Early this morning Bayron and Edgar woke up, ready for breakfast and a swim. The weather was a bit cool, and Dick tried to convince them that they would enjoy the tub more than the pool, but they weren’t buying this! Since he’d made the promise, Dick got to be the lucky one to freeze in the pool with them. After just a short time, however, they were ready for a hot bath, and once again drowned Dick’s bathroom.
After drying them out, we headed back to Oratorio with them, to visit the house the Westside team had built. On the way there, both boys “helped” Dick drive, though Bayron seemed much more comfortable doing this than Edgar. When we arrived, the house had been finished and we were just in time to pray with the family to dedicate the house. This family was so grateful for the house, and I was grateful to be able to tell Mom that I would check on her little girl, Leslie, each time I was at Hermano Pedro.
We next took the boys home. Though Grandma was at church, the boys’ aunts and other relatives were at the house to greet them. Immediately the boys started showing off the pictures they had taken, and Bayron quite effectively used the pictures he had taken to tell the story of what he had done. Somehow, I have to figure out a way to get a camera for him to use as a communication device. He LOVES to take pictures, and is quite good at it. The major obstacle is that the family has no electricity in their house, so recharging the batteries would be difficult. Somewhere, though, I know I can find a solar powered battery charger!
Leaving was difficult for all of us. Bayron played “tough guy,” though he had to go into the house to keep up his facade. Dick followed him in to say good-bye, and I don’t know if this parting was harder for Bayron or Dick. Edgar walked us to the car, and turned to thank us saying “God bless you.” At this point Ryan, Melissa, and I all quickly got into the car, as we were ALL ready to dissolve into tears. This time, though, the boys knew we would be back. We hope to be able to arrange for a private tutor to work with Bayron now that he is not allowed in school.
We next took a short drive to Oliver’s house. We were greeted by his mother, who is currently battling cancer while trying to continue to care for five children. She told us Oliver was up the road at a neighbor’s house, saying she can’t keep him home. This would be nothing unusual for an eight year old boy, except Oliver cannot walk without crutches. Shortly, though, we saw the truth of her words, as Oliver RAN towards us down the hill. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone run on crutches before. He was so excited to see Dick, and more excited when Dick told him he’d brought Oliver newer, slightly bigger crutches. As we were fixing Oliver’s crutches, an older boy came struggling down the street. His legs were twisted in a variety of directions, but Miguelito did an amazing job staggering down the steep hill. He was wondering if we had crutches that he could have, to make his walking easier. Again, this would not be remarkable, except Miguelito was deaf and unable to speak, but, like Bayron, had no difficulty making his desires known. He didn’t ask out-right for crutches, but did look longing at Oliver’s crutches, even touching them tenderly like they were made of gold.
I wish we had had a video camera running when Dick took out a second pair of brand new crutches from the car. To say Miguelito’s face lit up, is a vast understatement. It was more like fireworks went off in his eyes. Dick quickly adjusted the crutches so they were just the right size for him, and after very brief instructions, he was off, trying to keep up with Oliver. He did stop long enough, however, to pose for some pictures to commemorate his new mobility.
It was a little bit unusual that Dick had decided to visit Oliver, since there really was no need we knew of. Some would say it was coincidence that Dick had brought along crutches that were obviously too big for Oliver. Some would say it was a stroke of luck that Miguelito was visiting Oratoria from the nearby village in which he lived. Any of us who were there today, though, know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was a holy moment, when God had decided to bless a little boy with crutches, and He was gracious enough to let us be a part of His blessing. If this had been the only thing we did on this whole trip, the look on Miguelito’s face would have made the 3 hour drive more than worth it.
Our final stop of the day was at Wilmer’s house. We discovered that because of a mix up, Wilmer had not been tutored for the past few months. Since we were here, we were able to contact his tutor and arrange for his sessions to begin again immediately. This young teacher is a remarkable woman, freely sharing with us about the special needs children she had and currently was teaching in her regular classroom. On top of this, she was willing to take on tutoring Wilmer 5 hours a week, saying that every child deserves a chance for an education. I don’t want to be critical, but I can’t help compare her to the many of the teachers I worked with as a consultant in the public schools. My job was to help teachers find ways to keep special needs students within the regular classroom. The biggest obstacle to the success of this program was not the disabilities of the students, but the attitudes of the teachers. They felt overwhelmed and did not see why they should make the extra effort. I wish I could introduce each one of them to this amazing young teacher, who may or may not have electricity in her classroom, probably does not even have a desk to sit at, and has no teaching aids beside her students’ textbooks and her own creativity. Who has only a cement block house to live in, and two young daughters waiting for her when she finally arrives home each night. Who is paid approximately $1/hour for her dedication, and yet cares deeply that all children be educated.
We also talked with Wilmer’s parents about Walter, his younger brother. It appears to us that Walter has hydrocephalus, and we had talked with Mom over a year ago about getting him in to see one of the doctors at Hermano Pedro. The family explained that this had not happened, since Walter also had significant respiratory problems, and paying for medical care for these had taken all their resources. By general agreement, it was decided that Dick would speak with a neurosurgeon he knows, and we would try to return and take both Walter and Mom to see this doctor as soon as possible. So we will be returning to this part of Guatemala soon to follow through with this promise.
We had to cut short our visit with these wonderful folks, because once again today the rain began coming down in buckets, and we were still up on a mountain. Driving back to the hotel tonight, the four of us could not help but reflect on the blessings of the day. We had figured it would be a “short” day, and we would have plenty of time to kick back and relax at the hotel. Since it was after five when we returned, this obviously did not happen. I don’t think any of us would have traded any part of our day for a week at a spa. We were tired, but were sure that we had seen God move in an through His people today. What a great way to spend a Sunday!
No comments:
Post a Comment