Casa Damasco

I have written about Una gota en el oceano in the past years, it is the homeless shelter that used to be called Casa Damasco. Today I went there for the first time this season with some friends. The Mexican Government only allows foreigners to do volunteer work for 5 weeks with a tourist visa (which is what I have), I left my volunteering for my last 5 weeks here thinking that my house would be all set up by then, little did I know that setting up a home from scratch takes a lot longer.  I am comfortable in it and don’t care if it doesn’t all get done this year. I will need something to do next year as well.

So off I went to Una gota en el oceano, some people from years past where still there, some had passed on, and there were some new people as well, as is the case each year. The house is staffed with a cook, and a couple that do all the daily work that needs doing and there is a nurse that visits once a week as well. Basically all they want from us volunteers now is just to love these people and help them to regain some dignity that has been lost from years of abuse of some kind, living on the street, being discarded by family because of illnesses or disability, living in poverty, being orphaned, so many scenarios as to why someone ends up homeless.

At first I just walked around and shook hands and greeted everyone, lunch was served and I walked around and wiped faces and hands, some of the people can still feed them selves but it can get a little messy sometimes. One man was covered in food after he was done and as I wiped his face and his hands my heart just went out to him, I am not sure why but his one hand was all curled up and it seemed his legs were semi paralyzed, possibly MS. As I wiped his hands with a damp cloth I started to gently massaging them and he seemed to like that so I decided he was going to get a pedicure. We had come prepared to give foot massages and pedicures but since we didn’t have time to do everyone we were going to determine who needed it most and who would be open to that, I decided I had found my candidate. A basin of water was found, some soap and clean towels, some hydrogen peroxide and some Iodine and I went to work. I have a hard time putting into words how surreal it was to feel a grow man basically surrender himself to me, he was in a wheel chair so he couldn’t escape, not that he wanted too, I felt he totally enjoyed the interaction, the attention, I did communicate with him in Spanish (I can finally do that now) but I felt that he was so vulnerable because he couldn’t run away, his body was weak, he couldn’t sit upright or hold his head up, I felt so honoured that he allowed me into his space. I didn’t feel worthy to be there. It was as if that kind of intimacy and trust needed to be earned and I didn’t feel I had earned that having just met him to day. I washed and massaged his feet, and his hands, cleaned and clipped his toe and finger nails. I just kept thinking “what if he was my grandpa or my father” I fell in love with him. My time with him was over too soon. 

I used to feel so helpless when going there but I don’t anymore because I have finally come to realize that all that is needed is love and God will do the rest and if you feel that you don’t have enough love to give there, God will supply that as well if you ask. I went back and read some of my stories that I wrote in 2008 and I now shake my head at myself, I didn’t get it then, I was too focused on the lack of clean dish cloths. I finally got it through my head that you can’t change the way the people do things here, they don’t use dish cloths, a cloth is a rag to them and will be used as a rag, so when you go there don’t wash the dishes with their rags and complain it’s dirty, and go to the store to buy new “rags” only to find them used as “rags” the next week. lol, I laugh at this now. I don’t even use a dish cloth in my house here anymore. I’m getting it, slowly.

