Sabbath Sermon and Sadness

I did the sermon this past Sabbath.  Turned out better than I thought.  I was very lost at the beginning of my studies for it.  I couldn’t seem to bring it all together and it was really bothering me.  I thought I’d share from parable of the sower and the seed, because I’d been studying Christ Object Lessons and was getting a lot out of it.  So I started preparing my sermon notes (which thankfully, I was warned I’d be asked to preach, so I had a week to prepare unlike many others who are told the day before that they have the sermon the next day) and was getting stuck on the different soils.  Seemed like I wasn’t getting anywhere.

  But I kept praying for God’s guidance, and He impressed me to take a totally different approach from what I had planned, so I did that.  And it all came together perfectly (why wouldn’t it?  God is awesome!).  So I preached on the different soil types and how they relate to different heart conditions.  I appealed to my listeners that they have one of these heart conditions (soil conditions) and which one are they.  Then I went into how to prepare the soil of your heart using the 3 steps of a true heart conversion coupled with the 3 soil types (heart conditions) that needed help.  And I believe God blessed it. 

  It’s nice having a translator!  While he’s speaking, I can be looking over my notes to see what comes next.  When he’s done, I can speak to my listeners without looking at my notes.  Then we start the process all over again when he translates!  It’s pretty cool!  Plus, Joseph is an excellent translator!  He doesn’t get stuck on words like some of the others here and he speaks Nepali fluently.  He also mimics my voice fluctuations and dramatic movements (which I frequently use).  It’s fun working with him!

Okay, changing topic...

  It's weird... although there are so many hard things to deal with here in India, I think I'm actually going to miss it.  I'm going to miss the girls, who I've grown to love.  I'm going to miss the cold nights, cuddling close to my hot water bottle hearing Indian music playing in the distance.  I'm going to miss cleaning people's teeth, watching the delighted looks on their faces when I show them the "after" picture (yes, I've taken before and after pictures!  I'll post sometime!).  I'll miss Krystle, who's been such a fun roommate and friend.  I'll miss my baths, oddly enough.  Yes, there will be a lot I'll miss.  

  When the girls here found out that I only have one more week left with them, they all pouted and made crying noises to show their sadness.  I joined them in the fun, pretending to cry, and they thought it was hilarious.  We had a good laugh.  But under all the levity, I could see they truly meant it.  They're going to miss me... and I them.  It will be sad to leave.  I've grown so close to all these dear people in such a short amount of time. 

I'll miss them a lot.

A Positive Attitude Makes Everything Beautiful

A kerosene lamp stood in the corner of the room on a small table; it’s faint light dispelling only a fraction of the darkness that enshrouded the tiny room.  But I could see everything.  I took it all in.

  A one room home, barely bigger than my bedroom in America.  No kitchen; just a stove top.  No bathroom.  No living room.  No closet.  Just one room.  And a growing family calls this home.

 Linoleum covers the cement floor.  A hard bed lies in the corner.  Handmade curtains cover the windows.  Plastic roses sit poised in an orange vase next to the lantern, giving what cheer they can muster.  The ceiling looks like someone painted it… maybe a blue sky with white clouds… I can’t really tell.  If it is what I imagine, I find it rather fitting since these people hardly see the sky this time of year.

  I take this all in.  I see the husband and pregnant wife.  Sadness is in their expressions.  You see, they left to go to the hospital when they though she was having labor pains.  While they were gone, a thief broke into their small one-room home and stole their money.

  My heart nearly breaks.  These people have hardly anything.  They live in one room.  The wife doesn’t even have a proper kitchen to cook from.  They don’t have a fridge, a washer and dryer, or a microwave.  And yet, someone thinks it profitable to rob these dear people of the little they have.

  Then I think of myself.  Just the day before I spent nearly 5000 rupees on souvenirs in Darjeeling.  5000 rupees could buy this family food for probably over 4 weeks.  And I spent it all in one day.

