Tele

Three months. Today. Whoa that went fast! My days can be incredibly long but the months fly by. People, both here and at home, wonder what I do on a daily bases. My stand by answer is that I really have no idea. Whatever it takes to keep 107 kids healthy. Which translates into non stop on the go activity from 7am till evening. My Indian co-workers absolutely hate my schedule. In a place where tea times are still observed and all meals are sit down family affairs in which people connect over food. I discovered that my 15 min. check in to drop medications off is actually hurting my Indian relationships. Community is a deep value here and trust is built when time is spent. So the overarching theme for me in month three has been to sit and just be.
We have been short staffed in the nursing department here (note: this is not an Indian thing. I have never worked a job that has not been short staffed at one point or another) so in addition to doing the things required for 107 kids to get their medication, or see a doctor I have been covering for some of our nurses by feeding and giving daily medication at some of our homes. Needless to say rest, as in extra sleep or a day off, has not been really an option. So God has been forced to teach me about rest in some new and different ways.
I have sat down on the floor to asses a kid and have had one of his brothers straighten my kurta (shirt) climb into my lap and fall asleep. Which forced me to stay for afternoon tea with the Indian staff while watching the rest of the boys being, well, boys :-) Once I was playing worship music on the porch when one of our young ladies, who can be hard to interact with, started laughing and taping her hand along with the music. I sat and found so much enjoyment in worshipping God with her. I ended my day a little early the other day so I could celebrate with our school girls in their new apartment. Watching them scream and laugh and dance around together brought me so much joy, they have been waiting for so long.
I got sick for the first time this month and ended up spending the day in bed. While there was absolutely no way I could have done anything useful I still felt extreamly lazy. I had so much to do and even my attempts to work on the computer failed. I was frustrated (can you say workaholic?) But I felt God speaking to my heart saying,

Daughter, I did not bring you to India to burn out in your own strength. Rest in me. Let me be the power that drives you. I have been caring for these precious children long before you came on the scene. Simply rest in my prensence and  take the time to enjoy my most wonderful creation. That is how you love me, and them, best.

There is always going to be something for me to do. After all, there are 107 kids that all have medical needs. But slowly I am learning that, while some things in my job are emergant, taking a 20 minuet nap once in awhile or sitting with a school kid while they read me their English homework is also time well spent. I came here to love well and loving well sometimes means taking the time to just be.

 

Sunset from my  roof (unedited)

 *Tele is the Telugu word for hush*

Make us find what we’ve been missing


     Just to clarify, I do not work with special needs children. I do however serve children with special needs. First and always foremost they are children. When my children are stared at and whispered about because their hands don't work like they should or because they drool or don't talk clearly, they wither. Sometimes they even act out by punching others. When they are told over and over again that they incapable of doing something they stop doing everything all together.
     My children are children just like the thousands of others in the world. They giggle when they are happy and cry when they are sad. They love being held and snuggled. They enjoy playing and taking walks around the neighbourhood. They glow when they are praised for doing something well and never cease to amaze me with the things they are capable of when given the chance.
     My children have been created by God with unique challenges that may make you think outside of the box in order to play that game or get that smile. Yes, sometimes my children's differences are frustrating but I find that when I embrace the challenge and the giggle as a reward is so much more of a blessing then it would have been otherwise. These kids are teaching me so much about myself and who I want to be in Christ.
     My children are created in the image of Almighty God with unique needs and I think their "special needs" are so that I get a clearer picture of who the One True God really is.

 Can you spell t-r-o-u-b-l-e? Gosh darn it if it isn't cute trouble though.

~Pray that I would continue to learn how to love my kids well
~ Pray for our fundraising goals to be met so the kids can move into the new homes. Click here to find out more.
~ Pray for good solid Indian Christian nurses to be led to work for SCH. We are in desperate need.

If it doesn't break your heart, it isn't love.

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to travel from Ongole to the big modern city of Hyderabad. Think Marion, IN to Indianapolis, IN. While we have most modern conveniences here in Ongole, we are still very traditional. Woman never show their ankles or their shoulders. Going to the movie theatre is somewhat scandalous. We have no restaurants that Westerners would know but the food from the street vendors tastes like it comes from your grandmother's kitchen. I buy the fabric for my clothes in the local market and have it sewn at a local tailor. Hyderabad is like any city in the West. The girls and I went to a mall and we were completely overwhelmed. As I walked around and saw the familiar sites of Forever 21 and Chili's Restaurant I started feeling homesick. But as I thought about it I realized I wasn't homesick for Lombard but for Ongole.
I missed my breakfast dosa costing me 0.35 cents, served on a banana leaf and newspaper.