A miracle at Casa Damasco

Casa Damasco has come a long way since I was here last winter. Some of you recall me writing about it during my times here the last 2 years. I wrote about how dirty it was and how small it was, and how I felt that every person should be able to live and die with dignity and how that wasn’t happening at Casa Damasco. I am not and was not then blaming anyone, everyone that was involved did the best they could with what they had at the time. What was needed was a miracle and that is just what they got last March. I visited them last Sunday in their new facility and I was so overwhelmed at this miracle before me that I actually cried, I stood there and cried, not full out crying but tears running down my face. What has happened there is unbelievable.  They have a huge facility, with a huge lot; they have a huge dorm like room. Each person has his/her own bed with a chest of draws for their own things and clothes, they are no longer sleeping on the floor, there is no longer a pile of clothes in a corner where they would just wear whatever they grabbed that day.  Each bed has a ceiling fan above it (this room has a very very high ceiling), there are windows and big sliding doors at each end of the room also with sliding screens. There are a couple of smaller rooms in case someone needs to be contained or quarantined. There is a bathroom (an actual room, not just a toilet in a corner) with a big shower with hot water. They have a laundry room with a brand new washing machine. There is a separate building for the ladies, with a kitchen and bathroom and a washing machine as well. The main kitchen is on a nice tiled patio, with a juice bar like counter and a walk in pantry, there is lots of room for long tables and moving wheelchairs around, this patio also has 3 ceiling fans. And here is the biggy.......they have 3 paid staff members that live on the premises and the place is clean, very clean. The floors were gleaming and shining (is gleaming and shining the same thing?) anyway, the place was clean. The yard is huge, with 2 patio tents set up for shade. There are no plants or tress but there is certainly room for a big garden and many trees. There are plans to do some landscaping yet (I would love to be involved) the people can now move around if they are mobile, they are comfortable and can now live and die in dignity that they deserve. The moral of the place seems to have changed too, before there were a few people that would just sit with their heads down and just never look up, this was not the case on Sunday, every person that I greeted had something to say to me, I of course didn’t understand it all. Nobody looked lost and forlorn. A few people have been transferred to different facilities where they can receive specialized treatment. Anyone that has ever donated and is still donating needs to know that they had a part in making this happen. This is an example of how one should never feel that you can’t make a difference even when the situation seems hopeless. When you leave room for God there is always hope  The financial situation hasn't changed a lot, they are still paying rent there and they are still relying on donations for all expenses. I would also like to point out that this move had nothing to do with us North Americans that are and have been volunteering there, there was local people that stepped in and made that happen. This  just goes to show that we can lend a helping hand, minister to the people, show the people we care, we can even put money to the problem, (like pouring water into a bucket with a hole in it) we can buy tea towels and spoons (remember how I was disgusted with the tea towels last year) and we can create awareness about the problem but in the end it is the local people that need to step in in order to fix the hole in bucket. The hole in Casa Damsco's bucket has been fixed and now we North Americans can keep loving these people and help in keeping the bucket full.

Oh, when the locals reorganized and moved them into their new facility they also changed the name, it is now called "Una gota an el oceano" which means "One drop in the ocean" I am not sure what the reason was or how that came about but I think it's nice, it shows that they have taken ownership. 

The dorm room

The separate unit for the ladies, right now there are only 2 ladies

In the ladies unit they even have separate bedrooms, this is the sitting area

The yard, they have a nice tent for shade. As you can see the ground is rock and not great for wheelchairs but there are plans for some landscaping

And there are some puppies for entertainment ...yes he is wearing a sweater

and some rabbits...2 of them hummmm

and a bird......there is something for everybody 

The dining area with the kitchen in the back, check out the ceiling fan and the shiny floor

Casa Damasco...I've come along way

I am now also the only North American volunteer left here as well, it used to be very hard for me to go there as I always left like I was not doing anything to improve the people situation, but I have come to change my way of thinking of the place. I am not there to change anything, or to change anybody, I am there to love the unwanted......unconditionally. I am not there to clean the kitchen or too wash the floors (even thought I want too very badly) I have finally gotten to the point where I don’t see the dirty floor or the dirty dishes anymore, I just see the people now. I wish this wouldn’t have taken me 4 months, what can I say, I’m a slow learner. We have had 4 deaths since I’ve been here, each time it was always a little disheartening because I felt that we didn’t get the miracles that we had prayed for. I know that God allows some people to suffer more than others and that he has a reason for this and I don’t have the authority to know what that reason is.....not everything is my business. I think even Jesus said he didn’t know all God’s business (I’m too lazy to look that verse up but I think it’s there) All he wants me to do is to love the people and he will do the rest, so that is what I am continuing to do. I’m still not able to understand Otencia and everyone tells me she just talks jibberish anyway, works fine for me because mu Spanish sounds like jibberish too. We are getting along just fine, the last 2 weeks I have had to sit with her on the street corner as she refuses to go into the house, she says she is going home and is waiting for a taxi (she’s been waiting for 2 weeks) She has warmed up to me a lot since I got there, she lets me hug her now and even lets me pray for her, mind you if my prayer gets too long she says amen for me. She’s never changed her clothes yet or taken her big winter parka off; she will once in awhile wear the lipstick I gave her. She has told me many times that she has 7 children, if this is true I can totally understand her craziness. If I had 7 children I might very well be sitting on some street corner with all my belongings waiting for a taxi that will never show up as well. (Who knows how I would deal with that many children) I really don’t know what her story is but my heart really does go out to her, I will miss her dearly when I leave. Strange as she is, she is a sweet heart.

My Espanol

I now know enough Spanish to finally be understood, which is sometimes not a good thing. Now that the people can actually understand what I am saying I have to be extra careful what I say. For example, I told my vegetable guy that I needed to buy 2 eyes, and he understood me very clearly..... and started laughing, which is when I realized that I had mixed up the words for eyes and garlic.....they are different by only one vowel and I can’t seem to get them straight. I have had a few more of these funny little mishaps, never anything too serious. There are also some words that I just cannot wrap my tongue or brain around, like the word for “fun” a little 3 letter word that becomes a 10 letter tongue twister, I just stay away from that word all together and use the word “happy” instead. Instead of saying “this was so much fun” I say “this made me so very happy” it works. I have come so far with my Spanish and now I am sad to leave because I know it will just wilt away after I leave and then if I come back I will have to start all over again....or is it like riding a bike? No se’.

