well-being of the children as first priority.
Roberto
Luis
We welcomed David to the orphanage. David is now our oldest boy and seems to be fitting in well with the others. I haven't been able to spend as much time with the kids this month due to getting sick and working so much on the church bathroom remodel but I look forward to hanging out with David soon.
We celebrated Mexican Independence Day! Marce, the director of the orphanage, threw her annual fiesta and we all had a great time. There was lots of food, costumes and Mexican decorations. It was nice to hang out with everybody and celebrate the special occasion. I have grown to love this country very much and consider Mexico to be my 2nd home. May God continue to bless this country and the ministry taking place down here!