Journal Entry: Eduardo Luis Valdes-12/03/2024-Day 1175

Journal Entry

Beautiful Tuesday morning. December 3, 2024 and it is under sixty-degrees fahrenheit outside which means it is a jacket type of day. I have a callout with medical at 8am.

Up and getting ready, I grab my jacket and head out of the unit during the 7:30am call so I could be in medical on time for the appointment.
“Where are you going?” The officer asks me and then, without a chance to respond, I hear, the Lieutenant yelling towards me, “Where are you going?”.
“I am heading to medical for my scheduled appointment”, I tell them.
“Your appointment is at 8?”, the Lieutenant asks.
“Yes sir”, I respond.
“Then where the hell do you think you are going?”, he asks me.
“I was hoping to be there early so I won’t miss the appointment”, I mention.
“Do that outside, not here, go back to the unit”, he yells at me once again as I turn around and head back to my unit.

Before arriving at my unit, the 8am move is called and I see other guys leaving the unit, so I turn around and head back towards medical. Once inside, I hand my I.D. over to the Orderly, and take a seat to wait.

Two hours later, I am walking back to my unit with a gauze taped to my right hand collecting the excess blood from the two needles that stuck me in drawing blood for lab work. I head to my room grab my daily devotionals and Bible and sit to read.

My favorite today is from “Our Daily Bread”
Tuesday, December 3, 2024.
“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.”
[Psalm 139:1]
God is always with us. He created us, He knows us, and He will always guide us. We just need to be able to see what He does in our lives.

Today is chicken patty day in lunch, and I see Mr. Campos is ready to go. He never misses chicken patty day. We come to find out it is chicken breast, and I head over to find Mr. Rivero in his room getting ready. I pull out his wheelchair, his cane, and grab his I.D., then wait out on the main floor.

Lunch is called, and we head to the dining room, passing those from other units who have already finished eating and are walking back to their units and saying hello as we move along through everyone. Very grateful for lunch today. We were served, a small baked, seasoned chicken breast, macaroni and cheese, green beans, two tomato slices, lettuce, and a small creme filled chocolate cake.
“Eduardo, take my chicken”, Mr. Rivero tells me.
“What? You aren’t going to eat it? It’s good.” I tell him.
“Take it before I change my mind”, he responds.

So thankfully I had a second piece of chicken. Mr. Rivero ate his macaroni, green beans and his cake. Later he will probably tell me I eat too much, and that I will never lose weight. I am use to it, must be a loving grandparent trait because my “mima” would do the same to me, overfeed me then complain to me that I am gaining weight. In the end I know they love me, I can’t complain.

Back in the unit, need to hurry and make the move. I whizz through the tables on the main floor, past the kitchen area, and over to Mr. Rivero’s room, fold his wheelchair, set it in his room, and say goodbye; off to work I go. I yell for Mr. Escudero to follow me over to the chapel. He has been helping me with the cleaning so I can focus on the organization and preparing for services. After our Rastafarian guy left the chapel at 2pm, so did Mr. Escudero and I as there was nothing else going on until the evening.

Arriving in the unit, I see Mr. Jaramillo, who asks if I could go with him to see his case manager tomorrow to help him with translation and understanding his time credits. I agree to it, and head to my room to change clothes, fold my laundry and organize my room before count. I call dad once count clears, but no answer, I will try again later. I grab what I need and head to the chapel, prepare what I can before dinner is called. Mr. Greenberg arrives at the chapel to ask the chaplain a few things, and as soon as I see the first unit being sent out for chow, Mr. Greenberg and I start walking towards the lake, and head to the right, around the lake and over to the dining room. Dinner was “pepper steak, white rice and green beans”. I grab my tray, a spork, and head over to the table to sit with my Christian Bible Study group. My tray is now empty, I say goodbye and head out of the dining room over to the chapel.

I set out the sign-in sheets, bring down the projector screen, turn on the projector, and prepare the DVD for tonight’s study. “The Chosen” Season 1, Episode 7. The invitation from Jesus to Nicodemus to “follow Him”. Now we can’t wait until next week for Episode 8. What an excellent series, and with the included Bible study follow-ups that we do in our groups after watching the episode, it is truly awesome! The episode today was only 37 minutes, so we spent over an hour in our group, sharing experiences, sharing testimonies, sharing our thoughts and ideas regarding topics like, “What do you feel that taking refuge in Him means to you?”. We have such a good group of guys, and have been able to build a bond with each other throughout the time here and we go deep into conversation, helping, supporting one another as best as we can.

Our time is over, and I am back in the unit. Quick to the phone, I call mom, everyone is doing great, and another day is in the books. I just realized I never spoke to my dad today, so I will write to him shortly and say hello. Thank God I am in the Glasshouse and am able to use my messaging until late. Tomorrow December 4, 2024 it is Mr. Rivero’s 89th birthday. Tomorrow is also commissary day, and I have reminded Mr. Rivero about it and will be going to sleep soon to be ready early. We shall see what the day holds for us but according to Mr. Campos, we will be eating a nice meal amongst our little group, celebrating Mr. Rivero’s birthday.

10:35pm, the officer just turned off the lights in the unit, and it is time to head to bed.

Dear Lord, I thank you each and every day, and throughout the day. You know my thoughts, You know my heart, You know what I will pray for and You know everything that I will do before I even do it. I want to thank you this evening for guiding me to where I am now. I want to thank you for guiding me to where I will be soon, and where I will end up in the near future, because through you and with you, I can only do good. Thank you Father God for those you have put in my life, and for those you have removed from my path. Thank you Father for another great day and ask Dear God for an excellent rest of the week. I pray Dear God for a good night sleep, and only good dreams if you can please. In your name I pray Lord Jesus, Amen.

Eduardo Luis Valdes
02499-506
December 3, 2024
22:41