Buses......by golly I think I’ve got them figured out

As chaotic as everything else is, the city bus system here is awesome, bear in mind I am comparing it too Africa, Peru and Paris.....not Canada, I have never taken a city bus in Canada. You can go anywhere within the city and municipality of Mazatlan on a city bus (except to Stone Island of course) Way out on the edge of town where Jorge and I go with the puppet truck on what looks like a donkey path we meet city buses. You just have to know which bus goes where, and I can now go anywhere I need to go by bus, no need for the ripper offer taxi drivers anymore. Only once did a bus break down when I was on it, if you saw these buses you would be amazed that that has only happened once to me. I’ve come a long way since living at “Wal-Mart?”

A little sadness

My time here is almost up and I have to think about leaving. I didn’t get to travel as much as I had wanted too. I somehow got too comfortable here and got caught up in everyday life and time just flew by too fast for me. The day I bought my ticket I was quite depressed and had no energy anymore. I felt like I may as well just go home right away instead of feeling this way for another 4 weeks. The very next day a friend took me quading all over the Island and I had so much fun that I almost forgot about my plane ticket home. We went through the coconut plantations, the orange, papaya, lemon and mango groves, Nopale fields (cactus) cow fields, shrimp farms, saw crocodiles, turtles, chickens ( found 3 eggs) cows, all kinds of birds, crabs, bee hives, ant farms, ostriches, goats, donkeys and horses. As we stopped for a break to rub the dust out of our eyes and slurp up 2 coconuts I remembered, 4 more weeks and then no more coconuts for me. On the way home we took the beach way and as the damp salty ocean air blew over me I felt a sadness over come me again. I was sad about having to leave this life behind but I was also very sad that I am so sad to leave. I have a blessed life in Canada, good job, good home, a great family, an awesome church and wonderful friends, what is missing for me there? Why can I not be as content there as I am here? It makes me sad that I am not excited to go home. What is missing? It has to be more than fresh papayas, coconuts and salty ocean air. What is it?

The most beautiful students ever and a Casa Damasco story

Today I announced to my class that I only had 2 more weeks left to teach them (I’m choosing not to work during my last week here) The next question of course was “are you coming back next ear”? I so badly wanted to say yes, but yet didn’t want to give them false hope. I told them I hoped so. Almost all of the students gave me hugs after class today; they are not going to make leaving easy for me. The school director has also asked me if I am coming back next year and if I would be willing to teach here on Stone Island. They have never been able to find volunteers that are willing to come out here to teach and so have not implemented an English program out here yet. I could be the one to change that. I would have loved to be able to teach right here but when I first made the arrangement to teach I didn’t know I would living out here yet. I know I also can’t make that commitment unless I can commit to coming back for at least 4 years in a row, there is no sense in teaching for one year and then if I don’t come back and there is no one to take over after me they have to drop the program. It would be so awesome to be able to give the kids on this Island the opportunity to learn English, for free. Ohhhh I have a story.........
There was a gentleman at Casa Damasco that had fallen on hard times, he was homeless and had no job and of course had no money. He ended up in the hospital with some illness (I can’t remember) while in the hospital someone noticed that his English was very good and after he recovered and was ready to be released he was given a job at the hospital as a security guard. Shortly after that another staff member that had some connection at a big fancy resort in the Golden Zone managed to get him a job as a security guard there. He now has a good job and has managed to save up enough money to rent a little apartment and is doing very well, he would not have been given this job had he not had any English. He may never get rich and fat with this job but he should always be able to pay his rent and buy his food, which certainly beats living on the street or staying at a crowded homeless shelter. Bless the person that taught this man English ( he may just have learned it himself) , bless the person that took the time to notice his English and bless the person that took the initiative to find him a job....this person could have just paid him no attention, he was after all just another homeless person.

