Greetings from Guatemala,

Miguel and I arrived safely on Thursday night about 9:30.  The plane was 30 minutes late due to some problems in Houston.  The flights are sure better then they used to be.  We left Omaha at 3:30 our time and arrived in Guatemala at 10:30 our time.   There has been some times when I have traveled to Guatemala  that we have had  7 to 9 hours of lay overs some place.  There used to be only 1 or 2 flights a day to Guatemala.  Now there are quite a few and quite a few airlines coming in here.

Ruth and Leo picked us up at the airport.  Ruth works with Sharing the Dream,  you will hear about her quite a bit in this journal.  She is a young vivacious Guatemalan who speaks fluent English.  Leo is Ruth’s sister in law and was the driver of the vehicle.  She is learning English so we agreed that she would speak only English to me and I would speak only Spanish to her.  Might be some short conversations.  We loaded up the suitcases.  Miguel and I had brought 4  70# suitcases, 2 huge carry on duffels and 2 backpacks.  They were all filled with articles for here, very little clothes for us.   We brought mostly books.   We had to be creative in getting everything in the old SUV.  Ruth and I have quite a bit of experience with packing things in small spaces so we did okay.

We drove to the Sharing the Dream office in zone 4.  The office we rent is quite nice, again compared to when we stayed in zone 1.  Zone 1 is dirty from diesel fuel, crowded with people,  and is quite violent.  This is a safer neighborhood.  Ruth says it is lower middle class.  The office is compromised of 4 rooms.  A small room when you first enter with Ruth’s office, a refrigerator, table, some kitchen equipment and a couch.  The second room has 2 sets of bunk beds,  Then there is the bathroom and a small open area with the “pila”  The pila is a cement sink where you wash your dishes and clothes.  I think I will go and buy some plants at the market and donate them to the office.  This space could use some greenery.  The next room is a bit larger and has a set of bunk beds, a couch and shelves with all our storage for items coming in and going out.  It is very well organized.  The office is just right because we need a lot of storage in Guatemala.  We also need a place for our groups when they come down and a place for our representatives from the cooperatives to stay when they come to the city..  Often times it is very frightening for them to come to the big city.  They can come here to a safe neightborhood and stay and not pay.

Willy, Miguel, and Irma

Friday morning—July 9th.

It is nice to have a few days here that are not planned.  Usually when I am here we have a full schedule.  Miguel and I will be here until the 13th and then we will be joined by the group. From now until the 13th I will be working with Ruth on some office items and spending time with Miguel’s family. Let me tell you a little about Miguel for those of you who don’t know him.  Ed and I adopted him 5 years ago at the age of 12 from the orphanage Casa Guatemala that we work with here.  He had spent 6 years living on the street with an alcoholic mother and then 6 years at the orphanage.  A year ago we got a message from the orphanage that he had a sister who was looking for him.  They gave us her phone number here in Guatemala and Miguel called her right away.  It was a very tearful reunion.  Last April when I was here I met his sister Irma, her husband, an aunt and lots of cousins.  Miguel has very little memory of them but is anxious to see them again.  Irma had wanted to meet us at the plane, but after traveling all day I did not want an emotional reunion at the airport, so we decided she should come to the office today.

I got up early and unpacked all the bags and separated all the things that we had brought with us.  Ruth lives next door and brought us some waffles she made for breakfast.  She made sure we knew that the waffles were made from scratch, not frozen. She is such a wonderful person and I tell everyone that wants to find a husband for her that we need to keep her single and dedicated to Sharing the Dream.  Ruth just laughs about this.  Ruth and I worked on some office items and waited for Miguel’s sister.  Miguel got up and was anxious to meet his sister too.   He is really secure in our family and looks forward to learning more about his past.  His sister was suppose to come about 9:30 but did not make it until about 11:00. They traveled here by bus and got lost many times.  They especially got lost after they got off the bus about 5 blocks from here.  Nothing is well marked and it is pretty confusing.    It was quite a reunion.  She grabbed Miguel and started to cry.  Then she would hold him back about 2 feet and touch his face and hair and then hold him and cry again.  She kept saying that she thought she would never see him again and what a miracle this was to see him.  Her husband said she has not slept for 2 nights because she has been so excited.  Miguel just let her keep touching him and grinned. Both Irma and her husband thanked me over and over for taking such good care of him.  He looks strong, healthy and very happy.  I will share a bit of Irma’s story here as it unfolded throughout the day.  This will be a lengthy saga so just log out if it does not interest you.

