The greatest gift I ever refused...(posting from the road)

I'm going to try and tame the Sally Stuthers lecture here...apologies in advance if a little seeps out.

I was really nervous about today, the last time I participated in an Embrace day I ended up arrested, so I think that my apprehesion was justifiable. Happy to report that after the 'incident' four years ago, the practice of dragging mountain kids to a 'big' city and force feeding them fried chicken has been drastically altered - we now remain on the compund grounds, paired 2 adults to 1 child - we play games, do crafts and then take the kids to a local hot spring in the afternoon. This year we also had the opporuntity to return to the child's home and meet the family.

I was paired with Jimmy, a texan with a huge heart and Heydi, a 7 y.o. Guatemalan girl that you just cannot help but fall in love with. I have told you stories before of remarkable people that I have met while travelling...this is another one of those tales.

Heydi was enrolled in the 'Embrace' program 4 years ago after her profound malnutrition was recognized by a misson worker. In that time, Jimmy and his wife Tiffany have donated $30 a month to keep Heydi and her family fed. It sounds cliche and we can all remember the "for a dollar a day, you can make a difference" tag line - but I am here to tell you that it works. Today Heydi is close to being out of the danger zone for malnutrition but more than just that...she is fiesty. Unlike other young girls that we met, Heydi had an opinion (opting for a pants suit rather than a traditional dress) and a playful side. It sounds weird but Heydi was unique just for being like the kids that we are used to seeing in North America.

During play time she actively participated, dominating the slide and winning the ring toss. Her intelligence was evident during the craft time when she completed her frame independently after being shown how to use the stickers and glue only once (these are not items that kids here are familiar with). Despite an increased access to food, her hunger was apparent as she wolfed down three pieces of pizza and her generosity was heartbreaking as she initially tried to save her cup of ice cream to share with her family. Although unfamiliar with 'swimming' or playing in water, Heydi was eager to try anything (many of the kids sat on the side and watched) and jumped right in. She even painted my nails...it was clearly her first time.

The kids also had the chance to select items from a little store...I wasn't about to say no to anything that Heydi wanted and was more than willing to cover anything overage that we ran up. No surprise here, much of what Heydi was selected was intended for her family and not for her.

Just when I thought she couldn't get any better...we went home with her to meet her family. After 30 min of bouncing around in the back of a truck we arrived at the closest road access point. The next 15 min were a gruelling uphill hike for us Gringos...Heydi happily skipped along in her new gold flip flops, pausing every 15 min to wait for us.

Breathless we arrived at a simple adope home with a palm roof. Mom, Dad and siblings were all eagerly awaiting our arrival and showed us around. Heydi ran down part of the mountain to try and locate "chairs" for us to sit on. Jimmy was able to see the new stove he purchased in full operation (it is more efficient at wood burning and creates less smoke). The kitchen is generally in a seperate building and they proudly showed off theirs as I realized that I have a walk-in closet at home that is much bigger. There was laughter abudent as I sumbled over what I originally thought was wood - turned out to be a live chicken.

Accustumed to our compulsive photo taking by now, Heydi gave me the chicken to pose with for a few shots. Jimmy took his turn and then we returned their dinner to Heydi. The next part was lost in translation as no matter what I did, Heydi kept returning the chicken to my arms. It was like a really wierd game of catch. I resolved just to carry the thing around.

We learnt that the family carries any water that they need and there is no washroom, not even a latrine - they simply use the 'weeds'. Many times they are unable to stay in their home for sleeping due to a leaky palm roof and any light that they need is achieved through the burning of tree sap.

Trying hard to hold it together, Jimmy and I took a few more photos and then attempted to say farewell. We thanked the family for their time and generositry at meeting with us...I returned the chicken to Heydi's father and gave my little girl a huge hug. The father continued to try and talk to Jimmy and I, and through an interpretor we learnt that the family wanted to bless us with a chicken as thanks for everything that we had done (really should be more thanks to Jimmy there).

This family has nothing. I don't mean that in a degrading way, they literally have nothing...no furniture, no functional roof and certainly no food and they want to give us the only thing that they do have - a live chicken. It's a good thing I couldn't speak their language as I was too choked up to talk. David, our interpretor, explained that because of the airline rules, we wouldn't be able to accept their gift. Accepting of this excuse, the family bid farewell and Haydi led the way through steep winding trails back to the truck. (If David hadn't been there - I would have had to leave with that chicken).

Heydi is in good hands with Jimmy and I know that he will do everything he can for her. My newly adopted girl is named Octavia and she is either 8 or 9 - mom cannot remember her exact age. I should learn more about her in the next few weeks. If you are interested at all in helping children like Octavia or Heydi, e-mail me and I'll send you the information.

Heydi is bright, energetic and generous. She could be anything...doctor, businesswomen - even the first Guatemalan President but she won't be. Realistically, Heydi will grow up to be a mom of several children and live in a hut on some Guatemalan mountain. We give them food but we are never really able to give these people the one thing that they need...opportunity.

Thank you for reading.