Christmas Video

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Mission Accomplished!

I'll post more later...when I can feel my legs again. For now, I just wanted to post that I officially finished my first marathon! 4 hours 30 minutes and 36 seconds! Thanks again for your support!

One week!

I can't believe the day is almost here-I have one week until the California International Marathon! I am really excited to complete this challenge and truly appreciate all the support and encouragement you have given me. I have about 6 people ready to run alongside me during different parts of the marathon and I'm looking forward to sharing this experience with my friends.

The Death of Me

Not very many people can say they know the day they will die...I have a sneaking suspicion I may know the day and even a time range...December 6, 2009 between the hours of 7:00am and 11:15am. These are the hours in which I will be running my first marathon. Okay, now I don't really think it will be the death of me but it might bring me closer. Training has been taking up a lot of my "free time" which was already hard to come by. I have enjoyed the challenge and I am looking forward to the actual race but I can also say that I can't wait for it to be over! This whole thing started from a challenge at a summer conference called CIY and now in just a few weeks I will be completing the challenge! All the money I raise for the run will be going to bring clean water to a community in Malawi, Africa through playpumps international. Please read my support letter and pray about supporting playpumps either through my marathon or through their website. I have included my support letter in this post and ask that you would consider supporting the children in Malawi.

I hope this letter finds you well and getting ready for the quickly approaching holiday season! I can’t believe it is already November - I feel like I just returned from India! This year has been great as I graduated school last December, and was then offered a job at our church as the student ministries coordinator - Matt is now my boss! It is working out really well and I think we make a great team. I can’t imagine doing anything else right now.

This summer we took 150 high school students to a conference in Southern California where everyone was given a challenge card, which contained one of many possible challenges. A group of 4 junior girls and myself decided to open our cards together so that we could keep each other accountable for our challenges. I was the last one to open my card and on it reads, “26.2- commit to being healthier. Train and run a marathon before next summer.” While I have always been active, I have never been a long distance runner by any means! I have already started my training and actually ran a half marathon in preparation for my full marathon on December 6.

I have decided to raise support for my marathon and donate all proceeds to PlayPumps International. This organization supports a cause that has really been on my heart - providing clean water for communities that do not have access. 1.1 billion people in our world do not have access to clean drinking water, which leads to premature deaths. Every 15 seconds a child dies of a preventable disease related to unsafe water. In addition, in many communities, young girls walk an average of 5 miles a day to get this unsanitary water, which results in the girls not being able to attend school.

PlayPumps International installs wells in areas that don’t have access to clean water. These wells are attached to a merry-go-round, and every time kids spin the merry-go-round, water is pumped from the ground. Not only does this system provide clean drinking water, but it also provides a place for little kids to play. PlayPumps also hires local men to maintain the system. In addition, girls get the opportunity to attend school because they don’t have to walk for hours a day to get water.

I would love for you to join me in bringing awareness to this cause and this organization. I also ask that you would consider sponsoring me as I run 26.2 miles to bring awareness. All the support raised will go towards a PlayPump in Malawi, Africa. My goal is to raise $2500. If you are able to support this challenge of mine, you can make checks payable to PlayPumps International. Thank you for always supporting me in my adventures! This is by far the most challenging for me, so I ask that you keep me in your thoughts and prayers-especially as December 6 gets closer.

With love and appreciation,
Heather

I would also like to add-I was not the only one who received a challenge at CIY and by the time I cross the finish line one of our students will have memorized the first chapter of Ephesians...on his way to memorizing the whole book by July 2010! Go Taylor!

1/2 Marathon down...

I ran my first official 1/2 marathon race and boy was it exhilarating! I'll tell ya-sometimes it is difficult to go out and run 15 miles around town but I had a lot of fun at the race. There were thousands of other people there walking and running, bands every couple miles and lots of people lining the streets to cheer for people. My official finishing time was 2:08:15 which is quite a bit faster than my training pace so I am excited about that! When running for over two hours straight there are lots of interesting thoughts that pop into my head and I sort of wished I had brought my cell phone along so I could Tweet updates.

Since I didn't think ahead to bring my phone I will recap some of those thoughts here:

Mile 1: Are you kidding me...why is it so stinkin' cold?! (We started at 7:30am)

Mile 3: Are you kidding me-it's only been 3 miles?!

Mile 5: Oh yeah! I can do this...who chose that band? They are terrible!
Mile 5.5: Just saw a girl with a shirt that said "I'd rather be at church"-laughed to myself then pondered whether that was because she really enjoyed church or because she really hated running.

Mile 6: Got passed by some kids that looked all of 11 years old and realized I'm not even 1/2 way finished.

Mile 7: Took some Cytomax from the volunteers handing it out at the hydration station, spilled it all over myself...great, now I'm sticky.

Mile 8: I think the guy in front of me pooped his pants...I've heard of that in the Olympics and the Boston Marathon but come on...this is the Cow Town 1/2 marathon...take a few to use the porta-potties!

Mile 10: If someone offered me $100 to chop my foot off I would consider...my left foot is hurting so bad, ow...ow...ow. Dang it, an old man just passed me.

Mile 13: this is by far the longest mile ever...is this some sick joke?!

Mile 13.1: How am I going to do double that in a couple months?!!

I actually really enjoyed the whole race atmosphere and also like my cowbell finishing medal! I'm really glad I did the 1/2 and will consider carrying my phone with me for the full-if not to Twitter at least for use in case I need someone to pick me up and drive me to the finish line :-)

"Kids these days"

I'm always a little frustrated when I hear people talking about "kids these days" because they can have such a negative view of today's youth. I happen to love junior high and high school students and while I realize they can be a little noisy and energetic at times (or all the time) they are kids and they have some of the most amazing hearts that I have ever seen. As a youth group we have a goal to raise $5,000 to put towards a playpump Last night at Impact (our junior high service) I was standing by the information table which also has our Well Project donation box on it when I saw a group of seventh grade girls walk up with wide grins and fists of waded up money. They began stuffing the money into the donation box so I asked them if they had been saving up their allowance and they proceeded to tell me that they had been setting up a lemonade stand to raise money for the well. How amazing! These girls spent hours of their weekends in the 100+ degree heat to raise money to provide people they will never meet with clean drinking water. "Kids these days" have hearts for things far greater than themselves and want to make an impact in the world like we have never seen...sometimes they just need a little direction and guidance on where to spend their energy and creativity. "Kids these days" have more faith in our Savior than most adults I have encountered and more dedication to learn more about Him. "Kids these days" have a heart to serve the people that "adults these days" don't. Encourage the kids of these days and just see what happens!

