Independence Day

Posted on September 20, 2015 by adrienneorris

This year’s celebrations were small – the government has squashed the running of the torches and there were not enough students to form a band. Here are a few pictures of the parade of schools. None the less, it was another day for Guatemala to celebrate and be proud of it’s heritage. There have been good years and bad years, but I have been able to see the progress as my time here continues to stretch over another decade.

My favorite part of the day was watching the students perform “gymnastics”. It was quite risky – no mats below to catch falling students. The group above was the most impressive as they created human pyramids and threw classmates in the air. I am sure this would not have happened in the states on a cement basketball court.

The Simple Life

Posted on August 30, 2015 by adrienneorris

So many times in this last month I have taken a time warp. When I was younger, Little House on the Prairie was one of my favorite series. I read the books, watched the series as well as other shows like Christy. As I rode through town on my old school motorcycle, and nearly missed a chicken running across the road and then watched a young girl scoop it up and put it in a bag without hesitation….. I was reminded of how I used to visualize things like this in my mind and now it is a reality. I went to the tailor to get alterations done and bought rice by the pound in market. There are some days here that feel like a time warp.

We have also experienced these life changes in the school, in the way education is done and nursing is done. We are constantly asking ourselves, how do we raise the level and yet keep the Guatemalan system. How do we do it with integrity and hold the students to a higher level?

What do you do when someone comes into clinic and is in need of a surgery that we cannot offer here? We do what we can and pray.

What do you do when the roads are blocked with protests and you need to get to the city? You suspend your trip till another time?

What do you do when the electricity is out for a “planned” power outage ? You go to bed early 🙂

The stark differences between two cultures that are extremely different are evident the longer that I live here. Likewise, there are things that I notice less and less. I am accustomed to people urinating wherever or riding in tuk-tuks. I am accustomed to 28 people loaded in the back of a cattle truck or adobe houses. I turn my head when I see a new truck in town. And many of reversions to a simple life and now every day life. There are fewer choices to make – because they do not exist. And so we live this life and ask for patience every day to endure that which comes at us challenging our faith.

And then there was rain…. that one time….

Posted on May 9, 2015 by adrienneorris

It seems now as if it were just a dream. I should have known that the rain was a little premature. We had five straight days of rain. More than I remember from last year. And the heat lifted and it was cool again. I could sleep at night and everything turned green. And then it stopped. Like I said, it was just a tease. But during that time, the men were at the gate constantly asking for tractor work. I hope their crops make it and the rains return again soon. It has been ten days now without rain.

During that time they poured more cement, which proved to be a challenge as well since the rain effects the whole process. Trying to time it can be tricky.

Emergency Room

Panoramic of the Interior Courtyard

Prayer Room Walls

Emergency Room Floor

School continues with a Semester Break in June. Here are a few pictures of biology lab

It is basketball season here. I have yet to figure out what constitutes basketball season. There is no snow, no indoor gym and I am not sure why they pick the hottest, driest time of the year…. but I will go with it. Some girls from town came to me to ask me to help them and I said no… and then their coaches asked me… so I tried to help with a few things and make sure everyone enjoyed the experience. It is a community event for sure and the girls really, really care if they win or lose. Granted for me it is a bit of a challenge since the rules are different, the language is different and they have never seen a court drawn on a piece of paper before. Infact, in the last game we were not even sure who won or lost. They celebrated as if they won, but then they were told that they wouldn’t advance. Very vague. All in all, for me basketball has been a ministry for me. My freshmen year of college I remember when God clearly spoke to me about using basketball as a way to glorify him and enjoying my time on the court. And I had felt over the last year that I needed to do this here even though it was so different from in the states. It is not a popular sport. You have to convince them to run sometimes. And it is a hard sport to play because it has so many rules. What has made me smile the most through the whole experience is seeing the attitude change in the girls as I have tried to instill in them that their actions matter and can determine the outcome in a game. I have been pleasantly surprised that God even gave me a little natural talent. Now if I could only understand why they call a lay-up a triple.

Playing against San Andres

Our school playing

Playing in Canilla

During that time as well, I learned that driving in the mud on a motorcycle is like driving in the snow. Too bad I have never driven a motorcycle in the snow. I will need to practice before I take any trips up any mountains.

The Scream in the Valley

Posted on April 20, 2015 by adrienneorris

I sat and listened to the scream that has covered the valley. To me it sounds like desperation as the locusts have taken to the trees. It is dry. It is hot. It is unrelenting at times. And so is the scream of the locust – unrelenting. It echoes from the mountains. There is no escaping it. I can almost pretend that it is music…. But that is a struggle. To me it is so annoying.

