Noah's Post

Day 1 - Got up at 7, groggy eyed. It was different this year because we had our VBS on the first day rather than at the end of the week. It was good to jump right in and be immersed in the culture.  I was in charge of the bean bag station. Pastor Tino helped get kids to my game by making trick shots and Beans and I were like boom and throwing it over our heads. There was this group of kids that kept coming back and back. It was an easy game and they just wanted the candy.

I was one of the puppeteers. The muscle memory came back. My arms were so tired! I was next to Emily in one song and she almost hit me every time with her swinging puppet rod.

When we finished our VBS, we went and saw Pastor Juan. He immediately said, “Noah!” We took the same picture we took last year with him on our shoulders, this time with Beans instead of Josh.  The other pastor’s son, Gabriel, helped us dig a ditch to make a drainage sidewalk. Pastor Juan kept singing, “No talking – more work.”  

Day 2 – The orphanage was crazy. I knew exactly where to go. I saw the child I had last year. Then I saw Irvine crawling down the hall. I remembered him wrestling with Josh last year. He is only 12 but so strong. He would pinch you once in a while. Beans and I put him on the swing, and he loved it. Chris told us he loved piggy back rides, so we took turns giving him rides.  He has the greatest smile ever!  We put him on this huge tricycle/tractor. He did it for a while then crawled out and patted the chair because he wanted us to go. Then he wanted us to ride in the trailer part. Seeing him smile was the most rewarding thing. It was the best thing ever. Chris said last year, “The kids won’t remember you tomorrow, but you will remember them forever.” He was right. Leaving was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.  We walked Irvine into the building and he just sat down on the floor. He did not want to get back in the bed. He did not want us to leave. He was crying and holding on to us. It was so hard.

Day 3 -Four in the morning bright and ugly – wearing our fresh ponchos. The three hour car ride was fun and interesting. It was a time to connect and talk to our team members. It helped since we work together as a team for the distribution. I was nervous trying to remember all I did last year, what tools I needed.  Jorge arrived  and calmed me down a little bit. We started unloading the truck. Dick Rutledge gave us a talk about distributing the chairs. Then I felt like, okay, I’ve got this. There were so many people there, so many smiles.

My first chair was for David. He was one of those people you could just put in a chair and make a few adjustments. He was so happy  laughing, and tickling. We showed his mom how to use the wheelchair and moved on to Emmanuel. It was a hard chair. We had to change the shocks and pistons. The last chair was by far the hardest but the most rewarding. It was for a really twisted little girl. She was like 50 pounds and 3 feet. Her body would not relax.  We got her a chair. She was so twisted she could only be in her chair for an hour. Then she had to be taken out so her body would relax. Dick told me if she had had therapy earlier it would have changed her life. Everything would be different. The chair took so long. An hour after everyone else was done, we were still finishing it, but it was so worth it. It is the first mobility she has ever had.

Day 4 - Woke up when Marcy said breakfast is on for the third time. We went to the shop to load the tools. I recognized some of the workers and shook their hands and made some jokes. When we arrived at our site, there was an existing house there. I wondered extension?? The land is for four houses. We met Marisol and her little girl. That is who we are building the house for. It was interesting to watch Clegg work. He was so good at it, so happy, so glad to be there. Leveling out bricks he left me one time. I was so happy I got the brick level all by myself! We had to flatten out the foundation to 2/1/2 inches. It was so important for Marcy. It was fun listening to Chris and Marcy tease about it. Pouring in the cement and mixing it killed me.  

I’m having a great time. The week is lasting a lot longer than I thought it would be. I’m looking forward to the coming days.

Noah