Friday, August 22, 2014

Where Would They Be?

The students stared back at their teacher with the enthusiasm of a tranquilized sloth.

“Can anyone in the class tell me what they think about that?" the teacher asked.

Silence.  I suddenly became acutely aware of the carefree children playing just outside the classroom.

In the students' defense, it was 3PM, the part of the school day when time flows with a most viscous of qualities.  After an awkward silence, Kelvin, seated quietly next to me, raised his hand and broke through the malaise with an answer not befitting of his “cool kid” self, but that would have made any teacher’s pet jealous.  Without removing my eye from the camera I held out my fist in his direction.  Soon after his his knuckles met mine.  A quick glance in his direction confirmed we both wore the same subtle smile upon our faces.

A baby photo of Kelvin.  Look at those pudgy cheeks!


The simple fist bump carried in it the satisfying familiarity that can only come from connecting with a good friend.  Over a year has passed since I first spent a few weeks filming with Kelvin and he is still just as cool as when I first met him (click here for last year's blog about Kelvin) .  He moves like a Latino James Dean.  Although our friendship remained active, the footage from our time together sat idle as I worked on other projects.

Working on one of the "other projects." Filming with my church, who came to Guatemala for a week!


Returning to the footage upon returning to Potter’s House this year was like returning to the scene of a crime.  It was the first project I’d filmed in Guatemala and my lack of experience was apparent.  Everything was too shaky, too unfocused, too off balanced, too plain old awful.  And the result is something I am more satisfied with than anything I’ve done before.  Here it is, my latest video:



One Year Later

It’s been not only a year since I filmed with Kelvin, but also one year since I returned home from my second short-term stint in Guatemala (This year is my third and longest stint).  Here's a report on how many times the videos have been seen:

Building House 100: 
YouTube Views: 1,306
Presentation Views: 2,000+
Volunteers watching Building House 100

Why Houses?: 
YouTube Views: 1,382 
Presentation Views: Unknown (rough estimate: 1000+)
4 Other Videos: Combined for 2,078 views on YouTube.

Bonus: Kelvin’s Story: Already over 400 views between YouTube and presentations.
Volunteers watching Clay (Kelvin's Story)
It's been reassuring to see the videos used in presentations.  Unlike the online audience, those receiving presentations to are a captive and engaged audience, who often discuss the videos in groups afterwards.

Thank your for supporting me and encouraging me last year as I made these videos!

Where Would They Be?

The Bible class came to a close and Kelvin volunteered to say the prayer.  As he began to speak, I couldn't resist looking up to observe the classroom.  

I noticed Manuel, who always greets me with a smile.  When he arrived at Potter’s House he was so depressed and neglected that he told his counselors he had no worth and wanted to commit suicide.  Now he openly declares his worth in the Lord.

Manuel.  This shot is a still from my next video.


Sitting nearby was Jaqueline, who’d first arrived with such poor self image that she would cover her face with her hair and wear black to symbolize her pain.  She now walks with confidence and charity.

Jaqueline (Center, in front of the children) on during a prayer walk in a shanty community.  

Finally I looked over to Kelvin.  If he hadn’t made it to Potter’s House, where would he be?  The dump community has little to offer.  No libraries, no athletic facilities or other outlets.  Would the gangs have recruited him or targeted him? Would his anger and shame have consumed him?  Would he be working in the dump with his dad? Would he have found discipleship? “Thank you Lord, that they’re here,” I prayed internally.


Kelvin closing in prayer.


Kelvin finished his prayer and class let out to free time.  As soon as he opened his eyes, he resumed to being his suave self, smiling cooly as several bright eyed girls got up to talk to him.  I chuckled to myself and ducked out to edit the footage I'd just taken.


Kelvin handing out food during the weekly "Treasure's Club" at Potter's House
Kelvin (stage right) helping to lead songs during the weekly "Treasure's Club" at Potter's House
Acting in a skit, Kelvin tries to steal his neighbor's hamburger.  We've all been there.

Monday, June 9, 2014

Breaking the Rules

"Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God."
-2 Corinthians 3:5

I stood awkwardly in a room with five other Potter's House staff members, unsure of what to do with myself.  Silvia, with whom I'd worked with almost exclusively my first two weeks in Guatemala, leaned over a collection of cup cakes and placed a candle in each one.  The five of us waited patiently for a few minutes when finally a young pair of eyes peered shyly into the doorway of the room before entering.  At once we all shouted "Feliz CumpleaƱos!!" and gave a great cheer.  Eight-year-old Andrea, Silvia's sponsor child through Potter's House, walked into the room with a meek smile on her face--until she saw Silvia.  She gave her a big hug and exclaimed, "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten it was my birthday!"



