Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Reality Becomes Personal



Yesterday reality stared us in the face.  Today we got to touch it.  Fifteen of us just finished debriefing the day.  We were all asked to share one word that reflected our feelings of the experience we encountered.  Our words were diverse ranging from “incomprehensible” to “joy” to “touch”.  Let me explain the diversity.  
Yes, all of us are struck by the dire conditions. We drove for over 3 hours today and everywhere we went, the view was the same (no “it gets better around the corner.”)  The other words reflected the “personal” experience.  
This morning we were on the road by 9:00 heading to a home for sick and dying.  While there we all gave massages to people of all ages.  For the woman, we also painted their nails if they wanted.  That’s where reality become personal.  It’s hard to describe the joy you see on someone’s face when the comfort of cool lotion is rubbed on their skin or their feet and shoulders and arms massaged. The smiles and the eyes which say thank you are priceless and memorable.  (As my son said before I left on this trip “mom - smiles overcome any language barrier”.  He was right). 
The afternoon took us to the Village of Jesus a home for abandoned aging women.  Here we feed them lunch with our homemade peanut butter sandwiches and orange juice (which were a huge hit.)  We then again did our “spa treatment”.  This is when “touch” begin to resonant with us newbies (first mission trip).  Touch is something that gives others respect.  We quickly learned showing people they are special through touch is powerful.  People just want to know they matter.  
As all of us head to bed exhausted from the days experience (and heat) what appears to be the most dominate feeling or thought is this.  As one of the group put it “we are all special in God’s eyes.  When we touch others sincerely trying to make them feel special, they are the ones who make us feel special”.  


















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