The Lord Taketh and He Giveth

A few weeks ago we had a lady dropped off at Casa Damasco by the police, there were a few different stories as to what happened to her but the end result was a broken back, an arm in a cast, a dislocated shoulder and a few stitches in the other arm. The first day that we met her she took a few teaspoons of water but no food, just swallowing the water seemed to be painful to her. We redressed her stitches and tried to get her to take more water but she would not. The second time we were there her condition had not changed a lot although they told us that she had eaten some baby food during the week. Last week she was awake and alert the whole time we were there and she ate about 2/3 of a jar of baby food, our hopes were high that she would recover. The very next day she passed away. I was surprised as she had looked so much better and had been so responsive to us. I really thought she was on the road to recovering, but I guess we really didn’t know what she was recovering from and what kind of life she had had. The pastor assured us that God had brought her back to us briefly so that she could prepare herself for going home, home where she will be forever safe in God’s loving arms. This is the second death like this that we have had there since I’ve been here. The sad news of her passing came the same day that we heard that money had been raised in the English Church to purchase a permanent home for Casa Damasco, a home that is much more suited for a long term care facility (which is what Casa Damasco really is) There is a 12 room house in Francisco Madero right beside the Red Dragon (prostitution house) The owner is serving a 25 year sentence in prison, for what I do not know but I could give a pretty good guess. In Mexico a 25 year sentence is actually 25 years, none of this early parole, getting out on good behaviour or any of those other get out of jail early cards that you can draw in Canada. Now we just need to pray that all parties involved will have the patients and knowledge needed to endure the long paper trail of purchasing property here; I’m hearing it’s a very complicated process and the seller being in prison could make it worst. Here is a link for Casa Damasco www.casadamasco.com

Update on a few things

The worms.....a few weeks ago I wrote about waking up one morning and finding a lot of worms in my house. They have never come back, I have not seen one single worm since then and I still do not know where they came from.

My plants......my plants that a neighbour gave me are now 3 weeks old and are all doing just fine. The plants that I planted from seeds that I had bought are not growing at all and 3 of the 4 plants that I bought in Mazatlan at a green house died.

Tranchilla in the water tank.......Who knows? What’s in the water tank is none of my business any more.

Alote.......is very good with chilli powder on it; corn will never be the same again when I go home.
Water Issues.......We are still on a 5 days with water and 8 days without water schedule but I have learned that during the 8 days without water I can still fill my tank at night and that way I don’t run out of running water. The problem with the hot water is that sometimes the pilot light on the hot water heater gets blown out by the wind (its outside) and then I have to wait until my land lady comes as she is the only one that has a key to get at the hot water heater. Right now I’ve had hot water for about 2 weeks straight....that’s a record.

Knitting...... I brought a whole suitcase of wool with me thinking I would just be knitting up a storm for lack of other things to do. I am almost finished my first project, a shawl. I seem to have found a lot of other things to do. I met a lady on the Island here that is in a wheel chair and I was surprised to see that she was knitting; it doesn’t seem to be very common here. When I leave I plan on giving her all my wool instead of dragging it back with me. I had 50 lbs of wool with me.....what was I thinking? Maybe it was brought especially for this lady in the wheel chair, yes, that’s right that was my plan. Oh wait, I already confessed that I came here without a plan. I ‘m so glad God’s in charge and not me.

Caldo.....is a sauce that goes on almost everything, tacos, enchiladas, tostadas, chilaquiles, and some other things that I can’t spell. I’ve been trying to learn how to make this sauce and keep getting a different recipe from every person I ask. Today was my 3rd attempt and it was very good, finally. I think I’ve got it. Although I think this is like making bread, even though you use the same recipe each time sometimes it’s great and sometimes it‘s just not. I was hanging out at meat market this morning and a gentleman that owns a restaurant on the beach stopped by (just to hang out) and he gave me his recipe and I raced home immediately before I could forget anything and it was a success. By the way, the Spanish words for garlic and eyes are different by one letter only....an easy mix up.

The José saga......I now have 3 José’s in my class, we spend about 10 minutes at the beginning of each class deciding who will be who. They are a rather funny bunch.