  Suddenly, I want to jump up from this home and run back to my room.  I feel like grabbing my souvenirs and rushing to the market.  I feel like selling every bit of my goods and stuffing the cash I earn it into the couple’s hands and running off before they can object.

  Why am I so privileged?  Why am I so spoiled?  What does it matter if I don’t have enough money for all the souvenirs I want to buy for my friends and family?  If only I could help this dear family.

  And then, I’m struck with the realization, that most families in these 3^rd world countries live like this… or worse.  Some children don’t know what it’s like to have a loving mother or father.  Some people have never felt a pillow.  Some think one meal a day is luxury.  Girls and boys get excited about getting a pen.  Still others think they’ve seen the world when they travel a few miles away from home.

  As I think of all this, my heart aches.  I agree with Katie Davis who described the need like “trying to empty the ocean with a dropper.”  It seems like we try so hard to help some, just to realize that there’s millions still who need help.  It makes you feel helpless, like using a dropper to empty the ocean.

  As I continued looking around the tiny room, a poster on the wall caught my attention.  It showed majestic mountains, red flowers and some butterflies… a good description of Mungpoo (minus the butterflies).  There were some words in English on it.  They said, “A positive attitude makes everything beautiful.”

  Looking at this family here living in this small domicile, one can’t imagine anything beautiful about it.  Not when we have our homes in America to compare it with.  Yet, the saying is true.  Having a positive attitude can transform this tiny dwelling into the grandest of palaces.  Having a positive attitude can make the trials here pale into insignificance.  A positive attitude can make emptying the ocean with a dropper possible… as long as God is overseeing.

  I found that I left that home, not with a feeling of discouragement and disheartenment, but with a renewed purpose…with a purpose to do what I can to empty the ocean, one dropper-full at a time.  It may take me a lifetime, yet if I keep a positive attitude, everything will be beautiful.

Random Thoughts

Note: This was written Monday, the 23rd.  Due to internet being down, I had to write all this on my computer and save it.  Enjoy!

They say that mind power is incredibly powerful (maybe that’s why they call it mind power?).  I’ve seen it work.  It’s pretty incredible.  I just wish I could use some of it now!  It doesn’t seem to be working!

  I’ve told myself several times that I’m not going to get sick while I’m here.  I’ve taken all the precautionary measures to assure that I not get sick, but alas!  They did scarcely a thing!  I had a sore throat a couple mornings ago that lasted all day.  The next day it was gone, but in its place was this dry cough that is threatening to get worse.  Yesterday I had a runny nose, and today, I have a stuffed-up nose.  I have no intentions on getting sick… but some things you just can’t help. 

  We had a nice Sabbath, besides the fact that I was fighting a sore throat.  They have quite the extensive Sabbath service here in Mungpoo.  First, we spend an hour in the pre-Sabbath school (which has it’s own song service, nature nugget, special music, testimony and offering), and then we split into groups for the actual Sabbath school time.  Krystle and I usually go to the English one, but there was no one there, so we did our own… watched David Ashrick!  After an hour of that, we get back together for the church service, which often lasts 1 ½ to 2 hours long.  We don’t get out of church until around 2 usually.  That’s 4 ½ hours of being “in church!”  It seemed to go faster this time then last week, though.  Sandra Miss translated everything for us, since it was all in Nepali.

I joined a group going for a Sabbath hike.  That was enjoyable!  A heavy fog had rolled in; it was so thick I could almost feel it.  It gave the whole landscape an enchanted look.  Reminded me of the Enchanted Forest in Pilgrims Progress!  We hiked for 2 hours and boy, do my calves feel it!  I haven’t worked them hard since I’ve been here!  Haven’t had time to do much exercising.

Dahn Kumari, Jemima, Me, Sarah, and Seth

My Enchanted Forest

Our group again, but this time Seth's taking the picture and Sandra Miss took his place

   

I loved the hike! 