26.2 and play pumps

Okay, so I am about 4 weeks into my marathon training and feeling pretty good...a little tired but good! This past Friday I ran 13 miles as part of my training and while I could not run another mile I wasn't feeling too incredibly bad. I was right on for my 10 minute mile pace. December 6 is my marathon date and I just pray that it doesn't rain. I don't mind the cold-it will be better than the 95 degrees now but I can't take the rain!

So, what am I running for? Other than to prove to our students that you can do anything you put your mind to and that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Phil. 4:13) I am running to raise money for a project that has really been on my heart.

There are 1.1 billion people in the world who do not have access to clean drinking water.

Young girls have to walk an average of 5 miles a day to get water, carrying up to 40 pounds of water.

The water they get is often contaminated.

These young girls cannot go to school because they have to get the water every day.

Every 15 seconds a child dies of a preventable disease related to unsafe water…every 15 seconds…that is 5,760 kids every day…that’s over 172 thousand every month!

The organization I am running for is PlayPumps International. PlayPumps is an amazing organization that installs some really cool water pumps in Africa. These aren't your ordinary pumps-these ones are connected to a merry-go-round that kids can play on. Each spin of the merry-go-round pumps water into an above ground, sanitary holding tank that the community can pump water from. PlayPumps also hires local men to install and maintain the pumps and guarantees them a job for at least 10 years. These pumps not only provide safe, clean drinking water for a community but the pumps offer an opportunity for girls to go to school to get an education, for men to get local jobs to earn money to support their family, play equipment for kids to enjoy and of course clean water to cut down the amount of deaths caused by contaminated water.

I tell you about this organization so you can spread the awareness and check out the organization for yourself. A little goes a long way and clean water is something that every person should be able to enjoy.

Check out the website www.playpumps.org to get ideas on how you can support a playpump in Africa!

Kids Play. Water Pumps.

CIY

A few weeks ago we had the great opportunity of taking 150 people (high school students and adults) to a Christ in Youth (CIY) conference in Southern California. CIY is an incredible organization that hosts conferences all over the US and even overseas. They bring in great bands and gifted speakers and have great programs designed to inspire and challenge high school students.

Here are some of the highlights from the conference:

2 girls from our group committed their lives to Christ for the first time.
6 students were baptized in the ocean.
Dozens of students committed to serving in full time ministry.
Dozens of students committed to serving in missions.

At the end of the week CIY handed out a sealed envelope to everyone and explained that what was inside was a challenge that was to be completed within the year. The CIY director explained that it should only be opened if you were completely serious about finishing the task that was inside the envelope. A few of us decided that we would open the cards together and that we would support and encourage each other in whatever task we opened. I'll tell you my challenge in a minute. A lot of our students decided to open the cards and we are very excited to see how God uses the tasks. Some of our students were challenged to take an overseas mission trip within a year, provide breakfast for the teachers at their school every month, fast one day a week for a whole year, raise $2000 to pay for 10 students to attend the conference next year and one of my favorites...do something nice and unexpected for your youth pastor once a month for a year. There are lots of others but those are the ones I can remember right now.

So, here we go...the card I opened said that I need to train and run a marathon within a year to raise money for a clean water organization! I'm actually really excited about it and have already started training. My marathon date is December 6...26.2 miles here I come! I have decided to raise money for playpumps.org and will explain more about that ministry later.

All in all, CIY was a great week-lots of awesome conversations and decisions and I'm already looking forward to next year!

Any running tips?

Kiva

Okay, I have a lot to write about from CIY and Amplify but first I need to tell you about this organization I just heard about- Kiva. Kiva is a micro-lending organization that allows you to lend money to an entrepreneur either in another country (and a few in the US). These entrepreneurs are working people living in poverty that want to start up a business or make a repair on their existing business in order to support their families. They aren't looking for handouts, they just need a little financial assistance to get things up and running. The lowest amount you can lend is $25.00 but it is a loan-the entrepreneur pays you back-and then you can loan to another entrepreneur! You even get to see a picture of the person you are lending to, read a little bit about them and you can pick what industry you want to support...health, agriculture, transportation, clothing, etc. Go check it out while you wait for my stories of our summer camps!

Summer!

Summertime in youth ministry is my favorite time of the year. Summertime is crazy busy but totally rewarding and so much fun! In just a couple days we leave for Biola University with 130 high school students and 20 leaders for a Christ In Youth Conference (CIY) which will be attended by thousands of other high schoolers. This is going to be an awesome week and I hope that you will join me in praying for all the students and that they will be open to being changed by God.

We will return from CIY with just one day before leaving for Amplify-Junior High Summer Camp in Tahoe. We are taking about 80 junior high students to summer camp and pray that they will be changed as well and excited to show their community the love of Christ when they return home.

I always look forward to these camps and conferences as our students walk away challenged, changed and refreshed in Christ. I look forward to writing again in a couple weeks to update you on all the exciting happenings from camp!

Why I'm a junior high leader...

As the school year comes to an end my junior high small group is taking a break for the summer. My wonderful girls decided to have me over for an end-of-the-year dinner party. Each girl was responsible for a different part of the meal and when I arrived they were great hosts. The table was decorated with candles and flowers and name tags for where each of us was to sit. The girls brought their parts of the meal out-salad, bread sticks, spaghetti and soda, we prayed and they insisted that as the guest of honor I make my plate first. The food was delicious and we had some fun conversations. After dinner we had round one of desert and then the girls decided to play dress up. They found some old Halloween costumes and each girl dressed up as a princess and then of course we had to walk around the neighborhood...a sort of princess parade. The girls were cracking me up as they walked around "looking for their prince charming"...let me tell ya, the way they were singing would have sent anybody in their path running :-) After our walk we returned to the house and the girls proceeded to entertain me with dance performances and their own renditions of current songs.

One of the best parts of the night was just getting to watch the girls and how they interacted with each other. They each wrote me a note that touched me deeply and the whole night made me feel very honored to be a part of their lives.

There are times during small group where I wonder if they are getting it and wonder if they ever will and of course times when all I can do is laugh-like when one of the girls asks how to cure cavities when all the other girls are asking serious questions about Christ, or when one of the girls spits root beer float all over your face because someone made her laugh, or when one causes your toilet to overflow all over the bathroom and stares at it screaming instead of grabbing a towel-I love every moment of being their leader and really feel honored to be their junior high leader.

If only...then maybe

If only you knew that we spend our vacation thinking of ways to improve the youth group then maybe you would be slower to judge our decisions.

If only you knew how many hours we put into the youth ministry then maybe you would be less likely to tell us to add another event to benefit you.

