Matt's Colorado Trail Video

Here is a video that Matt made to commemorate his time on the trail::: He did a great job: on hiking and on the video. =)

I'm so proud of you, Matty!!

It's about 12 minutes, please enjoy:::

Matt's Colorado Trail from Molly Orr on Vimeo.

No, not Africa, this is Guatemala

I opened the Economist last week and saw this photo: the caption read, "No, not Africa, this is Guatemala."

The August 27th article was titled: "Malnutrition in Guatemala: A National Shame."

We are going to be living in a rural, Mayan village starting November 11th.
(( Here is the original article ))

IT IS hardly one of Latin America’s poorest countries, but according to Unicef almost half of Guatemala’s children are chronically malnourished—the sixth-worst performance in the world. In parts of rural Guatemala, where the population is overwhelmingly of Mayan descent, the incidence of child malnutrition reaches 80%. A diet of little more than tortillas does permanent damage.

This chronic problem has become acute. Higher world prices for food have coincided with a recession-induced fall in money sent back from Guatemalans working in the United States (remittances equal 12% of Guatemala’s GDP). Drought in eastern Guatemala has made things worse still. Many families can scarcely afford beans, an important source of protein, and must sell eggs from their hens rather than feed them to their children.

The government and aid donors are providing emergency food supplies for 300,000 people scattered in some 700 villages. Up to 400,000 more may need help. In Jocotán, in the east, rehabilitation centres have admitted dozens of children who are so malnourished that their black hair has turned blond, their faces are chubby from fluid build-up as their organs fail, the veins in their legs become a visible black spider-web and their face muscles are too weak to smile.

What makes this even more distressing is that Guatemala is rich enough to prevent it. Other Latin American countries, such as Bolivia, Peru and Brazil, have reduced child hunger. Yet according to Unicef, the incidence of stunting—a common indicator of chronic malnutrition—in Guatemala is twice what it is in Haiti, where income per head is only a quarter as high. Stunting is not genetic: a study by the World Bank found that Mayans in southern Mexico are taller than those over the border.

That points to a failure of government in Guatemala. The Mayan population were the main victims of a long-running civil war between military dictatorships and left-wing guerrillas. Although democracy came, and eventually peace, social conditions have been slow to improve. Income inequality remains extreme, even by Latin American standards. Two-thirds of the rural population remains poor. Guatemala came second to bottom of a new index measuring inequality of opportunity in Latin America published by the World Bank last year. Whereas Guatemala City has shiny shopping malls, gated mansions and trendy restaurants, many indigenous Guatemalans scratch an inadequate living as sharecropping subsistence farmers. “These people were totally abandoned in the mountains with no infrastructure, no education, no health,” says Rafael Espada, the vice-president.

Much research shows that children who are undernourished tend to suffer from learning difficulties and end up poorer. So proper feeding is the first step in breaking the cycle of poverty. But schooling is vital too. Guatemala lags behind in educating girls in particular. As a result, mothers may not prepare corn-soya feeding supplements correctly, and may share them among all their children rather than favouring the malnourished.

The government fails to collect enough taxes from wealthier Guatemalans to provide good schools and health care for the majority, let alone the kind of targeted cash-transfer programme that has helped to cut poverty in Mexico, Brazil and elsewhere in the region. But urban Guatemalans are more worried about rampant crime, much of it by drug gangs. The government, like its predecessor, is full of good intentions. But several attempts at tax reform over the past decade have foundered in the face of entrenched political resistance. So malnutrition looks set to continue in a country in which it ought to be a cause of national shame.

The BEAUTY of DISENTANGLEMENT

I was telling a friend about our future move to Guatemala. And she shared about how specifically foreign missions had always been a dream of hers. I was quite surprised. You know sometimes you just assume people who are doing cool things are living out their dreams, but she shared that she and her family (two children) had become too settled, too established. She said they were too ENTANGLED in responsibilities and possessions and familiarities, which of course is beautiful in many ways. -- but I was so shocked that she was admitting that she had dreamed of something else.


So, I want to celebrate this occasion - to celebrate the FREEDOM OF DISENTANGLEMENT. It's not something that I take lightly - I realize it's hard and that we've had it easy because:::

a. We've had a month-to-month lease with a wonderful and understanding Lanlord

b. Most of our furniture, appliances and accessories we found down the hall and were able to use free of charge

c. The rest of our furniture we either made, found in the Alleyway or it was given to us by generous friends (shout out to Ian & Camille for the futon of my dreams!)

d. We've lived close enough to work that we survived with one car


~~~~ So, we are not too thoroughly entangled yet for which i am grateful. ~~~

I think of our current possessions/provisions like God wanted the Israelites to think about the manna from heaven. (Exodus 16) God sent just enough manna to the ground morning after morning and each family gathered according to its need. So, i look at it like God gave us just enough of everything we needed in this phase and as we let go, and move on, He will also provide in this next phase of life according to our needs. Thank you, Jehova Jireh, which means the Lord will provide!!

A Golden Birthday to Remember!

Thanks to my lovely friends down in Colorado Springs - i had a super, special Golden 28th Birthday. some people have asked - "what is a golden birthday?" Well, for me it was turning 28 on the 28th, for others it's turning 19 on the 19th and so on. So, if your birth date is a single digit - you probably don't remember your golden birthday. But anyways, it's just another reason to celebrate:::






Nice shot, Al, you should think about making a career out of this.

this shot was not staged - this is my completely organic reaction to the fact that Allison wrapped up and gifted me my camera that i left at her place over six months ago

a lovely double-decker-dark-chocolate cake
made with LOVE and choc. chips


~~~
I love you, girls !!!!!