Journal of Morelia Mexican Orphanage…2007
People involved:
Glenda Knudson…My dear cousin who goes with me every year. Serita…… Director of orphanage and head mom Fernando…Head Dad and # 1 cook at orphanage. Jake and Charity Miller…Missionary who lives in home on orphanage grounds. Laura… Helper and care giver for the littlest ones…Mama Flor…Lives in Morelia and is member at large of our board of directors. Sandra…Teacher at orphanage… Maggie…a friend who lives in Morelia…
November 1, 2007…Thursday eve...
Glenda and I held the last 2 stand by tickets out of Seattle yesterday morning… we were so lucky…who says prayer does not work…and it was the straight thru flight so that also made us happy…We did have to sit in the plane on the runway for an hour and forty five min till the fog lifted…and it was safe to get out of Seattle but we were so glad to be on that flight we did not complain… There were kids in costume at the airport and on the plane…so cute…Arrived Puerto Vallarta about 5 PM and stayed the night before getting on the beautiful ETN bus lines for Morelia, leaving at 8:45 AM this morning. It is a great bus line…so comfortable with lots of room, a TV every 4 seats, bathrooms, and even shaded windows…lunch is served when you come aboard. It is a great system…yes, it is a 10 hour trip, but it is great to see the little villages and all the country side along the way…you can’t get the flavor of Mexico on a plane…by the time we found our luggage and a taxi we arrived at the orphanage around 8 PM…
The kids were all excited to see us and we were to see them…one year is such a long time…Lots of new kids but mostly the same as last year with only a few missing. One little boy, David, was sitting on the floor crying…he was trying to hide behind the leg of the piano…His pants were wet from the waist down and I could tell by the smell he had not fallen into a bucket of water…and he was embarrassed beyond words…do not know what happened but will find out…such a darling kid…wonder what his story is…they all have one…some very sad. He told me his name but nothing else…I would say he was about 5. Wetting your pants at that age probably means some thing is wrong…I wonder what could have happened to this sweet little guy and how did he end up here??
Maybe I can find some answers…
November 2…Friday...
Slept till 9 AM…what is up with that??? But boy were we pooped…Oatmeal for B’fast…but not for me…early lunch for us…Manudo…it is a soup made up of broth and tripe… …was not bad…we crumbled up oregano on top and just 2 drops of hot sauce…very good…and of course fresh made tortillas and a special dessert with cinnamon and honey on top…all home made of course…almost every main meal is totally home made…this was a special lunch made in our honor. Also for Sara’s daughter and 2 grandsons who are leaving today after a brief visit with their mom and grandma…also got to talk over some of the things that the orphanage needs…this year we may mostly concentrate on some of the bigger things and not so many small things…we will see…Jake and Charity have a Sam’s club card… They have great prices and is much closer to the orphanage then Walmart or Cost-Co…Plus I can use US funds instead of Mexican pesos, and that is sometimes a blessing…if we haven’t had time to go to the bank or if we need all of our pesos for some thing else…Sam’s is a good choice…Glenda and I got out and walked this afternoon…We sat way too long yesterday…Tonight we gave Pedicures to girls and boys…they loved it…the girls got the works…Polish and even a flower on the big toe…boys just got the soak and scrub and nice long massage with great smelling lotion…Glenda brought all of this stuff from home…Heavy carrying in a suit case but worth it when you see how much the kids love it…Would only have time for 4 little boys… and 2 girls, but plan to do this to each kid here…they love it…some one to take the time to actually wash and dry their little feet… No mom to do this for them tho…and most said thank you over and over again…
Great food today…some sort of corn chowder and fried spuds and chyote’s and a salad for lunch…then tonight the big boys fixed tortillas with some sort of sausage and fried onion in them…so good…I am gonna be afraid to report back to Weight Watchers when I get home…Usually in years past it takes me a few days before I can eat much…Not this year…I must be more Mexican then I think…I hope so after all of these years…
November 3…Saturday...
Up early…nice hot shower….I can remember the day there was no hot shower, but after all these years, things have gradually gotten better at the Casa…Helped with B’fast this AM and Glenda did a BIG stack of dishes. Walked into town today…Morelia has not changed much over all these years. Still so beautiful…today Glenda and I and 2 of our little boys, Sully and David, are invited to Jake and Charity’s home for lunch. This is a big privilege for the kids at the orphanage…Every week 2 different kids are invited to have lunch with this family…They are treated as part of the family and get a choice of food and a napkin and correct silverware and the kids love it…gives them a taste of being with a real family. The kids have to earn this privilege with good grades and good behavior for that week. It is a good incentive for them. The lunch was real good…they could choose between chicken burgers or hamburgers and fries and chips and pop…ice cream for dessert…These 2 little guys had a wonderful time…they were so polite and well behaved…I was proud of them.