If only you took a few minutes to ask the vision and purpose of the group then maybe you would understand the meaning behind our decisions.

If only you knew how much we truly care for each student then maybe you would understand that it breaks our hearts when we hear students are partying...and if only you knew how much we try to keep them on a healthy path then maybe you would be slower to put the blame on us when it does happen.

If only you would offer to host an event at your house or sponsor an event then maybe we could put some of your ideas on the calendar.

If only you encouraged/made your child attend youth group then maybe they would know what events are going on.

If only you were a parent to your child rather than a friend then maybe they would not go out and drink.

If only you volunteered in the youth ministry then maybe you could help "those" kids...you know, the ones who go out and drink...not yours, "those".

If only you spent some quality time with God then maybe your child would too.

If only you knew that youth ministry is more of a way of life than it is a job then maybe you would be less critical and choose your words more carefully.

If only...

One more No-No

"Are you tired?"..."No, oh, you look tired"

Oh, gee, thanks for that boost of confidence!! Really, does anyone want to know when they look tired?? Let's just leave this question out of our conversations...uh, how about forever!

Conversation "no-nos"

Being a pastors wife I have come to notice that some people think they know you a lot better than they actually do. This probably happens because they see my husband on stage and see us around the church...being part of a large church most people know us but we do not know them. And this happens...people think they are pretty close to us when in reality we barely know who they are...which leads them to making comments or asking questions they really shouldn't. In the past few weeks this has become very clear to me through some of the questions and statements that have been directed at me. So, I thought I would do a service to everyone and remind you of a few questions/statements you don't say to people...especially women.

When waiting to get food at a self-serve BBQ don't say "Oh, (insert name here) just got her food, is there any left?"

When saying good-bye to someone at the same BBQ don't say, "I'll see you at the gym working this BBQ off".

When seeing someone make up their plate at a self-serve dinner don't ask, "Is that all for you?"

And, the one I thought everyone knew..."Are you pregnant?" Really, no matter how close you think you are to someone, don't ask this question! Here's a hint...if you are "that close" she will tell you if she is pregnant...you won't have to ask!

NOLA

Okay, so clearly I have been slacking on posting about our New Orleans trip. I have decided to just post some highlights instead of posting about every day...because I can't exactly remember what happened on which day now :-)


Some highlights from playing with the kids in the projects:

A little girl was asking us where we were from and when a team member answered "California" she responded with, "Oh, is that where all white people come from??"

On the first day we arrived to the projects one little girl, about 10 years old, spotted one of our male team members and was determined to make him her best friend. The little girl played with our team member all day and eagerly awaited his arrival on the second day. When we finally arrived on the second day she presented letters, poems and pictures to our team member. We teased him about his new girl friend but were really touched when he read her letter and it stated that no one ever played with her because she was the fat, ugly girl. Our team member was committed to making sure she got all the attention she deserved and it was wonderful. They even went on a picnic together in the projects.

Some highlights from demolition:
We got to demolition a whole apartment complex rather than a house.

The apartment complex owner also owned a doughnut shop so we got free doughnuts in the morning!

Our work on the apartment complex will not only give homes back to families but will also give a means of income back to a family.

Street Ministry Highlight:
We met a husband and wife that survived Hurricane Katrina. When the hurricane hit and the water rose in New Orleans he swam 2 miles with his wife on his back. They left their house with only his wallet, which the wife held in her mouth, and a Bible.

Random Highlights:
Jenna almost beat everyone during a Speed Tournament..after she pretended she had never played before.


We went to a swamp area and got to see alligators and it was sweet!

Matt and some other guys from the team saw a brutal beating and called the cops while in hot pursuit of the suspects.

The upstairs toilet overflowed and leaked through the ceiling of the first floor and Matt just happened to be standing under it...and this happens...Matt gets peed on during a game of Mafia.

Mission Trip Flexibility Moment:
We planned on going to church one night...and had even prepared...we were dressed and ready to go when our YWAM leader showed up to tell us the church service was the night before. Oh, by the way, this is after he checked the website earlier that day to see what time the service was at!

Day 1: Part 2

...Off to Wal-Mart...and this happens....

Grocery shopping for 35 people for one week is no small task. Luckily, Super Wal-Mart has everything one might need...that is everything except customer service. I put together a team of about 10 people to tackle the shopping list and off we go. We actually knock out the shopping list in about an hour which really is great time but then comes time for check out. We line up our five over-flowing carts of food and call back to the house to tell them we are almost finished with the shopping and to save some pizza for us. Little did we realize that check-out at Super Wal-Mart is not so super. Our less than enthused cashier begins scanning and bagging our items...one by one. And by one by one, I mean one item at a time and one item per bag. As you can imagine this takes an extremely long time...in fact it takes longer than the actual shopping did. The cashier is pretty impressed with the amount of food we bought and seems excited to tell us about milk prices and that they too have the "Happy Cow" commercials and the cows are from California...if only she showed that much excitement while she was still scanning and bagging our items. Multi-tasking apparently is not a skill impressed upon in the south...

Highlight of the shopping trip:
At one point I need to ask someone where an item might be located. I approach the lady and say "excuse me" when she responds with "I'm listening" without ever looking up from her task....so much for friendly customer service!

If you are ever looking for a great cross-cultural experience I highly recommend going to a Super Wal-Mart in the South.

Getting to N'Awlins Day 1: Part 1

To give you the full experience of our trip I will start for the beginning...getting to and meeting at the airport.

Because we had to pack bedding for the bunk beds in NOLA we packed extra community bags so that we didn't each have to pack bedding in our own personal bags. I collected all the bedding and a few extra bags and packed the bedding in community bags. It was an easy task but what wasn't so easy was getting the 15 extra bags to the airport. My wonderful Dad volunteered to take myself, my husband-Matt and our great friend and intern Rob to the airport at the wonderful hour of 4 in the morning.

** A little side note on Rob**
Rob was not scheduled to go to NOLA until Thursday-We left Sunday morning. We had one student drop from the trip and our tickets were nonrefundable although we could do a name transfer for no charge. So, that is where Rob comes in. He had been begging us to let him go but since he is only one year out of high school we usually do not allow them to go on high school trips. Matt and I thought about it and decided Rob was the best candidate for the trip so we called him up and gave him the good news...not the Good News...he already knows about Jesus dying for his sins but this could be the second best good news that he has ever received. We convince Rob that is was not a late April Fool's joke and then he was in.
**Back to the main story**

We cram the extra suitcases into the suburban and Matt and Rob sit not so comfortably with the bags while my Dad and I sit very comfortably in the front seats. We arrive at the airport a little after 5:00am and begin making bets as to which team member will be the last to arrive. The students begin to roll into the airport...all in matching bright green team shirts designed by one of our leaders and my good friend, Jenna.

