We finally got to go to Sunday mass at Bethlehem! After a quick breakfast, we headed to the different centers to get the able residents ready for church. I was but in charge of a beautiful little girl named Felissia. I wish I had a picture of her! At first, I wasn't sure she knew what was going on, but then she gave me the prettiest smile I've ever seen. I dressed her in her Sunday best, and then we headed to church with Chrissy and her little friend. We sat with Bethany, the ring leader from Lord's Place, in the front row of the church, and we took care of most of the little ones who were in wheelchairs and strollers. The Caribbean mass is so upbeat and exciting. If only America would take a hint! It's so hard to stop yourself from singing their Alleluia and clapping your hands when you get back to the states. When it's time to bring up the offerings, many of the people from around town walk up and offer whatever they've got. For most, it's a bag of mangoes or vegetables. Honestly, it brings tears to my eyes every time I even think about it. Why do I find it so hard to give some of what I've got when these people are giving everything they possibly can? Maybe I'm the one who needs to take a hint.
After Mass, we had lunch with the brothers of Sacred Heart. Before we were able to eat, we had to perform two very unpracticed songs for the brothers. We didn't sound as awful as expected, but some more practice definitely would've helped! As I was talking with one of the brothers over a meal of, believe it or not, chicken and rice, he said, "The more we suffer, the happier we are." We both kind of laughed at this, and agreed that it sounded crazy but was so true. There's a catch though. If we embrace our sufferings and count on God to take care of us, we'll eventually get past our troubles and feel the inner peace and inner joy we seek so desperately. When Brother said inner peace, I found myself smiling. It's as if he knew that was something I had struggled with and prayed so much about!
After lunch, we headed back home for an afternoon of rest. Later, we got to have some sharing time, and I was lucky enough to be in a group led by Brother Elijah. After we had all shared, he told us the story of his first day in the centers. It's so comforting to hear that even the brothers struggle to adjust at first. When you're around them, it seems like everything comes so easy to them! After dinner, Bro. Elijah told us that he has to make things "spicy" for us because we're staying for so long. His kind demeanor, patience, and overuse of the word maybe make him so enjoyable to be around. Heck, I love all of the brothers!
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| Yes Garrett, this used to be your picture. Hehe :) |
On this day, I went to Faith Center, one of the men's centers, for the first time. This was the first center started by Fr. Ho Lung, and the sign outside still says Brothers of the Poor (the original name of the order) which is pretty neat. Fr. Ho Lung even lived here with the residents in the beginning! When we arrived at the center, I was a little nervous about how the men would act, but they turned out to be the sweetest, gentlest guys ever. I was assigned to clip fingernails and toenails...yes, toenails. If you know me, you know that that was definitely the hardest task I could have been assigned. At first I found myself kind of avoiding the task, but eventually I overcame that because I knew these people deserved to be taken care of, and I owed them for all the love they'd already given me. The least I could do to repay them was clip their nails! At one point, I convinced a blind, deaf, and mute man to let me cut his nails. He had refused to let Awet do it, but after a few minutes, he understood what I wanted and agreed to let me do it. A few minutes after I finished cutting his nails, threw his feet on my lap and pointed to his toes. I am positive God was chuckling at me at this point. I took that man's dirty, sore-filled feet into my hands, and I clipped his toenails with as much ease as if I was clipping my own. Let's be real - I never would have been able to do that without God's grace!
After finishing my duties, I joined Chrissy and a resident named Roger for a game of frisbee. Roger wasn't very mobile, but he sure knew how to throw a frisbee better than we did! I'm pretty sure he would play 24/7 as long as there was someone in front of him willing to catch. Once he wore me out, I sat down to talk to a blind man named Mr. George. At one point he was just like, "I love you, Emily," and I'm telling you, that was the voice of God! Honestly, that was the first time in months that I heard that phrase from someone other than my family and truly felt the love behind it. That man had nothing but love to give me, and I appreciated it so much. So, so much. Someone remind me to make my loved ones feel loved as soon as possible!
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| Roger, the frisbee machine! |
After lunch, I handed out snacks and water with Chrissy while Tim and Daniel (our Notre Dame boys) shaved faces. I'm not sure I could've handled that, so I'm glad they were there! I was lucky enough to get to have another chat with Mr. George, and we talked all about what I feel called to do with my life. He told me to recognize the Lord's presence in my studies and to constantly thank him for giving me that knowledge that I've attained so far. He wanted me to go home and tell everyone I know about him so that when they go to Jamaica, they can tell him they learned about him from me. So, here it is. Go to Kingston and meet Mr. George. I promise you won't regret it!
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| My man, Mr. George. |
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