{"id":2302,"date":"2019-09-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/live-ati-pt-2025.pantheonsite.io\/?p=2302"},"modified":"2024-12-17T17:34:35","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T17:34:35","slug":"acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\/","title":{"rendered":"Acts of Service: Returning to Guatemala"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Stephanie Irwin, PT, DPT<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Lech Walesa stated,\u00a0\u201cThe thing that lies at the foundation of positive change, the way I see it, is service to fellow human beings.\u201d What a powerful statement. An act of service, big or small, sets in motion a hopeful state of mind and a connectedness beyond explanation.<\/p>\n

It is this connectedness that drives my passionate zeal and makes me feel most alive in the world. From my neighborhood soup kitchen, to local hospitals, to catch up schools in Rwanda Africa, I have been blessed with the opportunity to serve others in many different capacities around the world. In all of those opportunities, I have never come across a more genuine people than those I met in Guatemala.<\/p>\n

In 2016 I traveled to Guatemala for the first time with a team of US clinicians with ATI Mission Works to provide rehab services at the Quique Cer\u00f3n Foundaci\u00f3n in Esquipulas, Guatemala and various cities throughout the region. When we first arrived in Esquipulas, I was immediately reminded of the mutual joy and true gift of genuine service to one another as human beings. From the moment our team piled out of the van we were warmly greeted and heartily embraced by a man named Quique and his mother, the founders of the clinic where we spent most of our time. Within a few short minutes after greetings of \u2018Hola\u2019, \u2018Bienvenidos\u2019, and \u2018Gracias\u201d (and of course multiple hugs), we were familia! The hospitality of Quique and Momma Cer\u00f3n was unparalleled, but it didn\u2019t stop there. Everyone we encountered extended generosity beyond expectation. Dinners at a neighbor\u2019s home, dancing with locals before our community outreach presentation, salsa lessons with new friends, games with the children and nuns at the orphanage, breakfast and morning stories with Sister Dina\u2026.the list is endless. Our team expected and prepared to spend our time in Guatemala serving people in need of rehab care, but we quickly found that we were the recipients of an even greater service \u2013 love.<\/p>\n

