Mission Moment
I hope
you all had a wonderful Christ-filled Christmas and a happy New Year.
I will be spending Christmas with the future in-laws, joining in
their holiday traditions and sharing with them some of my own.
As for
“Educacion con Esperanza” (“Education with Hope,” it needed a
name), I had some great end-of-year visits with the families.
Manuel—the community contact with whom I work—drove me around to
each of the houses. Each family received homemade Christmas cookies
and a Bible for Christmas.
As
with
almost
every
visit,
there
were
some
highs
and
some
lows.
One
girl
did
not
pass
her
classes.
She
says
that
she
likes
school,
but
her
parents
say
that
she
doesn't
do
her
homework.
Her
brother
dropped
out
this
year
because
he
felt
stupid
being
a
15-year
old
in
4th
grade.
I
hope
that
both
of
his
younger
sisters
don't
follow
his
example.
 |
Ronaldo holding the Bible we distributed
to each family with his prosthetic hand.
(Yes, it's white.) |
We visited another family who has two “special needs”
children; one suffers from multiple seizures, and the other was born
without his left hand. I found out that my suspicions concerning the
educations of their sons was probably correct. The boy without a
hand, Ronaldo, just finished 7
th grade this year. His younger brother, Efraim, just finished 6
th grade. While we were talking, their father stated that Efraim would not be returning to school in January. (Remember: The school year here is from January to October.) He would instead start working in the fields with their 3 oldest brothers because the family can't afford to keep sending him to school. Ronaldo would continue schooling because even with his prosthetic hand—which we obtained via another organization in March—he is not strong enough to do a lot of field work. So, we talked some more. Efraim has the best grades in the family. Via the program, he easily earns more points than are necessarily spent on him alone. In the end, dad decided to send both of the boys back to school in January.
One
family prepared a special lunch for us. It was such a special lunch
that they laid fresh pine needles on the floor. This is something
reserved for only the most special of occasions—such as weddings—or
the most special of guests. Our lunch was “caldo de gallina
criollo” which roughly translates to “virgin hen broth.” It is
completely delicious; it's actually my favorite dish that my future
mother-in-law has prepared during my visits to their house.
Basically, this family took one of their egg-laying hens which had
not yet laid an egg and killed it and made soup with it. That hen
was worth a lot of eggs still. So, when it came time to tell
them—all of us sitting there in that beautifully pine-covered
room—that they did not have enough points to buy school supplies
for both of their daughters through the program—a fact I didn't
know before eating lunch—I wanted to cry. In the end, I let them
borrow points. It's not something I'd do for everyone, but as
children who cannot go to school because of their age or
physical/mental limitations receive 5 points every marking period, I
knew, because of their youngest daughter who turned 3 this month,
that they will soon “repay” the points. How did this happen?
Well, the short version is that their family felt the need to buy
more with the points than their daughters earned during the school
year. This either means that the family's financial situation is
really bad or that the girls simply aren't getting very good grades.
Neither situation is ideal, but now that we've gotten through one
year, we'll see how they improve.
We
made one surprise visit during our trip. There was a family who had
been selected to be in the program which had never come to a meeting.
Supposedly, they had been informed of the meetings and simply not
come. I know Guatemala, and I was a little skeptical that I was
getting the whole truth. So, armed with just the family's name and a
vague memory of where they live, Manuel and I set off to find them,
and when we found them, I was glad we had gone to look for them. Due
to a family emergency, they hadn't been able to attend the first
meeting, and after that, they were never informed of any other
meeting. It is interesting to me to compare our visit with them with
those of the other families who have spent the last year getting to
know and trust me. If I weren't used to it by now, it really would
have been off-putting how closed they were to my presence.
Wendy,
who
I
mentioned
to
you
all
in
August
2013
when
I
first
met
them,
and
her
family
were
excited
to
see
me
as
always,
and
I
was
out
of
breath
when
I
got
to
their
rented
house
as
always.
Wendy
will
be
starting
9th
grade
in
January,
and
the
question
of
what
to
do
with
her
and
Mercedes
(who
I'll
talk
about
in
a
bit)
is
troubling.
I
won't
say
much
more
about
them
in
this
newsletter,
but
Wendy
was
very
happy
to
receive
the
Bible.
She
said
that
she
just
started
going
to
the
youth
group
at
church
and
that
she
felt
it
would
be
very
useful
to
her.
Mercedes
and
her
brother
Luis
are
already
signed
up
for
school,
something
most
families
won't
do
until
January.
My
fiance,
during
his
visit
at
the
end
of
September,
had
had
a
man-to-man
talk
with
Luis
about
the
importance
of
education
and
promised
him
a
soccer
ball
if
he
would
go
back
to
school.
