No one is righteous, no not one. . .

Brittney and Leonel at the Fulp home last Christmas

Brittney Fulp is a twenty-something year old missionary who came to Guatemala about two years ago with parents and eight brothers and sisters.  She is a remarkable young woman with a spiritual depth well beyond her years.  I believe her thoughts on the shooting in Connecticut are well worth reading, so I'm taking the liberty of sharing them.  Brittney writes:

For my Christ following friends...I just posted this on a friend's status, but as I saw how many were talking about the school shooting today, I thought maybe I would share my same thoughts here. (God is really challenging and changing my perspective these days):

I make absolutely no excuse for this guy...what he did was absolutely horrible, and my heart aches for those affected by this situation

. But one of the first thoughts that I had when I heard about this was, "Wow! How much was this guy hurting that he could even reach this point?" And then I found myself aching for HIM...he is now facing judgment on the other side, so, beyond righteous anger (that we should all have about the sin in this world), there is no room for my anger. My anger would serve no purpose. He is getting his deserved punishment. I hurt for him and relationship that he never found with the Lord...and now my thoughts wander to the others like him who are still here with us. Who around me is hurting that I should be reaching out to? Not just to prevent situations like this (although, that alone with be worth it) but to help these specific people to find the hope and love that is being offered them….the hope and love that I have undeservedly received. Because the truth is…I am no more righteous than this young man was...EXCEPT by the precious blood of Jesus.

Casa de Esperanza Update

Well, we’re moved in (sort of) and slowly acquiring the furniture we need to get this house going.  The kitchen is fully equipped now with the beautiful stove I found at half price.  It is supposed to have a dent somewhere, but I have not really been able to see it, hence the reduced price.  I can’t help but think this is another gift from God to us.

The dining room is fitted with a large table and chairs, thanks to Mari.  She hasn’t been using this table and has offered it to us for as long as we need it.

We still need a sofa and entertainment center to make the living room complete, but it is serving us well so far.  Dick’s kids manage to find enough places to sit (or sleep when they stay over after youth group), and we really don’t need too much furniture here since many for our residents will have wheelchairs.

Progress is being made on filling up the house.  Until January 15, Scott and Linda Harvey, friends from Kansas City who are here working with a ministry in Jocotenango, will be staying with me.  It’s nice not to be rattling around in this big house all by myself and they are good company to boot.

 

 

 

Cesar’s parents praying over him at his graduation from “Basico” last October.

 

 

 

 

The beginning of January Cesar, on of Dick’s boys, will move in to serve as an assistant and also go to school at INVAL, outside of Antigua to study to be a PE teacher.  This is a double win, since he needs an Antigua address to attend this school (one of the few which offer this course of study) and I need a reliable worker and leader here in the home.  Cesar is a remarkable young man, already coaching a soccer team of his peers, often translating for Dick, and frequently helping with wheelchair repairs and distributions.  A bonus is that he and the young men from Hermano Pedro we hope to have living here are already great friends.  Cesar said the other day that I am his “second mama.”  I have to admit that brought tears to my eyes, especially since he comes from a wonderful, though very poor family.

Fernando holding Lisvi, a starving 6 year old
when I first met him in 2009.

Also moving in during the first part of January is Fernando, another of Dick’s kids.  Fernando’s mom has been in the US since he was very young, and he has been living with relatives.  This past year the family he has been living with has pretty much left him to care for himself, and as a result, he did not pass our equivalent of 8th grade.  When Dick talked with him about this, he said he just felt like he needed to live somewhere where he would receive more direction.  When Dick asked him how he would feel about coming to live with me, he jumped at the idea. (Months before, when I was still in the small house, I had told Dick I’d take Fernando in in a heartbeat if I had the room.  Fernando was the first of Dick’s kids whom I met, and he has always been very special to me.  Once again, God gives me a desire of my heart!)  This past week we spoke with his mother in the US, and she gave permission for him to live here during the week and visit his relatives in Chimaltenango during the weekends.  So, come January 3rd, I’ll be looking at schools for him to attend.  Fernando is also a wonderful friend to the Hermano Pedro boys and will be a wonderful assistant to them when they move in.

Fernando obviously feels at home enough here to take a nap in the room that he will soon share with other male residents.

 

 

I had said that I had hoped to have time with some of the assistants living in the house before we have residents move in, and God seems to have worked this out.  Dick’s boys are a wonderful source of assistants since they already know and love for the guys at Hermano Pedro, and Dick has trained them well in caring for them.  I know these young men and have great confidence in and affection for them.  Another way God has been preparing for this house before I even knew it!

Miguel, Cesar’s brother, at lunch with Maynor, one of the residents at Hermano Pedro.  I hope to be able to hire Miguel in the future to serve as one of our assistants.

