Anthony and the Guatemalan orphanage

It was a lovely summer afternoon when I met Julie Sutton, a nurse working on the same floor as I at a hospital in Fremont, California, where I was doing a short travel nursing assignment. 
"Where are you from?", I inquired, making conversation as we charted side-by-side at our computers. 
This seems to be the first question all travel nurses ask each other. 
"I live in Guatemala and come here to work every 6 weeks for a couple of weeks", Julie casually responded with a southern twang.
My fingers froze the second I heard the word "Guatemala".
Wait a minute. She was Caucasian, but she lived in Guatemala?? I was shocked and intrigued at the same time. 
She explained how her and her husband had a nonprofit orphanage in Jalapa, Guatemala. 

I told her I would be traveling through Guatemala in a couple of months and got her contact info. I asked if it was possible for me to volunteer at her orphanage. She said "yes". 
My eyes lit up. 
I had visited an orphanage while in Cambodia and was longing to see one in another corner of the world. 
While in Tikal, I emailed Julie, letting her know we were in the area and would really like to stop by in a couple of days. She emailed back with her telephone number and to call her when we got into town. 
Jalapa is a small town off the beaten path. It's loaded with friendly locals and is definitely NOT tourist jaded. Which was very refreshing.
We drove along weaving roads, slowly meandering up a mountain, finally arriving at the quaint village of Jalapa. 
We contacted Julie and her husband, David, and they invited us over for lunch. 
Their house was much more extravagant than I had expected. There were 8 bedrooms, allowing ample amount of space to house the groups of volunteers that appeared sporadically throughout the year. 
Julie was holding a jovial 8 month old Guatemalan baby like it was her own.  They assumed parenthood after his mother gave him up, leaving him in a box on someones doorstep. They also had an older daughter that lived in the states and 2 adopted children that lived with them since birth. Noah, 16 and Rachel, 19. As if this wasn't enough, they were also taking care of a beautiful 1 month old infant girl, whose mom had also left her in a box at the side of the road to die. 

Julie was raising 2 small children, plus juggling the responsibilities of the house, orphanage and her other children, plus working part time back in California. This is a Superwoman if I've ever seen one. David watches the children on his own while Julie flies to California for 2 weeks every 6 weeks. He is Superman. Did I mention Julie and David are in their 50's?
I was extremely impressed. 
They have hearts of gold. The world needs more people like the Sutton's. 
I watched as David held the tiny baby girl against his chest and my heart melted. He was so kind hearted and gentle. They are angels. 
They both grew up in Texas. They explained that God called them to do this type of work in Guatemala. 
Religion is the putty that holds everything together. 
As we talked that afternoon, I began to understand what they were all about. They want to give, give, give. They are not takers by any means. We quickly realized they were some of the most honest, down-to-earth people out there. Just all around good people. 
As you can see, I can't say enough nice things about this family . Their children are also very well mannered. They were raised well. 
After some time spent chatting at their house, we made plans to meet in the morning so Dinh and I could help out at the orphanage. 
The next morning, Dinh and I woke up early , ate breakfast, then met up with David to head over to his orphanage. 
When we walked into the orphanage, all the small children ran up to David and gave him a big hug like he was the Big Poppa. He was so warm and attentive to each and every one of them. There were 22 children living at the center at the time. Ranging in age from 1 to 16. Sometimes the children are there for only a few day, and sometimes they are there for years. The Sutton's label it a "safe house", the center acts as a safe haven when children aren't in the most optimal situations. 
There was a library , kitchen, dining room, play area, bedrooms with bunk beds and a laundry area upstairs on the roof. 

 

There is only 1 worker at any given time. She does all the cooking, cleaning and tending to the children. This is why it is so vital that there are volunteers on a regular basis. 
I watched as the solo worker, a 21 year old local girl, feverishly cooked dinner for all 22 children, while trying to entertain the multiple toddlers wandering into the kitchen, wanting to put their tiny hands on everything they saw. 

"Can we play now?"

