This story has been on my heart and in my mind constantly since it happened and is a perfect picture of someone hungry for an education.  Cesar wakes at 4 every morning to make the walk to school along trails from a village.  He arrives each morning, cleans his shoes and is the most attentive student that we have.  He has a hunger and thirst for knowledge and has become a leader among the students.  I often see him explaining the day’s lessons to other students using terms and concepts that they can relate to.  During recess he will walk around with his notebook open studying and reviewing concepts aloud.  When I am speak to the students in English, be will pull out his notebook, ask me to repeat what I just said, write it in his notebook phonetically and then write out the translation. When we offer extra tutoring sessions, he will walk the five hours it takes him to and fro, for an opportunity to learn more on a Saturday or Sunday. If he only had one more day to live on this earth, I’m afraid he might spend it learning.  That defines Cesar.

On our last day of exams, most of the kids were playing soccer and sitting around relieved that their exams were over.  I noticed Cesar over to the side with his head in his hands looking as if he were lost.  I sat down beside him and simply asked if everything was OK.  He looked at me, dug through his bag and pulled out his notebook.  With a sparkle in his eyes and sincerity in his voice he asked, “Can you give me some math problems for the week?”  I looked at him and laughed.  For a week the students had done nothing but study.  I was sure he slept no more than five hours on any given night.  Any student in their right mind would not be asking for more work.  Yet he was serious.  When I told him he didn’t need to do study that week, his brain needed a break, he asked if I had a book he could have for the week.  And not just any book, he wanted a physics book. What seventeen year old wants to read a physics book during their vacation?  Yet, he begged for it.  I asked if he had ever read a book before and he said no.  And so I went into the school and came back with two books, one on physics and one that was a lighter read.  He spent the next hour thumbing through the book, looking at the pictures, reading the information and was mesmerized.  We eventually had to tell him to go home because we were all leaving.

Upon returning from break, I asked Cesar if he read the books and he was excited to tell me he had read both of them.  His next question was if I had more.  He continued to tell me what he had learned and how much he liked the books.  Today I walked into the school at dusk and found Cesar in the classroom with two of the boys that struggle with math.  He had problems written on the board and was conducting his own teaching session.  His enthusiasm for learning is difficult to quench.

Cesar’s aspirations are to be a doctor.  Yet, is that even possible?  Can a boy who doesn’t even have work clothes or a bicycle make it in the Guatemalan system? Does he really know what it takes? Education is not free.  It comes with a price.  Many families sacrifice all they have on the hopes of one child.  He is that one child. I have put some serious thought into how we are going to raise up leaders through our school after a man was here from San Pablo University.  He talked about the fact that he was that child – the one who didn’t have shoes, a means to buy what he needed for school, or the money for education.  But another man saw his potential, saw his drive and provided scholarships for him so that he could pursue an education.  He now is providing the programs of education for others, just like Cesar, who have creative, bright minds.  Cesar has the drive and perseverance to go beyond.  He walks further than any of our students every day, works within the work program, and often leaves the school after dark at night to walk the two and a half hours home and then study.  He has proven himself, never complains, and oozes with eagerness.

At the end of the first phase of classes the students had to write an essay tying the movie “Gifted Hands” into the challenges that they have had to face in the first phase of classes. Hear his heart as Cesar wrote:

I tried many times to change or achieve my goals but I have realized I cannot change or improve without the help of God . I see others who can do things easier than me and many times believe that I cannot achieve.  I do not know why they get it and I do not.  I have struggled much in my past.  Now I believe I need to keep going forward knowing that what has often been impossible now is possible because now He hears me when I pray. Now is the time for me to overcome the things that were once difficult for me.  I have learned that we often neglect good things for things that have no benefit for the future.  Things that instead destroy our lives. The time I have is important. I have to have a good attitude if I want to move forward.  It is now that I will learn better because my help comes from God who is the top and the owner of the wisdom, understanding and knowledge.

In reality, Cesar doesn’t realize his own ability.  Many times it takes him twice as long to solve a problem, yet what he doesn’t realize is that his classmates aren’t able to do the work and have only completed half of the exercise.  He perseveres until he arrives at the end.  And so as this next phases of classes gets underway and the intensity increases, I am reminded of many former students I had.  Each of them unique, each of them capable in their own way.  Sometimes all it takes is for someone to believe in you so that you can believe in yourself.  Students who have what it takes and were told by others or their culture that they can’t do it…. When in reality they can.  They just need someone standing behind them reminding them they are able.  And that’s why we’re here.

Cesar “coaching” the other students (in the middle)

This is Armando on the day of practical exams, speaking to the class concerning the causes of juvenile delinquency in Guatemala.

This story actually began months ago when a family moved down from a mountain so their children could receive an education.  Armando began classes at our school in January and honestly has been struggling since the beginning.  The school that he attended is far from town, meaning that the quality of education is even less and the opportunities there very slim.  It has shown from the beginning that he was behind the other students.  He also hasn’t been in a school for a gap of time.

His mom, pregnant with another child (number 10) began to come to our clinic regularly.  We detected preeclampsia early in her pregnancy and recommended her to a hospital. Her blood pressure was sky high. She went – and was sent home – without them even taking a blood pressure.  Her family listened to us as we told them the situation that was before them and they decided to try the other hospital within a day’s drive.  Yet, she received the same result – no care – and was sent home.  We checked on her often and knew there was only a small chance that the baby would make it – and prayed that the mother wouldn’t loose her life as well.

Last Thursday a family member came down to school to say that she had given birth the night before and the baby was born dead.  When we visited the house, we were greeted by a typical sight – the baby in a small casket, the father drunk, and family members mourning.  They knew the situation, we had just hoped it would be different.  The mother still had high blood pressure and that first night had a seizure as well.

