Moments

With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

We crucify ourselves between two thieves: regret for yesterday and fear of tomorrow. ~Fulton Oursler

It’s been almost 3 months that I have been in Jamaica now. I have gotten myself into a groove that is still flexible and constantly changing. I still concentrate on my health teaching at the Mt. Friendship School, in which we have moved on from hygiene to exercise importance. I have continued to volunteer at the clinic and I have continued my home visits to the wonderful people of Mt. Friendship.

During all this mission work that involves preparation for the future and learning from the past, I am trying to learn how to live in the present. This means really enjoying the little things each day, consciously training my brain not to become obsessed with what the future holds like I have done habitually for as long as I can remember, and learning to “just be” with the people. Although I have come a long way with this during my time in Jamaica, I hope that by the end of my year in Jamaica, my soul will become fully ingrained with this value of living each day in the present.

God Takes Care of his People!

These past few days have been so incredibly busy for me! I finally started health teaching in the primary school of Mt. Friendship. I am trying to finish up hand washing while starting a new topic about personal hygiene. So far, the kids are responding well to my teaching and so are their teachers. Along with this, I have still been spending time in the basic school. From my time there, I have realized one of my biggest frustrations here in Jamaica. I have great concern for the number of children that go on throughout the school system not knowing how to read or write. Because there is no ancillary help for the teachers, it is very easy for students to fall behind, and virtually stay left behind. Another frustrating factor plays along with this; the number of children who miss school because their parents cannot send them with lunch or snack foods. So needless to say, I am trying my hardest to work with those students who are struggling and not getting the extra help they need to learn to read and write. I think eventually all the volunteers that come to Jamaica have this same frustration in the schools and do the same thing of working with those struggling students. I am determined to teach the basic school kids that will move on to first grade next year, their alphabet and numbers. This sounds much easier than it actually is however.

I am settling in to a routine quite nicely here and I can honestly say that I have reached an all time high of happiness here in Jamaica! Some great things have happened to me here.

On Tuesdays, I have been walking Ms. Doris’ granddaughter, Kima-lee home from school (she’s 5). We stop at a certain spot along the way each time to read a story and it has now become our secret storytelling spot. Every now and then another student joins us and I have them sit on my backpack as I read to them. It has become a simple joy for me in Mt. Friendship.

This week, Kima-lee, who is extremely adventurous, stubborn, and intelligent, wanted to know if I was going to stop at some of the houses along the way back to her house and if she could go with me. So we socialized with a few people including Ms. Merkel who is a sweet old lady who passed out in church on me a few weeks ago, Miss Jean who usually sits out on her veranda in the afternoon, Jorgianna and Reshema (two adorable basic school girls who are 3 years old) and their moms who work very hard at home for their families, Mr. Williams who was sitting underneath a palm tree in his yard waiting for his wife to come home, and she introduced me to a new home I have yet to encounter. Kima-lee knocked on the door and introduced me to Miss Enid. I sat, and talked to her for a long time as Kima-lee squirmed all over the place and I soon found out that she is a very nice lady with many health problems. It turns out that she is a diabetic and has high blood pressure problems, as do many elderly people in Jamaica. Being the nurse that I am, I investigated a little to see if she was controlling these health problems. Her son, who lives in the States, sent her an automatic blood pressure cuff for her, but her husband and herself had no idea how to work it. She has insulin for her diabetes, but her husband and herself had no idea how to give an insulin injection. So I showed them how to work the blood pressure cuff, how to record it daily and realize the normal readings from the abnormal. I showed her husband how to read the insulin label, use the syringe, draw it up, and inject it into the skin (he practiced on a banana while I gave the actual injection to his wife). However, they did know how to use the glucometer and realize when her blood sugar is high. We also went over all her medications, what they were for, and when to take them.

I am so happy that Kima-lee took me to meet this couple! They were so thankful for the help and I can’t help but feel like I really made a difference in their life. Miss Enid explained to me early in the conversation that since the onset of their health problems, they have not been able to work like they used to and don’t always have the money to go to the doctor. I also, can’t help but think that God lead me to their house (with Kym’s help of course!). God works in wondrous ways.

This weekend, we plan to take some of the kids from the missions to a big show at the national arena! Should be fun and exciting for them! I can’t wait!

A Birthday Celebration

On Friday, I had the opportunity to celebrate the birthday of one of the kindest, strongest women I know.

I first met Dimple with Mr. Brooks. Mr. Brook’s wife, Aunt Edith, died this past January after a struggle with pneumonia. She was just 3 months short of turning 100 years old. Mr. Brooks is now 87 years old, and has lost some of his mental capacity since the death of his beloved wife. This of course, is not uncommon when an elder loses a mate that they have been with most of their life. This sweet man now lives alone in their house at Mt. Pleasant with his dog Toby and his new kitty. Dimple is Aunt Edith’s niece and watches out for Mr. Brooks. She lives a good walk away from Mr. Brooks, with her 5 children and husband, Harry. Mr. Brooks walks the distance to Dimple’s house each Thursday for dinner and the enjoyment of their company. Meanwhile, throughout the week, I noticed that Dimple stops by to visit, cook for him, or run an errand. It makes me so glad to know that there is someone there to help Mr. Brooks with anything he needs.

During this short time I have known Dimple, she has shown me unselfish kindness and the value of a faithful, strong woman. She has a lot on her plate, with feeding her children and taking care of her family and Mr. Brooks. She has been sick for the last couple weeks, but yet doesn’t complain a bit. She is one of the most loving mothers I have met and always tries to make me feel welcome in her home. She has little to give, yet gives so much. I love women like this. They are truly my role models and I aspire to have that much love all the time.

For her birthday, Charity (fellow volunteer in MF) and I baked a cake, made a card, and framed a picture of her with her husband and youngest daughter, Akeelah. She made us fried chicken, fries, and fried bananas for dinner, and we just sat around and talked for a long time. It’s making things like birthday celebrations happen in our missions that can really make a difference in someone’s life. Especially when someone may not have much excitement and works hard to survive at the poverty level.

It was a joy to have this celebration with this incredible woman.