Puerto Barrios, Guatemala
I remember the day I met them. Emerson found a crusty, torn newspaper from amongst the trash and thrust it into my lap while his brother, Daniel, watched curiously from behind the cover of his mother’s arm. Stench and smoke drifted our way from the mountains of trash. Buzzards flew overhead as I tried to wrap my mind around the fact that this was their playground. Everyday this four- and two-year-old walked a mile from their tiny two room house to the garbage dump so they could play in the trash as their mother gathered plastic bottles in exchange for $13 a week. I watched Emerson’s face as I tore the newspaper into pieces to make a paper football for him. We flicked the paper with grimy fingers and giggled as we raced to retrieve it from the piles of filth. I showered them both with hugs and kisses before I left that day and walked away laughing, watching them furiously rub the kisses from their cheeks as they threw shy glances and smiles my way. I didn’t have a clue at the impact that this small family would have on my life.
I was climbing into the jeep the next day when our host gave me the news that Emerson and Daniel were in the hospital. Emerson had tossed an aerosol can into one of the fires at the dump. As both boys bent down to see what would happen, it exploded in their faces. I found out that a visit to the hospital was a very difficult thing. Only family was allowed inside the hospital and only for an hour each day. The short visits were enforced by armed guards. I knew I had to get in there. It was no accident that I had spent so much time with these boys at the dump the day before. There were so many other children to play with, but God had highlighted these two. I pulled up their pictures on my camera and began to pray for them and a way into the hospital.
Favor was with me that day as I walked past the guards like I belonged and didn’t chance a glance back. I received some confused looks, but nobody stopped me. Emerson was in critical condition and even his mother was not allowed in to see him that first day. His entire face, one arm, and the inside of his throat was badly burned. Daniel was in better condition. I prayed for both boys and their mother as I stroked the singed hair from Danielito’s head.
The next day Emerson started to recover and call for his mother. Antoñia was torn between the two hospital beds, so I spent the night and attempted to share the burden as I cared for Danielito. I was exhausted after one night, but Antoñia continued this for over a week, sleeping on a piece of cardboard under Daniel’s crib, jumping up to comfort Emerson every time he cried out in pain.
Antoñia was also struggling with the possibility that she would have to leave the hospital without Daniel. Due to lack of money, she had given birth to her youngest in her home and had failed to register him with the government. There were no papers to prove that Daniel belonged to her and the hospital was threatening to put him in a home if Antoñia could not come up with official papers. We drove from hut to hut all over the dump searching for the signatures needed from the midwife and others who knew the family, but we found that signatures came with a price. Not wanting to get involved in illegal bribery, we decided to take a step back and just pray. Thank you for your prayers during this time! The papers came through miraculously and just in time for Antoñia to check out of the hospital with both of her boys.
Although, they were finally at home, Antoñia was not able to return to work at the dump since Emerson could not be around the flies and the lack of shade with his open wounds. Thank you for helping care for Antoñia and the boys during this time. They were given an abundance of food, diapers, and even a phone in case of emergencies. It was such a blessing to visit them in their home where both Emerson and Daniel greeted me with shy smiles and playful hugs.
As I sat on the cement floor of their tiny home and giggled with the boys, I was struck by how blessed I was to have been a part of this family’s life for a short time. Antoñia greeted me with a smile each time I showed up at her door and explained to everyone that I was the one who had stayed the night at the hospital. She laughed as Danielito chased me out the door, insisting that he was going to just want to go home with me one of these days! I watched a transformation happen over the two months I spent with this family. The love and care they received from their neighbors, ministries and services in the area, and from people living so far away, changed something for them. I saw Emerson come alive throughout the Summer. I saw a whole new joy come into Antoñia’s heart. They walked away from this tragedy with a testimony of God’s faithfulness and love. Thank you for being a part of this story of redemption!