This day happened to be the day of practical exams – and so after the funeral Armando put on his uniform and walked to school.  He was so downcast, so sad.  And yet the environment was one to heal his broken heart.  The kids reached out to him – asking to go to his house to pray for his mom, taking the cultural gifts of food and drinks to help heal her body.  As we stood there and prayed for his mom, I was reminded of how these were the moments that really make the impact.  Armando’s spirits were lifted as the kids showed love to him.  I sat there watching all that was going on, watching the kid’s eyes as they took in the scene, watching the mom weep, listening to Miguel talk to the dad about his responsibility and the importance of caring for his family.  And as I took it all in, as I prayed, as we provided encouragement, I wasn’t thankful for the situation, but I was thankful to see the hearts of our students.  I was thankful for their willingness and desire to reach out.  Please pray for this family to come to know the Lord – to experience healing – and to know that there are others out there that truly care for them.

This is Armando, Cesar and Edgar after exams celebrating with our competitive games – the egg race!

I had a student cry today, during class.  Actually it was during an exam.  It was the girl you would think would never cry – the athletic one who thrives on competition.  The one who is always smiling.  And yet, as she stared at the physics problem in front of her and I walked past her desk, all it took was for me to say, “You can’t leave it blank” and the tears came instantly.  And my heart ached as I hoped her spirit wasn’t broken.

The students have been either in review sessions or taking exams for the last 5 days straight.  Honestly, my North American style of teaching and testing and culture was taken aback by the style and system of exams here.  But what struck me was the desire to excel and how much they cared about exams.  There was no need to motivate to do well or to try and convince students to do their best.  They came to any review session that was offered.  They memorized and studied and hardly slept.  And today, it showed.  There was little to no energy left as they entered their last exam.  They had reached their breaking point and felt a tremendous amount of pressure to pass.  Last night I watched them whip through the formulas and solve problems that today they could hardly even copy.

The first day of exams started off with a few glitches.  We never have students absent and we had two students not there.  One of the girls was heading home Sunday night after spending the day at the school studying and was in an accident falling off her bike.  Unfortunately she has a head injury.  I went to the house of the other student and he came out of the house scratching.  I had noticed a bad case of scabies the week before, but he was afraid it was chicken pox and didn’t want to go to school and itch all day.  I reassured him, gave him some cream and he came to school late.  Still itching.  Thankfully these were the only absences we had all week.

Their desire and stamina though encouraged me, as well as their scores on my exam.  A student who has been getting low scores and we put on the “in danger” list got a 91% on my exam.  And so…. we continue on.  One quarter down.  One student at a time.  With the hope that one will reach hundreds who will reach hundreds more.  Here are some photos of the “fun”…

During one of the twelve exams

Review session at 8 PM at night after five exams and three days of constant studying… and they were still asking for another problem!

Continue to pray please that they would experience the difference in the school and be rewarded for their studying.

So many times we talk about the things that we take for granted.  I know I have taken so many things in my life for granted.  I have spent over 30 years of my life getting up early and heading to school.  It is just what I have done.  What has been expected of me, and my routine.  It has become so “normal” that most of the time I don’t think twice about it.  But I have been struck in the last months how easy education was for me, and I’m not talking about the in-class part.  The teacher that I am most impressed with at the school is Miguel.  From the moment we interviewed him and prayed through that decision, I could see that he was different.  After watching him for a month, his patience in the classroom astounds me.  Yesterday I was talking with him about his own schooling.  To receive the classes he needed to earn a degree, he left his village at 1:00 AM to walk to the nearest place to catch a bus going to Coban.  It was an 11 hour trip.  He arrived late, slept on a dirt floor in the house of someone that he had met and then studied for 12 hours the next day.  He did this for 5 years.  I wondered if I would have had the drive to do that, or if I would have found something easier. Most people settle for the easy route.  Those that we have must be motivated or they would not have reached this point.  And because they are motivated, I want to be able to give them steak instead of ground beef as their encouragement that they CAN accomplish this that is in front of them.

Many of our students have these same stories.  Although none of them travel 11 hours to school, we do have many that walk for hours to arrive at school.  Last week one of these students arrive at school with sweat pouring down his head.  I had assumed it was from his walk, but he pulled up his pants to show that a dog had attacked him on the way and he was bleeding. He had run most of the way to escape the dog.   Another student comes from a family of 11.  She worked for 2 years cleaning houses to earn enough money to study for a year ($500) and her family continues to work extra to sacrifice for her education.  She came to this strange town, not knowing anyone or having a place to stay because she wants an education.  She goes to school all day, attends the three hours of remediation afterwards, and then studies all night.  Only to get up the next day to repeat it all over again.  And she loves it!!!!

Each one of our students has a story like this, although you would never know by watching them in class.  They never complain, always greet you with a smile, and do not ask for any special privileges.  For me the encouragement comes by the dedication these students have.  Miguel patiently and lovingly provides remediation courses in the afternoons.  I was expecting the students to come begrudgingly or only when they really felt like they needed it.  But each day 80% of the students are there, hungry to learn.  (The other 20% have to work to pay for their schooling).

And so we continue on – challenging minds to think beyond what they see in front of them into the future.  This week I encourage you personally to look at how easily so many things are handed to us on a regular basis, without us even realizing that we are blessed.  Pray for these students as the mountain in front of them is endless and the challenges that they face are beyond what I would want in my life.  It is our hope for them to be able to embrace this hope in front of them and cause a ripple effect in the community.  Be blessed!