New Faces

Posted on July 12, 2015 by adrienneorris

June was a CRAZY month as we hosted two LARGE teams, had a family of 8 join our ministry as well as two other volunteers for the school and other random visitors during the month. Needless to say, it was constant around here. A constant that I welcomed because much of the help that has come will focus at the school, but it certainly made June fly by. Here are a few of the new faces around here.

Worship time with the team at the school and visiting the Gardners.

Trevor doing a physics lab.

Lauren and Taylor doing lab with the kids.

Megan, Lauren and Taylor

With new faces comes change and adjustment and living together in community. It is not the natural way of doing things and it is not necessarily what we are accustomed to doing as Americans… but little by little, we are learning how to do this. Each of these faces brings a heart for the people here, a heart for education and a desire to interact and love those that God places in their path. And for this – I am thankful for these faces around here.

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.

A Day Away

Posted on April 3, 2015 by adrienneorris

It is Holy Week here and we have a few days without class. Becca and I took advantage of the time and went to visit some friends that have an orphanage in another part of Guatemala. The two days we were away gave my mind time to decompress and get away. We spent time with the family there and the kids and enjoyed a few sights and sounds.

Our third bus of the day – an original Blue Bird

The market in Santiago

The most beautiful church I’ve ever seen…. different shades of Green! (my favorite color)

We had to take a boat across the lake to get to the orphanage. How beautiful the lake was!

A few of my favorite things

Posted on March 15, 2015 by adrienneorris

Those of you who know me well know that I like rabbits and I like basketball. A little of both has been happening this month. I guess it is fit that March Madness is in full swing. I don’t even notice it really because my biological clock is reset to life in Latin America – and there is no March Madness.

I have had several girls come by the school and ask if I would help their basketball “team” this year. I finally agreed and have been doing some instructing and playing. It is much different here, I still don’t understand all of the rules, but I enjoy it just as much.

As for the rabbits, they’re a great source of protein. The hope is to produce babies and raise a few on the side just like my family used to do. So far we are 0 for 3 in keeping them alive long enough to do that. This time I started with adults with the hope that I would decrease the time it takes to reproduce.

We climbed this mountain to get to the house where they sell rabbits. Let’s hope it was worth it!

In Like a Lion

Posted on March 4, 2015 by adrienneorris

Someone had to remind me that it was March. To me it feels like June. I guess March is always best when it comes in like a Lion and our like a Lamb. For me that might hold true this month, we will see. I picked up some extra courses as our Physics/ Math teacher was away for his wife to have their baby and spent quality time with some quality students. I lost my voice in the process yet my brain completely flipped. I found it difficult to talk in English and my brain much preferring Spanish.

There used to be a time of normalcy here where every week was the same it and it would be difficult to find a new blog even once a month. We have entered into the world of constant change – with the exciting news being that I could send you something new that happens each day.

It is currently the dry season…. lots of dust, lots of fires in the nights in the mountains and great sunsets and sunshine on the mountains. It will be like this for awhile.

Work continues at the hospital with more and more foundational walls being built. Two-thirds of these walls have been poured and the men continue on their schedule to push forward.

School continues to be the routine around here – as we settle into a routine. I am noticing this year that I feel a little more confident teaching although I am still not expressing and completely explaining like I would like. How I even managed words last year I am not quite sure. These students are both from our Cuarto and Quinto Bachi classes.

Adventures

Posted on January 10, 2015 by adrienneorris

This isn’t really ground breaking because we have been working at the hospital property for many months. All of those loads of dirt have been prepared and David officially began to dig the footings for the hospital. Inside the footings the men are laying rebar and then will pour the cement for the foundation. As I walked across the property I had chills thinking…. This really is happening. This property no longer will look like a field. The project really is going forward. Not a day has gone by without work being done or at least mental work as talk of the project is almost unavoidable around here at times…. But it is exciting to see all that is needed to be in one place. Another thing I have noticed as this project continues forward is how much pride the Guatemalans that are working alongside of us have in this project – the men that are doing the manual labor. To me some much of the work that they are doing is redundant and requires a lot of physical labor in the hot sun, but as the hospital takes more and more shape, they can see it too. It really is happening.

