Hope Against Hope

I think Carrie said it best, concerning the medical field in Glamoč (pronounced Glă-m ah ch)...

The weather set the tone for the day...rainy, cold, windy. I went to a small village that was used as a staging area during the war. Now it is used by the military to dispose of ordinance. It is considered the end of the road; the place for the poorest of the poor. About 3000 people live there and are served by an ill equipped clinic. The building is worn, tired and falling down. You could get hurt by walking in. I had the opportunity to talk to a nurse who was not afraid to "tell it like it is" as if I could not tell by just looking around. They are short on even the basics to provide medical care. Their 'ambulance' (pictured below) runs intermittently. People in the village bring the sick and injured to the clinic on sleds when it does not run. I asked her how they deal with all of this? She said that they use humor and work together as a team. Good advice for all of us.

Even though they have many physical needs, what they really need is hope. A hope and a future that only God can provide.

Glamoč (pronounced Glă-m ah ch) Ambulance.  Doesn't always start.

Entrance to the Glamoč clinic. Wait, the snow plow is in much better condition than the ambulance???  Also notice the condition of the entry awning cover.

 As for the school?  290 students attend this K-9 school from all around the town.  Glamač has a population of 3,000 meaning less than 13% (when you include the high school) are of school age. The fact that only 18 first grade students now attend, each year dramatically decreasing,  speaks again to the aging population.  The teachers here seem like teachers everywhere, except that they seem to see their job and success of their student's successful entry into college as crucial hope for each.  That they teach in such conditions and are succeeding in that task is quite a story!  Against the odds, most attend college.  Few return.  Their principal is proud of their accomplishments and the school.  He showed us the always locked computer room and the library.  Having enough books for each student to read one required text a month is yet another size-able accomplishment!  In so many ways, hope against hope is somehow finding its way here.

The K-9 school.

 For Carrie and I, the story and the people are quite complex here in Glamoč.  Where do we start?  Should we even start and continue?  We return tomorrow, me teaching two science lessons in two classrooms, one chemistry and one physics.  Brad teaching about motivating students.  While our instruction has expected outcomes designed for success, thinking and engaging students, the question remains,  Is it what our Father wishes to continue to honor Him as His children?  If so, how and with what?  There remain many questions for Carrie and I, but we know who has the answer, and will listen to Him long after our week and return home.  For both of us, our eyes have been opened wider in appreciation for where we are and where we live, and we are thankful for the chance to see with our eyes those whose hope against hope humble us, but whose eternal destiny stands in the balance, the one who provides the greatest eternal hope of all, God.