Summer 2012 Newsletter

Cadanino Summer Newsletter  -  2012



Just a brief note to update  our friends who care and think about, “Cadanino”.  As you know,   we totally rely on the love of Jesus Christ and God’s people in order to have a positive impact in the lives of the children and caregivers here. Our goal is to deliver the hope we have in the Gospel message here in Guatemala to the Children, the Caregivers and the Culture. The Three C’s.
  The true joy this year has been the visiting Angels from our Church - Casa de Libertad.
Nike Borges and her prayer group have visited continuously throughout the year. They have helped with medical missions programs and days of happiness and joy.  They have done so very much to  encourage the children and our  staff. Their presence is so amazing. They are Prayer Warriors and live the Gospel in our midst. They volunteer to spend their free time and witness and love on, “the least of these”. Their love for Jesus Christ brings to life the Gospel message and has  incalculable impact.
Bless them all and please pray for them. Though there are some who visit only occasionally; a shout out of special thanks: Nike, Chochi, Alina, Beatrice, Lisette  and several of their teen  and adult children.  
 Our friends from  The Village Church returned this year. Kelli, Chris, Kris and Heather were an enormous help. Vera guided them and always seemed to have the solution and resources at precisely the right moment.  Since Kellie knew the needs of the kids, she really was able to fine tune the work to meet the needs of the wheelchair kids. There were many happy faces to see them when they arrived.


Cadanino  Children:

Hector is seven and starting to stand up and walk. The missions team from the Village Church outfitted him with leg braces and special shoes. He had surgery a year ago to release his Achilles  tendons and surrounding muscles so that his feet would move in a semi-normal manner. He is alive with wonder and tries to go into the areas where  the big kids are playing.
Hector is one of our success stories.

Ingrid is making progress as well. She can stand for longer periods of time and take steps with great help or the specialized walker.  As I write this, I realize that what some readers may recognize is that this is what we have been saying about her for 12 to 24 months. So the progress is very very slow and only perceptible when spending time with her. She remains in her Autistic world and only comes out a bit. The effects of neglect and institutionalization have manifested themselves in her exclusively inward focus. She waits for the world to come to her. Sometimes when walking with her, I can feel her try to pull in a direction because she may have a sense of interest  in some sounds  or not want to continue with the exercise. Helping her to advance in indepence is  an exceedingly slow and seemingly unrewarding process.
It gives me  time to think about how patient God is with all of us. He sees us make little progress for days and years on end and yet He does not give up on us.

Suzy is Okay. Just Okay (and that may be pretty good). She can hold her head up a bit longer and roll over better. We are concerned about her weight and continued upper respiratory infections. We are in discussions to have her transferred the Hermano San Pedro in Antigua. They  offer  specialized care commensurate with the challenges Suzy presents.  The medical staff and equipment are far more aligned to the Cerebral Palsy she has.   She remains the darling of the center and everybody adores her. She has the most expressive eyes I have ever seen and her smile could launch not just one thousand ships. but one thousand and one ships.

Anahi is making little progress. She received the same operation that I mentioned above that Hector responded to. She is extremely prone to colds and the flu.  In the three and a half years that I have been here, she has been the hardest child to reach.  In my early time at the center she was a child that I gravitated towards.  She was the smallest and easiest to love on. In spite of a fair amount of time and attention, she never appeared to bond with me or others.  Perhaps some cognition is present, but it is hard to identify. You may remember that she is the child where we believe her Father is also her Grandfather.  Profoundly low intelligence and severe autism makes it difficult to relate to her.  Again, I think of God when I hold her and pray with and for her. I thank God for her precious life and ask for His Guidance.

With the new management at the center all children are receiving more care and attention. Some of my personal favorites are Yolanda, Manuel de Jesus, Cintia and Sandra. They are the lost and forgotten children. They may have reflujo and/or PICA. This often creates profoundly bad breath and or particles escaping from their mouths that are truly nauseating to most of us.   The solution previously had been to keep them hidden in an isolation area. Now that they are out and about and more independent they are growing and responding. There is a new Teacher who is working specifically with this group. It is such a Blessing.  Los Olvidados  (The Forgotten) is a population we need to reach.  

  A new Federal Government came into power in January. They have been making many major changes in the employee base of virtually all government institutions. They are thoughtful and caring people- at least the ones in the social services part of the government.
While patronage appointments are prevalent, they are at least attempting to place capable people with appropriate skills at each level. We have been Blessed with a new Director who is Doctor of Psychiatry. A man with a great heart and enormous intelligence. He has been a breath of fresh air and much anticipated. We are extremely happy to have him here.

  This mission and ministry is really about the Kids. It’s about how to bring God’s Love into their lives.  It’s about not forgetting them.  The Church and most of us have relied on the government to take care of the widows and orphans.  We have relied too much on the state to solve the entire lives of the complex people in our society. We as believers (and non-believers) need to take love and care back to this population. With their basic needs provided for by the government, we have a unique opportunity to impact these lives.