Aidan Update III (View Updates I and II)
--from the only-the-firstborn dept.--
Here at the Aidan Walter Stokes Home Office, we've received many letters, emails, and phone calls clamoring for "More Aidan"! Well, here you go, the World Premiere of: AidanYawns. (Quicktime, 2min, 2.1MB)
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Cross Examination to Innocence.
Austin Carr, who is the leader of our Friday morning group, wrote this:
Reading Oswald Chambers yesterday (Oct. 28) I contemplated what he was saying and it occurred to me that what he said can be reduced to six questions. Being a trial lawyer, I like questions a lot and I decided to ask the guys at our breakfast today the questions, in cross, examination form:
Q: How is your relationship with God these days?
A: Well, so - so, not as good as I would like, maybe a C+
Q: What was the purpose in Christ dying?
A: To make us perfect in the eyes of God.
Q: When Christ died on the Cross, what did he say?
A: “It is finished.”
Q: Were you born before or after Christ died?
A: Well, after, of course.
Q: If Christ said, “It is finished” is there anything that you can do to imporve upon the purpose of Christ dying?
A: Well, no, not at all.
Q: Then, let me ask you the question again, How is your relationship with God right now?
A: Ah, I get it, yeah . . . PERFECT.
Biblical authority, if needed, is at Romans 8:1
“There is therefore now, no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus . . . .”
Austin Carr, who is the leader of our Friday morning group, wrote this:
Reading Oswald Chambers yesterday (Oct. 28) I contemplated what he was saying and it occurred to me that what he said can be reduced to six questions. Being a trial lawyer, I like questions a lot and I decided to ask the guys at our breakfast today the questions, in cross, examination form:
Q: How is your relationship with God these days?
A: Well, so - so, not as good as I would like, maybe a C+
Q: What was the purpose in Christ dying?
A: To make us perfect in the eyes of God.
Q: When Christ died on the Cross, what did he say?
A: “It is finished.”
Q: Were you born before or after Christ died?
A: Well, after, of course.
Q: If Christ said, “It is finished” is there anything that you can do to imporve upon the purpose of Christ dying?
A: Well, no, not at all.
Q: Then, let me ask you the question again, How is your relationship with God right now?
A: Ah, I get it, yeah . . . PERFECT.
Biblical authority, if needed, is at Romans 8:1
“There is therefore now, no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus . . . .”
Koski. We had a report that Mr. Koski's cancer has come back. Mr. Koski, aka "Koski", heads the math department at Miami Springs Senior High School, a description that does not begin to describe this extraordinary man. He and his math teams have had a nation-wide impact for many years. And he had a huge impact on our family intellectually as he taught Macon, Walter, and Mary.
He has had some form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma for many years, and it has apparently been in remission. But recently he has had chemo. Carol and I think we saw him the other day on one of our walks along the path by Ludlum Road, but we weren't sure because the man we saw was bald. The chemo seems to explain it. I don't know what the prognosis is, but I ask your prayers for this remarkable person.
He has had some form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma for many years, and it has apparently been in remission. But recently he has had chemo. Carol and I think we saw him the other day on one of our walks along the path by Ludlum Road, but we weren't sure because the man we saw was bald. The chemo seems to explain it. I don't know what the prognosis is, but I ask your prayers for this remarkable person.
Friday, October 29, 2004
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
An Amazing Watch at Wal-Mart. Check this watch out: it sets itself to a government transmitter linked to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. (See my post on the "atomic" clock technology.) It has a battery that is solar powered. Several alarms, etc., etc. Long live Wal-Mart! Long live Radio Shack! Long live bourgeoise consumerism!
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Marsh. This morning's WSJ has, as its lead article, the resignation of the Marsh CEO as a result of the pressure that the NY Attorney General is bringing.
When I consider what Marsh did - they received "commissions" from insurance companies to which they stirred business - I am simply amazed. Our firm uses a national broker, Brown & Brown, one of Marsh's competitors, to help us find the right insurance and the right insurance company. To think that B&B would accept kick-backs from their recommended insurers makes me angry (I don't know that B&B does; I am going to write them and ask.)
The WSJ article says that Marsh will loose over $800 million per year in commissions, as a result of stopping the practice. But I would think that, over the long run, their business should increase when people are assured that their opinions are unbiased.