  Krystle and I spent probably 2 hours doing laundry this morning.  Everything here takes longer than you think.  At home, when I say I’m doing laundry, that means I opened a washer, placed the clothes in with some soap, and pushed a button.  And when they’re done, I put them in the dryer and an hour later pull out nice clean and dry clothes.  Here, you spend 2 hours just washing the clothes… by hand.  Sure, that’s not too big a deal, yet you really have to pay attention to how you use your clothes!  It takes several days for some things to dry because of the cold.  Like my wool socks.  It took them 3 days to fully dry… and I only brought three pairs (one of which I’ve designated as my “bedtime” socks.).  And your hands get so cold washing in frigid water.  Thankfully, we warmed our water! :)

Ahhh...

Oh internet how I've missed you!  It's like seeing a long lost friend after months of being separated.  I'm a pretty happy camper now.

  A lot has happened since I've been on here.  Hopefully tonight I can post my blogposts that have been saved on my computer.  Although, I'll have to share the internet stick with 4 other people.  Hmmm...

Anyway, it's time for lunch.  I'll post my blogposts with pictures later.

Update on Jolene

Jolene is sorry that she has not been able to update her blog on her mission trip to India & Thailand.  Internet has been down and she is not sure when it will be re-established.  However, she has been writing down her thoughts and experiences and hope to post them to this blog as soon as she has internet (which may not be until she gets to Thailand.

Thanks

Cheryl Stottlemyer

Behind Closed Teeth

I will never ever brush my teeth the same again.

Ever.

  I take my hat off to the dentists and hygienists who work tirelessly to provide oral health to their patients.  It’s hard stuff (quite literally!).  I’m impressed now at how well my hygienist works on my teeth.  I should tell them that.

  After finishing my 6^th victim’s… I mean, patient’s teeth, I’m moved to cry out for people to take better care of their teeth!  At least brush them twice a day, floss, never use tobacco, don’t drink soda pop or eat lots of sweets, don’t chew beetle nut… and don’t expect your hygienist to fix all your oral problems, for crying out loud!  Ok, enough said.

  I have now passed the line from an overly cautious, too gentle, not-doing-such-a-good-job amateur to a more confident and persistent amateur.  How do I know?  Sandra Miss isn’t looking over my shoulder gasping and grabbing at the tools.  At least all she has to do now is check my work after I’m done.  And she usually finds a few things I’ve missed, but overall, I’d say I’m starting to get the hang of this.  I’m always thrilled to look at the teeth after I’m done and see the work I did.  What a great feeling!

  One thing that’s been really nice is how I’ve been able to connect with each girl as I clean her teeth.  I’m not able to communicate with them except through hand gestures and vocal sounds, yet I am communicating to them so strongly when I’m probing in their mouth.  I’m showing them I care… that their oral health is important to me and that I care about their wellbeing.  I’m starting to remember their names too… Phul Kamari, Mina, Bipana, Ramisha... now they stand apart.  They aren’t just a part of the blob of Nepali girls I see everyday.  They are individual people with individual needs.  And now, I can minister to them more effectively. 

  One girl in particular stands out.  It’s Mina.  She’s super quiet, always carrying around a very serious expression on her face.  She doesn’t smile too easy and I don’t know if I’ve ever heard her laugh.  She’s seems like an impenetrable fortress, carrying heavy secrets that threaten to burst out in the open, leaving her bare and vulnerable.  I can’t speak her language.  I didn’t know that she bore a dark secret.

  Mina was married.  Or maybe I should say, she was kind of married.  She ran off with a guy, and in Nepali culture, you’re then considered married.  I guess his family didn’t like what had happened and they convinced the love of her life to leave her.  Talk about wounded.  She reaches out to grasp hold of what she thought was love, only to be burned for trying.  Her response then, was to draw back inside herself.  She felt that life wasn’t worth living, so she took a millstone of great weight and let it fall on her head.  Fortunately, it didn’t kill her, but she was left in a state of unconsciousness for 3 weeks.  She awoke, but had chronic neck pain all the time.  Somehow she ended up here at the Center.  She’s only 19.