I went to the side of the mountain where the sound could not echo. I was trying to escape the sound. And yet it didn’t relent. I listened to it trying to distinguish what it was that I was hearing… and among the screech that was constant, there were a few individual sounds that were being heard. A few locusts who were singing out of sync. It was almost as if they were in panic. Screeching louder and faster than the others. Yet to hear this shrill, I have to be silent and still. We have to focus not on the noise around us, but on the individual. I find it easier to just take it all in than to hear one voice at a time. The truth is that I tried to escape this morning to gain clarity in what God is saying. I tried to hear that still, small voice. God says – Be still and know that I am God. And with all that is going on around here, it is impossible to deny that He really is God and He really is in control. The scream of the locust is the same as the scream of a student who is in distress. It’s the same as a neighbor asking for help or a child who doesn’t know how to express themselves. It takes the same concentration to see where the need is as to hear the single locust amongst the thousand on the mountainside. But this is what God is asking me to do these days… and so I focus intently on that still small voice and trust that God is in control of all. Be blessed today my friends and listen for the locust!

Fires have taken over the mountains on all sides. Because it is so dry, they spread fast. Farmers burn their fields to eliminate weeds and last year’s corn stalks, but the fires can quickly get out of hand. I like the beauty of fire on a mountainside at night – but only for a second as I realize the destruction.

Summertime Fun

Posted on November 15, 2014 by adrienneorris

Technically it is summertime here…. most of you do not want to know that as you are surrounded by cold. But I have been excited to clean out the lab and reorganize – including getting some new shelving for everything to fit!

We also spent an evening at the ruins for a picnic… here are the teachers and their families enjoying time together.

Why a Hospital?

Posted on November 12, 2014 by adrienneorris

Why a hospital….

This question is often asked to me. “Aren’t there any hospitals for the people?” In reality, the nearest hospital is two hours away. But the definition of a hospital here and the idea of a hospital are two different things. It is hard to grasp a building that is sparsely equipped with less than 200 beds that serves over a million people. And unfortunately, many of the people from our area are afraid to go to the hospital due to racism and discrimination that has been shown to their families and neighbors in the past. Everyone seems to know some horror story about something that happened in the national hospital.

Why a hospital…

Today I spoke with a 20 year old woman, pregnant with a hydrocephalic baby. She didn’t understand what was wrong with her baby or the complications. She asked if it was a rabbit or a pig that was inside of her. As I watched the affect of her face and saw how motionless she was, I realized…. I wish she didn’t have to go through the government system. She will be left with more questions and more confusion…. if only we could refer her from our hospital….

Or for the 3 week old baby of one of our workers. Believing that the baby had meningitis, they took him to the hospital where he was taken from the parents and placed in the ICU. The next day there was an explosion of gas at the hospital and everyone was evacuated. The parents could not find their son (in the hospital here, the parents are often not told what is wrong and are not allowed to see their children – creating fear and uncertainty with many people). The parents were eventually given their baby and told he had an infection and there was nothing they could do. They sent them home and the baby died that day. The truth is the baby may have still died in our hospital, but we could have started treatment earlier. We could have shown compassion and Christ to the family. We would have allowed them to know what was happening and how they could pray.

Or the sixteen year old girl who came on Saturday who’s baby was 22 weeks develop and died in utero. She cried and cried which is not common here. I wish she could be surrounded by doctors and nurses during this process who would show her love and pray with her.

Or the woman that came in the afternoon Saturday, eight weeks pregnant with an ectopic pregnancy – in such severe pain that she passed out when she stood up. She already had signs of shock and had to ride the three hours to the nearest hospital on incredibly bumpy roads…. my prayer was that when she got there, they would treat her before she died.

For the two year old boy with severe pneumonia. The third child of a mom who is just 22. His stats were in the 70s and the father was working at the coast. The mom had no help at home and chose to give him medicine and pray. For her to navigate the hospital system here is extremely difficult.

These are just the cases I remember from that day, where I thought, “this would be a good day to have a hospital”. And so, we press forward with the task at hand, believing that a hospital in our area will provide for those who have no other options. The road to here has not been easy, but God is leading. God is guiding. And we take one day at a time.

Happenings in our Neck of the Woods

Posted on October 15, 2014 by adrienneorris

Wednesday mornings are my day off and I climbed the hill to see what the valley looks like these days.

The rains stopped for a week and we braced ourselves for the beginning of the dry season. But they have returned during the nights and we are still blessed with green!

I also checked out the work on the hospital property. Here is a picture from the top of the hill of the hospital property.

And some more pictures of dirt, sand and more dirt on the hospital property. Preparing the land and readying for the making of cement. I think I heard they need sand for 660 square meters – but don’t quote me on that. Something with a 6 in it 🙂 Boy talk.

