Sid and Ida Martin

Jubilados. Isn’t that a great word for retired people?! That’s what Mexicans call people who joyfully have come to the end of their working years and are now in the jubilee of their lives. Sid and Ida Martin are the jubilados of Casa Hogar de los Angeles. They have been with us since November as volunteers and have made a remarkable difference in the lives of the families we serve.

End of their working years???? Hardly. Ida is a nurse and Sid a metal worker/plumber/electrician/carpenter. When they arrived the joke was that “we had no sick kids” and “what construction?” Then the work began and they haven’t stopped since the day they walked through our doors. The week that Ida arrived, a clinic opened near the daycare center. What a wonderful connection she has made with Dr. Sam and Dr. Cristina who donate their services to us. Ida has carried and walked with children to that clinic practically every day . . . making sure the doctor sees each one with a sore throat, a sneeze, an ache, a bump, a fever; and then, making sure they take their medicine. Because of her care our children are thriving. They are taking their vitamins each day; they are brushing their teeth.

Sid got here just as we were starting construction of bathrooms and small houses for our families. Because of him the bathrooms actually have running water! Think of that! And, the houses have electricity! Will wonders never cease! Windows, doors, hot water heaters, water tanks, light switches, outlets, shelves, faucets, pipes . . . his talents are endless! But his greatest call to fame has got to be the day he was the hero who retrieved the toy out of the toilet that just wouldn’t flush. Besides all this, Sid and Ida have been a living example of marriage in the most beautiful sense of the word. When Jenni asked Sid why he married Ida, he very honestly said, “Because I love her.” Then Jenni wanted to know if he ever kisses Ida. “I sure do!” Sid and Ida will return to Eugene, Oregon on May 13 to live in their tent as they relax and spend hours at their favorite pastime. We look forward to their return next November with some great fish stories.