  So I’m working on Mina’s teeth, oblivious to her hidden pain and trauma.  I notice her eyes… they scream for help since she’s sealed her lips.  When I fumble trying to tell her to spit, she smiles weakly.  If I weren’t working on her teeth I probably wouldn’t ever see them.

  Krystle tells me later of Mina and her past.  I guess Krystle was able to help relieve some of Mina’s neck pain, which proved to be a wrench in opening her heart just a crack.  Mina’s heart has starting warming since being here at the Center.  She’s finding that true love is still worth reaching for.  Her painful past may never be fully erased, but as we love Mina with a tender heartfelt love, her barriers will start breaking and she’ll soon find that she’s been set free.

That’s worth everything in the world.

  Yes, cleaning teeth is helping people with their physical needs… yet, I see more then that.  I see a tool that can potentially be another wrench in opening a young woman’s heart.  I can see her open it just a crack maybe, but even a crack will flood the heart with warmth and love.  Then, the winter that held onto her for so long can start to melt away into spring.

  And I can do that!  On one condition, though… I have to let Christ do the same in my heart.  As my heart overflows with His love, it will spill over onto one of these cold hearts and start the process of spring.

Another Day in India

For the first time in days, I can see the sun.  Oh, how it brightens your soul!  It takes the sharp bite of cold away and warms the lingering chill in the air.  I can still see my breath here in my room.  A heater with only one filament is vying to take the chill away and I’m sitting right next to it, in hopes of warming my fingers so I can type better.  I have 35 minutes until my English class begins.

  For those who are unsure what I’m doing here in India, let me explain…  I decided to take this next semester of college off since I was finished with all my prerequisites for the dental hygiene course I want to get into.  Since I have close to 8 months free (Yeah!), I felt it would be appropriate to do another mission trip while I have the ability to do so.  Through God-directed circumstances, God made it clear that He wanted me to go to India where some dear friends of mine, the Pozo’s, were working at a Lifestyle Center.  The Center is located way up in northern India near the boarder of Nepal, thus the reason most people here speak Nepali (in fact, most of the students at the Center are Nepalese). 

  Right now, the School is in the middle of a 6-month training course for women.  They give them a well-rounded education on a variety of subjects, including massage therapy, leadership in the church, math, English, sewing (or tailoring, as they call it), hydrotherapy, and more.  They have around 25-28 girls here (I’m not sure of the total number) ranging in ages from 12 to near 30.  A few are married, but most are single.

  My main job while I was here was to help teach classes (like massage therapy, English and something about ministering to the church) and learn to clean teeth.  So far, I’ve been doing all those things plus some!  It’s been such a great experience already and I’m only one week into my stay here! 

Heading to Nepal, all piled in a car!

  I was so excited this last Sunday, for I got to step into Nepal!  Sure, I was sitting around near the customs building, but I was on Nepali soil!  Uncle Aaron, Auntie Lori and Christian all left Sunday to work for a month in Nepal doing evangelistic work and encouraging the Bible workers there.  Krystle and I went with them to the border and were allowed to cross the border as long as we came back.  So, I can say that I’ve been to Nepal!

  I sure will miss the rest of the Pozo gang… the small two room building that Krystle and I are sleeping in seems so much more cold and empty without them.  At least I got to spend a few days with them before they left for Nepal.

Our group at the Nepal border
Bernice, Krystle, Senteal, Me, Rubina, and Sarita

  We’ve started training the girls in massage therapy here.  That’s been interesting.  Sandra Miss used me to demonstrate the face massage.  As soon as I lay on the massage table, I was immediately surrounded by all the girls.  Many of them cautiously touched me, as though they felt it was safe to do so now that I was “contained”.  As Sandra Miss worked my facial muscles, the girls started giggling.  Sandra translated to me that they were laughing because my face was getting so red from the rubbing.  They found it comical to see this white girl turn beet red! 

  I made Russian Borsch for breakfast the other day because Sandra Miss had beets and didn't know what to do with them.  The borsch turned out pretty good and was a big hit!  They want me to make it again!  Feels funny making a Russian dish in India! :)

  I'd better close... time for my class.

