I couldn't help but share a few of the pictures I took while up in Huehuetenango in January with Dick Rutgers and Gary and Anita Senesac. They speak more eloquently about this experience than I ever could.
Our first stop was to see Maria Garcia, a long-time friend who I met on my first trip to this area a number of years ago. She does whatever she can to help her neighbors in the very poor area, in spite of her many health problems. She and her daughters are our faithful translators, since many of the people we visit in this area speak only the Mayan dialect of Mam.
One way this family supports itself is through the weaving done by Maria's daughters. Their work is precise and very beautiful. They would like to begin selling their textiles in the US and asked me if I could help them set up an internet business. I'm pretty well lost when it comes to this, but I said I'd look for people who knew what they were doing in this area. Anyone have suggestions?
Our next stop was to see Rudy, a young man who uses a prosthesis to walk since he was born with the lower part of his left leg missing. Rudy was who first brought me to Huehuetenango years ago when I delivered his first artificial leg. He's growing so fast that he's on his third prosthesis, since there are limits on how much Dick can extend these to fit his height.
Dave Black arrived from Canada while we were up here and joined us for a few days. You can see how seriously he takes these home visits. And people wonder why some of the children here are so afraid of gringos! Just joking, Dave. He and his wife sponsor a number of children in this area enabling them to continue their education.
Not wanting to be left out of the fun, Gary Senesac and Calin manage to find a sling-shot, and Gary was demonstrating his skill at "killing trees."
This was Anita's first trip to this part of Guatemala, though her family had been involved in this area by sponsoring medicine for a child in this area. You can see how delighted she was to finally meet him. (To read Anita's thoughts on this experience, click here.)
While we were here, Dick took the opportunity to fix a couple of power chairs for kids in this remote area.
Christopher no longer attends school, but uses his power chair to accompany his mother to the market where she sells vegetables. He thoroughly enjoys the freedom this gives him, though I worry about his mother who has to carry him a great distance to get to the chair. The stairway pictured at the beginning of this entry is only the first part of here trek to a house "down below" where his chair is stored.
Sweet little Gema is always a joy to visit, and her family makes us feel like we are one of them. She is going to school and needed new batteries for her chair. The old ones were useless since the chair had not been charged at all during the school vacation. She, too, lives on the side of a mountain and must be carried down to the school where her chair is stored. Fortunately for her mother, she is still a pretty light load to carry.
The family from this region with whom I have the closest friendship belongs to darling Silsa and her mother Silvestra. I met them, too, on my first trip here, and our friendship has deepened over time. I have not been able to travel as much since we opened Casa de Esperanza, and I was brought to tears when Mom told me that the family had thought I was mad at them since I had not seen them in over a year. It is easy to forget how important visits are to these families, until someone like Silvestra reminds me.
We made a quick stop to say hello to José, a very determined young man who has not let his inability to walk interfere with his goals for his life. He is studying to be an electrician, and, though he has a power chair he uses at home, he rides a four wheeler to get from his house to his school and his job. The rough mountain roads proved to be too much for a normal chair to withstand!
In every trip there seems to be one moment which stands out, and Yenny was this moment for me on this trip. Gema's mother had asked us to go to see a young girl who had cerebral palsy. Yenny had a wheelchair, but it didn't fit her properly, and with her condition really needed more support. Dick took measurements, while I sat down to visit with Yenny.
As I spoke with her, her mother told me not to bother, since she didn't talk. The picture below shows Yenny's reaction when I said to her, "You might not talk, but you sure understand what I'm saying, don't you?"
I'm so glad I got to have this conversation with her, and to share with her mother that Yenny DOES understand. The really interesting thing here is that, while her mother speaks only Mam, Yenny has learned to understand Spanish by watching TV all day. It makes me sad to think of the potential this young lady has which has never been tapped.
While there are many Godincient moments in our work, we had a special one on our way back from visiting Yenny. We hadn't eaten all day, and drove past a "cantina" along the road. Dick was hungry so turned around (which I don't think I have ever seen him do) to go back to get something to eat. When I was walking to the restaurant after using the restroom, a young woman asked me what I was doing in this remote area. I explained our ministries, and she asked if we could go to see her cousin Heidi who couldn't walk. When we arrived, we found a very bright but extremely shy teenager. We're not quite sure what her diagnosis is, but she desperately wanted a wheelchair to be able to accompany her family to church. On our next trip up north, she will have one! And to think, this wouldn't have happened if Dick hadn't been hungry enough to turn around!
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