Before we even met Hilma, we knew her name.
When we arrived in Belize (Saturday July 11th) we spent one night on the Ambergris Caye with the team of Sports Servants volunteers who had just completed their first week of camps and were taking a weekend break. Laura (a recent Vandy grad from Vermont who will be starting her first year as a teacher in DC in just a few weeks) had already formed an incredible bond with Hilma during the first week of camp. We knew Hilma was an incredible football (soccer) player....she has a reputation for being extremely talented.
And she easily lived up to that reputation. The first day I saw her play at co-ed camp (Monday July 13th) in San Narciso I was amazed. She made it look so effortless. At only about 5 feet she is a complete power house. She is one of those people who have that celebrity quality that puts them in an ageless category. I had no idea she was 17...because she really just seemed so much larger than life.
Hilma had arranged for the girls in our villages (Cristo Rey and San Narciso) to play an actual game with the girls in San Victor on Tuesday night. I can't really tell you how big of a deal this was because the girls rarely get the chance to play, with a team, in an actual game. They have no organized sports. I know its so hard to wrap your mind around but there is no YMCA, no city league, no church league. nada.
Our Tuesday night started around 6:30 as we (Abby, Girls Camp Director) drove around to several different villages picking up the girls for the game. It seemed ridiculous at the time but looking back it was so much fun. I think by the time we got to the game we had around 19 people in the 'ole toyota stick shift truck...including 11 players, 1 sub, 1 pom pom girl (me), 3 guy coaches, someone's mom and 3 little sisters.
We drove FOREVER down this long, dirt, unlit road until we finally got to San Victor only to find the field dark (no lights on), the village deserted and no team to play. But Hilma was on it. In 20 mintues...poof...field lights on, the San Victor girls team ready to play and what felt like the entire village appearing out of their houses to watch the girls play. It was like something out of a movie. And of course, our girls smoked San Victor 5-0.
Looking back I think Michael would say that was the night he clicked with Hilma.
Here are the girls before the game....Hilma is on the end on the right holding the football.
Check out this link on YouTube where Zac is interviewing Laura before the game. Hilma is featured in the clip and another precious girl Enelli is the one who speaks at the end...she is adorable!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=616gcptX7Fs
Up until Wednesday I was really intimidated by Hilma. I'm old...not that great at soccer...white....the list goes on...so I couldn't imagine Hilma wanting to hang out with me....what did I have to offer her? But on Wednesday something clicked between us. I could tell there was a lot more to this girl than what was on the surface. She began to ask me questions...just little things about marriage, what its like to live in the US...just little things and I could tell she was really wanting to be my friend. I can't put my finger on why that schocked me but it totally did.
On Thursday, Hilma invited us (me, Abby, Laura (all volunteers) and Perla and Edna (Belizean friends) to her house for dinner. After dinner Hilma started again with the questions...saying she wanted our advice. And then it was like this veil was lifted from my eyes and I began to see Hilma as this little person who has lived through more in her 17 years than I am sure I ever will. Her story is equally heartbreaking and inspiring. It is amazing how you judge someone and then find out what they are really going through. In the midst of all her life turmoil, the Lord called her to be his child and she is a Christian, which is the most comforting part of this entire story.
And that's when I fell in love. With Hilma.
I guess its important now to mention that Michael and I lived in different villages when we were with Sports Servants. He lived in the town of Corozal with the guys and I lived in the village of Cristo Rey with the girls. We had the option to stay together but it just made more sense to live with our teams. And it was one of the best decisions we made. So this info is important because we only saw each other about once a day...sometimes twice...but we really only had about 15 mintues each day, just the two of us, to talk.
So we really didn't know until the last night (Friday) that we BOTH wanted to take Hilma back home with us...to be our daughter. Yep...we always said we wanted to adopt a teenager.
But we knew that Hilma wasn't really ours to adopt. Even though it isn't an ideal situation, she does still live with a loving mother and she basically helps raise her two little sisters, who adore her. I was so emotional at the time that I couldn't really think outside the box...how can we help Hilma? I know we are meant to to something here...but what?
Enter Mr. Big Ideas...Michael Martin....with the "Let's send Hilma back to high school!"
Enter Mrs. Details...Callen Martin....I've been told I'm great at execution.
