Cora

Dioscora, or Cora for short, has been my most consistent reader over the past three weeks. I know these reading sessions are not a competition about who comes the most or anything like that, but I have been so encouraged by my conversations with Cora and the fact that she is always here every morning.

Cora is a 19-year-old young lady who lives in Talisay City by herself in order to have the opportunity to work at the Gaisano Mall—the mall that is right down the street from the church building where my team eats most of our meals and goes grocery shopping at. She works 7 days a week from 9am to 6pm with a one-hour lunch break. That by itself is pretty impressive for any 19-year-old, but for Cora, it doesn’t stop there.  Most of the time, Cora is also asked to work an hour of overtime…which she cannot refuse or she will lose her job. Not only does Cora work extremely hard in children’s section of the department store at the Mall to make her minimum wage salary of around 350pesos (about $8USD) per day, but she also chooses to send the majority of her salary back to her family instead of keeping it for herself!

The first week I read with her, I always started our conversations off by asking her what she did after she got off work the night before. I quickly learned the pattern was always the same: go home, wash her uniform for work, eat a small dinner, and then go to bed. She doesn’t have time to do much more than that. The workers have to purchase their uniforms and normally have two sets. Unfortunately, the zipper is broken on Cora’s second uniform, and she does not have the money to repair it. Thus, she washes her one and only uniform each night after she gets home.

Cora has impressed me with every conversation we have had. She has an adequate level of English conversational skills, and her desire to improve herself further motivates her to wake up an extra hour early each morning to come and practice her English before going to work. Not only does Cora attend each and every day that she is signed up for, but she takes the time at night to pre-read and answer all of the questions written in the workbook thoroughly. In the second picture below, you can see a sample page our of Cora’s workbook. Sadly, I don’t think I would be as diligent and dedicated to preparing for a lesson where I don’t receive any grade, but she is.

As my first reader of the day, every day, Cora gets my morning off to a great start. I am so thankful that God has blessed Cora with the ability to come to class each day. He has blessed me so richly with the conversations I have been able to have. Cora has inspired and taught me to take every day as an opportunity to not only work hard but also be continually passionate about whatever God puts in my life. Cora has taken a hard situation and has chosen to serve God by being loyal to her family even in a time where she could be completely selfish and keep all her earnings for herself. She is thankful for the opportunity to simply work even if that means living far from her family and rarely getting to visit them. She is thankful for the opportunity to work even if that means working long hours every day of the week. She is thankful for the opportunity to work even if it is only for a temporary period of time (she is a contract worker and her contract runs out in August).

How many of us would be that thankful for the simple opportunities that arise every day that call us to work hard?

How you can pray for us: Pray a special prayer for Cora. Pray that she will never loose her sense of motivation and the drive she currently possess to strive to continually better herself even in the most difficult situations. Pray that her job will be extended so that the opportunities will continue to be there for her to provide and give back to a family who has given her everything. Pray that God will continue to bless Cora in all that she attempts and that He will continue to open doors that lead her in the path that he has planned for her to follow. To God be the glory!