ABC - Looking for Sponsors

For those who have thought about sponsoring an ABC child with Health Talents International, now is a great time to make the pledge.  This year we added around 70 children to the program from various communities but within the 70 we also added 2 new communities of Mactzul III and Mactzul II.  For those who have come to clinics with us in the past some may have visited the village of Mactzul II. 

We have approximately 25+ children that could use a sponsor in the ABC program.  For those new to the program, the ABC program is a child sponsorship program managed by Health Talents International in partnership with the local churches.  The most important aspect of the program is the partnership that is created with the local church.  Through the local church they identify families in need and recommend children to the program to receive some supplemental assistance.  The goal of the program is to provide the child a better opportunity  to become a leader in their church and in their community.  We do this by setting responsibilities in activities such as Bible classes, attendance in school, attendance in educational meetings and providing some small supplemental support in the means of nutritional protein products such as milk and beans, a set of clothes for school, basic school supplies and primary medical and dental care.

We try to balance the creation of dependence by only providing for a maximum number of children per family and by only providing a percentage of the needs of protein, etc.  Each family is encouraged to keep all the children in Bible classes and in school by using the supplemetal support they receive to use their own funds to support the needs of the other children.  Of course we would never say this a perfect system, but we have seen and continue to experience many postive outcomes through this program.

Most parents that are between the ages of 35 and 50 only have a 1st or 2nd grade education and through this program, children are receiving more oppurtunity to finish 6th grade and many will continue to middle school and some will continue to high school.  Imagine the possibilities this provides the families, churches and communities.  Young people will be better prepared to teach others Bible, community development, literacy, etc.  Of the communities that have been in the program longer we have see students creating Bible classes for the children, women's Bible classes have started, and recently graduates from high school are starting tutoring classes for children who need help since the parents do not understand everything their children are learning.

This year in the highlands of Guatemala where we work, we expect to have 46 children out of 386 children finish 6th grade, we have 29 children in middle school of which 9 will graduate from middle school this year and we have 11 in high school.  The retention rate through 6th grade is very high (compared to a 50% drop out rate average in a community) while the other levels of school tend to drop because of extra expenses of travel, uniforms, and books.  For example to go to high school the student is traveling 1-1.5 hours in most cases and spends around $5 a day or more.  Does not sound like much until you realize that a days wage is not much more than that.  The program has over 650 children in total with many churches that have been in the program 10+ years, so some of the children are now teachers, financial assistants, evangelists, and some are in medical school, nursing school and dental school or are pursuing other professions in college.  The beauty is since this is a family oriented society most will stay in the areas they grew up in.  In one community once this year finishes they will have more than 6 or 7 high school graduates and many more who have finished 6th grade and middle school.

Please consider making a pledge of $30 per month to support a child through the ABC program and join us in our prayer that this will provide a future change in the church and the communities in the areas we serve and beyond.  If you are not able to make a pledge, then please join us in our prayer for this program and it's success to bring honor to our Lord.  And... it does not have to stop there, if you want to meet the family it is always a posibility by joining one of the medical evangelism teams that come to Guatemala in support of the ministry.

If you are interested please email the Health Talents International ABC coordinator Barbara Barnes at bybarnht@aol.com.  You can also find more information about Health Talents International at our website which is http://www.healthtalents.org/  or you may contact us with any questions that you may have.  Our email address is kemmelandlisa@aol.com.

Here are some pictures of kids that need sponsors.

Gabriela 

Carolina

Rosa

Tomas (started high school this year)

Esvin

 Elias

David

This is David's family and his sister Juana (with her hand raised) is also needing a sponsor.  Dad works in agriculture as a day laborer and mom weaves and both are active in the local church of Mactzul II.

Thanks for visiting our blog!

Suzuki hard at work in Santa Cruz parade

Here is a picture of the 1987 Suzuki (still runs like a champ) hard at work in the Santa Cruz parade.  A family from Pacaja Xesic where the Voces Acapella singing group is from opened up a flower shop in Santa Cruz and were advertising.  The cart was built by Salome Alvarez and the store is run by his sister Marta.  Very nice cart - hopefully he will have an oppurtunity to rent it out and also maybe make some to sell. 