I begin to hand out the tickets and extra bags for students to check-in and right as the first group of students get to the front of the line at the ticket counter the attendant informs us that we are in the wrong line because we were a group. I would have assumed that they would have noticed that a few minutes earlier since we were all in matching bright green shirts but it's a mission trip so I take a deep breath and let it roll off my back. So, they get into the other line and more and more students begin to show up. We get all checked in and to my surprise almost everyone, except two, arrived early. Two students arrived 6 minutes late and were ridiculed endlessly for not making it on time...not really...but they were made fun of.

All 35 of us make it through security without any problems and board our plane like pros. The flight attendants even made an announcement about our team and thanked us for our volunteer work we were heading to do. (one reason we always decide to wear team shirts is for the incredible conversations it can spark...and it makes it easier to keep track of everyone.)

We land in Las Vegas for our 2 hour layover and that is where the "fun" begins! We find our gate for the next flight, tell our students what time they need to meet us back at the gate and remind them not to do anything stupid since they are all under 21 and this is a mission trip.

Airport Entertainment:
See how many celebrities you can spot...we saw Usher and George Lopez...okay, look-a-likes...but it is a lot of fun!

See how many people stare at your group as they try to figure out if you are a sports team of some sort, a cult, a school group or what...

Make guess on who will show up last or late for the scheduled meeting time...

Lesson Learned: Subway in the Las Vegas airport does NOT partake in the $5 Foot Long promotion but the do prefer the $14 Foot Long deal which really isn't a deal at all. I suggest Sbarros pizza because it is so delicious and less than $14.

Everyone makes it back on time and we board our final flight into NOLA and again the flight attendants make an announcement about our team. The flight crews on Southwest were very nice and patient with our large group of anxious and excited high school seniors.

We land a few minutes early into NOLA and immediately feel the humidity as we step off the plane. We gather all our bags and head to the rental car place.

We arrive at the rental car location and find that although I called to confirm our reservations (twice) and the exact cars we needed they didn't actually have the right car after all. (I booked 5 vans/SUV's with exactly 35 seats) Luckily, they were able to get us a car that could fit even more so we had a little bit of extra room...well not really because of all our bags...but I didn't notice because I was a driver and didn't have any bags near me!

We finally get on the road, only after breaking a sweat trying to cram all the bags into our cars, getting in a small disagreement with another leader, and dealing with the nonexistent customer service of the South...and answering questions like, how long is the drive, what car do I get in, where is the bathroom....

We arrive at our house at 7:00pm (after passing the Super Dome) and then the chaos of getting the rooms situated begins. Now, there are 35 beds in the house and 35 team members in the house...so, everyone has a bed. Well, that would be too easy wouldn't it? People are freaking out over who gets to sleep where and what?...there are only 3 bathrooms?!? We gather everyone and remind them that although we are staying in a house with electricity and running water which is quite different that Mexico this is STILL a missions trip and we are suppose to be out of our comfort zone and it is okay if you have cold water for a shower or have to sleep on a mattress on the floor...at least you have a mattress!

We place an order for pizzas and I put together a team for grocery shopping at the Super Wal-Mart...stay tuned for what happens at the Super Wal-Mart as it is deserving of a post of its own!

A day with no shoes!

Today is a day with no shoes! Toms Shoes is a company that sells shoes and for every pair of shoes they sell the company donates a pair to a child in need. In other countries shoes are often one of the last things a family worries about. Kids walk miles to get water without shoes which leads to deformities and infections...which are 100% preventable with shoes. A day without shoes is a day for you to bring awareness to this cause. Go one day with no shoes...one...to make a statement and when people ask why you don't have shoes on you can explain...and two...you can get a little bit of a grasp as to what it is like for people in other countries that don't have the luxuries and even necessities that we do in the US. Obviously there are some places we can't go barefoot but do the best you can and even if one person asks and is informed about the global problem you have made a difference! Can't go without shoes? Then visit Toms and support the cause by purchasing a stylish pair of shoes!

We're Home!

Our NOLA team returned home exhausted, sore, and exhillerated on Saturday evening. The New Orleans mission trip was a huge success and there are many, many stories to tell. I will do my best to recap as many stories as I can...some are funny, some are interesting, some are heartbreaking and most are life changing. I hope you will check back as I begin to share the experiences of 28 high school seniors, 7 adult leaders, One amazing God and numerous New Orleans city residents.

Alternatives

Since our annual Mexico Mission Trip for our high school youth group was recently canceled we have planned an alternative trip for our seniors. We only opened the alternative trip up to the seniors because this would be their last trip with our youth group before they graduate. There were about 40 seniors signed up to go to Mexico and we are now taking 28 high school seniors to go to New Orleans to serve. This trip is quite a bit smaller than the Mexico trip but God is going to move through it in amazing ways. On April 5, 35 high school seniors and adult leaders will be leaving for New Orleans, Louisiana. Throughout the week we are in NOLA we will be gutting the inside of a house that was damaged by Hurricane Katrina, doing homeless ministry in the French Quarter of New Orleans and playing with little kids in the projects. A lot of the houses that were damaged by the hurricane have not been opened since crews went through them to check for survivors days after the natural disaster occurred. As a team we will gut the inside of a house for a family so that another crew can come in and repair and rebuild the inside so families can move back into their houses. Since the hurricane, the homeless population has increased greatly and many people living on the streets simply want their story to be heard. We will spend time listening and talking (hopefully more listening than talking!) to the people we encounter in the French Quarter and hopefully we will have the opportunity to also buy a few meals for friends we make. Some afternoons we will also go to the projects to play with little kids. We will bring craft supplies and possibly put on some skits.

Last year, we took a team to New Orleans and had an incredible time. We came away with numerous stories and memories from the people we encountered and I am so glad we have the opportunity to go back.

We have had a great deal of disappointment within our youth group because of the cancellation of our Mexico trip but it is my true belief that God never planned for us to go to Mexico this year. I know God will use our group in ways that we cannot imagine right now.

Because we are only able to take the seniors to NOLA we have planned numerous local service projects to help people from our own church body as well as local schools in low income areas for the freshman through juniors.

Check back after April 11 for a recap of our New Orleans trip and our local service projects! Your prayers for all of our projects would be greatly appreciated!

