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Bob is a resident at the Lighthouse Mission. Bob was on his way across the country when he ran out of money in Ohio. He pawned some stuff and had enough to get him as far as Terre Haute. He landed at the mission a few months ago and has been there ever since.

We heard he played guitar and sang so we asked him to play a little song.

And he did.

Thanks Bob.

See all the pictures here.

See all of the pictures here.

To say it’s difficult to get the boys of Eliza Martinez organized is an understatement.
There’s constant fighting and competition which is understandable.
When you’re an orphan, nothing in an orphanage is yours. Everything’s communal.

So to see these boys come together and not only work and play together but to cheer on their own is, literally, nothing short of a miracle.

And you’re about to see it.
But more importantly, you’re about to hear it.
It’s the most beautiful sound.

The little boy on Wendy’s lap is Alex. Alex has cerebral palsy. His lower legs are so underdeveloped he walks around on his toes, teetering with every step. He also has to wear a diaper and doesn’t speak.

We brought two piñatas with us to Eliza Martinez. After the boys destroyed Luigi we brought out Spider-Man.
The staff lined up the special needs boys to let each of them get a swing at Spider-Man.

Alex is sitting on Wendy’s lap when one of the staffers comes over and grabs Alex.
It’s his turn to take a swing.

Based on past experience, I’d have expected the other boys to let Alex take a single swing then push him out of the way.
But that’s not what happened at all.

Instead, they chanted his name as he (tried to) pummel Spider-Man into submission.
I imagine a host of angels were cheering Alex on, too.

It’s hard to tell just what goes where or how big things are when looking at pictures from our Guatemala trips.

Therefore, I’ve put together a 360° panorama of Eliza Martinez (it’s actually closer to 400° as there is some overlap at the left and right edges of the image) from the view of the courtyard, where we seem to spend most of our time with the boys (when we’re outside).

Clicking on the image below should open the panorama in a new window. You may have to click it again to get it to show full size.