Little Talents

“J-OH-LUH-EEN… Jolene.”

  Each girl in the small classroom twisted their face into weird contortions to wrap their mouth around my name.  I couldn’t help but smile as I heard different variations of “Jolene” throughout the classroom.  I had written my name on the board so the girls could see how to pronounce it.

My class of 12 girls

  Mommy (as Mrs. Horner is lovingly called) had left today to go on a weeklong trip.  I offered to take on her English class for her while she was gone.  She was grateful and gave me the run-down on how it works.  She gave me all the supplies I would need and explained how to give quizzes.  I took all the stuff to my room, and as I began to prepare the next day’s lesson, I felt a giddy excitement well up in me.  I’ve always enjoyed teaching; be it tutoring someone in chemistry, homeschooling two hyperactive boys, or teaching a first grader how to read.  Either way, I love bringing people to the “ah ha” moment when the light bulb turns on.  It’s so thrilling.

  So today, I taught my first English class.  The girls were quicker than I expected and were very attentive.  Sandra Miss translated for me, which turned out to work really well.  I was a tad nervous to start, but after hearing the girls try to pronounce my name after I wrote it on the board, all anxiety left me.  My heart warmed and I excitedly dove into the topic for the day.

  I feel like I’ve established myself as a helpful member of the staff already.  I had a jump start when I offered my services to Sandra Miss, who was vainly battling her computer to play videos for the evangelistic series soon to be presented in Nepal.  I sauntered over to where she sat and asked what was going on.  She quickly handed the computer over to me with huge sigh of relief and said, “If you can fix it, I’ll be so thankful.”  Then she walked away. Great.  I’m not that proficient with PCs already, and here she gives me this laptop that I’m totally unfamiliar with and I’m expected to figure out how to make a video on PowerPoint work.  Fat chance.  But I took the laptop and paused for a moment to send up an earnest prayer to God.  When I finished praying, I stared at the computer screen.  Where to start?  To say the least, I did get it to work.  Praise the Lord!  I was just as surprised as Sandra Miss was when I said I had figured out the problem and fixed it.  She’s been trying to figure it out for months.  God surely helped me.

  And I’m super excited!  I got to clean teeth today!  Well, I cleaned one girl’s teeth with Sandra Miss looking over my shoulder correcting me.  She often had to take the tool from my hand to demonstrate how to do it.  But, by the time I was done, I felt a little more confident.  It’s a lot harder than I thought!  You have to place your fingers in just the right places as to not hurt your patient, you have to put just the right force into your scraping but make sure you have full control so you don’t slice their gum or lips, and you have to find just the right angle to access that part of the tooth.  And you have to do all this with a very sharp tool in your hand that you have to be fully aware of where it is.  What a lot to think about!  It will probably take me close to 10 people before I’ll start feeling comfortable and confident, Sandra Miss says.  Well, I have 23 girls who need their teeth cleaned… so that leaves 13 that will get a good thorough cleaning without a nervous, shaking amateur in their mouth.

Before

After

  I will probably have to do one or two girls a day to get them all clean before I leave.  Some of the girls have used tobacco or beetle nut and so their teeth are quite the challenge to clean.  And most of them don’t brush their teeth well.  I’m supposed to also teach them how to correctly brush their teeth, tongue and gums.  I wish I had brought floss for them…

My talent being put to the test

  So, I’m starting to feel that satisfaction that comes from wholeheartedly giving myself away in serving mankind.  I feel helpful too.  No, I haven’t been formally trained in any one area (like dental work!), yet I’m still finding that God can use me.  Every “little” talent or gift I have is being put to use and tested…such as playing the piano.  I thank God for all those Friday evening worships that I played for my family, for now, my talent is being thoroughly tested and tried.  I’m trying to play on a keyboard without a pedal, where both the keyboard and I are sitting on wobbly stools a foot off the ground, the hymnal is laying down on the keyboard and I’m trying to play from a Nepali hymn book that only has the treble cleft (thankfully I know chords!). I am so thankful the Nepalese sing really loud!