This evening we spent our time watching a movie with the kids and just hanging out with them…This is what I would miss if I had to get a hotel room. This is the fun part of going to the orphanage…getting to know the kids better and finding out what their stories are… there are only about 18 kids here now… The rest will be back tomorrow night…Jake says that lots of the parents come for their kids on the first weekend of the month and the rest of the time the kids live here. I know that sounds strange to you but most of these families just do not have enough money to keep their kids with them all the time…and the orphanage gives them good food and a warm bed and school is a must… sometimes better for the kids in the long run…Also did a bit of internetting tonight…
November 4…Sunday...
Church this AM and what a lively church it is…everyone is so friendly and so excited about their religion…went to the same church as the kids go to…Next week we will go to Jake’s church so we can experience both. Up early this AM and out of here by 9…back at noon…the papa sent out for what I thot was fast food for lunch…Maggie told us she would be here to pick us up after her church and take us to her home for lunch. This is how that played out… The papa lined up all the kids and asked what they wanted for lunch…chicken or beef…He was keeping count so I figured it would be so many hamburgers and so much KFC… He asked me and I said Glenda and I would have chicken… as I figured dinner with Maggie would be 4 or after and a snack now would tide us over….plenty of time for 2 meals and not disappoint anyone or hurt anyone’s feelings…Wrong…first thing…Maggie wasn’t there at 1:30 like she had said…did not get there until 20 till 3…she was on Mexican time…plus when Fernando, the papa, brought home what I figured was the fast food, it was raw chicken and beef and “Mole Sauce” to make from scratch. So much for a fast lunch here at the orphanage. He just had it done and on the serving plates when Maggie got here to pick us up to go to her home. For our lunch she had shopped at a deli and everything was cooked…I was so wrong…but we asked the papa if we could have left overs later that night from his dinner and went with Maggie to have lunch with her…We ate way to much at Maggie’s and now we are home again and way too full for any thing else… As usual I got things so wrong…but these people travel on a different time schedule then I do…but oh boy…what a spot to be in. While at Maggie’s, after dinner we took a walk…and guess what we found??? A garage sale. I got a cute black blouse for 10 peso’s…fun.
Going out to Maggie’s place we got one wild ride…that taxi cab driver was the worst I have ever had in Mexico... most of the time the drivers are very kind and careful. Maybe fast but very careful. But not this guy…I do not think he liked the idea of going out of town so far and missing the people who did not need to go far…more tips in short runs…we asked Maggie to tell him to slow down but that only worked for one minute…and then he drove even faster. We should have asked him to stop and gotten out and got another cab, but we did not think of that till later. The cab driver that took us back to the orphanage was wonderful…spoke some English and took great care to get us home safe.
Last night there were so many sirens and helicopters and barking dogs, I got little sleep…so hope tonight is better…this is a loud and busy city. Glenda’s toothache is back tonight. She is trying “oil of oregano” on it…it is only 7:30 and we wish it were 9:30 so we could go to bed…
November 5…Monday...
Up at 7 this AM…Glenda’s tooth better…that is good…I walked the “Kinder” kids to school…only 3 blocks away. I love doing that…they are so adorable. Only 3 of them this year…all dressed in white. The market was open and I was able to walk thru it…remodeling again…Morelia is always changing …but it always stays the same…Jake walked us to his bank … Nice to get to know another bank…I got peso’s…then off to Sam’s club. We got 6 big boxes of TP…they have a new system now…they have a large dispenser of TP in the kitchen…when a child has to go to the bathroom he or she must come and get what TP they will need…and then go to the bathroom. When they had separate rolls in each stall the kids, especially the little ones, would use way too much and plug up the toilet or put it all over the floor. This way is more controlled…uses less TP and no mess. Anyway we figure that the 6 boxes will last them one year??? Maybe??? And maybe this new system will work?? Also got them 2 large buckets for washing floors…the Rubber Maid kind with the thing on the side so you can press out the water from the mop…They were about $65.00 US each but are so sturdy they should last a while…now if the kids can learn to use them. Jake is determined to teach them…and he is a good teacher. Good lunch when we got home and then off to a restaurant supply store…we got 2 great fry pans…No Teflon for a place like this, that stuff is not very healthy…plus we got the equipment for Jake to make a big deep fryer. It will be so much quicker for french fries and frying fish. They use a large fry pan with oil but this will be easier and safer and much faster. We also got a chopping machine for the kitchen. If you could see the amount of salsa and french fries and chopped onions and other vegetables they prepare you would be so amazed. This will be a big help. Glenda got a large plastic basin to soak little feet in for their pedicures. We looked at blenders and water dispensers. Also went to a plumbing place and got a new water faucet for our kitchen sink. Jake will put it in… That was a good day’s work.
