Going Home

I've been in the states, saying with my family in Massachusetts, for about a week now.  As time goes on, I'm realizing one of the biggest reasons I had to come back is because I had to make sure my tie living in the states in really over, and, if it was, I had to officially close the chapter on that part of my life.  It is over, and that's not a bad thing.  If I hadn't found my place in the world, a place to belong, a place to give to others, a place where I can be myself with no restrictions, boundaries, or expectations, I would have a much harder time with it.  But, praise God, I have a place in the world where I can not only have everything in the world I want and need, but I can also help others get what they want and need, too.  Nothing can be taken at face value; if it is, so much beauty is missed beyond the outer appearances.  We are capable of change, and of growth.  We don't have to just "settle" for anything.  Just because we say goodbye to one chapter and move onto another, doesn't mean we leave people and places behind.  They will always have a special place in our hearts and in our memories, and they will remain there forever.  OK, enough of the "fortune cookie" banter...time to get up and seize the day! (had to get one more in....)

So, here's the run down....

So, when I go back to the states, I'm going to be making a presentation about the ministry before returning to Kenya.  Many of you have been wondering what the ministry is all about, so I thought I'd share the transcripts of the presentation for anyone who is curious.  Enjoy and be blessed!

                                                Project Agape Love

Shortly after I returned to Kenya in February of 2012, I began volunteering as a hospital/hospice lay chaplain for Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya’s largest government hospital, located in Nairobi.  After volunteering for several months, I began to take notice of a few things.  Due to a limited budget, patients were not receiving toiletries from the hospital.  They were simply given a basin of water every day to use for their cleaning and toileting needs.  Although their lack of cleanliness and their inability to properly take care of themselves was contributing to their depression and lack of self esteem, there was also a far more serious consequence taking place.    Subsequently, many patients with compromised immune systems due to AIDS and other catastrophic and chronic illnesses were dying because they were receiving illnesses from other patients, and also suffering from cross contamination due to improper hygiene and lack of sanitary living conditions.  Moreover, children who were patients of the hospital were living their lives void of any sort of amusement or comfort.  They were experiencing painful and traumatic medical procedures without any form of support.  They were being subjected to hearing their friend’s screams during these procedures, and watching their friends die around them.  Their parents and other family members are only allowed to visit during visiting hours, so most of the time the children were living these experiences alone and frightened.  Eventually the Lord helped me come to the decision that I could not volunteer at the hospital anymore without doing something to try to address these and other issues. 

 In October of 2012, I started a ministry called Project Agape Love.  The main focus group of the P.A.L. ministry is people of all ages who are in the process of dying, have life threatening illness or terminal illness, or are chronically ill.  In addition, P.A.L. also offers support services for family members of people who are sick and dying, and instructs patients and their families in ways to help and support each other, in addition to receiving support services through the ministry.

Project Agape Love is a holistic ministry focusing on the promotion of physical, mental, and spiritual health and wellness.  From personal experience, I know that when one of these areas is negatively affected, it has the very real potential of negatively affecting the other two areas as well.  The goal of Project Agape Love is to effectively minister to all three of these areas, thereby offering a holistic approach to healing.  In the past, the ways we have been addressing these three areas have included:

1.      We have had volunteers from all over the world help the ministry by organizing donations and visiting the hospital.  These countries include Korea, England, USA, Canada, Kenya, and Australia.

2.       Delivering healthy treats, such as bananas, to people who have been critically and severely burned to a point where they cannot do anything for themselves, and they need to be hand fed.  We also help feed them their meals.  Due to time constraints and the extensive patient to nurse ratio, often times patients are given their trays and simply left to fend for themselves.  For many of these patients, feeding themselves is an impossible task, as their bodies are so severely burned they might not be able to move, or their hands and arms are bandaged in such a way that they are rendered useless.

3.      Delivering toiletries including, but not limited to, soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes,  shampoo, and lotion to government hospital patients who do not receive these items from the hospital while they are patients.  The hope is that in receiving these items free of charge, it will not only promote self esteem, but also promote physical well being, thereby preventing the contraction of secondary infections.

4.      Children who have been critically burned, are living with HIV, AIDS, cancer and other catastrophic and chronic illnesses have received stuffed animals, books, and other toys.  The toys serve not only as entertainment, but also as a tangible way for the children to remember God’s love for them. 