Big Brothers Big Sisters

For a little over a year now I have been the liaison for my church and Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) for our county. Now, before beginning my role I had only associated BBBS with the inner city because most of their promos have non-white children featured and our county is predominately white...let me fill you in, when I graduated high school there were only 4 black students at my school and 3 were siblings...triplets actually. Get the picture? I quickly learned that while our county, specifically our town, is very wealthy we have a divorce rate that is higher than the national average. The people in our town tend to put on a show and pretend that everything is just fine inside their huge houses located in the gated neighborhoods but the truth is their families are struggling too...and boy do we see this being involved in youth ministry too. I know our town has issues, I just didn't know BBBS was involved in neighborhoods that aren't located in the inner city.

BBBS has this awesome program where mentors can meet with students during their lunch break on the child's school campus. This is an amazing ministry for a few reasons...one it is only 45 minutes a week so it is not a huge time commitment, two, you can talk about anything you want with the student..even Christ!...three, it makes a huge difference to the students.

Last year I met with an 8th grade girl who was labeled "at-risk" by the school counselors. She was failing most of her classes and had been caught in the bushes with boys...during school hours. She was a beautiful girl who had lots of family issues and just wanted to be loved. We had a great time when we were able to meet and she even graduated the 8th grade which she was not expected to do.

This past week I was able to meet my new little sister...she is a little ball of fire! We were no more than two minutes into talking and getting to know each other when she says "My life sucks!" At least she is open! She is also "at-risk" and is failing most of her classes and has some family problems but hopefully our time together can be great and we can get her grades up.

I tell these stories to encourage you to get involved with BBBS. It truly is an organization that is making a difference in our communities. A lot of the students who are in need of mentors are lacking one of their parents being involved in their life and have little to no friends on campus. Meeting with them at lunch could mean that once a week they know they will have someone they can sit with at lunch and they won't be alone, someone to listen to them, to encourage them and someone who can tell them they are worth something and that they are cared about.

Check them out and see how you can get involved in a child's life...

Culture Shock

Culture Shock basically is the disorientation or confusion felt when entering a different or unknown culture. Not surprisingly I experienced this when getting off the plane in Calcutta but I also experienced what is known as Reverse Culture Shock which happens when re-entering the familiar culture...well, I actually experienced this during our layover in Dubai which is located in the United Arab Emirates...the Middle East. Dubai is the wealthiest city per capita...mind you, Calcutta is the poorest city per capita. The airport itself is incredible. There are huge water falls, beautiful decorations and it is spotless. They even have reclining chairs for those long layovers. On our way home from Calcutta we had a long layover so we stayed in a hotel and had the opportunity to do a little sight-seeing.

The mall in Dubai is unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it...and I am NOT exaggerating. This mall has every restaurant you can think of...we ate at Chili's...and it was great! The most impressive thing about the mall was that there are ski slopes inside the mall. Yup, you read that correctly, ski slopes...in the middle of a mall which is in the middle of the desert!


Yes, Dubai is sweet. They pride themselves in being the best and having the record in everything. Dubai just built the tallest building in the world, has a building that is on the ocean and has a grocery store called "Safest Way"...that's right, not Safeway because that is American but Safest Way.

After being in Calcutta for 2 weeks and drinking instant Nescafe coffee I was thrilled to get a real latte and do a little people watching.

To Go or Not To Go....

Anyone who knows me or even reads my blog can tell that I am a huge missions person. I became a Christ Follower on a house building trip to Mexico and have done everything I can to go on more each year. This year we were set to take over 200 high school students and leaders to Mexico over Spring Break when chaos broke out. The media decided to begin showing stories of violence in the California/Mexico border towns and warning people to not go near Mexico. Now, as Christians we are called to live on the edge through faith, right? We are called to go into places no one else wants to go into. Well, that is not exactly how the parents of minors see it.

One Wednesday night one of the top news stories was about how people are getting killed all over Mexico. (Now, let's be realistic here...it's not happening ALL OVER Mexico. It's kind of like when there are huge wildfires in Southern California and I live at least 6 driving hours away from them I get calls from family that live on the East Coast asking if our house is burning down. Lesson 1: before going crazy pull a map up from Google and take a look at the areas of violence and the areas of travel.) So, news story airs on Wednesday night and thus begins the frenzy. Thursday the church office gets swamped with parents saying their child is not going, the Church is being irresponsible in taking kids to die...because clearly that was our goal all along, Mexicans may need homes but their child is not going to die for THAT...and on and on. We decide to hold a parent meeting in which we could address these issues all at once rather than one by one and even have a representative from the organization we are working with fly up from San Diego.

Here is a brief recap of the meeting:
Matt (Pastor of Student Ministries and my husband) and Jon (Amor Rep.) begin by speaking for about 35-45 minutes about our safety precautions, what we know as fact, what are rumors, how we handle everything, yada, yada, yada....they do a GREAT job by the way.

And this happens....

Parents begin asking questions:
some are valid questions-
can my child at least call to let me know they are OK? (We usually don't allow contact with family/friends at home for many reasons but that is another post for another time!)
How far away from the violence will you be....
Is there a fence around the area where you stay...

And then the ridiculous questions:
Q. Who will be armed (carrying guns)?
My thought: is that really the best solution? To add more guns to the situation...and what are you expecting- for us Christian missionaries to get into a shoot out with the drug cartel?
Appropriate and given answer: it is illegal for US citizens to carry guns into Mexico, so no one will be carrying guns.
Response from a parent and leader on the trip: there are 230 of us and we all have hammers-so yes we are armed!

Q. Do the drug cartel know our group is coming down over spring break?
My thought: Yes, I just emailed them and they will be waiting at the border for us. Oh, Should I not have them on our email distribution list??
Appropriate and given answer: I'm really not sure.

Q. Does building houses in Mexico even have a benefit.
My thought: I'm going to hurt you right now for even asking that question.
Appropriate and given answer: The Mexico trip changes not only the lives of the Mexican families we minister to but all the lives of the students and leaders.

So, after the meeting we thought the frenzy would calm down...we were wrong. In fact, one parent began emailing students will information from the CIA (false information from what I researched). And, of course on the night of the meeting there had been no reports of violence in Tecate-where we were going. Wouldn't you know it-Wednesday morning reports of 2 sixteen year old girls (from Mexico) being found dead in Tecate began popping up all over the Internet and news channels. Nice timing! So then the calls began to flood in-you lied! You said it was safe in Tecate. Ugh! It WAS!

So, after much, much prayer and hours of research we have had to postpone our annual Mexico trip. I can't tell you how difficult of a decision this was-especially for a missions driven person like myself. If we were taking adults instead of minors on the trip we would still be going. I personally don't think we would encounter any danger but also have to remember that it is different when taking minors instead of adults and that we need to not take the trust of our parents lightly.