Miracles needed and wanted

Acts 3 tells the story of Peter and John healing a lame man in the name of Jesus. Peter and John were not Jesus, they were ordinary men, no different from anyone else. Peter acknowledges in verse 16 that it is in Jesus’ name that the man was healed, not through the power of Peter and John. It was through the name of Jesus that Peter had the authority to say in verse 6 “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk”. Did Peter just assume he had the authority to say that or did he receive a message from Jesus telling him to say that? Last week at Casa Damasco we prayed over a man that is in great pain. He had a leg injury of some kind (I don’t know the whole story) the doctors put a metal rod inside his leg and now he has a very bad infection, his leg is all swollen and the flesh did not heal around the rod and now seems to be shrinking, the rod is almost completely exposed now. It is a horrendous sight and I feel pain just looking at it. We laid hands on him and the Pastor prayed (as we always do) and when he finished another gentleman said “but we didn’t pray for a miracle of healing, that is what the man needs” so we prayed again, for miraculous healing to take place, when we finished we all shook the mans hand, gave him a hug and wished him well and went on our way. When we finished praying I noticed that no one asked the man to pull up his pant leg so we could see if he had been healed.....why? Why did I not ask? Could the answer to that possibly be the same reason why a healing did not take place? I didn’t ask him to pull up his pant leg because I didn’t think he would be healed, why did I bother praying then? Why did I just know that I didn’t have the authority to say “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk”. I prayed in the name of Jesus Christ, I believe that Jesus can still heal; I believe that Jesus does give the power of healing to us ordinary people. Is it my faith that is stopping the miracles from happening? Yesterday we had another instance when we felt we were on the brink of a miracle but nothing happened. There is a lady that lives on the Island that I am on that has MS, she is in a wheelchair and cannot use her hands anymore at all, her fingers are so clawed that she can’t even turn the pages of her bible, she’s a very devout Christian. Her husband and her two young sons (17 & 19) have to take care of her completely; I can’t imagine how humbling that must be for her and my heart just goes out to her. Since she can’t come to our Bible study we go to her house to do a bible study with her once a week. This week the La Vina had a missions team from the US come so about 4 of the team members were with us as well, just before we left we prayed over her (as we usually do) we were saying our good-byes and one of team members was just over come with the Holy Spirit and she felt that there would be healing taking place so we laid hands on her again and prayed, the lady was crying out, most of us were crying in anticipation of a miracle and nothing happened. Two of the people had visions of her getting up and walking, she said she felt her feet get extremely hot and felt that she should be floating.....but nothing. As I was wiping her tears my heart was just breaking for her, I felt like we had gotten her hopes up and then failed her. Why did God hold back? This is the kind of miracle that this Island needs to bring glory to God; I think an amazing miracle that this would do amazing things for Gods’ Kingdom. The devil has ruled here for so long why is God not taking this opportunity to take back some territory? Or is it not God that is holding back, is it us and our weak faith that is holding God back? I feel like I’m way over my head here.

Life on the Island

Life on the Island
I tell you, life on the Island is blissful and I don’t want to ever leave. As I am writing this there is a 3 piece matachi band playing next door, it takes me back to my childhood when my father would be in nostalgic mood and bring out his Mexican music. These guys are all dressed up with the hat, the boots, the belt buckles and thick black moustaches, I’m watching them out one window and every once in a while I run to my other window where I am watching my landlady open up coconuts, the way she is chopping at it with a machete I don’t know how she still has any fingers. Getting into a coconut is a lot of work, and she’s got a big pile, not sure what she is planning on doing with all that coconut but I’m watching and learning. This is what I do when I am inside, I run from window to window and spy on all my neighbours, between that and keeping an eye out on all the people coming by selling stuff I can’t keep my face out of the windows. I caught the produce truck again today; I bought a big papaya, 2 avocados, 3 monster mandarin oranges, 6 bananas, 3 tomatoes, 2 apples and 5 limes for 53 pesos. I like having a fruit shake for breakfast or fruit in my yogurt. As well as the regular honking gas and water guy, I also had a guy selling shrimp come by, a young lad selling pastries, a guy on a bike pulling a cart selling cheese and a few others that I missed when I was in the bathroom (I have to leave the window once in awhile). I also headed to the beach in search of my English speaking guy that might sell me a table but of course his restaurant is closed on Mondays, so I just hung out on a lounger and read a book for about an hour and went for a walk and then headed home again where I settled in my chair on my roof top until it got cold...yes cold. The weather has not been the greatest for the last 3 weeks, the Pastor was saying on Sunday that these last 3 weeks have been the coldest he’s ever seen it here in 11 years. Unless you’re sitting in the direct sunlight and away from the wind it is cold enough to wear a long sleeve sweater or even a sweat shirt. I had put a skirt on Sunday morning but I changed my mind before I headed out when I thought of my early morning boat ride and put on pants, good thing....it was cold. Whenever I want to go to the city I have to take a little boat across, it costs 5 pesos and only takes about 5 minutes but when it’s cold and windy it can feel a lot longer.
I love the relaxed feel to this Island, there are more bikes, motorbikes and donkey carts on this Island than vehicles. It is not uncommon to see horses walking by my house. This afternoon when I was walking back from the beach I passed a horse slowly walking up the road, all geared up with saddle and bridal but no rider, he had his head down and was just walking along, didn’t even lift his head when I passed him....there’s one POed cowboy somewhere.