A most exciting step toward receiving residents occurred today.  Fidel, who first showed me the need for a home such as this, came to visit today with Xiomara, the volunteer director at Hermano Pedro, and her friend Vicki.  More than a year ago, when Fidel was at a very dark place spiritually, I first mentioned the idea of this house to him.  I told him this could only happen by the grace of God and asked him to start praying for a house we could live in.  He reluctantly agreed.  It was amazing to see the delight in his eyes today as he realized God not only answered our prayers, but did so abundantly.  He kept saying, over and over as we moved through the house, “Muy bonito.” (Very pretty.) When I asked him to say the blessing over the food today, and he immediately agreed.  Fidel struggles to speak due to his cerebral palsy, but his prayer was one of the most eloquent I have heard, as he thanked God for our house, for bringing me to Guatemala, and for bringing me into his life.  Needless to say, I was moved to tears once again.

Vicki, Fidel, and Xiomara at lunch today

Xiomara has agreed to talk with Social Work to see what exactly Fidel’s legal status is (he came to Hermano Pedro as a child, and they therefore have had guardianship over him) and also to advocate with Padre Jose, the administrator of Hermano Pedro, to get the ball rolling to move Fidel in.  Vicki, her friend, is a psychologist who offered her services to us whenever we need them, as well as saying she will talk with her father, an attorney in Guatemala City, to see if he can help us with our legal work. 

It’s coming together!  I continue to be amazed by our wonderful God who has orchestrated all this, to give us the desires of our hearts.  To Him is the glory.

I’m a “Madrina”

A few weeks ago, Miriam, my Spanish teacher, asked me if I was going to be able to come to her graduation from nursing school.  She said that the school needed to know the name of someone who had encouraged her in her studies, and she wanted to make sure I would be there.  Of course, I would come.

I arrived a few minutes late, just after the ceremony had begun since the bus from Antigua took an unusually long time.  I was sorry that I didn’t get to see Miriam before the ceremony, and took a seat at the rear of the auditorium.

Though this is a secular school, prayer was offered by one of the local pastors, and he presented a message directed to the graduates, based on Scripture.  The music was all worship music, also.  This is typical here in Guatemala where there is no concern about “separation of church and state.”  Freedom of religion here is not confused with freedom from religion as it is in the US.  A refreshing difference!

Graduations here are very different than in the US.  Each graduate is called individually with their parents to acknowledge their accomplishment.  Miriam and her father were the first called and they could not have looked more proud.  It took a while for this part of the ceremony, since there were 72 graduates to be recognized.

 

 

Another difference here in Guatemala—vendors selling food during the ceremony.  This gentleman was hawking peanuts!

 

 

 

No sooner had this finished than the process of calling out each graduate was called forward again.  Again Miriam was first.  Not knowing the customs of graduation at this level of education, I sat in my seat.  After a few seconds, which I’m sure seemed longer to Miriam, her dad came back to me telling me that I was the “madrina” and need to go up on stage.  He then handed me a bouquet of roses, which I assumed were for Miriam.

The madrina (or padrino if a man), I learned quickly, is the person who has most supported and encouraged the graduate through their studies.  I had no idea that the little I had done to help Miriam meant so much to her.  This person is honored as well as the graduate and the family.

I stumbled forward self-consciously, and tried to give Miriam the roses.  She chuckled, telling me that the roses were for me, to thank me for my support.  I then found out that I had the honor of “capping” her, as well as pinning on her nursing pin and name tag.  My eyes welled up with tears so much I could barely see what I was doing.  (I learned later that one of the other students had joked with Miriam that “the gringa” (North American) was really nervous.  She got that right!)

We then went to the house of Miriam’s sister, Blanca, where we had a delicious meal and I was welcomed in as part of the family.  During the dinner I asked Miriam’s dad, who I had not met before, how he knew who I was.  He laughed out loud, asking me, “How many gringas do you think were at the graduation?  Only you!”  We all then joined in the laughter, as each family member recounted how I had stumbled though my role as “madrina.”  If there’s a next time, I hope I have a better idea what I’m doing.

¡Muchas Fiestas en Noviembre!

That is: Many Celebrations in November.  And celebrate we did.

The month started out with the feast of All Saint on November 1.  In Guatemala this is a huge celebration—though for once there are no processions.  In the morning, families go to the cemetery to decorate the tombs with flowers and greenery.   However, unlike the Mexican Dia de los Muertos, food is not taken to the cemetery for the departed to enjoy. At noon, the entire family comes together to eat fiembre—a traditional salad which is only served this one time a year.