The Bar has been dealing with this issue over the last several years. Many law firms want to "diversify" into other services besides giving just legal advice or they want to "share" in the fees paid to vendors to whom they make referrals. (If you are on a "billable hour" format, there are only so many hours a day - only so much you can make. Often that is "simply not enough".) For example, one large firm has its own private investigator company. Other lawyers are invited to share commissions that are paid to life insurance agents whom they recommend (these are often very large commissions). Its pretty clear that the latter is unethical; I think the former is suspect as well.
We have thought about organizing a private social services group. But I think that would be problematical. People come to us for unbiased advice. What if there were better private social workers across the street? Wouldn't we want to keep our own people busy first, even if they were inferior?
But I think the Marsh thing is so crystal clear in its wrongfulness that I am astonished.
When I consider what Marsh did - they received "commissions" from insurance companies to which they stirred business - I am simply amazed. Our firm uses a national broker, Brown & Brown, one of Marsh's competitors, to help us find the right insurance and the right insurance company. To think that B&B would accept kick-backs from their recommended insurers makes me angry (I don't know that B&B does; I am going to write them and ask.)
The WSJ article says that Marsh will loose over $800 million per year in commissions, as a result of stopping the practice. But I would think that, over the long run, their business should increase when people are assured that their opinions are unbiased.
The Bar has been dealing with this issue over the last several years. Many law firms want to "diversify" into other services besides giving just legal advice or they want to "share" in the fees paid to vendors to whom they make referrals. (If you are on a "billable hour" format, there are only so many hours a day - only so much you can make. Often that is "simply not enough".) For example, one large firm has its own private investigator company. Other lawyers are invited to share commissions that are paid to life insurance agents whom they recommend (these are often very large commissions). Its pretty clear that the latter is unethical; I think the former is suspect as well.
We have thought about organizing a private social services group. But I think that would be problematical. People come to us for unbiased advice. What if there were better private social workers across the street? Wouldn't we want to keep our own people busy first, even if they were inferior?
But I think the Marsh thing is so crystal clear in its wrongfulness that I am astonished.
Monday, October 25, 2004
Northern Anglican Woes, Southern Anglican Fidelity. The Windsor Report presents the findings and recommendations of the Lambeth Commission on Communion appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury to investigate the election and installation of the homosexual as a bishop in the Episcopal Church US and the practice in some Canadian Anglican churches of holding same-sex "marriage" ceremonies. The Primate of Nigeria has published a response to that report. Both are worth reading, but don't fail to read the latter.
Where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? These are the questions first asked in the Book of Job and pondered in Dr. Harold Bloom's letter to the WSJ's editors last week (October 22). Here's the link (for Subscribers).
Dr. Bloom is (unsuprisingly) skeptical of wisdom from non-secular sources; and thus questions the vailidity and prudence of President Bush's overt religiousity, implicitly endorsing Senator Kerry's secular Catholicism.
He first seems to be echoing Bill Clinton's DNC convention speech, again questioning President Bush's wisdom. This time, though suggesting that Mr. Bush's own religious fervency is the cause of his lack of prudence and skepticism.
Pah-lease.
It seems to me that Mr. Kerry's secularism has been demonstrated as simply a lack of foundation to any sense of calling, saying whatever is needed to whomever might be listening in order to secure their vote; and not to some higher purpose, but to a higher office. Conversely, Mr. Bush's religious beliefs provide him a sense of grounding, a calling. He doesn't seem to forget that the most powerful man on earth is still a far cry from an all-powerful God.
To suggest that one's worldview need be more secular in order to be more valid in the public arena is naive and narrow-minded. Knowing that an elected official operates out of principal rather than whim (e.g. opinion polls) is the mark of a leader. The fact that religiosity influences those principals does not make them less prudent or skeptical.
Further, the most amusing, but telling line from his letter is, "Many among us fear, realistically or not, that a second term for George W. Bush will help bring about the commencement of an American theocracy, an eventual tyranny of the twice-born."
His slight at the "twice-born" notwithstanding, his letter is not of theology, but of a fear of the influence of religion (or more precisely Evangelical Christian theology) in the public arena.
Dr. Bloom must have lost his sense of American history while serving at an "elitist university," as he describes Yale. Whether you agree with Christian theological tenets or not, such beliefs influenced the current structure of our representative government. More succinctly, our modern government was fashioned after a Presbyterian form of government, which is essentially representative: power is ceded from the people to representatives at all levels; accountablity is fostered via the division of power and the system of checks and balances. If a theocracy is what Dr. Bloom fears, it would have occured long ago.