It's
not
my
style,
but
it
was
out
before
I
could
stop
him.
Luis
agreed.
(I
just
hope
we
don't
have
to
buy
soccer
balls
for
all
of
the
7th
graders.)
I
was
a
little
chilly
having
left
my
coat
in
the
truck;
so
they
decided
to
give
me
a
beautiful
Christmas
scarf
that
Mercedes
had
made.
I
was
so
cold
that
it
didn't
make
much
of
a
difference,
but
it
is
gorgeous
all
the
same.
I
think
in
the
future
I'll
use
it
with
a
coat.
So,
this
year
Mercedes
and
Wendy
will
be
the
first
two
to
graduate
from
9th
grade.
Mercedes
wants
to
go
on
to
become
a
“secretaria
bilingue”
(a
bilingual
secretary,
which
is,
by
default,
Spanish/English,
not
Kaqchikel),
and
Wendy
wants
to
go
on
to
become
a
“licensiada”
(which
is
actually
just
a
level
of
education
that
allows
a
person
to
be
titled;
I
have
yet
to
figure
out
in
what
subject
she
wants
to
have
her
“licensiatura,”
but
the
most
common
is
as
a
lawyer.)
However,
there
are
a
couple
of
bumps
in
this
path.
First
of
all,
there
is
no
school
in
their
immediate
area
which
provides for
schooling
above
9th
grade.
They
would
have
to
pay
around
Q20
(round
trip)
and
travel
an
hour
(each
way)
to
be
able
to
attend
high
school.
In
one
week,
that
would
be
Q100
for
each
of
them.
In
a
month,
that
would
be
Q400.
In
9
months,
that
would
be
Q3,600
or
$480
just
in
bus
fare...just
for
one
of
them.
Second
of
all,
their
education
up
to
this
point
is
probably
a
little
lacking.
One
boy
in
the
second
grade
told
us
that
he
hasn't
yet
learned
how
to
read.
Manuel
says
that's
common
which
is
why
he
actually
moves
his
family
into
the
city
during
the
school
year.
However,
these
two
girls
have
already
accomplished
more
schooling
than
any
of
their
parents
and
most
of
the
village;
so
helping
them
catch
up
to
where
they
should
be
to
attend
one
of
these
school
isn't
something
that
anyone
is
very
capable
of.
All
of
that
is
why
I'd
like
to
bring
them
to
live
with
me
in
2016.
And
for
2016,
that's
fine
if
the
families
are
interested.
I
have
a
spare
room
with
a
spare
bed
in
my
house.
The
girls
could
help
me
with
my
Kaqchikel,
and
I
could
help
them
with
their
English
and
any
educational
issues
in
general. However,
at
the
end
of
2016,
Ronaldo
will
graduate
from
9th
grade.
At
the
end
of
2017,
Efraim,
Estuardo,
and
Luis
will
graduate.
At
the
end
of
2018,
Marta
Lidia
and
Olga
Maria
will
graduate.
So,
if
their
families
are
willing
(and
I
think
they
will
be),
in
4
years
from
now,
I
will
have
a
household
of
at
least
10,
counting
myself
and
my
husband-to-be.
There's
a
house
here
in
town
that
would
be
perfect
for
housing
us,
but
it's
way
out
of
our
price
range
and
your
price
range.
However,
this
situation—specifically
this
house—is
something
I'd
like
to
ask
your
prayers
over
in
the
coming
year.
In
the
past
four
years,
I've
found
that
if
I
am
in
a
situation
where
I
don't
see
the
solution
and
suddenly
all
the
pieces
fall
into
place,
that's
typically
the
solution.
I
have
at
least
two
years
before
I
would
need
something
larger
than
the
house
I
rent
right
now.
Language
Learning
In November, we learned how to say “Good morning” in Kaqchikel.
As most of my visits to families took place in the afternoon, I had
to learn how to say “Good afternoon.” In Kaqchikel, this is
spelled “Xqa q'ij.” The apostrophe in Kaqchikel is a glottal
stop. I really wasn't sure what that was or how to do it until
someone pointed out to me that Michiganders use it all the time in
words such as “kitten” or “button;” it's that little stop
that you do right about where that first t should be. If that
doesn't do it for you, try “uh oh!” Try saying them out loud.
Still not sure what I'm talking about? I'm betting you're probably
not originally from Michigan or you've spent a considerable part of
your life outside of Michigan. Anyway, back to Kaqchikel. My second
struggle with this “word” was the space. It makes the glottal
stop nearly impossible to hit; so forget the space is there.
“Shcack-eeh” is about how it sounds, so incredibly different from
the “buenas tardes” of Spanish or the “Good afternoon” of
English.
