Fluevog Blog - Day 3 - Casa de los Abuelo and Ixil

Our day began with a Pancake Breakfast we prepared and served at Casa de Los Abuelos in Merida. This orphanage for seniors, founded by the wonderful Estella, provides basic needs to Abuelos (aka grandparents), who unfortunately have no other place to go. Here we fed the bellies of the Abuelos with pancakes, fruit and cafe, and they nourished our hearts when we coloured together and provided the beautiful Abuelas with nail care.

From there we headed out to a delicious and hospitable lunch with Pastor Miguel and his wife Alicia. We shared a delicious meal with them and they shared their moving story of finding faith in the face of potentially devastating loss.

Feeling welcomed, nourished and full of inspiration, we were off to Ixil, the second location of Estella’s ministry de Los Abuelos. With the support of a group from Michigan, the ministry has wonderfully grown another location to provide for 30 more residents. Here we also painted ladies’ nails, coloured with the Abuelos and made them balloon animals and hats Moreover, we helped clean the Ixil location to provide a fresher space for the wonderful residents.

Even though this day was filled with encouragement and smiles all around, it was an emotional and mentally challenging day for the team. It is extremely tough to learn about the reasons why people are abandoned in the later years of their lives and it is even more tough to comprehend the conditions in which these Abuelos live. We were reminded that what these people now have is so much better than what the alternative is.

It was expressed to us over and over again how thankful people were for our help, but really we are the ones truly thankful for the privilege to serve these beautiful people.