The Epperly’s have come for their stint for this year as they are the first of the DOCS group that comes through here. The kids enjoyed the footings as we took a look at all that was happening this evening. It was like an underground maze. If you would like to learn more about this family or the DOCS group, check out their blog here http://epperlyadventures.blogspot.com/

I have upgraded, although I’m not sure I want to call it an upgrade. I still prefer exercise over laziness. But this set of wheels has already saved me much time in running errands for the school this week. Thanks to all who supported my new mode of transportation. It will suit me well. The first time I took it to town, someone from the barber shop had to help me start it. I think I have a permanent bruise from where the kickstand indented my shin. And I have learned that cows move when you try to maneuver through them, but horses just kick you. Very good things to know when riding a motorcycle.

Cling to the Call

Posted on December 5, 2014 by adrienneorris

I have had two confirmations in the past week….. reminders of why we are here doing what we are doing. John Waller wrote a song called “Cling to the Call” that is on my morning playlist that is set to shuffle. It played this morning and was the reminder I needed as I have had a heavy heart this week…..

… cling to the call Cling to the peace that guards your heart

Cling to the promise though you stumble you won’t fall

I will uphold you now just trust me with all

Just look at me and I will lead you as you cling to the call…

What is a calling? What is the call that John talks about here? For each person I feel it is unique. For me it has become being obedient to the things that God asks of me in different seasons of life. But as I reflect to all the places God has taken me and grown me – junior high, high school, college, Guatemala, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Guatemala – the call on my life has remained the same. To love Jesus and love those He puts in my life. All of these circumstances have changed me, challenged me, grown me into who I am today. Yet I believe each of these experiences were important for me to be who I am today.

When I came to Guatemala, I was actually expecting something to change. I was expecting to not be drawn to the adolescent crowd. I was expecting to have to change who I was. I had mentally brainstormed ways that would be more culturally appropriate to teach and relate. The way I approach my students, the way I teach is not common. It is very direct, very awkward at times…. And is about as far away from typical Guatemalan culture as you could get. I actually feel out of my comfort zone teaching counter culturally as opposed to within my comfort zone in the states. But as my time here stretched from weeks, to months to a year…. God responded clearly that He had prepared me for this time for this reason for this position – to be bold, direct and speak truth. And He confirmed this to me over the last year as He kept on telling me He wanted something different for these students.

As I tried to grasp the language and a vocabulary to not only understand but be able to respond back, I found that it was during these times (a direct conversation with a student or another teacher) that the words flowed smoother from my tongue than any other time. Times that I will credit only as “God Moments” as I am pretty sure I could not remember those vocabulary words again in a normal conversation. And those were the times that gave me the most encouragement… as He confirmed to me that our calling can be cross-cultural and that He was asking me to do something different for a reason.

There are cultural differences, teaching differences, barriers, boundaries, different ways of doing things and challenges every day that many times took my heart away from the calling that I cannot deny on my life. At times I feel as if I drifted away and was distracted as demands of paperwork and different priorities pulled me away from having the time to do what God had asked me to do at times….. but He continued to press it upon my heart and keep me steadfast focused on what was before me. He continued to call me out and remind me how important people were to Him, how important relationships were. And if we cling to Him, cling to what He has called us to- He upholds us. He leads us. He strengthens us. His love becomes our love. And we love because He first loved us.

As we approach this Christmas season, my pastor has been doing a series entitled “Every Person has a Story.” This is the story of how you came to Christ….. and on how you have encountered Christ in your life. This is the story about what Christ has called you to live out in your life. For me this has been on ongoing story – where I could write chapter after chapter. And I know that He is not done using me. To me it is interesting that these two challenges have closed out my school year here. I know it is just another time where God is reminding me to keep my eyes focused on Him.

We each have a story though. And everyone’s story is different. Don’t be afraid to share your story. And cling to the calling that you have in your own life as well to live out what God has asked you to do…. even when it might seem counter cultural or uncomfortable at times.

Thanks for following along on this journey – may you be blessed during this Christmas season.

A Year in Pictures

Posted on November 28, 2014 by adrienneorris

My heart for education is to see students who believe that they can’t, achieve what they thought was impossible. And so this past year held many moments that I could share that made it all worth it. I wanted to share this video with you that puts together the year in pictures….

Also…. the last activity we had was a celebration dinner for the students. They looked so mature all dressed up!

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.

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……….