9:30 PM….Kids danced tonight. I think their church is a Pentecostal church so the music is loud and the dancing is wild and the prayer afterwards is LONG…but that is OK…another religion and just cause I do not understand it, does not make it wrong…I got to help serve the bed time snacks and that was fun. Flor came over tonight to talk with us and give us an update on the kids. She is a great gal and has such a heart for these kids. Like she was telling us, each kid has a sad story and some of them have lots of problems…We have 5 of our kids in private school at the cost of $300.00 per month per child. We do have some people who help with this and the school does come up with some scholarship monies…but the main chunk we must come up with. We do so because we feel it is so necessary. These kids would never make it in a regular school, but in this private school they are excelling. And we found out that 2 of these little girls need physiological help also…so they go to a specialist for this, and one of the boys needs a speech therapist…so he is going to that…it just doesn’t end for these little ones…and you my dear friends are helping pay for all of this…Muchas Gracias…and good night…
November 6…Tuesday...
Up at 7…B’fast and a pile of dishes. Out to walk and make phone calls. Then to the market. This is a small market that I love shopping at and not always Walmart or Costco…the little guy needs to make a living too…The bank would not accept 3 of my 20 dollar bills today…to many tears in them…will have to take them back to Breanna and let her deposit them back into the orphanage fund in Blaine for next year. We were to meet Sara, Jake and Fernando at 11:30 To go shopping but of course this is Mexico and things are not always on time…we were able to leave the orphanage at one and that was not bad…Off to Costco…Glenda paid for the things we purchased there…$2,400.00 worth. We got them a years supply of feminine napkins…laundry soap…chocolate for hot Mexican chocolate drinks…shampoo…deodorant …and on and on….Also about a 2 month supply of meat…lots of cooking supplies like soy sauce, spices, olive oil, and salt and matches…Different kinds of cold cereal and a new microwave. A water dispenser as Jake has figured out a way to sanitize the water at the orphanage now so we do not have that water bill every month. Plus we got so much more that I can not even remember…After that shopping trip Glenda and I took them all out for lunch. They enjoyed that…
The chorus director got there at 8 tonight. He stays for one hour. We were able to hear the kids sing…they have such beautiful voices…of course now they are practicing Christmas songs getting ready to perform at several different places in the city…I have heard them sing every year but this director really knows how to get the very best out of them… They sang a song for their moms. So sad…I want to get the words. It mainly speaks of “Mom…where are you? I love you…and when are you coming home???” It was a real tear jerker… By 9 the kids are so tired…4 of the little ones who do not sing were fast asleep on the floor…so cute…I am dead on my feet tonight…
November 7th…Wednesday...
Jakes day off…Mondays is Fernando’s day of rest…they do not call it a day off… but a day of rest. Charity has not been feeling well so it is good that Jake can spend a day with her and their 2 girls, Eden and Gabbie. Up at 6 AM…shower and off to the kitchen for tea and an energy bar…Helped get kitchen organized… Each day another 2 kids are responsible to clean up after a meal…This seems to include washing dishes, cleaning tables, sweeping and moping floors in the kitchen…Sometimes it all gets done…and sometimes not. Just like it would be in our own homes with our kids, these kids are no different in that respect. If they misbehave or do not do as they should however, they get points taken away and like wise if they do things right they get extra points. These points are kept all week and at the end of the week they can use these points for something fun…Like being able to watch the movie Friday night or Sandra the teacher, has had them all for dinner at her place. But if they have lost too many points all of their buddies get to go but not them… Or Flor takes them to a park or out to ride their bikes on a Saturday. As you can imagine it is hard to sit at the orphanage and watch kids leave for a fun project and you can’t. But it does teach them about life…rewarding good and disciplining bad behavior… Points are also given for completed home work and good grades. It doesn’t take to many times of sitting home and watching others having fun to learn this important lesson of life…
A couple of months ago one of our little boys decided he did not want to go to school any more…no way…So they said OK and kept him home for one week…after B’fast they put him to work…sweeping floors…washing floors and when he got done he would want to play…no he had to wash windows then dinner time and afterwards even if he wasn’t the designated cleaner he had to. Then is was time to clean the yard…pick up all the trash and again at night it was cleaning the kitchen…After one full week of that they asked him again if he wanted to go to school or not…He was no dummy…he picked school!!!!!
