what are we living for?

I want to tell you all about what I learned today in my Spanish class...

Yesterday and today my Spanish teacher, Sabina has been away from class because she has a herniated disc and needs to rest. Both days I have had different teachers, but today I learned some very valuable life lessons from my teacher, Alvaro.

Alvaro is a 47 year old teacher, father, and husband who lives in Jocotenango, Guatemala (just outside of Antigua). Alvaro has four children from the ages of 23 to 16. Three out of his four children (the three oldest) have special needs. They were all born with a genetic disorder called: Ataxia - telangiectasia. This has left his three eldest children wheel-chair bound and with many special needs. Before I knew any of this about his family, Alvaro greeted me this morning by telling me that he is perfectly well and is always doing well. If I would have know Alvaro's life situation before I met him, I would not have expected this response.
Throughout the entire class time, I learned about Alvaro's life circumstances. His daughter, age 19, has already had cancer in her ovaries and is sitting at home, at 90 pounds, with two tumors growing in her abdomen. The doctors have told them that there is nothing more they can do because her body cannot handle the taxing chemo/radiation treatments. Alvaro kept telling me, "Es la vida, Yennifer." He kept saying "gracias a Dios" and other statements of that nature which makes me believe that he and his wife have more faith than I could imagine having in such heart-wrenching circumstances. Not once did Alvaro look at me with a saddened face, but he consistently had a smile on his face knowing that his children are a blessing.
Alvaro showed me an article that his wife wrote four years ago in a local magazine (accompanied with a picture of their precious children). The goal of the article was for his wife to empower other mothers of children with special needs (many of which are single mothers). In her article, she writes about always seeing her children as angels sent from God and always wearing a smile on her face so that her children know that they are capable of great things and that they are loved beyond measure. His wife has now had to stay home with her children and attempt to educate them at home because the "special needs" schools here don't do much more than crafts with the students. They were frustrated with the system here and learned that their children would be better educated at home.
Alvaro kept telling me about his youngest son, age 16, who does not have the disability. He talked about how much he has had to mature in his life because of what has happened around him throughout his life. He told me that his son wants to go to chef school so that someday, he can help support his brothers and sister. What sixteen year old is that mature?!
Alvaro kept telling me that it seems like a rough life, but for them, it's completely normal and he has done it for over twenty years! The saddest thing is that they don't receive help from anyone. There are several organizations around Antigua to help poor families or families who have children with special needs. But because Alvaro and his family have a "nicer" home (it doesn't have dirt floors and they HAVE to keep it very clean due to the kids' disabilities), the organizations will take one look at their house and say, "No, we can't help you because you have what you need." How horrible! Just because they take pride in what they have and work to take care of their family doesn't mean that they don't have needs! Alvaro continued to reiterate to me that if he doesn't work, he and his children don't eat.

In my opinion, this is a great lesson that many people need to learn. Look at a man like Alvaro, see that he has worked his butt off to provide for his family, half of which have special needs! If we could teach this lesson to people around the world, we would live in a much better place. Yes, Alvaro has been given a life that many people will never encounter and one that many people would never want to deal with. But with his positive attitude (and my guess, faith), he has learned to be an honorable and respectable man.

Next time we go complaining about something in life, let us take time to think about Alvaro and his family and give thanks to God that we have been given the life we have.

-J