No electricity, No problem

The church in Abelines

This is me digging a hole. The hole is for a latrine that we were putting in to a ladies house in the community of Pajigua which is right next to the hamlet of Abelines where I was staying this week.  It is very rural. No electricity, no running water/ indoor plumbing, no phones, no cell phone service, no wireless internet, no malls.

Yes, people do live like this still! 

I was so excited to come up here and finally get to see this community because it has had a very long relationship with Enlace and so many initiatives and projects are alive and well here. 

 

 

I was there helping to lead a group that came from Colorado Springs. They were a youth group team and were such hard workers and didn't really complain about the rough conditions we were living in. Thanks again to the youth from Church at Briargate! Your willingness to serve really touched the lives of the people of Abelines and Pajigua.

This is Reina. She lives in Pajigua with her 9 children. She is the mother of 16 children, two of whom have died and 5 of whom are older and no longer live with her. She is married, but she told me that her husband comes through as he pleases and she can go a whole year without seeing him and has never been able to depend on him. Reina is living in one of the most extreme cases of poverty in her community. She struggles to provide for her children at all.

She was the recipient of the third latrine that we dug and when I got to the work site, something was telling me I should go and introduce myself to the lady of the house.

As soon as we met, she invited me inside her home. This is where she lives. It is four posts, a roof and plastic draped on the sides.

When Reina and I began to talk I noticed a little girl lying in the hammock of the main room. Her name was Heidi.Her hair was matted to her head and was wearing a filthy dress that smelled of vomit. She had dirt and snot caked onto her face and was not asleep, but was staring into the distance.

I asked Reina what was wrong with her and she told me that 40 days ago her 15 year old daughter slipped into a diabetic coma and died due to a lack of medical attention. After she died, Heidi slipped into a depression in which she refused to eat, drink, play or participate in life. She had diarrhea and would at times vomit or have dry heaves.

I didn't have much more time that day but I promised to return the next day and spend the day with her and her children.

I couldn't sleep that night and just kept thinking that some way, somehow I had to do something. I am not a doctor, or psychologist, but this little girl needed help that her mother wasn't able to give her.

The next day when we arrived at Reina's house I walked in the front door and after chatting with Reina for a while I scooped Heidi up into my arms. For a 4 year old, she fit comfortably in my arms due to malnourishment.

I sat her in my lap and pretty much forced her to drink some Gatorade.  I figured, she will like it, it tastes good and then I can get some electrolytes in her system. At first she wanted nothing to do with the stuff but she could tell I was not taking No for an answer and so after about an hour, Heidi drank 8 ounces of gatorade.

I then realized she had a very high fever.

I asked Reina if I could help in any way and maybe give Heidi a bath.

There was a water spigot outside that had clean, cold water.

I had to hold Heidi in my arms while I bathed her in cold water and a half a bar of soap I had in my bag. I got drenched and it wasn't an easy job but I just kept thinking, "Ashley, do what you know to do. That is all you can be responsible for."

After cooling her down and getting her clean I wrapped Heidi in a clean towel and held her in my arms in the sunlight and she looked up at me with those huge brown eyes and smiled. Then she breathed heavily and fell fast asleep. She slept for a good 45 minutes and when she woke up I combed her ratted hair, put it in pigtails and put her in some clean clothes. She sat in my lap all day long.

Eventually when her brothers came home from school I got her to eat half of a tortilla and a whole tomato!

I sat and talked with Reina the rest of the day about her situation and the future of her family and her children.

I tried to keep it upbeat and light and positive, but I was weeping inside. When I went to leave that day I promised I would be back within the month, which I will be and then Heidi began to cry and told her Mom that she wanted to come with me and live with me.

I can't say I didn't feel the exact same way, but I smiled and waved and silently prayed for Reina and her kids, that God would continue to send people their way that could give them just what they needed, even if that was just a bath.

This is me and Heidi.

This week has taught me so much and confirmed to me much of my sense of belonging in Central America. This is where I am supposed to be and this is what I am to be doing. I don't have all the answers and I can't save the whole world, but I can be Jesus to the people that I come into contact with and that is all He is asking of me anyway. That way I can be used and not get caught up in myself or my own abilities. I can pray with and provide comfort to those that need it the most!