As I watched Andrea open her presents (matching umbrella, rain coat, and boots so Andrea can navigate the often rainy walk home in style), I couldn't help but focus on how tired Silvia was.  She had just finished two weeks straight of overtime work helping me find and furnish an apartment, open a bank account, purchase a phone plan and internet, arrange for transportation to work, find a church, and navigate the red tape foreigner's face when moving to the country.  She came to work early and left late.  And despite her exhaustion, she mustered the effort to arrange for something every child deserves--to be celebrated on her birthday.

A Normal Day at the Office


Silvia's effort is the essence of what it's like to work at Potter's House.  There's no such thing as a normal office job here.  The children we serve occupy the same building for lunch and school.  On any given day, there will be a vocational class for adults, a celebration service for the elderly, day camp for the kids, and so on.

Just next to my office there's a classroom of high school school students who have learned they can stop by my office any time to chat or discuss their communications-related projects.  My presence has allowed them the first lessons about cameras they've ever had.

My office.

Starting with a Vacation

It didn't sit well with me when I, upon arriving in Guatemala, learned that the first item on my schedule was an all expenses paid staff retreat to Guatemala's fanciest resort.  A donor had given a large gift with the special instructions that it be used to give the staff a break.  So instead of working with the people of the dump, I climbed onto a tour bus headed for rural Guatemala.

During the course of the retreat my attitude shifted upon reflecting how hard staff members, like Silvia, worked.  Providing spiritual and physical service to the people of the dump community is a most tiring labor of love.  They were due for some spiritual and physical restoration themselves!

So, strangely, my first video from my time in Guatemala is not about the dump.  It's a "thank you" video to the donors who made the retreat possible.  I managed to capture a marriage proposal at the end, you might want to check it out. :)




Back to the Dump


Life has returned to normal at Potter's House and I'm now working on bigger, better videos.  The focus of my work is again on the people of the dump community, where it's supposed to be.  But for a short while, it felt right to break the rules and focus on the staff.  It can be easily forgotten what significant rest and salary they give up in order to serve the poor.

Silvia returned to work too, as busy as ever.  But one part of her routine will not feel like work to her.  Every week, she leaves her office at lunchtime and walks down the stairs to visit Andrea, who receives a lunch and education through Potter's House.  She won't be alone--A few other staff members will be walking down to visit their sponsor children too.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Guatemala: Day One

"The Journey of a Thousand Miles begins with one...flight.  No, two flights, a layover, and a snoring neighbor."
-Joe Dorris, butchering an otherwise reliable proverb

And so it begins.  

On Friday May 2nd I arrived in Guatemala City feeling great excitement that I'd made it and relief that I was free from the ridiculous confinement (for a tall guy) that is modern airplane seating.  I smiled awkwardly at the customs clerk as I hoisted my custom-wrapped video equipment "luggage piece," which, on this particular evening looked eerily reminiscent of a Cuban missile, onto the security belt to be scanned by the Cuban missile detector.

After receiving a friendly "bienvenido" from the customs clerk, I stepped outside to a grin-inducing warm breeze.  For one year, my life, work, and worship will be based in Guatemala.  Who am I? What will I be doing? See the links above for a refresher!  If you prefer the short answer, well, my name is Joe.  I'm going to be working in a dump.

Hola!

Welcome to the "Joe in Guatemala Blog!" As with most trip blogs, this is where you will encounter updates on my dealings.  But with this first post, I would like to make clear that my interest in your lives is greater than ever.  My hope is to interact with all of you over the course of the year.  Certainly, you can wait for me to reach out to you.  But please, if you feel the urge to catch up, please shoot me a message (See side bar for contact info!).

Some Guatemalan's proudly displaying their catch, a great white shark.


Navigating this Blog

If you are one of those wonderful people who have committed to pray for me, you will find that the link above entitled "Prayer Requests" will be updated every time I send out a new blog post.

Amidst the sea of blogs, books, websites, etc. that you could possibly be reading, thank you for following my little blog.  Thank you for reading, thank you for making this trip possible, and thank you for your role in my life leading up to this point.  I hope the words of each post will bring you joy.

Let the fun begin!

Love,
Joe Dorris