But our Forefathers left England to escape the dictation of religious beliefs onto the populous. Thus, our Founders created what is now widely and liberally interpreted as the separation of church and state. Our freedom from religion is not a freedom of religion.
Religious and non-religious (i.e. secular) men and women have influenced and shaped our society throughout the ages, and we are better for it. Dr. Bloom's fear seems more of the paranoia persuasion than one based on plurality of thought and ideas.
(Special thanks to Paul Stokes for allowing me to post.)
Dr. Bloom is (unsuprisingly) skeptical of wisdom from non-secular sources; and thus questions the vailidity and prudence of President Bush's overt religiousity, implicitly endorsing Senator Kerry's secular Catholicism.
He first seems to be echoing Bill Clinton's DNC convention speech, again questioning President Bush's wisdom. This time, though suggesting that Mr. Bush's own religious fervency is the cause of his lack of prudence and skepticism.
Pah-lease.
It seems to me that Mr. Kerry's secularism has been demonstrated as simply a lack of foundation to any sense of calling, saying whatever is needed to whomever might be listening in order to secure their vote; and not to some higher purpose, but to a higher office. Conversely, Mr. Bush's religious beliefs provide him a sense of grounding, a calling. He doesn't seem to forget that the most powerful man on earth is still a far cry from an all-powerful God.
To suggest that one's worldview need be more secular in order to be more valid in the public arena is naive and narrow-minded. Knowing that an elected official operates out of principal rather than whim (e.g. opinion polls) is the mark of a leader. The fact that religiosity influences those principals does not make them less prudent or skeptical.
Further, the most amusing, but telling line from his letter is, "Many among us fear, realistically or not, that a second term for George W. Bush will help bring about the commencement of an American theocracy, an eventual tyranny of the twice-born."
His slight at the "twice-born" notwithstanding, his letter is not of theology, but of a fear of the influence of religion (or more precisely Evangelical Christian theology) in the public arena.
Dr. Bloom must have lost his sense of American history while serving at an "elitist university," as he describes Yale. Whether you agree with Christian theological tenets or not, such beliefs influenced the current structure of our representative government. More succinctly, our modern government was fashioned after a Presbyterian form of government, which is essentially representative: power is ceded from the people to representatives at all levels; accountablity is fostered via the division of power and the system of checks and balances. If a theocracy is what Dr. Bloom fears, it would have occured long ago.
But our Forefathers left England to escape the dictation of religious beliefs onto the populous. Thus, our Founders created what is now widely and liberally interpreted as the separation of church and state. Our freedom from religion is not a freedom of religion.
Religious and non-religious (i.e. secular) men and women have influenced and shaped our society throughout the ages, and we are better for it. Dr. Bloom's fear seems more of the paranoia persuasion than one based on plurality of thought and ideas.
(Special thanks to Paul Stokes for allowing me to post.)
Drinking from Cisterns, Drinking from the Spring of Living Water. Carol reminded me of this image the other day. Its from Jeremiah 2:13:
My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
She recalled a sermon on that text preached by David Bridgman, our pastor during the 1980s. David was a "missionary kid", raised in China. His family fled when the Communists overran his parents' mission station. During the sermon, David recalls that his family had to rely on cisterns, and that the cisterns became dirty, with scum and insects, after many days without rain.
This is such a powerful image. So many times I turn to a broken cistern to quench whatever thirst happens to arise. I am too lazy to walk down to the spring of living water. I'm too busy. How important it is to attend church at least once a week. I am forced to be quiet, to listen to the Word preached and sung and prayed. So middle-class, so bourgeoisie, going to church every seven days. But it is like living water, and it has nourished me all of my life, despite what I allow down my throat during the week.
My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
She recalled a sermon on that text preached by David Bridgman, our pastor during the 1980s. David was a "missionary kid", raised in China. His family fled when the Communists overran his parents' mission station. During the sermon, David recalls that his family had to rely on cisterns, and that the cisterns became dirty, with scum and insects, after many days without rain.
This is such a powerful image. So many times I turn to a broken cistern to quench whatever thirst happens to arise. I am too lazy to walk down to the spring of living water. I'm too busy. How important it is to attend church at least once a week. I am forced to be quiet, to listen to the Word preached and sung and prayed. So middle-class, so bourgeoisie, going to church every seven days. But it is like living water, and it has nourished me all of my life, despite what I allow down my throat during the week.