Acts of service transcend race, religion, age and culture. And a genuine act of service cannot truly be given without love for our fellow neighbor. As I prepare to return to Guatemala, I know that I am returning to a place I call home. Where love, kindness, and generosity will be given and reciprocated. Guatemala is one of many places that remind me that none of us could be where we are without the other, like the South African Ubuntu philosophy, \u201cI am because you are.\u201d To me, there is nothing more fulfilling or gratifying than witnessing the power of our ability to love one another.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Stephanie Irwin, PT, DPT Lech Walesa stated,\u00a0\u201cThe thing that lies at the foundation of positive change, the way I see […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ati-community"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nActs of Service: Returning to Guatemala | ATI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Stephanie Irwin, PT, DPTLech Walesa stated, \u201cThe thing that lies at the foundation of positive change, the way I see it, is service to fellow human beings.\u201d What a powerful statement. An act of service, big or small, sets in motion a hopeful state of mind and a connectedness beyond explanation.It is this connectedness that drives my passionate zeal and makes me feel most\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Acts of Service: Returning to Guatemala | ATI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Stephanie Irwin, PT, DPTLech Walesa stated, \u201cThe thing that lies at the foundation of positive change, the way I see it, is service to fellow human beings.\u201d What a powerful statement. An act of service, big or small, sets in motion a hopeful state of mind and a connectedness beyond explanation.It is this connectedness that drives my passionate zeal and makes me feel most\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ATI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ATIPhysicalTherapy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-10T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-12-17T17:34:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"abbymccallsmith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@atipt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@atipt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"abbymccallsmith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"abbymccallsmith\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e2e6098ef9dcfe7041d906350eb43d21\"},\"headline\":\"Acts of Service: Returning to Guatemala\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-10T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-17T17:34:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":452,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"ATI Community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\\\/\",\"name\":\"Acts of Service: Returning to Guatemala | ATI\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-10T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-17T17:34:35+00:00\",\"description\":\"By Stephanie Irwin, PT, DPTLech Walesa stated, \u201cThe thing that lies at the foundation of positive change, the way I see it, is service to fellow human beings.\u201d What a powerful statement. An act of service, big or small, sets in motion a hopeful state of mind and a connectedness beyond explanation.It is this connectedness that drives my passionate zeal and makes me feel most\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Acts of Service: Returning to Guatemala\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"ATI Physical Therapy\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"ATI Physical Therapy\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/f0cadca461d9dbc05695542ca656dbf4.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/f0cadca461d9dbc05695542ca656dbf4.png\",\"width\":2236,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"ATI Physical Therapy\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/ATIPhysicalTherapy\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/atipt\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e2e6098ef9dcfe7041d906350eb43d21\",\"name\":\"abbymccallsmith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fd1b5f79e595c30719abf3aa478d2be6177e0dfa24a0db6373f80746b34979b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fd1b5f79e595c30719abf3aa478d2be6177e0dfa24a0db6373f80746b34979b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fd1b5f79e595c30719abf3aa478d2be6177e0dfa24a0db6373f80746b34979b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"abbymccallsmith\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/author\\\/abbymccallsmith\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Acts of Service: Returning to Guatemala | ATI","description":"By Stephanie Irwin, PT, DPTLech Walesa stated, \u201cThe thing that lies at the foundation of positive change, the way I see it, is service to fellow human beings.\u201d What a powerful statement. An act of service, big or small, sets in motion a hopeful state of mind and a connectedness beyond explanation.It is this connectedness that drives my passionate zeal and makes me feel most","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Acts of Service: Returning to Guatemala | ATI","og_description":"By Stephanie Irwin, PT, DPTLech Walesa stated, \u201cThe thing that lies at the foundation of positive change, the way I see it, is service to fellow human beings.\u201d What a powerful statement. An act of service, big or small, sets in motion a hopeful state of mind and a connectedness beyond explanation.It is this connectedness that drives my passionate zeal and makes me feel most","og_url":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\/","og_site_name":"ATI","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ATIPhysicalTherapy\/","article_published_time":"2019-09-10T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-12-17T17:34:35+00:00","author":"abbymccallsmith","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@atipt","twitter_site":"@atipt","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"abbymccallsmith","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\/"},"author":{"name":"abbymccallsmith","@id":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e2e6098ef9dcfe7041d906350eb43d21"},"headline":"Acts of Service: Returning to Guatemala","datePublished":"2019-09-10T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-12-17T17:34:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\/"},"wordCount":452,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["ATI Community"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\/","url":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\/","name":"Acts of Service: Returning to Guatemala | ATI","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-09-10T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-12-17T17:34:35+00:00","description":"By Stephanie Irwin, PT, DPTLech Walesa stated, \u201cThe thing that lies at the foundation of positive change, the way I see it, is service to fellow human beings.\u201d What a powerful statement. An act of service, big or small, sets in motion a hopeful state of mind and a connectedness beyond explanation.It is this connectedness that drives my passionate zeal and makes me feel most","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/acts-of-service-returning-to-guatemala\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Acts of Service: Returning to Guatemala"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/","name":"ATI Physical Therapy","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/#organization","name":"ATI Physical Therapy","url":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/f0cadca461d9dbc05695542ca656dbf4.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/f0cadca461d9dbc05695542ca656dbf4.png","width":2236,"height":630,"caption":"ATI Physical Therapy"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ATIPhysicalTherapy\/","https:\/\/x.com\/atipt"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e2e6098ef9dcfe7041d906350eb43d21","name":"abbymccallsmith","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd1b5f79e595c30719abf3aa478d2be6177e0dfa24a0db6373f80746b34979b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd1b5f79e595c30719abf3aa478d2be6177e0dfa24a0db6373f80746b34979b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd1b5f79e595c30719abf3aa478d2be6177e0dfa24a0db6373f80746b34979b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"abbymccallsmith"},"url":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/author\/abbymccallsmith\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2302"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2302\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3638,"href":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2302\/revisions\/3638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}