I know God will do amazing things wherever we serve. My heart breaks for the students who so badly want to go.

I did learn that I never want to have a parent meeting like that again. I heard that all community meetings in our area are similar to that, needless to say I will not be attending any of those!! It amazes me how we as a youth group/church can do so much for some families and they can turn on you in an instant. It is frustrating to see how some parents have no trust or respect for the church leadership. It also makes me think about how God must feel when people are lukewarm and when people only turn to Him when they need Him and use Him like a genie. If it frustrates me this much I can't imagine how He feels.

Let's pray that the violence in Mexico calms down before Spring Break 2010 so we don't have to go through that again!

Slumdog Millionaire

You've probably heard about the movie Slumdog Millionaire by now but in case you've been in a cave somewhere I'll give you a brief rundown...
Slumdog Millionaire is a movie based in Mumbai, India and it follows the life of a boy who grows up in the slums...he is a slumdog. I won't give away the rest of the story but it is amazing. This movie has won multiple awards including movie of the year.

My husband and I finally got an opportunity to see it on Valentine's Day and I am so glad we did. This movie is very well done and very realistic. The only thing missing for me was the smells of India. Everything else was included in the movie.

It was difficult for me to watch because it immediately brought me back to Calcutta and made my heart ache for the people I left behind there and for the little kids that I encountered. One scene in the movie is of kids getting their eyes burned with a hot liquid. This particular scene was difficult for me to watch as I encountered kids who had damaged eyes. This happens so that the children can become "better beggars". Often times parents will break the bones of their babies so that they will grow deformed and they too can be better beggars. It is a tough movie to watch but one that I think everyone should see so that we can gain awareness of what goes on in other countries.

One little girl who we encountered in the market was trying to sell us these bead looking things that grow into gel balls when put in water (they were really strange). She followed us all around the market begging us to purchase her product, which of course none of us had a use or a desire for. We began to pay extra attention to our surroundings and noticed that as she was following us a man was following her. We asked her who he was but she said he was no one and then he started staying further back. Basically he was her pimp...not in a sexual way necessarily but in the fact that he gets the money that she earns from selling her bead-to-gel-ball product. This became a real struggle for us as we had to decide whether or not to purchase one of these items. On the one hand, if you purchase the item the money goes to the pimp and supports him and supports the problem but on the other hand, there is a good chance that if she does not bring in enough money (whatever that is)she will probably be beaten. What's the answer? I'm not sure but we did purchase one packet and had to haggle with her because she wanted to charge us 4 times what she should have. What do you think? What would you have done?



Another thing we encountered over and over was street kids holding crying babies while begging for food and money. Now, sometimes they really are siblings but sometimes they are "borrowed" for purposes of begging. Older children will take crying babies with them so that they get more sympathy and hopefully more money.

It's easy to get frustrated and annoyed that these kids are shoving a crying baby in your face and it can be frustrating when you think about how they are playing with your emotions for money but when I really sat down and thought about it I could not even imagine what I might be willing to do if I was in their situation. I have no idea how I would react and could not get mad when our hotel staff would ask for a bigger tip or a teenage boy would see us coming and go pick up a crying child to show us.


Go see Slumdog Millionaire! It is totally worth the $10.75 or whatever it costs to see a movie now! Go see it so you too can fall in love and then you can go back to Calcutta with me in a few years. I go to a new place and this happens...I always fall in love and can't wait to go back!

Parasites

Often times when staying in another country, especially a developing or third world country, one will become very sick from the water or the food. And, one may even acquire a parasite...it's not that bad, think of it as a gift from your host country. Well, one night, actually our first Saturday in Calcutta I became quite sick...I traced my meals back and realized that I began feeling sick after eating a chicken dish at our hotel. Now, almost everyone had chicken while we were there and it was not my first go at the chicken dish but that did not matter. For some reason that specific piece of chicken did not mesh well with the inner workings of my body. Now, I tell you all this to get to this picture of something we passed every morning on our way to work at Prem Dan.



I show you this not so that you can think about how disgusting it is or how unclean other countries are but so that 1.) you can realize how it is possible for us to get parasites in other countries and 2.) to give you a glimpse of the way of life on the streets of Calcutta. There is nothing wrong with it in Calcutta, they don't get sick from it, just us wimpy-stomached foreigners do. In fact, if we were to bring them to the US and showed them our meat factories (or whatever they are called) they would see an enormous waste of money and time. I bring this up because so often we look at the way others do something and immediately want to fix it and show them the correct way to do it. However, it is only the correct way in our eyes. This method has worked for them for many decades and for us to think that we have all the answers is ignorant and arrogant and is the reason why so many countries around the world despise the US. And, let me just add that when people from other countries travel here to the US they often get sick from our food and water too...it is simply what your body has grown up on and what it is use to...so come on now...let's get off our high horses...we don't have all the answers :-)

Barbara

Barbara was one of the patients at Prem Dan that spoke English really well. She was at Prem Dan because she had a stroke and was not able to move her left leg. Other than that she was pretty healthy. She had even been in a regular hospital but they were charging her too much so she had to leave. And, while she has a family and an apartment her family was unable to take care of her since she needs help getting to the restroom and such. Barbara even knew the pastor we worked with, Pastor Gus, and attends his church. Since the homes for the dying do not offer any rehabilitation or physical therapy our team decided to do it on our own. One day we got Barbara out of bed and we taught her how to use a walker to get around. We would stretch her leg for her and teach her how to do it herself so that she didn't get worse from not using her muscles.

Barbara is an amazing lady and taught our team a lesson in humility one day when she asked if we would pray with her. We prayed for her and when we were finished she began to pray for us. It was a beautiful moment. It was difficult to leave Barbara as we were able to grow closer to her because we did not have a language barrier.

I wanted to share this story with you today because this morning I got great news. Exactly one month ago today we left Calcutta and this morning we got word from one of the volunteers that is still working in Prem Dan that this morning Barbara went home to be with her family. It is wonderful news for us as she was very unhappy and lonely staying at Prem Dan.

This morning was bitter sweet as I heard this news. I am so happy for Barbara but so sad for the other ladies that won't get to go home to their families or don't have families to go home to. It reminds me that while we left Calcutta and came home to the prestige of the United States the men and women we encountered are still there, still struggling for life and still living in the same conditions we saw them in. It reminds me that they were not there just for us to serve but they were there because that is the life they live. They don't get to spend two weeks in it and go on to something better and that is difficult for me to think about.

Street Sights

While grown men are known to bathe on the streets they start raising them up young in Calcutta...here is a little boy being washed by his mother. This sidewalk is right in front of one of the main train stations in Calcutta and is well traveled. It is also alongside what seemed like a freeway (at least a bigger street than anywhere else).