Saturday, October 23, 2004
DVDs via Mail. I enjoy movies. For many years, our family has rented movies from "Roman's", a small video shop about a mile down the road. There have been several ownership changes and its no longer called Roman's. But it will always be "Roman's" at our house.
For the last couple of years, I have noticed that many of the rentals seem to be pirated versions of the movie, especially the movies in the VHS format. Friends of mine who use another neighborhood video store in Virginia Gardens, a little town next to Miami Springs, say that pirated films are rented there too, and the owner told them he would go out of business if he were completely legit. I am not sure I want to rent pirated videos.
The other problem with Romans are the late fees. Actually, its not a Romans problem, its a Paul problem. I rent a video and then don't have the time to take it back. So what I had rented for 3 or 4 dollars often becomes a 7 or 8 dollar rental. Sometimes I am so busy that I don't even have time to watch the video in the first place. So I have to take it back and then rent it again later.
Enter DVDs by mail, with the ordering via the internet. I recently started with the Wal-Mart version of this approach: $15.54 a month for 2 DVDs at a time. When you join, Wal-Mart asks you to list at least six movies in a queue. (The titles are selected from a database of a zillion.) Initially, you are sent the first two. When you send one back (you don't have to send two at once), you are sent the next title on your queue, and so on. You can go on-line to your account and change the order in your queue if you like. If there is a great demand for the title, then you may have to wait; I guess they send you the next available title on your queue. When you receive the title, you can keep it as long as you want, but you keep paying the monthly fee, for which your credit card is debited. The monthly charge includes the postage. There is nothing extra.
I really like this. Not only are the late fees avoided, but you don't have to watch the movie right away, you don't have to take the time to go to the video store, there are a lot of titles, there is no pirating. Not only will the neighborhood video stores be unable to survive, but Blockbuster must really be worried.
I thought that maybe people would abuse this service by passing around the video - several people might use the service for one price. But we are all so busy and autonomous. Who wants to wait on his friend before sending back the video that he has watched? The point is that I have a title-on-demand process. Sharing erodes that process. So back in the mail goes the disk as soon as I watch it.
Other technology may make this approach obsolete soon. Even now I understand that one can have his title-on-demand if he has Direct TV or has cable with that feature. I guess there are DSL services out there. But isn't that more expensive? I don't want all the rest of the dreck that comes with cable/Direct/internet. I just want to see a movie when I want to see it. Wal-Mart may have made this cheap and convenient enough that it will stick for us semi-Luddites who don't want to be so completely connected.
For the last couple of years, I have noticed that many of the rentals seem to be pirated versions of the movie, especially the movies in the VHS format. Friends of mine who use another neighborhood video store in Virginia Gardens, a little town next to Miami Springs, say that pirated films are rented there too, and the owner told them he would go out of business if he were completely legit. I am not sure I want to rent pirated videos.
The other problem with Romans are the late fees. Actually, its not a Romans problem, its a Paul problem. I rent a video and then don't have the time to take it back. So what I had rented for 3 or 4 dollars often becomes a 7 or 8 dollar rental. Sometimes I am so busy that I don't even have time to watch the video in the first place. So I have to take it back and then rent it again later.
Enter DVDs by mail, with the ordering via the internet. I recently started with the Wal-Mart version of this approach: $15.54 a month for 2 DVDs at a time. When you join, Wal-Mart asks you to list at least six movies in a queue. (The titles are selected from a database of a zillion.) Initially, you are sent the first two. When you send one back (you don't have to send two at once), you are sent the next title on your queue, and so on. You can go on-line to your account and change the order in your queue if you like. If there is a great demand for the title, then you may have to wait; I guess they send you the next available title on your queue. When you receive the title, you can keep it as long as you want, but you keep paying the monthly fee, for which your credit card is debited. The monthly charge includes the postage. There is nothing extra.
I really like this. Not only are the late fees avoided, but you don't have to watch the movie right away, you don't have to take the time to go to the video store, there are a lot of titles, there is no pirating. Not only will the neighborhood video stores be unable to survive, but Blockbuster must really be worried.
I thought that maybe people would abuse this service by passing around the video - several people might use the service for one price. But we are all so busy and autonomous. Who wants to wait on his friend before sending back the video that he has watched? The point is that I have a title-on-demand process. Sharing erodes that process. So back in the mail goes the disk as soon as I watch it.