While some of this celebration is based on Catholic belief, you can see the influence of the Mayan religions pervading this celebration.  Julia, Leo’s oldest daughter, explained to me that the belief is that the spirits of the dead are allowed to return to earth this one day to see their loved ones.  From what I understand, the “spirits” cannot have contact with the living, only observe from afar.  This is the reason the family comes together for the celebration. . .to let the “spirits” know that the family continues to care for each other.

In the afternoon, then, kites are flown.  I heard once that this is to take messages to the spirits hovering over the earth.  Julia, however, maintains that this also comes from Mayan belief that both good an bad spirits have access to the earth during this time.  The bad spirits, however, do not like the sound of crackling paper, so the noises the kites make scares them away.  (Sounds a lot like Halloween, doesn’t it?) 

While I didn’t participate in the cemetery trip or kite flying, I did enjoy the dinner with the family.

 

The 17th of November, we celebrated Leo’s 72nd birthday.  His cancer has returned, and he’s in a lot of continual pain.  It was a bittersweet celebration since we all recognize this may be the last birthday we get to celebrate with him.  Once again, the whole family was together to honor their patriarch.  I even got in a bit of dancing with him to the marimba.

 

It’s become a tradition for me to cook a typical Thanksgiving dinner for the whole family, so this was the third time in just a few weeks we were all together.  Pablo (one of the sons) is doing his clinical practice in Jalapa, a town a number of hours away from here, so having him home three times in as many weeks made the day even more special.  As usual, the students in Mari’s house were included also.

(Sorry, no pictures.  I had lent my battery charger to Dick, and found myself with a dead camera battery.  Waiting for him to send me pictures.)

Our final celebration was a second Thanksgiving dinner with the kids from Dick’s neighborhood on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  The boys came in for church with Dick and then came over afterwards.  We also celebrated Liz’s (a volunteer serving at the Hope Haven/Bethel Ministries camp) while we were together. The boys had never had Thanksgiving dinner before, and I think really enjoyed themselves.  I think they would put up with it if I cooked this way every Sunday.

The end of the month I was honored to be included in the Hope Haven Ministries Christmas dinner.  I have helped out at some of their distributions during this last year, and often am able to give patients communications systems to go along with their wheelchairs.  This very special group of people have made me feel so much a part of their ministry and I was enjoyed spending this special evening just visiting with them.

Looking back on this month, I find much to be thankful for.  A new house, family, friends and fellowship.  God has blessed me in this past year beyond what I ever could have imagined, and I am grateful.

Casa de Esperaza (Hope House) is a residential home for individuals with physical disabilities as well as able-bodied young people.  Our residents live together in a Christian community, following the principles Jesus set forth in the Sermon on the Mount.  Those who are physically fit provide needed assistance to our residents with disabilities, while those who are less physically strong each contribute to the community according to their own unique gifting. We pattern our life-style on the proven model of homes operated by L'Arche, an ecumenical association of residences for those with cognitive disabilities.

The Mission of Casa de Esperanza:

We are individuals, with and without disabilities, sharing life in community.  Mutual relationships and faith and trust in God are at the center of our life together, which centers on Jesus Christ, Bible Study and Community Prayer.  We celebrate the unique gifting of each individual, and support each other in living out our God-given purpose and identity:

•  We glorify God while living in Christian community by:

• Identifying and fostering the unique giftedness of each member of the community
• Meeting the physical, spiritual, personal and relational needs of those with and without disabilities
• Providing therapy, education and training appropriate to the giftedness of each member of the community
• Locating and/or creating opportunities for meaningful work for all members of the community, both within the residence and in the community at large
• Sharing with others the reason for the hope which we have found in Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:15)

Our Spirituality:

We are an interdenominational Christian Community attempting to live out the values which Jesus presented in the Sermon on the Mount:

We strive to be:

• poor in spirit (totally dependent on God)
• meek (quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger)
• pure in spirit (following a Biblical life-style)
• merciful
• peacemakers.

We will:

• comfort those who mourn, as well as rejoice with those who are glad
• promote righteousness and justice by the way we live
• promote diversity within unity
• be quick to ask for forgiveness as well as quick to forgive
• support each other as we seek to live out these values.

Each community member will be encouraged to participate in the worship and practices of their faith tradition under Biblical guidance and authority.  In addition, each community member commits to individual and shared prayer, Bible study, and personal spiritual growth.

Our Structure:

Persons with physical disabilities are the heart of and make up the permanent residents of our community.  However, we cannot exist without able-bodied assistants.  Our assistants are young people continuing their education as well as those who believe in our mission and choose to live with us for a given period of time, typically a minimum commitment of six months.  Some of our assistants serve as volunteers, while others (Guatemalan nationals) receive a small stipend as well as their room and board.