Our TEAMworks Gautemala crew, Kelly Yates, Paige Funkhouser and Abby Kross-Vinson, is headed home to Northwest Arkansas! Their daily reflections shared on the TEAMworks Blog have lifted our hearts this week. We have compiled the pictures and daily reflections from their journey below.
DAY 1 & 2: After some delays, we made it to Guatemala and are headed to our friend Diana’s home for lunch and a visit from one of her sweet kiddos from the Learning Spot! Dylan had the best smile and was definitely a ladies man! He really enjoyed all the individual attention from Paige, Abby, and Kelly. We were all able to demonstrate ideas for his mother and Diana to work on at home and during therapy at Learning Spot. He came with the same AFOs he was given in 2014 and Abby was able fit him with new ones after some assistance with a blow out (via hair dryer) from Kelly. Paige was able to give oral motor exercises Diana was so excited to carry over while he is in his stander. We are always so excited to work with kiddos who have so much potential for carry over once we are gone!
Today, we headed out to a neighboring village to a community clinic. We were able to see some familiar faces and several new ones! Our first arrival was a sweet little girl with hydrocephalus and spina bifida. She was quite spicy and developmentally on target for fine motor and speech language skills but needed help with some positioning techniques. Abby and Kelly were even able to turn a knee brace into some hip helpers! Our next visitor was a sweet boy we met last fall and his mother. We brought a chair with the intention of being able to position him better, but it needed a few more tweaks then we initially anticipated. With a group effort and an enormous amount of duct tape, pool noodles, and puzzles, he was in! Once positioned correctly, Paige was able to demonstrate safer feeding techniques. We were also happy to see that he seemed happier and more relaxed than our previous visit.
We would be remiss to not highlight how big of a ROCKSTAR Abby was today! Although we intended to put on a pediatric focused community clinic, residents of the outside villages rarely get to see medical specialist and were very excited to see us. This included MANY orthopedic issues for the adults in this village. Over years of hard work in cute, yet unsupportive footwear, many of the adults had hip, knee, ankle, and foot pain. Abby was able to help so many of them with stretches, exercise, and many pairs of supportive shoes.
Overall, we were able to see 25 individuals in this community and are so grateful for the amazing hospitality of the residents who lent us their home for our “office”. Additionally, we were given a large donation of art packets from Art from the Heart of Joy, which we were able to give to many of the community children. They were so excited to get their “school supplies”. We look forward to returning in the future!
DAY 3: The true definition of a Blessed Day!
We began our Sunday at Leo’s (our translator) home church here in Guatemala City. The church was vibrant, full of life, and exactly what we needed to begin our Sunday! We were welcomed with open arms by the congregation and although the message was in Spanish, we could feel the passion in the body of believers. From what we could gather, from the quiet translation of Leo, was the following that as the body of Christ and the extension of Jesus as a servant to others.
For we are God’s handywork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
We truly felt this was the word we needed to move forward with our day!
After chuch we were privileged to go meet Gerson, a young triathelete and his family in Chimaltenango. A year and 2 months ago, Gerson, an accomplished triathelete was involved in a bicycle wreck with another competitor and suffered a severe head injury. Through Anita, our friend and local Guatemalan contact, we were able to visit Gerson and spend several hours speaking with him and his family to help better his quality of life, advance his progress, and give encouragement to his family, who is already doing AMAZING things. Before our arrival, his dad had already fabricated a resting hand splint and a stander! We were able to show different positioning techniques in bed to improve postural alignment, cervical exercises for increased head control, and braces for better foot position.
Gerson is a bright, intellegent boy who was already able to communicate with his family with eye blinks to indicate yes and no. Paige was able to program a donated Dynavox speaking system to allow him to communicate his wants and needs using a touch screen, while Kelly and Abby problem solved how to make his arm and fine motor control more refined using a chewy “T” and iPad stylus. We will be heading back to test our whole system on Wedneday, so stay tuned…
Although we did many things within our professional scope today, the most evident lesson was that of steadfast love and hope in Christ. Gerson’s family was the epitome of a family anchored in faith that their son would live and thrive!