Other technology may make this approach obsolete soon. Even now I understand that one can have his title-on-demand if he has Direct TV or has cable with that feature. I guess there are DSL services out there. But isn't that more expensive? I don't want all the rest of the dreck that comes with cable/Direct/internet. I just want to see a movie when I want to see it. Wal-Mart may have made this cheap and convenient enough that it will stick for us semi-Luddites who don't want to be so completely connected.
Friday, October 22, 2004
ChristianLawyersMiami.Com. I am in a Friday morning breakfast group with mostly lawyers. We study the Bible and bond. I started up a blog so that I could comment on the profound things that are said at the breakfast. I am trying to get the other guys to post, but they are, naturally, intimidated because they have already seen my work posted. If you would like to take a look, here it is. Please note that you can register and join in.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Permalinks! Hooray! Kith&Kin now has 'em! (And joins the rest of the blogging world.) If you drag your cursor over the time stamp at the bottom of this, or any, post, you will find a link to that particular post. What this means is that you can link to any post you'd like, or even to a few you don't. It means you can email someone a link to a particular post you'd like them to read, without making them scroll through a month's worth of posts. It also means that other bloggers can link directly to our posts and comment on them in their own blogs without making their dear readers scroll through a month's worth of posts.
Oh, and I changed the Time/Date header to reflect Eastern Standard Time, as opposed to Pacific Time which used to be the default.
Oh, and I changed the Time/Date header to reflect Eastern Standard Time, as opposed to Pacific Time which used to be the default.
Monday, October 18, 2004
Aidan Comes Home! Yesterday Aidan came home to 3020 Rea Road. Here are some of the pictures documenting his last morning in the hospital and his first evening at home.
Also, you can watch the 2 minute video (3.6 MB, Quicktime) of Aidan going home.
Aidan's first night at home was fulfilling for him, but exhausting for his parents. (This is nothing new as far as parenting goes, I know! I'm just reporting. Fair and Balanced Reporting, I might add.) Aidan slept for 1.5 hours, then fed for 30 minutes. He did that all night, starting at about 9pm, and ending about 9am.
As you'll note, the co-sleeper is on my side of the bed. This is because Kellsey's incision prevents her from picking up Aidan. So for now, I pick Aidan up and hand him to Kells for the feeding. It also means I'm the one who picks him up to change his diaper.
Doug & Sue slept through the whole night. We don't begrude them that at all, especially since they've been doing pretty much everything throughout the day. That's because Kellsey and I pretty much sat around trying to figure out just what the heck is going on. But we'll be on our game tonight when Aidan gets reved up again for his all night dinner party. Here's hoping.
Also, you can watch the 2 minute video (3.6 MB, Quicktime) of Aidan going home.
Aidan's first night at home was fulfilling for him, but exhausting for his parents. (This is nothing new as far as parenting goes, I know! I'm just reporting. Fair and Balanced Reporting, I might add.) Aidan slept for 1.5 hours, then fed for 30 minutes. He did that all night, starting at about 9pm, and ending about 9am.
As you'll note, the co-sleeper is on my side of the bed. This is because Kellsey's incision prevents her from picking up Aidan. So for now, I pick Aidan up and hand him to Kells for the feeding. It also means I'm the one who picks him up to change his diaper.
Doug & Sue slept through the whole night. We don't begrude them that at all, especially since they've been doing pretty much everything throughout the day. That's because Kellsey and I pretty much sat around trying to figure out just what the heck is going on. But we'll be on our game tonight when Aidan gets reved up again for his all night dinner party. Here's hoping.
How to prove p. If only I'd had this handy sheet during my time as a Philosophy Major at Davidson! It would have made deciphering all the current philosophical literature much more simple.
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Friday's Baby Pictures. Macon's post with Aidan's pictures and his video greeted me mid-morning Friday. My heart filled up with joy and wonder. I have never seen Kellsey more beautiful than in the pictures with Aidan. Kellsey and Macon, the Sewells, the nurses, the families and friends all swaddled the little one with love and attention as surely as the little blanket swaddled him in the video.
