Mealtime at the Malnutrition Center

Here are two of my favorite pictures.

This is little Elena.

The top one is during here meal.

The bottom one is after her meal.

She did wake up after much prompting.

After Elena woke up she started finishing off her meal with her eyes closed.

Most all of the children would eat every last morsel on their plate. They wouldn't receive their leche(milk) until they ate everything on their plate. Food is a precious commodity for these children.

Thursday, January 12th

Today was our final day at the Malnutrition Center. It was filled with joy and emotion. The “Ducks and Squirrels” enjoyed puzzle time and taking a walk outside. They covered the pavilion in sidewalk chalk. Several of the children wanted us to outline them on the ground. They were covered in chalk as they walked back inside. It was precious to see little Victoria join the Squirrels over the last couple of days. Her face lit up when she went down the slide for the first time.

Right before lunch most of the children had the opportunity to help unload supplies for the center. We couldn’t believe how excited the children were to carry a container of wipes & diapers. They ran back and forth to the van without any whining or complaining. It was a joyful experience.

In the afternoon, the staff provided a wonderful snack for us as a send off… Authentic Guatemalan food. They had fun taking pictures and we had a chance to see more of their personalities come out despite the language barrier. A smile and laughter are universal.

As we prepared to say good-bye, the kids were given packages of Oreos. We loved seeing them with chocolate outlining their mouths and faces. They enjoyed every morsel and I think they left some clean up for the workers at the center too.

This day was no different than the previous three days in regard to the way we would leave each afternoon. The children and staff would all come out and wave good-bye until we were out of sight. What was different about today was the fact that we wouldn't physically be back tomorrow. Our team may not be at the center tomorrow but a part of our hearts will always be there. What a joy and a blessing the Lord gave us this week!

We (the Fountain family) will be in Guatemala until Tuesday, the 17th. The Baggotts and Parkisions will be leaving us Saturday. On Monday, we will go visit our World Vision child, Zuly Elizabeth. We are very excited to see her and her family. Starting tomorrow we plan on visiting some sights in and around Antigua. It is a beautiful city. We have taken lots of pictures of the center and Antigua that we plan to share soon.

Tuesday, January 10th 2nd post of pictures

Tuesday, January 10th

Another great day at the Malnutrition Center! The “Ducks & Squirrels” had some time coloring and play on the playground. Several of the children can’t get enough of the slide. Lunch time was very entertaining as they ate chicken (on the bone) and beets. Yes, beets. All the “ducks & squirrels” ate every bite because they wanted strawberry jell-o for dessert. So, just imagine about 15 children feeding themselves RED beets & RED jell-o. Each one had pink palms for the rest of the day.

We had the opportunity to spend some time in San Juan after lunch. What an experience. This is where you find the truly authentic Guatemalan foods. Some of the foods we couldn’t identify. We also saw the “real” side of Guatemala. Antigua s more of a tourist are while San Juan is more traditional.

When we came back to the center we were able to do some cleaning while the kids took their nap time. Some team members wiped down chairs, others washed play mats and some repairs were completed. When the kids woke up after the nap time, many of us were on diaper duty/bathroom duty. Just imagine with me how long it takes to changes diapers or take 66 kids to the bathroom. We are all amazed at how the fulltime workers get all this done without volunteer teams. They are our heroes.

God has shown us that it doesn’t matter what country you are in or what you are called to do. It all comes down to God’s glory. We simply show up and let His glory be revealed by each of us being willing to play with children, observe culture and even clean a malnutrition center. It’s all about Him no matter where we are.

A Great First Day at the Center

What a great first day at the Malnutrition Center! It took us an hour through the 5 F's to get there: freeway, forest, farming, furniture building and flowers. There are 66 children there and only about 4 ladies that have to feed, bath, change diapers, play and do everything else with these children 24/7. Our team split up among the different ages and helped these ladies all day. I was challenged as I was trained how to feed 25 children soup, spagetti, tortillas, and leche (milk). Man was I worn out come 2 pm. The water wasn't working at the center yesterday so we didn't get to help with washing dishes and a lot of cleaning we wanted to do. Hopefully the water will be working fine today. We just arrived back home around 7 pm Atlanta time. I really can't put into words how awesome today was. Thank you Lord!