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28New International Version (NIV)
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 New International Version (NIV)
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain…”
Hebrews 6:19 (NIV)
Day 4:
“Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.” 1 Peter 3:8
Today we returned to ABI, a government run institution we have visited 3 times prior to this visit. Each visit is different. We return each year to continue relationship building and to help the staff serve those who live there in the best way we can. We return each year in hopes that we are able to continue to come along side those who work with the residents of ABI to show compassion, ability, and potential. We can imagine that it would be very difficult day in and day out to work with individuals with such needs as those who have lived in this facility for years. Sometimes a fresh set of eyes is all it takes to see and unlock the potential of an individual. Sometimes all it takes is a display of interaction, love, and caring to rejuvenate those who are weary and disheartened. As we began our day, we prayed that we could be that rejuvenation, that we would all be humble and tender hearted with our approach, and in turn, we would all be open to each other to serve those who need to be served.
That being said, we were split today with Kelly staying with the OTs throughout the day and Paige and Abby spending the day with PT and the Special Educators. Paige was able to teach a sweet boy named Hector the signs for “more” and “help” with such a quickness that you could see the joy in Hector as he was able to communicate with someone. When we returned home, Abby became our sign language model as we made a modfied sign handout. Abby was able to demonstrate ways that many of the individuals in wheelchairs could participate in fine motor and language activities by standing up to build strength. Kelly was able to put her new found ABA skills to the test by showing that even the most unmotivated, uncooperative individual could learn and participate.
We were also privileged to be part of the continued celebration for the Day of the Child! ABI brought in a clown and pinata to help celebrate, and all the residents had a fantastic time dancing and laughing together! We head back today to continue our work. Prayers for continued openness and continued relationships would be greatly appreciated!
We would also like to ask for a special prayers for our sweet Merlyn. She was displaced from another local orphanage we had previously visted to ABI without her wheelchair for improved positioning during daily activities and feeding. Additionally, we would ask for prayers that this facility would see the lgiht in her, just as her previous facility did and continue to care for her in a manner that maintains that light!
DAY 5:
Never underestimate the power of dreams and the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within all of us. -Wilma Rudolph
Today began like yesterday with Abby and Paige heading to annex with the the new sign language chart they made for Hector. They arrived just in time for snack and Paige was able to help Hector learn three new signs for more, eat, and help. Hector was able to pick up these signs with a quickness and tell Paige “help” when a pancake had fallen, “more” when he wanted more food, and “eat” to even further differentiate he wanted more pancake. Check out the TEAMworks facebook page for a sweet video of Hector using his new found signs. We are hopeful that Hectors new communciation skills will unlock the potential for more socialization and independence. In the afternoon, the team headed to the main campus where a dance party ensued. Paige and Abby were able to share the potential of the joy within each child with a simple interaction.
Our ROCKSTAR PT has converted to a speech language therapist! Abby was able to help teach simple signs to many of the children and also spent her evening programming the assistive communciation device.
Kelly began the morning on the main campus. With the help of her new friend and translator, Melissa, she was able to help out in the other OT rooms. In the first, she noticed a boy drawing intricate pictures on a pieces of paper. When she inquired whether he could copy simple shapes or write his name, the answer was no, however, the teacher let her try anyway. Within seconds Benjamin had copied multiple circles and crosses, traced his name, and written his name independently without any prompting. His teacher was shocked, and Kelly really hopes this will encourage the teacher to increase his potential for learning with more demanding tasks. During lunch, Kelly was able to eat with a young man named Jose. He was not verbal and reportedly did not interact with the staff and other residents frequently. During lunch he would make great eye contact and reach for Kelly’s help to load his spoon. Once loaded, he would independently bring it to his mouth to feed himself. She is hopeful that those who witnessed these interactions will be moved to push for interaction with this sweet young man.