Those pictures were in my mind when I saw another set of baby pictures that night. Carol and I attended a dinner for an organization called Project ChildHelp. A Christian lawyer in Miami, Frank Valladores, and his wife Lourdes, started the organization 5 years ago after they visited a special "orphanage" in the Dominican Republic. It was "special" because the babies and children that the Valladores visited there were disabled with one defect or another. Apparently in the DR culture a defective baby is considered a curse on the family, and the little ones are killed, cast out, or abandoned.
The "orphanage" that Frank and Lourdes visited kept the ones who were pushed out of their families. It was not a government run place, simply a house that someone owned who took money from the families for keeping the children.
The photos Frank showed at the dinner were, at first, photos he had taken five years ago. They showed little children in cages, little children tied up like animals, and little children lying naked and emaciated on the floor. Some sort of emotional gate had been opened that morning when I saw the pictures and video of Aidan. As a result I think, the pictures I saw that night especially upset me and they upset Carol.
But Frank's photos also showed the progress made by the mission that he and his wife organized and support after that first visit. The mission now supports a staff of about a dozen people who take care of the children, and there is even a full time physician. There are no more cages in this place. No one is tied up. The children are being fed and treated. Three or four times a year, Frank and Lourdes organize mission trips to the orphanage. Physicians from Miami Children's Hospital go with them. I met one of the physicians at the dinner, a pediatric gastro-enterologist, who has been working on the project with the Valladores almost from the beginning.
Last year, the DR government donated to Project ChildHelp a large tract of land overlooking the sea, where construction has begun on a home/hospital. Frank and Lourdes hope to move the operation out of the house where they first found the children caged and dreadfully neglected. (The house has no electricity nor running water.) I am just amazed to see what this lawyer and his wife, who have children of their own, have been able to do.
At the dinner, there was a table with little teddy bears assembled on it, each holding a photo of a child that lives at the orphanage. I looked at the photos of these children, some with misshapen heads or limbs, some with drooping eyelids. It was quite difficult to deal with these pictures and the pictures of Aidan, so beautiful, so perfect, that had already found a permanent place in my heart's photo album. So we decided to look at all of the pictures carefully and pick one of the children to support. We picked a little boy named Erickson or "Eric".
What a day!
If you want to learn more about Project ChildHelp, you can go here.
Those pictures were in my mind when I saw another set of baby pictures that night. Carol and I attended a dinner for an organization called Project ChildHelp. A Christian lawyer in Miami, Frank Valladores, and his wife Lourdes, started the organization 5 years ago after they visited a special "orphanage" in the Dominican Republic. It was "special" because the babies and children that the Valladores visited there were disabled with one defect or another. Apparently in the DR culture a defective baby is considered a curse on the family, and the little ones are killed, cast out, or abandoned.
The "orphanage" that Frank and Lourdes visited kept the ones who were pushed out of their families. It was not a government run place, simply a house that someone owned who took money from the families for keeping the children.
The photos Frank showed at the dinner were, at first, photos he had taken five years ago. They showed little children in cages, little children tied up like animals, and little children lying naked and emaciated on the floor. Some sort of emotional gate had been opened that morning when I saw the pictures and video of Aidan. As a result I think, the pictures I saw that night especially upset me and they upset Carol.
But Frank's photos also showed the progress made by the mission that he and his wife organized and support after that first visit. The mission now supports a staff of about a dozen people who take care of the children, and there is even a full time physician. There are no more cages in this place. No one is tied up. The children are being fed and treated. Three or four times a year, Frank and Lourdes organize mission trips to the orphanage. Physicians from Miami Children's Hospital go with them. I met one of the physicians at the dinner, a pediatric gastro-enterologist, who has been working on the project with the Valladores almost from the beginning.
Last year, the DR government donated to Project ChildHelp a large tract of land overlooking the sea, where construction has begun on a home/hospital. Frank and Lourdes hope to move the operation out of the house where they first found the children caged and dreadfully neglected. (The house has no electricity nor running water.) I am just amazed to see what this lawyer and his wife, who have children of their own, have been able to do.
At the dinner, there was a table with little teddy bears assembled on it, each holding a photo of a child that lives at the orphanage. I looked at the photos of these children, some with misshapen heads or limbs, some with drooping eyelids. It was quite difficult to deal with these pictures and the pictures of Aidan, so beautiful, so perfect, that had already found a permanent place in my heart's photo album. So we decided to look at all of the pictures carefully and pick one of the children to support. We picked a little boy named Erickson or "Eric".
What a day!
If you want to learn more about Project ChildHelp, you can go here.
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