Today at 12:30 we are going with Sandra to get school supplies and to the Casa Cuna…the Catholic orphanage for babies and kids up to age 6. Saw lots more of that orphanage then we ever have before…they had a great Mother Superior in charge…She took us thru the whole place. It is a huge facility and we saw it all…They had 24 babies. Some we remembered from last year…so adorable. We got there just before nap time…but we got to go in for a few minutes which turned into 15….one set of twins…one baby with a tumor on the side of her face…very pitiful… sleeping babies…wide awake babies…crying babies…all kinds…and that place was so spotless and clean…We also got to visit about 40 little ones in their pre school…the kids stay in the nursery till they are 2 then they go downstairs to dorms. At age 6, if they are not adopted they get shipped off to an orphanage. But anyone interested in adopting one of these little ones have to go thru DIF… the Mexican equivalent of our social service, welfare and child protection.
Then off to find little girls uniforms for school. We found the sweater the jacket and skirt and pants for our little girl but no jumper, for days when she will need a dress. Then to the paper place where Sandra stocked up on paper, pencils…red and blue…erasers, sharpeners etc…. That all took till 6 PM as the traffic was so awful… Now I know Morelia has a population of about 3 million, and I think they were all out on the streets today…WOW
Tonight there was a group of dancers who came in to perform for our kids…Beautiful dancers…mostly kids…so colorful and so great for our kids to see. Then after wards there was a staff meeting and I was invited. We were able to discuss orphanage policy. A lot was talked about and all was informative. We are so lucky to have 2 psychiatrists who come in for about 2 hours per week and teach our older kids some life skills…like how to interview for a job…how to dress for that job…how to balance a checkbook…how much responsibility children are…etc…This will be a real eye opener for our teens… These 2 women were present and gave us an over view of how they will handle the kids.
November 8th. Thursday...
Jake took us out to B’fast this AM to a little place right on the street…so good and so authentic and cheap…We filled Jakes gas tank and went to look at solar hot water systems…It seems like a very good solution to hot water problems for the orphanage but way too expensive for us to act on…We are suppose to go to the big fruit and veggie Market to buy brooms and mops etc…but have not gone yet...what is up with that???? I am just too much in a hurry for things…I should be more laid back like my Mexican friends are…I wish I could be… Can you believe that we finally got home from our 11AM shopping trip at 7 in the PM…this is a country of hurry up and wait…and I just hate to have anyone wait on me so I am always early…Went to Sam’s club and found a 600 watt blender, something they use a lot…another set of frying pans…a small size fridge for Sara’s room for her snacks or whatever she needs…Glenda and I went together on this and got it for her for Christmas…I usually leave her a bit of money but we thot this would be something she would love better. She had business in Mexico City today…she caught the bus early this AM and will be home on the bus tonight…no wonder she is so tired all the time…She works so hard…The kids love her…and I am glad to call her my friend…We got several other things today…came to almost $500 US…Got to pay with US funds….Made me happy... later we went back to Sam’s…I am almost on a first name bases with them…Ha…We went with Sandra for extra school supplies this time. Just around the corner from Sam’s there is a new Starbucks coffee place…It is the largest Starbucks I have ever seen…2 floors and just beautiful. But the best thing about it….??? Valet parking…can you believe that…it blew me away….could not believe it…and of course the coffee was not bad either.
We did not get home till 11:20 PM…and it is now midnight…Tomorrow we are gonna look for plastic table cloths and plates and take all the workers here out for lunch. That could be fun.
November 7th. Friday...
No school today…Elections in Mexico on Sunday so maybe this is a holiday for that???? There is excitement in here today…All the kids are up and dressed nice and breakfast is done…and by 7:45 they all leave in 2 vehicles and Glenda and I are in charge…one little girl here who is sick… Well since we are in charge we heated up water to do dishes…they always do dishes in cold water???? And cold water makes my hands ache…so hot it is…but the group and the key board piano, we found out later, went to a big church to sing this morning…I wish we could have gone to listen but some one had to stay and we were elected…they got home about 9 and it was reported that they sang very well…by 10 AM we were on our way to town and Glenda bought 22 sweaters for the kids in the chorus. They are red and will look good on them with their black hair and dark skin…also when they give their Christmas Concert they will be just right being red. Also got new clear plastic to put over some cloth table cloths they had gotten earlier. Then off to the kitchen store for a new pressure cooker and bowls for the big kids. Traffic bad again today…We could have almost walked home faster…but not with all of our packages.