5.      Bananas have also been delivered to several meetings of a support group for women living with HIV and AIDS.

6.      July 16^th 2012 will mark the opening of a holistic respite center named Sophie’s Place.  The goal of Sophie’s Place is to promote spiritual, physical and mental health wellness.  The services of this center will be available for women living with HIV and AIDS, cancer, and other catastrophic and chronic illness, and are living in unsanitary and unsafe conditions.  Currently, the center will be run from my home.  The women will be coming on Wednesday and Thursdays, one at a time from 9am to 4pm, to experience individualized care.  She will be receiving three organic, healthy meals prepared by an organic chef, and tea will also be available in the afternoon.  She will have her own private bedroom for sleep or meditation, which is called “Mama D’s Corner”.  The activities from which she can choose to do during the day include, but are not limited to:

a.       Lying in a hammock or on the grass

b.      Reading the bible or choosing a book to read that promotes healing from the Peter W. and Mark A. Johnson Memorial Library.

c.       Planting a flower or tree in a friend’s memory in the Rollins and Rupert Robinson Memorial Garden.

d.      Listening to relaxing music.

e.       Talking to me one on one.

f.       Taking a walk in or sitting in nature.

g.      Receiving a massage with scented oil or lotion.

h.      Having the opportunity to bathe in clean, warm water with scented soaps.

i.        Having nails painted.

In addition to these services, she will also be learning skills she can use to get her through difficult times in a healthy way.  Project Agape Love has partnered with Living Positive Kenya to initially provide these services to\ a pilot group of fifty women living with HIV and AIDS.  Each woman will have the opportunity to come to the center twice per year, with possible small, weekend retreats also available.

Some of the things for which we need donations:

A.    Transportation- Transportation to and from the center is going to be free of charge.  $30  per week should suffice for this.

B.     Food- I have received a very generous donations of services provided for an organic chef to prepare meals.  However, this is not completely free as she will be preparing the meals at cost.  $20-50 per week is enough to buy the ingredients needed for meals.

C.     Books- I like to spend approximately $15 dollars a week building the library.  In addition, books of any kind are also accepted.

D.    Lotions/ soaps etc: Approximately $15 dollars a week is needed to provide lotions and soaps.

In addition to Sophie’s Place, I will also be continuing the ministry at the hospital, and will continue needing donations for that.  As always, we appreciate all of your help and support.  It does my patients so much good to know how many people love them and support them.  We wish you all health and much happiness.  Be blessed!

There's got to Be More to Life Than This......

.....while I was living in the states, that is the thought I had, constantly.  There has to be more to life than this. While I was talking with a mentor yesterday, I realized that for the first time, I haven't had that thought once since moving to Kenya.  A woman shared with me a story yesterday. It was a parable from the book The Dream Giver.  A man named Ordinary lived in the land of Familiar.  Every day was routine.  He would go to work, go out for drinks with friends, the come home.  One day, he found a white feather, and he didn't know what to do with it.  His father told him that he had once found a white feather, and hadn't done anything with it.  The white feather was a his dream.  His father told the man to do something with the white feather, for him.

I truly feel like I have found my white feather here in Kenya.  It's an incredibly scary and daunting thing, putting down roots in another country, thousands of miles away from everything comfortable and familiar.  After this furlough to the states, I don't know when I will be able to go back.  I know it will not be at least for several months, as I will have to save up again.  And if things go sour here, I stand to loose so much.  My ministry, my friends, my dogs, my home, basically, the life I've worked so hard to create for myself.  These thoughts and fears have been running through my mind constantly.  Initially, it would be easier to just stay in the states, and let's be honest, probably a lot safe, too.  However, sometimes "easier" and "safer" isn't always "better".  I've always loved the underdog, and stand up and cheer when the rise from adversity.  For me, the movie Rudy is the best example of that.  One of my favorite quotes from the movie is when he is leaving his best friend's funeral.  He tells his fiance that he's going to south Bend, to try to get into Notre Dame and play football, or he will never be good enough for her, or for himself.  Long before I knew I was going to be moving to Kenya, my dream was to open a no cost hospice/respite center.  Through His unimaginable mercy, grace, and love, God has presented me with the opportunity to live my dream.  God never gives us anything unless we ask for it, and He never forces anything on us.  He gives us opportunities, and then gives us the option to either take those opportunities or ignore them.  The one thing I know is this: Despite all of my fears, reservations, and concerns, if I don't use this opportunity the Lord has provided me to the best of my ability, and carry it out as far as it possibly can go, I will never be good enough for myself.  I will never be good enough for anyone else.  I will spend the rest of my life wondering if I could have done it, if I gave up too soon, if I gave into fear.  And even though life in Kenya can at times be uncomfortable and sometimes even downright scary, I realized I can't live the rest of my life wondering.  God gave me this incredible gift of a passion for loving people who are sick and dying, and having the opportunity to do so.  It is my responsibility to use this gift to the very best of my God given ability.  Anything else is simply unacceptable.