Day Four - Witness Talk Practice

This morning, Abel walked over to pick us up and we walked over to the Damien House. We started our day by washing windows in the therapy room, both inside and out. Abel supervised. Apparently, there were rousing renditions of Disney songs, particularly from Mulan to accompany the cleaning.

While the kids were doing this, Maria, Ella, Mia and I worked on preparing historical pictures of Guayaquil that we would later hang on the walls of the hallway outside the art room. 

 After Annie placed them, some of the men came to inspect and reminisce.

Here are a couple more residents...

 Making a hammock.

Just hanging out.

Following lunch, one of the young volunteers, Luceti, came into the art room to sing to us!

 Sr. Annie hosts medical teams from the U.S., and Luceti was a recipient of a surgery 5 years ago for scoliosis. She now volunteers at the Foundation!

Carlos also shared his story with us. He contracted Hansen's when he was 7 years old. The medication that would have cured him was not available at that time. Since then, his hands have become disfigured, and he's lost a leg to amputation. Carlos makes the wooden crosses for walls or necklaces to help support his family.

 Our afternoon work project, was cleaning wheelchairs, sanding the rust and painting over the rusted areas to preserve them. Justino was supervising!

After dinner, we did our reflection in the chapel. Abel shared his story with the kids as a prelude to their sharing. Abel's story is truly inspirational. He shared about his education in High School and his journey to become a better student and more diverse in his interests. 

Nora shared a poem that she had written about our experiences. She typed it on Maria's computer, which I can't connect to the wifi now so can't post. As soon as I can I will!