We are now getting ready to take Sandra, Jake, Charity and kids, Sara and Glenda and I out to dinner and to see some property that Jake has paid down on. The restaurant is way out in the country…but the view is wonderful.. The true Mexico is what we saw today… We got home around 6 PM and I went for a walk…way to much time in a car today…by chance I met Anna Lee…a young woman who lived her young life in our orphanage…go figure the chance of meeting some one like that on a walk….She lives and works in Morelia… Paid for 2 new tires for the van they use here at the orphanage…it is a very old van but you should see how many kids they can get in it…which is why I wanted to replace the tires…Also gave Jake the money for a pump system for under the sink that will help the water pressure to the faucet that gives us the purified water we use to drink. This is a worthwhile project for this orphanage.
Tomorrow Glenda and Sandra and I are going to “Los Americas” To the American shopping center to take 2 of our young gals to be fitted for good bras. They need something with more support then the ones they have here…Also we are going to the under wear store in down town Morelia…We go to the same store every year and the guy always gives us a good deal… Course we also make his day.
We do have internet access here on the computer at the orphanage…some time I can get it to work and some times not…Long day tomorrow…good night.
November 10th. Saturday...
Hola Mi Amigos….Well I have already eaten…showered…walked to the bank… figured out a bunch of $$...walked to the market for 20 lbs. of bananas and helped with dishes…called Tom…and it is only 10 Am…We are heading to Sears to find bras for our 2 young ladies…Well they got the bras…the sales gal did not fit the girls and Glenda and I thot the ones they got were still to small but what do we know???? The little gals loved them so I guess that is something…They were happy…Over to Sam’s Club to get our film developed… Then over to Starbucks to get a cold coffee…these two 16 year olds have never been to Starbucks and will probably never get to go again. They really enjoyed going…then home…but the bad news…Glenda is so sick. Feels like throwing up and then diarrhea…I pray it is not my turn next…She is in bed…taking Pepto-Bismol and what ever else she thinks might work…I am gonna take one of the older girls to the underwear store to get bras and panties and shorts and undershirts and sox for all of the kids…Then we are going over to see Juan Carlos at his work…Juan moved out of the orphanage some months ago…he was done with his tourism education and got a nice job in a hotel… He is doing quite well. Enchiladas for lunch today…the real Mexican ones…and so good…Fernando is the best Mexican Cook I have ever had the privilege to experience… Today was Costco day again…What I mean is Costco brings all of their left overs here to the orphanage…Way to much for our orphanage...so Jake takes what we do not need to his church out in the country and the poor people from that church get to take what they can use…it is a win…win situation…There have been times in the past where some of what Costco would bring would go to waste as there is so much…but this way it does not…Used the Casa’s computer again tonight…it is the best by far when I can get it going.
November 11th. Sunday
Took pictures of the kids before they left for church today. Anna…the 2 pretty dresses you gave me to bring fit 2 of these little girls just perfectly…and they loved them…My throat is scratchy today…I pray it does not last…I am going to church with Jake this AM…Fernando has promised a wonderful meal today. We leave tomorrow at 12:30 PM so this will be our last nice meal with the kids.
I have already been invited to sit with 6 of our little boys for this meal…That was so sweet of them…Well guess what…dinner time came and the boys must have forgotten that they had asked me…so there I sat with egg on my face …so to speak…Ha…Great dinner tho…an Italian dinner made especially for us…a white sauce…full of calories…with Chicken in it and you could smell the garlic when you walked in the gate. It was one of Fernando’s famous recipes and he knows that I was married to an Italian for 47 years so he wanted to know how his recipe rated with the ones I used to fix for my husband…I told him that his recipe was way over the top…he liked that.
I finished the picture album today…I get doubles of the pictures…I always make one for the kids to keep and one to take home to show all of you who have supported me in this dream of mine…to make things better for these little guys…either with donations or prayers or both…I need both for sure. I feel so bad to leave these little ones once again…one of the moms came this afternoon. She has 2 little boys here…her daughter was here but got into trouble and was asked to leave…So mom took her back…this mom is married to a new man and they have a small son together…I guess she must have had trouble explaining these 2 little guys we have here to her new hubby…but she does come and see them…now and then…They are so adorable…Think they have been in this orphanage about 4 years…I try never to judge why these parents do what they do…but I know I would have a hard time leaving them…another papa came to visit our youngest orphan yesterday…His little daughter…I could tell it was very hard on him to leave her…and she was so proud that he was there…so many problems and sad stories…I will never learn them all and really I do not have to…that is not my job…My job is to help out where and when I can and with your help I am able to do that.
November 12th. Monday
Kids know we are leaving...they knew last night. Jake and Fernando took us to the bus station…another year done…I am already planning next year.