Cinderella story?

I remember studying in my cross-cultural communication class that a typical American´s mindset is very positive. We say and believe "You can do anything you put your mind to." We read books to our children where a train trying to climb an impossible hill says, "I think I can, I think I can," and he does. And, we sing and love songs like, "I believe I can fly/I believe I can touch the sky." We hold fast to the American dream, that anyone, through perseverance and education, can "make something of themselves".

I remember discussing that, amidst American prosperity, it is easy to have a positive view of life. However, when you transition to look at the rest of the world, that kind of idealism is difficult to find. Poverty, war, sickness, and other difficulties have their effect on the personality of a society. It has been my observation here in Honduras that, even among the wealthier people, education is not necessarily considered to be of great value. I have been in situations where an adult will encourage a child to copy off the Internet, copy from a classmate, or, the adult will simply do the work for the child, instead of "setting high expectations". You don´t hear a lot of Cinderella stories, where someone through education was able to rise above the poverty. In fact, most of the stories that even come close typically end with, "And then they left and went to the United States."

But here is a good Cinderella story...

On March 23rd we celebrated the graduations of two university students from the Hogar--the Hogar´s first two graduates ever. The university program has been around for about six years now, so it is safe to say that this was a long awaited day.

Many of the university students have not done well in college: they struggle to make good grades, struggle with the social pressures of university and of that stage of life in general, and have had to drop out of the program for one reason or another. Others get to university, realize the difficulty level, and decide not to continue on in their education. The perseverance and desire to keep moving forward, which are necessary to continuing in education, have not commonly been displayed.

These two students overcame many obstacles, some too painful to mention, in order to get to graduation day. No doubt their lives would have looked very different if it were not for God´s grace and his work in some very key people. Before these graduates were even born, God was working in Mami Carmen´s life (the woman who started the orphanage), Linda and Chema´s lives (the parents where the boys live), and the lives of countless others--staff memebers, board members, donors, padrinos, friends, family members, etc. -- so that this day could be possible.

My favorite part of the story is why these graduates say they were able to do what they did. I have been to my share of graduations in the United States, experienced my share of graduation parties, and read my share of graduation cards, all of which point to the graduate as the person to be praised and celebrated. But this graduation was not about "I did it, I did it, I made this great accomplishment." These students, when asked to speak at a small graduation party we had afterwards, were quick to recognize the work of God in their lives and the blessings he had given to them through others. It was encouraging and eye opening all at once, to realize that these students were not graduating because they had embraced the American dream and American value of education more quickly than their peers. They were graduating because God had made it possible, God had given them an opportunity, and God had given them the strength to acheive their goals. They thanked God, and with tears in their eyes, thanked the people that had surrounded them and helped them move forward. They talked about wanting to be an example for the other young people and children in the Hogar, and how they want to give back to what has been their family all their lives.

My prayer is that I would let this sink in and change the way I live my life here. For example, with my own students and with the students at the Hogar, that I would not be pushing education or perseverance on their own, but that I would be teaching about God and about how he makes all things possible.