These last two days have been long. The progress sometimes slow, but always evident. We hope that we were able to show that with even just the smallest bit of faith, encouragement, joy, and effort that EVERY individual has the potential for greatness.
DAY 6:
Today we traveled to a nearby town to visit an orphanage. We have visited this orphanage before and were excited to return and see the sweet children, both new and old. Kelly and Paige were greeted by two very bright familiar smiles from Carolitos and Merlyn, two adorable kiddos from the previous year; and Abby was drawn to a sweet little girl names Sulema. We were able to observe the feeding of lunch with several kids and were then able to join the physical therapist in the treatment area. Abby was able to demonstrate different strengthening positions for her new friend Sulema and modify her chair positioning to be more upright. Kelly was able to play PT and fit a pair of AFOs to a beaming boy and adjust his chair to accommodate his growth. Paige was also able to play PT and fit Leslie with a pair of AFOs for improved foot positioning. So, as you can see it was a PT-heavy day and we are so glad for our fearless leader, Abby. That’s right, she is back to PT. We would definitely love some prayers for tomorrow as we return to this orphanage. Plans changed at the last minute and we will no longer be interacting with the nannies as we had hoped. Please pray our time there is of good use and benefit to the amazing children who reside there and that God will use us in ways to reach those who interact most with the children to improve their quality of life.
After visiting Hermano Pedro we had a quick lunch on the top of mountain with a gorgeous view of Antigua and the surrounding areas. We then travelled back to Gerson’s house to give him his communication device and fit him with a seat cushion cut from a wedge we packed. He looked much more comfortable when sitting in his chair. We then pulled him up to the kitchen table and broke out his new device! He was slightly anxious with the crowd and and was hesitant to try a complicated, novel task. We were able to watch him use his modified stylus to hit the correct targets upon Paige’s request, and we are prayerful and encouraged that this might be a huge step in the right direction for his communication. We spent time with Gerson’s father while Paige taught him how to program the device. She also offered her technical support via email for after we leave Guatemala.
Before leaving, Gerson’s father brought us all together to pray. He prayed for us, thanked God for our visit and our service. It was so humbling, but we are truly the ones blessed by this family. Their bond so strong. Their faith so strong. Their belief in Gerson’s healing so strong. There are no words that can express the gratitude for all parties involved in this meeting. It is truly a God woven plan that we were able to meet Gerson and his family. We will definitely never be the same and look forward to keeping in touch with this family for a long time and seeing them in the future.
We will leave you with a quote from the medal that was given to Gerson on the day of the accident. He may not have placed first by crossing the finish line, but he definitely “Won the Race of Life” and for that, we a truly, truly grateful.
Gerson’s Medal- “For Winning the Race of Life”
Hermano Pedro
Gerson’s Dad and Sisters
Tech Talk!
Hermano Pedro
DAY 7: Today, we returned to Hermano Pedro. We started in early assessing and fitting kids for hand splints and AFOs. They just kept coming! Abby, with a bit of assistance from Leo, adjusted several wheelchairs and even manufactured some straps to keep Manny’s feet on his foot plates. Paige was able to get in on the action by working on “mas” with a smart, yet stubborn, little boy named Roberto to request more toys. While using placement cues to make the “mmm”, Roberto independently shaped her cues to blowing a kiss. He was VERY consistent with his usage of this sign throughout the day! We aren’t sure how functional it will be, but he can now use it to melt the heart of ladies everywhere…
We have visited this orphanage several times before and are becoming more welcomed by the therapy staff. It was nice to work along side them as equals to help better the quality of life of the children they serve. Although we are at the end of our journey for this trip, we are always looking toward the future. Our prayer is, in the future, we get to work with the nannies, those closest to the care for the kids. We are unsure what this looks like, but are awaiting God’s plan for us in this place.
Today, we are headed home, but not before seeing our old friend Jonathon. We are hoping to provide him braces for better foot alignment and potentially some vision exercises. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support throughout our time in Guatemala!