Not only are the street corners a perfect place to take a bath but also to get a shave. Men visit the barber for a facial shave right on the street corner.

Bathing

So, I've shared stories about working with Missionaries of Charity but haven't really shared much about the street life in Calcutta. So, here we go!

One of the things that caught our eye very quickly because it is so different than life in the US is that men bathe on the street. Every so often there will be a facet on the sidewalk and groups of men will be surrounding the water source in their underwear or a towel, scrubbin' up! It was always a little awkward to walk by them because sometimes there were large groups of men in one area but we became quite accustomed to the sight.



While some men would bathe a little bit off the street some would bathe right on the street while cars are passing by.



Look closely and you can see a guy covered in suds!

So the next time you take a shower be thankful that you have a water source inside your house and don't have to wash on the main street going through town...

Kalighat

Kalighat is the first home for the dying that Mother Teresa started. This home is for patients who are in critical condition and is not for long term care. Basically, the patients here are probably going to die within a few days. While I did not work in Kalighat we did walk through it and it was set up much like Prem Dan but the feeling was a lot different. All the ladies were in their beds and the home smelled worse than Prem Dan. The women are so weak that they cannot get up and walk to the toilet so they simply scoot off their bed and try to go in a bed pan on the ground but most of the time they miss the pan so it goes onto the concrete floor and goes to the center of the room where there is a drain. I do not think I would have been able to work in Kalighat but am so glad that there are men and women who can.

The first picture is of the top of the Kalighat home. What is interesting about this picture is that Kalighat shares a wall with a Hindu Temple. It just struck me as interesting that on one side there is an image of Jesus Christ and on the other side are images of many, many gods.

The second picture is a difficult picture for me to look at and is a sight that is all too common in Calcutta. This lady was outside of Kalighat waiting for a bed to open up so that she could be taken care of. She was covered in flies but one of the volunteers at Kalighat had given her a bottle of water to try to sustain her until a bed did become available.

**If you read Irresistable Revolution by Shane Claiborne (which I highly recommend) this is the home where he spent his time volunteering.

Little Old Lady

Okay so one of the patients at Prem Dan was this little old lady...I mean really little and really old...
We are not quite sure how old she is. We asked a few of the nuns and got numerous answers so our best guess is that she is between 92 and 130. I would venture to guess that she is more like 103 but probably not 130. She was completely blind and would sit with her feet up on her chair all scrunched up (like most of the Indians sit) and she would keep her hands out so she could feel when people would walk by her. Every day she had the same routine: She would sit in her chair, eat lunch (although if she was not served meat then she would not eat it), wet herself, then want to go to bed. The best part about this little lady is her voice. She has this high pitched scratchy voice that I really can't describe and cannot even imitate but everyone would just stop and listen to her because it was so funny. After she finished her lunch she was ready for bed so all you would have to do is get close enough so she could feel you and then she would cling on (sort of like a little monkey) and you could just start walking with her clinging to your waste and take her to bed. She also did not enjoy having clothing on. One day she wet herself (well, every day she wet herself) but this day the volunteers went to change her dress and they would put a clean dress on her and she would take it off and throw it on the floor. After about five times of this little game they were finally able to get her to keep her dress on. Oh, she is so cute. I just wanted to share her with you because she brought me much joy and entertainment.

Shika

This is Shika. Shika has a broken leg but is otherwise healthy. Her bed was in the back corner of the building which didn't bother Shika because she could see everything from her view. She was the little gossip of Prem Dan. I would often go sit with her because the other volunteers didn't give her much attention...probably because she was fairly healthy and didn't need that much assistance because she could feed herself and get up to go to the restroom...
Although Shika knew only a few words and phrases in English we grew quite close and had many conversations. I would sit with Shika on her bed and she would point to different patients and motion to me that they were crazy...some motions are universal! She would point to different Nuns and let me know who the nice ones are and also the not so nice ones. She would tell me an elaborate story all in Bengali, using hand motions and everything and even though I did not understand a word of it I would listen and make comments, which she of course didn't understand either. When she was finished with her story she would look at me and then I would tell her a story, all in English, and she would listen intently. One day we were doing our story time and as Shika was telling me her story she pauses and says "Don't worry, Be happy!" I had no idea what the rest of her story was about but that was all I needed to understand. Shika was happy and she has a beautiful spirit about her that is contagious.

One day I was feeding a patient on the bed next to Shika's and I look over in time to see Shika reach for a plastic bag under her pillow. She reaches inside the plastic bag and pulls out a smaller bag with some sort of white powder in it. I must have had a weird look on my face because she looked at me and said "salt" then motioned to her food and acted like she was gagging. I guess she didn't like the food too much! It was a good reminder for me though that even though the people there don't have much they still have their likes and dislikes. It made me think of the people here, like the homeless people we serve in Sacramento and sometimes we get frustrated when they don't want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich but we forget that they are people too and just because they have an unfortunate situation they are still allowed to have a preference of food.
I was nervous to work at Prem Dan because it is difficult to work with adults when you don't speak the same language. They need something and they are trying to communicate it to you and you don't have any idea what they are saying so they get frustrated which is of course frustrating and then they wet themselves (or worse...) and you realize "Ah! She needed to go to the restroom...shoot...too late." With little kids you don't need language too much, you can entertain and take care of little ones using barely any language. Skiha, however, taught me that some adults don't need language either, they just need love and affection. Shika is a beautiful lady who will forever hold a spot in my heart.

Bhula

This is Bhula. She was one of the older ladies at Prem Dan and was a little slow mentally. The first day I met her she grabbed my hand and made me sit down next to her. As I sat with her I held her hand and rubbed her back and she just smiled. She never said anything more than her name..."Bhula" and then she would laugh. She was more like a child than an adult. There were always masses of flies swarming the benches where the ladies sat and as I was sitting with Bhula one landed on her hand. She looked at me, gave me a sly little grin, then quickly smacked her hands together, she slowly pulled her hands apart and with great pride showed me the smooshed fly on the palm of her hand. "That's nice, Bhula!" I replied and she flicked the dead fly on the ground, gave me a great big hug, then proceeded to hold my hand and I tried not to think of the fly guts being shared between our palms. Every morning I would find Bhula and give her a hug before I started my cleaning. She was always beaming.
About one week into our trip I was having a rough day, just trying to process everything and really think about our work at Prem Dan and I didn't say good morning to Bhula. I knew she wasn't all there mentally and with all the volunteers that go through there I figured she really didn't know me from any of the other women. That afternoon I was helping pass out plates of food and as I walked by her she reached out and grabbed my arm. As I looked at her she smiled and stood up to give me a hug. After that morning I never skipped saying good morning to Bhula because I realized that she does remember me.