Great photos from ABC Program in Xejox

Here are some great photos taken of the ABC program in Xejox by Jeff - Thanks Jeff!

This is the coordinator Pedro

This is the other coordinator Benito and his family

Isaias

Juliana

Marvin - son of Pedro

 De la Cruz Hernandez Family

 Hugo Leonel

Group of kids

Pabla

The Mustard Isn't By the Ketchup

While at the grocery store in Guatemala City this weekend Kemmel was looking for mustard and came to the realization that Guatemalan stores and American stores don't exactly group their products on the shelf in the same way.

Sometimes it's frustrating to keep realizing that no matter how long you live somewhere you don't think like the locals. Just this last month Kemmel has been on the hunt for a replacement part for one of the work trucks.  This part is nowhere to be found apparently, including the dealership (although they tried to slip us a part that supposedly would fit--after looking up our VIN number and model number for confirmation), three different parts outfits in Zone 8 (crazy chop-shop area of the city) and a popular used parts store. So far the best answer is bring in the old one and we'll take a bigger one and cut it down to size...

A few days ago we were sitting at lunch after clinic and talking about the differences in life in the United States and here in Guatemala.  I was talking about how in the States it's common for young people to leave home and start their own home, sometimes hours away from their family.  They asked how far away our family lives from each other and were amazed to find out that people lived in different States even.  I was thinking about how Americans look at the small, cramped housing situations that families have here, and how we feel sorry for them for having to live with extended family in such small spaces, when all along, they feel sorry for us that we live so far removed from each other.

Likewise, healthcare workers in general are big proponents of birth control and family planning, always encouraging couples to be responsible and to think about limited  money and resources for raising and educating their children to be successful professionals.  On the flipside, people here are amazed to find out that we have so many nursing homes in the States and that not all people live with their children when they get older and can't work or take care of themselves anymore.  Or that people be worried about "retirement" funds to cover retirement living expenses if they have children who could take care of them.

While its frustrating sometimes to work with people that don't see life the way we do (and vice versa) it's eye-opening and helps put some of our priorities in perspective and make us want to see things the way God does rather than from our cultural lenses. Not easy, but a fun challenge and probably good for us!

By the way, the mustard and mayonaise are on an shelf together with the oils, and ketchup is by the spaghetti sauce and hot sauce and other tomato products two aisles over... who knew?

Baptism Last Wednesday

Last Wednesday we had the privilege to attend part of the baptism service in the town of Mactzul V of the man and his wife we spoke of a couple of posts ago.  It was a rainy day but a great day!  Here are some pictures of Jeronimo and his wife Josefa.

One of the joys of being here is attending baptism services as they are always a pretty big event and take up most of the day with the service and then a celebration communion afterwards.  Unfortunately this time we had to miss the celebration communion.

With elders from the church in Mactzul V.  Don Jeronimo wanted to celebrate with his traje after he was baptized.

One of our favorite grandmothers from Mactzul V encouraging our new brother and sister.

The little girl in the green blouse is their granddaughter - Josefina Silvia - who is in the ABC program. 

God is good!

Family Fun

This last week my sister and brother-in-law Anna and Charlie Ferrell came to visit all the way from Hennessey, Oklahoma! We spent a few days working in clinic and then took a long weekend to do some sight seeing at the lake and in Antigua. It was such a treat having them here with us, and we were sad to see them go. Of course they were probably even sadder once they got back to 100 degree days after spending a week in the cool rainy season!

Here's a few pics from our week together.

Anna is wearing Gaspar's wife's, Juana, new digs to be used at the graduation on their 2 sons from high school - Noe and Manuel.  This will make 3 high school graduates in Gaspar's family!

Charlie and Anna in Xepocol 

Anna hard at work!  Lisa pulled a tooth this last week.  Lisa is still glad she is not a dentist.  :) 

 Doing the tie down. 

 In Antigua at the central park fountain

At the ruins of Hotel Santo Domingo.  Kemmel got to escape and have the car washed.  :)  Been there too many times...