The bottom picture is the rock crusher. All of the sand and rock has been collected here from the river.

The workers have also been working on housing for a family that will be joining us in January….

I have spent the majority of my time down at the school finishing up the curriculum for the year. We successfully working on plyometrics, electricity and circuits and how calories are calculated! The year is coming to a close and there is a mountain of paperwork to do for the government. I am hoping that the kids take away more from this year than the fact that it was exhausting and challenging.

Mission Generation

Posted on October 6, 2014 by adrienneorris

Our rainbow from Sunday….

We recently had a visit from two men whose vision is to see the curriculum of Mission Generation reach our area of Guatemala. I look at this as another confirmation to continue to move forward and teach values to the next generation. The vision of Mission Generation is

“Mission Generation exists to produce a proactive generation with purpose, principles and values. We seek to equip students, parents and teachers with the tools they need to make quality life decisions based upon a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Word of God, and the leading of the Holy Spirit.” One of the things that I have done for years with my athletic teams and in the classroom is to use the power of positive motivation to reach young people. I have continued this here, translating many of my documents into Spanish. As I looked over this curriculum, I noticed some of the same stories and inspiration that I used in the states found in this curriculum. I believe that so many of these lessons are cross-cultural. This group chose Guatemala because they felt a burden to reach the kids with this curriculum. It is already having a positive impact in schools in Bolivia, Chile and Paraguay. Last month we had another young person die from suicide here in our small, rural town. This death put Canilla with the highest suicide rate in the country following other incidents this year. For this, Mission Generation is anxious to begin to work in our area. Not only will this curriculum be taught in our school, but it will be taught in the schools, grades K-12 in Canilla, Uspantan, and in schools in the city. We estimate that it will reach over 10,000 students this year. And yet, these men are taking the same step of faith that we are as they are trusting that the money comes in to start this pilot program in Guatemala. To learn more about this curriculum, check out http://www.missiongeneration.org/

September 15

Posted on September 15, 2014 by adrienneorris

September 15th is Independence day in Guatemala. Last night there were actually fireworks over the town of Canilla. Are you impressed?

But the tradition that is unique here to Guatemala has to do with the running of the torches. Two weekends ago I saw a group running with torches. And in other areas there has been some celebrating as well. Last night their school children climbed up to the mountains around Canilla, lit torches and then ran these torches down the mountain. It was neat to see the trail of fire coming down the mountain. As it was told to me, when the country took its’ independence, they ran with torches to spread the news. And the tradition continues in celebration……….

Transformations

Posted on September 5, 2014 by adrienneorris

When I work day in and day out with the students, I forget sometimes that their cultural foundation is so different from my own…. or students I have had in the past. I know that much of my role here is to encourage and press on for the hope of a different future. In this culture, the students are told at a young age that they can’t do something. They’re not big enough, have the right resources, have the ability. It is a spirit of “no puedo” (I can’t) here that presides. As we start the final quarter of classes, we focused on the idea that “God has a plan for your life.” This was a new concept to so many of our students. As we talked through this idea and presented encouragement to them, I saw jaws drop, sideways glances and tears. We encouraged the students to think of what purpose their life might hold, what priorities they need to make, how to form positive relationships and how to strengthen their faith. Each afternoon we spent in discussion and it was encouraging watching the faces of the students light up and talk through deeper issues in their lives.

One student in particular this week shared with the class, teachers and visitors that were there how he has been abandoned by his mother and father. His sister died and his younger sister is only 13. He feels so alone and without any emotional support. His questions was simple, “Where do I need to look to get my support?” In this culture, personal information is rarely shared. I was so proud of him for being bold enough and making himself vulnerable. But it also reminded me of the cultural divide that exists. Most of our students have no idea what it feels like to have support, to be told that God has a plan for their life, or that they CAN succeed at something that is difficult.

The hunger to do good. The thirst for knowledge. The probing of questions. Smiles on the students faces. I have realized how much this class has become their own family. No one has an easy life. Each of them need the support of one another. And they truly have each other’s back. They do not want to see each other fail. After our lunch break I walked in to begin our afternoon to a sight that made my heart smile. In the middle of a circle of his peers sat Cesar. Prior to this year, he had been made fun of and taunted at his previous schools for being different. He liked school because he has a thirst for knowledge, but he hated the atmosphere. He is one of those students that soaks in math and science like a sponge, but communication is not his strength. He has flourished surrounded by his peers this year. And today I saw a grin on his face from side to side as he had the guitar in his arms, surrounded by his peers singing praise songs. Six months ago this boy wouldn’t even sit at the same table as his peers during lunch break. He avoided interaction and any attention. It goes to show how encouragement and opportunity can transform even the most isolated students.

And so… we press on in this transformation year. One day at a time.