One more story about Bhula:
On our last day of work at Prem Dan I was putting lotion on Bhula's arms. My roomie, Sylvia, was standing with her back to us to the right of us and Bhula kept looking at her, looking at me and then laughing. All of a sudden she swiftly reaches over and grabs Sylvia's butt and looks at me and starts laughing...One of those belly laughs that little kids do and you can't help but laugh too. You put a bunch of Westernized volunteers with Indians and this happens! I'm not quite sure who taught her that but she was not going to let anyone get by her without grabbing their rear. Maybe she knew it was our last day and wanted to give us some parting gifts...so this is Bhula!

Prem Dan

After our first day of volunteering I was set against working at Prem Dan. I wanted to work at Shishu Bhavan (Children's Home in Bengali). Half of the kids at the orphanage are physically disabled or mentally handicapped and the other half of the kids in the orphanage are "normal" (their words) and are adoptable. In order to work with the kids that are able to be adopted you have to be able to work there for 2 months so we were not eligible. We had to go to the Mother House to get our two week work assignment and for this we were able to request where we wanted to work. As we waited...and waited...and waited I just felt challenged and felt God tell me that He didn't bring me to Calcutta so that I could do something I knew I could do. I know I can work with kids...so I decided to challenge myself and request Prem Dan...knowing that the following day I would probably be kicking myself and wishing I was working with the kids. So, every day for the rest of our time in Calcutta I was assigned to Prem Dan to work with dying adults. I have to say that now I am so glad I made that decision and while it was challenging and I was way out of my comfort zone I made the right decision.
Every day was basically the same routine but it got easier the longer we were there because we came to know what the Sisters expected out of us and how they wanted things set up. Let me tell you, they know exactly how they want things and if a bed is even half an inch off they will fix it. Some days it was really frustrating because they were more focused on the work than on the patients and I was reminded of the story of Martha and Mary where Jesus explains that the relationship, not the work is more important. However, they seemed to think otherwise...But, we got through it and only got yelled at by a nun once. She was mad because we were visiting with patients while we waited for the floors to dry and we were suppose to still be cleaning. She told us to either work or leave. We decided to go back to cleaning but it was really tough because I simply wanted to love on the ladies. So, like I said, after we knew what the Sisters expected out of us it got a lot easier...and we didn't get yelled at again! Each of us seemed to find a couple patients that we would spend time with and we would make sure to say Hi to them in the mornings and give them their massages...we became somewhat territorial over "our" ladies.

There were quite a few volunteers from other countries there to work with Missionaries of Charity and many of them were there simply to be a help. They did not come with a church or because they even believe in Christ but because they saw a need and felt they had to do something. We got to know quite a few of these volunteers and as a team were able to share Christ with them. Very few patients at Prem Dan speak English so we were not able to communicate with them using words however we would tell the patients about Christ and pray that God would use our words to convey the message in a way that they would understand.

The picture at the top is where the more able-bodied ladies at Prem Dan would spend most of their day. They could only go outside when accompanied by a volunteer but most of them simply wanted to sit in this area all day.

Calcutta

Okay, I know you have been waiting anxiously to hear about my trip to Calcutta...okay maybe not but just humor me! Let me just begin by saying it was an incredible trip...the most challenging of all my trips by far, but over all it was simply incredible.

For now I'll give a brief rundown of what we did and in later posts I'll get into more detail about the people we met and some of the relationships I had the privilege of building.

Mother Teresa started Missionaries of Charity which is an organization that exists to give the dying of Calcutta dignity. There are about 8 homes now which are run by the Nuns (Sisters) in Calcutta. Basically, Mother Teresa decided that people should not die on the streets of Calcutta but should have a bed, some warm food and caring people around them during their last days...and who would argue with that?! There are now several homes for dying adults, a few orphanages and homes for the mentally handicapped. The first day we went to volunteer the Sisters assigned our group to Prem Dan which means "Gift of Love" in Bengali.(the picture above is of Prem Dan) Prem Dan is a long term home for the dying. The younger patients at Prem Dan have diseases such as TB, HIV/AIDS, extreme malnutrition and many of the older patients have mental illnesses or some other handicap. Let me also just add that I did not want to work at this home. I really wanted to work in the orphanage and did not think I could handle working with adults. I can entertain kids...I know how to work with kids...adults, not so much! But of course, we were sent to Prem Dan...
The mornings were spent cleaning the beds and the entire room where the women sleep. Nothing has changed since Mother Teresa started the organization...it is a bit of a time warp walking into the homes. All the laundry is done by hand and the floors are washed with buckets and "brooms" made out of straw. After the cleaning was finished it was time for us to focus on the patients. Some of the patients have terrible bed sores and I was recruited to help another volunteer clean them. Mind you, neither of us have medical training but in Calcutta that doesn't really matter much! We would do our best to clean the sores without putting the ladies through too much pain and I would try to do my best to avoid being pooped on by the ladies. Yes, pooped on. Many ladies are not able to get up and go to the restroom so they go in their bed and the first lady I was recruited to help just happened to be one of those ladies and as we were cleaning her bed sore we had to shift gears and clean her elsewhere. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" has never gone through my head so many times before!
The ladies greatly enjoy having lotion put on so we would walk around to the ladies and rub lotion on their arms and legs. They loved it! One lady loved it so much she took her dress off to make sure our co-leader, Kelly, didn't miss a spot! We gave lots of foot and hand massages. One day we even brought nail polish and did some manicures and pedicures for the ladies. It was amazing to me how such a simple thing, lotion, could brighten a day...it was a great reminder of the little joys in life. We spent a lot of time just sitting with patients and giving them physical contact. Although there are a lot of volunteers there (mostly from Australia and England) they don't all give the patients much physical contact...at least not without gloves on...and we did not wear gloves. I feel like wearing gloves to console a dying lady isn't really giving them much dignity. We would also help feed the patients lunch. Most of the patients could feed themselves but there were also quite a few that needed to be fed. It was difficult to try and feed some of the patients...especially the ones with extreme malnutrition because every bite is such a struggle for them that they don't want to try eating yet eating is what they need to do.
Our first day came to an end and as we were leaving one of the patients passed away. She had been on an oxygen machine but was not able to make it. Our first day was really tough and I really wasn't sure how I was going to do this for two weeks. I desperately wanted to work with the kids because they were mostly handicapped but otherwise healthy so I figured I wouldn't have to see patients die.