Irma hugging Miguel

Irma was the oldest of 7 children  who was born to Miguel’s mother.  The mother was a kind and loving person but was an alcoholic her whole life.  Irma does not know  her father; she lived on the street with her mother until she was 6 and then went to live with a family as a cleaning girl.  She made Q30 per month which is less then 50 cents. She has never been to school but learned how to read from reading the Bible.  She said at the end of each month she did not get her Q30 because her mother had already collected it from the family.  She never saw the money but worked very hard because she got a place to live and some food. (Although this was not a great place to live for a small child.)  When she was a teenager she sold items on the street and became pregnant with her daughter.  This is her only child.  Nine years ago she met her husband who seems to be a very kind and loving man and now they have a house and she has a small tiende (store) in her house where she sells items to her neighbors. (Small tiende's out of houses are very common here)  They live in Esquintla which is about an hour from the city.  This is also where Miguel was born and lived.  After having Irma, Miguel’s mother lived with a man and had 2 boys and a girl.   She then went back to living on the street because she continued to be an alcoholic.  The man raised these 3 children and Miguel hopes to meet these siblings.  When she was on the street she had 3 more children.  The first two she gave to other families to raise.  Irma has no idea where they are.  The last child was Miguel.  Irma said that Miguel was delivered at 7 months. A very small and delicate boy with many health problems.  His mother seemed to really bond with him and did not give him away but kept him with her on the street.  Irma was an older teen at this point and had made contact with her mother again.  She too bonded with Miguel.  Again Irma has no idea who Miguel’s father was.   She tells the story that he could not walk until he was two because he was so frail and sickly.  She and her mom took Miguel to a beach and buried his legs in the sand for the day and the sand was warm on his legs and she said after that he could walk.  She told about how he loved boxes and would tie them to him like a train and walk up and down the street.  She said when he was 5 and 6 he would leave his mother and could travel all around the city on the buses and would take a bus to see her.  He would beg for money and then ride the buses.  She said when he would beg for money he would also buy food for his mom and little gifts for his mom and Irma.  He also would buy himself some little toy cars which he still loves. When he was about 6 a lady who owed a store was very concerned about him.  Miguel and his mother often slept in the doorway of her store.  One day when Miguel’s mother was drunk the lady took Miguel to the police and told them about the conditions he was living in and the police took him to Casa Guatemala.  Irma said that her mother was very upset that Miguel was gone and looked all over for him but the lady wouldn’t tell her where she took him.  We hope to go and meet this lady in the next few days.  Irma did find out where they took him though and went to the courts and told them that she would take care of her brother.  They said she could not because she was a single mother and couldn’t provide for him.  This broke Irma’s heart because she loved Miguel and wanted to take care of him.  Miguel stayed at the orphanage for 6 years and was declared for adoption after being there about 3 years.  His mother died about 3 years after he left her..  She never did know where he went.  Irma says she never forgot Miguel and prayed for him every day.  Every year on his birthday she would think about him and wonder where he was and if he was safe and happy.  She says she went to the orphanage office several times but they would not let her see him because they said it would be confusing for him.  She said when he first went to the orphanage his godmother happened to be driving by and saw him on the roof of the building.   This is all gated up and a play place for the children.  Anyhow, he saw her and was yelling, “Godmother come and get me!!”  but she went around the block and came back and couldn’t find him. Miguel says he remembers this a little bit.  When Irma met her husband she told him about her little brother and how she wanted him to live with her.  Her husband said they would go to the orphanage and find him.  When they went to the orphanage they found out that he had been adopted and was living in the United States.  Irma said for sure she thought she would never see himagain.  But she never gave up!!! Last year she went back to the orphanage and talked to the social worker again.  The social worker said Irma could not contact Miguel but she would take her phone number and give it to Miguel’s parents and if they said yes Miguel could contact her.  This was last April when we received the number and Miguel called her right away.  ( Now as Paul Harvey says, you know the rest of the story.)

Willy and Miguel

After sitting in the office for several hours talking and crying we planned out the next few days.  Irma said she wanted to call Miguel’s brother Willy so she called and told him that Miguel was here.  Willy works as a truck driver not too far from here and wanted to see Miguel so we loaded up the SUV and went to find him.  Irma said that Willy looks a lot like Miguel although he is quite a bit thinner.  We found Willy and again there was a tearful reunion.  Irma is just like the mother duckling that has lost and then found her babies.  She is so pleased that she has brought her family together.  They all made plans to get together over the next few days.  Willy is married and has 4 children.   Miguel is finding out he is an uncle many times over and in the case of Irma’s daughter who has 2 children is a great-uncle.  By this time we were all very hungry so went to Pollo Campero to celebrate. ( A very well known fast food restaurant that serves great chicken)  Again as we sat there Irma kept looking at Miguel and then the tears would well up and she would say. “I thought I would never see you again”.  Irmas’s husband insisted on buying us all dinner.  I know this is quite a stretch for them as he has been unemployed for 5 months and they just have their small store.  I did not want to be rude though as this meant a lot to them so just was very gracious with my thank you’s.

After a late lunch we went to zone 1 to the clinic /orphanage. Miguel wanted to visit the people there. He was there quite a bit when he was at Casa Guatemala but spent most of his time out at the river at the larger orphanage. This was not a happy place for Irma as she had been there several times asking about Miguel. After visiting the clinic we dropped them off at the bus stop to go back home. Miguel packed his backpack and went with them. He is looking forward to going to Esquintla and seeing where his mother is buried. Ruth and I will be joining them today. (Saturday) The bus stop was crowded, noisy and very dirty. It was quite amazing to see my son and his birth sister blend in with the crowd and then disappear. Ruth, Leo and I did some grocery shopping and then came back to the office. Late last night I did get a call from Miguel. He said, “ Hey mom, when you come tomorrow please bring my CD player and my sandals. Then he added, I love you and I will see you tomorrow.” It was a conversation just like we would be having back home. I think our son is doing a great job of blending family, language and culture.

Well, enough for the story and the tears. I am excited to see what today brings….. Hope all is well.

I will enclose some photos for those of you that can receive them. If I send them to you and it is not a good idea please let me know.

Diane