I missed the view that greets me every time I brush my teeth.

I missed zooming about the city in autos.

But above all I missed my children. It was then that I realized for the first time that these kiddos have become my family and that I am head over heels in love with them.
So while I may shed a few tears at missing events like family reunions, weddings and birthdays, God has made India my home for the foreseeable season. My children are here and they need me.

Beautiful Things from Terrible Lies

       It has been an incredibly busy two weeks. Due to life events happening within our staff  I have been pulling double duty as house parent/nurse for 10 children in addition to my regular duties in overseeing health care for the 90 other children. These have been long days starting at 6am and sometimes never ending. Over the past couple of days my attitude has become bitter and I have thrown one or two temper tantrums about being tired (It is a skill I have mastered from house parenting two two year olds....). I kept telling God that today was it I wasn't going to get out of bed because I couldn't do it any more (FYI by God's strength and grace I always did end up getting out of bed!)
Then on Sunday I had an hour off and I spent it listening to a sermon by Louie Giglio. Ever had those moments when God pulls out His 2x4 and just nails you with it? This 2x4 was entitled "Get over yourself. It's not about you" The sermon is about how everything in the universe, from stars to whales, praises God.  While I was listening I kept seeing moments in my week when everything, in my view, looked out of control and wrong but how God orchestrates those moments into praise for His glory.
       Later in the day my duties took me to Victory home where I inadvertently arrived just as church was starting. It was really the last place I wanted to be, with all I had to do, but it was one of those situations that you can't walk out of so I took a seat in the back of the room. Immediately, I was piled under a group of 7-8 girls including a girl named Faith. Faith is one of the children whom it has been hard for me to love, mostly because I don't know how to love her. Faith has autism and the first time I met her was when, to get my attention, she bit me on the  tender underside of my upper arm, leaving a very impressive bruise. Molly, who was here for June/July as  amazing special education intern, had always told me that Faith had a very sweet and tender side but I have not been willing to spend the time to find out. But this time I couldn't run and hide from Faith. I watched cautiously as she gently picked up my chuney (the scarves woman wear with our Punjabis) and carefully wiped off the sweat from my face and neck. I sat in amazement as after she was done she clapped her hands and raised arms to the tune of the music like all the ayahs were doing around her. In that moment I saw that God created Faith just the way she is so as to bring Himself glory.



       As I continued to sit there and reflect on the words of the sermon I watched the school boys of the home up to there usual mischievous antics and my heart melted. Earlier in the week I was called out to the home to assess Ezra, one of our boys with cerebral palsy, who was having seizures (or fits as they are called here.) Sadly, seizures are nothing new for a large number of our children but we usually have them under very good control so they are still scary and stressful when they happen. There was a lot of excitement in the room and as I was getting medication ready to give to Ezra I was swarmed by three of our inquisitive school boys who, in their own way, were trying to help. In reality they were in the way. My first instinct was to yell and kick them out but instead I turned to them and said, "Boys, I need to give this medicine and I need you to pray that Yesu (Jesus) heals Ezra. Ok?" They nodded and one of the boys very quietly asked "Sister, do you want us to pray in English or Telugu?" I had to smile at that and I told them Telugu would be just fine. (A few of our school boys speak English very well and they translate for me all the time). I gave Ezra the injection and the seizures subsided. A few minuets later as I sat holding a smiling Ezra I asked the boys if they had prayed. They all nodded and said "Yes, sister". Later, I came back to check on Ezra and was greeted at the gate by one of the school boys who pulled me into Ezra's room and said, "Look sister, that boy is eating rice because Jesus made his fits not come!" Needless to say, I got a bit choked up. God found glory in a horrible situation by showing three 10 year old boys a glimpse of His mighty power.



These are just the big stories. I could go on and on with stories like how the ayah I have been working with the past two weeks threw a dance party with the kids in the living room singing songs praising God for His marvellous creation. Everything is for His glory. These moments have refresh me and make me want to get up in the morning to see what He has planned. I am certain that had I not been so overwhelmed I would have missed seeing these moments completely because I would have been content with what I had and where I was.

To God be the glory forever and ever. Amen

Child, Everything I have created sings praises to me. Watch, be vigilant ,listen and you will witness beautiful things.

• Pray for us as we continue to be short staffed across the board. People are getting exhausted. Pray for strength and grace. Pray that we rely fully on God's strength not our own.

• Pray that we would find good, hard working staff that want to love our children well.

• Pray for Andhra Pradesh, the province I live in, as elections were just held and not everyone is happy with the results.

• Pray for the adoption process for our children. It is been on hold because of strikes in the Child Welfare Department here in India.