Julie and David's 16 year-old son, Noah, along with another volunteer, Michelle from Florida, accompanied us at the orphanage that day . David had to leave to do some legal paperwork for some of the children. 
After a casual introduction to some of the kids, I walked into a small bedroom with 3 bunk beds. It was bath time and I saw a tiny baby laying quietly on one of the beds, wet and naked. He was waiting patiently for someone to dress him. The teenage children were busy dressing the other toddlers. I rushed over to him and started dressing him right away, making sure he was completely dry before putting on his tiny diaper, then his onesie and then his little jeans. I felt an instant CONNECTION to him. I felt the need to protect him and love him. I guess this is what they call a "motherly instinct".
I figured he was about 3 months old, judging by his size. I picked him up and he felt feather-light. He warmed up to me instantly and snuggled his little face into my shoulder.

I always feel like kids at orphanages are so hungry for love and attention. It breaks my heart. 
I touted him around as I toured the rest of the orphanage. 
I asked Noah what the little boy's name was. 
"Anthony", he replied. 
I asked how old he was. 
Noah answered, "A year and a half". 
My jaw dropped. How could that be?!
"He can walk", Noah said with a giggle. 
I didn't believe him, so I set Anthony on the floor and held him up, steadying him a little, ready to catch him if he fell. I slowly let go with my hands and guess what? Anthony stood on his own and started to walk, too. I was in shock.  
"How, uh..... why, is he so..... little?!" I wanted to know. 
"Malnourishment", Noah replied back. 
I never found out the exact situation with Anthony, but basically his parents weren't able to care for him, so this is where he ended up. 
He grasped onto my finger and started bobbing around the play area. I followed obediently . 
He looked up at me with his brown doe-eyes. I melted. 

I picked him up and set off to meet the other children. 
I met a shy 15 year old girl. She was 7 months pregnant. The father of her baby was her own father. I was disgusted to learn that this happens frequently in Guatemala. 

I had to divide my time equally with the children, so I put Anthony down in the play area and was introduced to another little sweetheart, Maria. She was 3 years old and the same size as Anthony . Unbelievable. 

This blew my mind. Imagine a 3 month old baby walking and talking. This is what it appeared to be on the outside, but these children were much wiser than you would think. 
Michelle, the volunteer from Florida, was having craft time with the older kids. They were making owls out of fabric. 

Michelle and I helped cut difficult sections out for the kids and taught them how to sew. 

There was one boy that was a better sewer than all the girls. I was tickled pink as I watched him sew with such enthusiasm and patience. I told him he has a talent. He was such an attentive learner. 

It was such an educational, humbling, rewarding day at the orphanage. I really enjoyed every minute of it. Kids are awesome. 

I talked to Dinh about what more we could do to help Julie and David. They were just trying to keep their heads above water. Dinh and I recognized their need and decided to help out. We went to the grocery store with one of the workers and she told us what the center needed. We loaded up the grocery cart with rice, eggs, butter, milk, baby formula, toilet paper, toothpaste, sugar, etc.....
The good thing about Guatemala is that your American dollar goes a long way . We spent a measly $100 and bought enough food to fill up the trunk of David's car. 
It was the least we could do. It felt really good.

That night, we had supper at the Sutton's house. All 4 of their kids were there, it felt nice to be in the company of such a nice family and have a delicious home cooked meal.
As we said our goodbyes, they thanked us profusely and I told them I would do my best to get the word out about their cause. 
If you want to have an extremely rewarding experience, come to Guatemala and volunteer at Julie and David's orphanage. It will touch you in ways you would never dream. They are 2 people with big hearts that desperately need help but don't always know how to ask for it. 
Their website is: handsofmercyguatemala.com
They would greatly appreciate the help, and so would the kids. 

For days (even weeks) later, I thought about and talked about Anthony often. I wondered how he was doing and how he would turn out later on in life. He's going to be a handsome little devil. I felt the need to look over him and seriously thought about asking Julie and David about adopting him. It was so heart breaking to see such a helpless little human being with no parents to give him constant love. He has to fend for himself sometimes in the orphanage, there isn't someone watching him all the time. I think a child deserves more than that. Don't you??

It's funny how a chance meeting with someone turns into such a great moment in your life. I'm so grateful for having met Julie.
I will never forget little Anthony. I know he has potential to grow up to be a very successful young man, if the cards fall right. 
I'm hoping to be able to return to the orphanage one day soon. 
And hopefully you will too!!!