Wow, the month of September slipped by so fast. A whole month has gone by without a blog post. I will attempt to catch up on some posts here in the next week.
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Back in August, Dr. Daniel asked me if I would be interested in joining him and a few others in volunteering one Saturday afternoon at a Home for Handicapped Children and Adults called "Hogar de Don Orione".
The home is located on the north side of Antofagasta and is run by a Catholic organization. Dr. Daniel has made a few contacts with the administrators since moving to Antofagasta, and he desires to start a formal group of Christian doctors and medical professionals that can provide periodic medical assistance in homes similar to
Hogar de Don Orione. The overriding goal is to attempt to minister spiritually to the administrators, workers, patients, and the patient's families. As a pastor/missionary, I desire to help Dr. Daniel develop this group in whatever ways I can. It will not be my main ministry, but I do see the value of teaching members of a local church to volunteer their time and service to an outreach like this in the future. As the Lord provides, we desire to have a church building that meets all of the handicapped building codes in order to better minister to families with handicapped members.
Upon arrival, we were divided up and given a patient to walk around the campus for several hours. I was given a man by the name of Miguel (above). He has lived in this home all his life. His mom dropped him off at the home when he was a tiny baby. She couldn't take care of him due to her lifestyle choices.
After helping the nurse get Miguel out of bed, undressed, bathed, and re-dressed, Dr. Daniel gave him an examination. Miguel's feet and hands are all shriveled up due to his condition. His nickname is "Michael Jackson" because he only can walk backwards, due to his feet.
Miguel was extremely excited about his time outside with me. He rarely has any visitors. Our mere presence that day showed the staff and patients that we care for them and what they do. For two hours, I pushed Miguel around, singing Spanish choruses to him about the greatness of God and His love. Miguel can't speak, but he can hear. Our time was special, and it was a wonderful experience to volunteer that day.
Here is a photo of our group of volunteers. Several were Dr. Daniel's university medical students. A few more were members from the Emmanuel Biblical Church. We spent some time in prayer afterwards, thanking the Lord for the opportunity to serve, as well as praying for more practical opportunities to show God's love at Hogar de Don Orione or similar places.
Click
HERE to view the entire photo album of our time at Hogar de Don Orione.