Hilma had been out of school for 3 years. She basically graduated from their 7th/8th grade level (called Standard 6) and had to quit school because her dad (who isn't very involved in her life) wouldn't pay for it anymore. Oh yea...there are no public schools in Belize...none. Everyone has to pay if they want to go and the school systems are for the majority, in financial need.
So on Friday night when we approached Hilma about setting up a scholarship fund for her to go back to high school, she was elated!!!! Tears, hugs, thank yous, more tears....excitement....it was so much fun. She just kept saying "thank you for this opportunity" through her tears.
I have never met a more deserving person in my life than Hilma.
So we all put our heads together, everybody, Abby, Laura, Perla, Edna, Zac, Micahel and I and we came up with a plan with Hilma. In 14 hours we helped her choose a school, Cornerstone Presbyterian High School. It's close to her village, Perla and Edna already go there, Sports Servants has a connection with the principal there and most importantly, they have a football (soccer) team. We came up with a list of things that she has to do to maintain the scholarship: like email Micahel and I once a month (hopefully more) with her grades, books she is reading, what she is learning, etc.
That night (Friday) we were having the girls (Hilma, Perla and Edna) over for a slumber party (it was their first ever, and their idea...more on that later)...and we were exchanging addresses. When Hilma handed me her address, it took me a minute for it to sink in. It was the first time I had heard her last name. Martinez. Hilma Martinez. MARTINez. I couldn't believe my eyes. Michael and I always joked about adopting a little boy with the last name Martinez from the Dominican so we could have a Major League Baseball Player as a child. Well, different country, different gender, different sport...but we got our Martinez. I almost started crying...I said "Hilma, Martin, Martinez...same...we are family." And she said "you are my mom and mike is my dad"...I don't know what it feels like to be a parent but since that moment I think I have a general idea. It was like my heart just opened up in a way I didn't know it could.
Michael said to me at some point that night...this is what we were missing. Hilma is what we were missing in our lives. It is like we lived our entire lives for God to get us to this point...to meet this girl.
Then came the toughest part of the week...saying goodbye. We spent a few minutes on Saturday morning getting Hilma's mother's blessing for her to go back to high school. Her mom was so grateful and it was obvious that she loves Hilma very much. Then we said goodbye. It was awful.
Michael and I were insanely sad as we flew from the main land to the Caye for our vacation portion of the trip. It was mind blowing...we were at this fabulous resort and all we could think about was seeing Hilma again, getting back to the mainland. From that point on God just worked it all out. We were able to get word to Hilma that we were coming back on Tuesday. We were able to track down the principal at Cornerstone to meet with us on Tuesday about Hilma being accepted to the school. There was a place for us to stay (for free) at the lovely Hotel Maya in Corozal. Detail after detail fell into place which made for a fabulous day with Hilma and totally worth leaving our vacation to see her.
And brace yourself. Some of you (my mom) know how much I LOVE school supplies and shopping for school supplies. After we met with the principal of Cornerstone, we took Hilma school supply shopping!!! While there were no polka dotted trapper keepers (my fave ever), we did find her a sweet backpack and all the essentials including a Recorder....does that bring back memories or what? She has to have it for music class...I think I can still rock Hot Cross Buns on that thing.
We also set Hilma up with her first email account that day. So far she has been great about emailing us...of course we would love to hear from her every day but we are so impressed and encouraged that she has picked up on it so quickly. Access to computers is pretty hard to get in the villages and we are hoping she will have more computer access when she starts school.
Which is actually THIS Monday. She will do a three week summer session and then she will start her real school year on the 24th of August. She has an open house at Cornerstone on Monday at 8:30 for new students and Travis, one of the SS volunteers will be going with her, which is such a blessing. Michael and I wish so much that we could be there for her first day of school. It is actually kind of killing us that we won't be there. But we pray that she knows how much we love her and most importantly that she knows how much the Lord loves her.
We miss Hilma so much. It's crazy how someone you know for such a short time can make such an impression on your life. We thank God for putting Hilma in our lives. We pray we get to see her again soon. We ask you to join with us in praying for her, that she will thrive in school, that she will continue to walk closely with the Lord, that she will know how much we love her and how much God loves her. We just miss her so much.
