CEDER (by Joshua)

This week Karen Wilson and I worked at ¨Centro de Día y Reposo¨ (CEDER), or Center of Day and Rest. This is a home for the elderly, mostly found off the street with mental problems such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. Karen and I have a little different set up as we are tutoring a young man in the mornings (we rotate mornings) and then work together in the afternoon. The home has about twenty people living there and while it was a good experience helping and gives us a wider variety of ministries for which to work, it was a challenge that I am glad to have behind me.

The facility does not function like you would expect. There is a staff of four girls and a nurse. The four girls and the director live at the facility (the director with his wife and two kids) and spend most of their time there. We were very surprised that the seniors living there really had no options for entertainment. A daily schedule seems to go like this. Wake up at 5:30a, eat breakfast later in the morning, drink juice at 10:30a, eat lunch at 12:00p, drink coffee at 2:30, eat dinner later that night and then go to bed. One resident said, “All we do is sit around and wait to eat.” It was really sad realizing how accurate this statement really was and how the staff is occupied throughout the day cycling them through the shower and caring for them, as well as spending time alone trying to have some essence of a personal life since they live at work.
In addition to helping with some work, such as shaving the men which was an experience for me, Karen and I felt some sort of need to bring some activities to the residents. We tried different activities such as the card game “Uno”, drawing pictures for them or letting them draw, blowing bubbles and letting them pop them, and trying to engage in conversation though understanding was a challenge. I actually remember one time when a helper looked at me because she didn’t understand one lady. She asked me what the lady had said and of course I didn’t know, and was thinking, “How could you not understand and think I even had a chance at understanding what she said in your native tongue?”

We did get to visit a facility that is being built outside of the city. This facility will be much nicer for the residents when it is complete, but that could be years based on the fact they just build a little at a time as money comes in to fund the project.

We were able to provide some activities for the adults this past week and hope our group can at least bring some light into their lives through the four weeks we are serving.
Currently, we are relaxing and spending time with other missionaries in a little town outside of Teguz called, “Valle de Angeles”, or “Valley of Angles”. We hope to continue to be refreshed in the Lord and to be able to enjoy each others company as well as engage and participate with the other missionaries here at the retreat.

The week of March 2nd, Andrea worked at CEDER; here are two of her pictures.