  But I am grateful that I can help them in this way.  I’m thankful that all my efforts in learning piano are being put to good use here.  I’m thankful that I have some talents and gifts that can be used here, even if they are so small. God is helping me double them so I won’t be the foolish servant who hid his talents in the dirt.  Instead, I’m hoping of hearing, “Well, done thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”

Falling in Love With India

Unusual birds that I haven’t ever heard before are warbling their sweet morning melodies.  A man is making some sort of clanking noise.  A woman is arguing with one of the sale’s people at the town store.  An unusually white dog is running around making friends with everyone.  A huge truck rolls by, blaring its horn to announce its arrival.  The sun’s warm rays are slowly melting the frigid morning air, making the temperature bearable and lightening the cold landscape.  Some Indian music is playing its haunting tune in someone’s home.

Welcome to Mungpoo, India. 

   Tucked in the Himalaya Mountains of northern India, up a narrow winding road, you’ll find the town of Mungpoo.  It reminds me of a village you’d find in the Swiss Alps.  Large, towering trees provide more shade then anyone desires.  Poinsettias dot the landscape.  Majestic mountains surround this tiny village, nestling the town in their shadow.  It’s a serene scene, one that demands my awe and respect.

  The only thing that keeps me from running barefoot and shouting down the dirt path to the school is the bone chilling cold.  It’s really not that cold (only about 50°F)… it’s just that you can’t escape it.  It’s like camping without a fire. Plus, it’s humid here.  That means we’re fighting a wet cold, which makes everything feel ten times colder.  Gloves, a scarf and wool socks are going to be my best friends.

  Yet, through all this cold, I feel a strange warmth emanating from the smiling faces of the students here at the school and suddenly, I don’t notice the cold anymore.  The girls stare at me.  When I look at them and smile, they turn away and giggle among themselves.  They’re probably about my age.  Most of them can’t speak English, but the ones who do try to talk to me.  It’s hard to understand their broken English covered by their strong Nepali accent.  But they do communicate.

  I’m not as tired as I thought I’d be.  I was probably asleep within the first minute I was in bed.  Cuddled up to my Nalgene bottle, I slept like a log. When I awoke, I came to the realization that there’s nothing comfortable about my bed.  It’s a mattress, maybe 2 inches thick, on top of a wooden board.  But it sure felt like a cloud when I hit it the night before.  I’ve been told there’s nothing comfortable about India.

  And I think they’re right.  Taking a bath in less than 40° weather isn’t the most pleasant.  And when you're told to end your semi-hot bath with cold water... brrr.  But hey!  At least you feel on top of the world when you step out of the bathroom/shower room.  I find it easier to end with the cold if I let out a series of hoots and hollers when I pour the freezing water on my head.  Makes the girls talking outside the door giggle and talk wildly.  

  Also worth mentioning is riding in a small car, with six other people, trying to share a seat with four of them, sitting on the edge, being jolted around for 3 or so hours.  Yet, I threw the window open and sucked in the air.  Sure it smelt of burning trash, cow dung and car exhaust.  To me, it smelt like Guatemala and Bolivia.  I reveled in it!  Who cares if I'm cramped and squished?

  I've realized, that my attitude changes everything.  I could look at all these things, the bathroom, the traveling, the cold, the bed, and every other inconvenience, and be miserable.  Yet, as I try to find beauty in my surrounding, something in me changes.  I just make tea when I'm cold.  I holler when I take a bath and end with cold water.  I just cuddle close to my hot Nalgene when my bed seems uncomfortable.  I marvel at the skill my driver has in maneuvering the roads.  And I'm not cold anymore.  I'm not tired and cramped driving.  I'm not sleeplessly tossing and turning.  I'm not miserably forcing my way through another bath.  

  And I realize... I'm learning gratitude and contentment.  What an amazing quality to gain!  Rather than gripe and groan, I can learn to enjoy being here!  I can learn to love the people!  What freedom!