The Orphan Doll

This is the most precious gift I received from Bob for Christmas.

Before I went to live with my folks, I spent 6 months in an orphanage. My mom picked my brother and I up a few weeks after Easter 1956 when I was 3 1/2 years old. That Easter someone had given all the children in the orphanage gifts. I received a trio of pink 'plush' items. A dog, a bunny and a doll.

The doll had a rubber head but a pink fuzzy body. I loved all three of those things and slept with one of them every night for many years.

Finally after a few years my mom decided they needed washing, but being filled with sawdust sadly they did not survive the cleaning. I can still picture standing in the basement near the washing machine crying while my mom apologized. I think she felt as bad as I did. Their bodies had shredded and the saw dust was spilled out. There was nothing to do but throw them away.

A few years ago when we lived in Warsaw, IN, I went to a yard sale in the mobile home park where we lived. There on the table was the pink dog with a 25cent price tag. The seller's sister was born the same year as me and apparently had no special attachment to her dog. It's packed away in storage at David and Lyndie's now.

This summer Bob and I were in Greenville, OH, during the time of the US127 garage sales that stretches from Michigan all the way South! No we did not travel that entire distance, but tried to hit a large stretch in the area. Most of our gifts to one another are used books, DVD's,CD's etc. so this is always a great time to shop for the next year.

I saw this doll on one of the tables and about cried,but since I wasn't shopping for gifts for myself I left her there.

She is worn and tattered; she needs cleaning. She was the final gift I opened this morning and the most precious!

Another Thursday....

Today was Clinic Day....(I think that's the way I started my last post to this blog, too). But let me explain what today was like......

For the last two weeks I have been hearing the 'quack-quack-quack' of a duck somewhere near our apartment. But I have never seen a duck anywhere in all of Juan Dolio. Never the less, I have been hearing 'quack-quack-quack'. I thought maybe it was just wishful thinking, since I enjoyed them so much when we were in the cabin on the lake last year when we were in the States. (check my FB page for ALL the pics)

We headed over to the clinic about 7:30, but before we got to the main road, Bob said "There's a duck!!!" WHAT???? There's a duck??? Sure enough in the road were a duck and a chicken 'conversing'. That should have told me what kind of a day it was going to be. When was the last time you saw a duck and a chicken conversing in the road?

We pulled up to the clinic and couldn't even get to our parking spot in front of the clinic due to all the buses there for the teams. Bob parked on the road behind the line of buses and we made it through the crowd of people patiently waiting for the clinic to open. How Elsie and Jackie ever make sense out of the confusion is a testament to their patience and perseverence!

Before the clinic even opened for the patients, Bob had already treated 3 people from the teams.

I got a cup of cafe con leche from the machine at SCORE...only it was minus the 'leche' (milk). So it was 'cafe con leche sin leche' (coffee with milk without milk). Partway through the morning I went back over to try again. No improvement on the leche part :(

But as I was walking across the front of the clinic one of the older women said something to me, but I couldn't understand what she was saying. She just smiled, I smiled back. (More on this later in the day)

Then I filled the scripts for several patients, including one very sweet older woman. But as I re-entered the pharmacy after talking to one of the interns, I saw one of her BP meds sitting on the table. YIKES!!! Not good! As I exited the pharmacy, I saw Elsie coming in from the reception area and told her. She went out to catch the woman. Too late...she was gone. But there was a man sitting outside on a motorcycle. Elsie told him and he proceeded to take off the wrong way down the street to find the patient. Sure enough about 4 minutes later he came back with her on the back of his motorcycle. I apologized to her, gave her the additional med, she got back on the bike and he took her back to where he had picked her up. I asked Elsie if we needed to pay for the motoconcho. She said "No! He's one of the patients just waiting to be seen!"

Since we're going to be in the States for 2 months, we are filling scripts for the regular patients so they don't run out while we're gone or so they don't all show up on the same day when we get back. For the reg patients who are taking BP and Diabetic meds I'm counting out 115 of each med. I think I counted to 115 about 100 times today. I told Bob to ignore me if I start counting by 5's in my sleep tonight....

One lady crochets every time she comes. In the past she has made comments about making me a skirt. That's made me just a bit nervous! The skirts I see her making are quite beautiful...but they also look like doily lace and quite skinny. Today she offered again. I didn't want to make her feel bad but I don't want to picture myself in a tight crocheted doily skirt either! So, today I asked her instead if she could make me a shawl to wear in the evenings. So, on Sunday I will give my crochet thread to her granddaughter, and if I understood her right, she will have the shawl done for me to wear when we go to the States! How sweet is that?

Now comes my 'how precious!" moment of the day~~ Remember the woman who was saying something to me earlier in the day that I couldn't understand. When I got her scripts filled in the afternoon about 3PM (Yes, she had been there since before 7:30AM!), I called her back to explain them to her. But first I managed to say in Spanish that I hadn't understood what she was saying earlier to me since my Spanish is so bad~~ could she please repeat it. "dulce" (sweet) was the only word I understood. She proceeded to pull out a gift bag from her purse and hand it to me. Inside was a rather large plastic container that normally holds chocolate powder. When I opened it I wanted to cry. Before coming this morning to stand in line, she had made us corn pudding! She said she wanted to thank God and us for taking care of her! She then gave me a big hug and kiss on the cheek. How precious is that?

Somewhere in the conversation today in the waiting area, Elsie must have told them that Bob and I are going to the States soon. So through out the day I was receiving lots of hugs, kisses on the cheek and wishes for "Buen Viaje"

Our time in the States will be wonderful I have no doubt. We'll spend time with family, take the grandkids camping, enjoy talking with friends and visit churches. Hopefully, getting some much needed rest and relaxation. But it's going to be hard to leave these dear sweet special people behind, too!

Two words tenderly spoken

Thursday was clinic day. We were closed the previous Thursday since Bob was in the States for his brother's memorial service. So we knew when we pulled up that there would be a crowd....and there was! Atleast 30 people waiting...

We function on a first come/first served basis. The patients have come to know that. The line used to start forming at 6AM, then people said they were there at 4:30AM. Now the first people are in line at 3AM. They wait patiently, some bring their own chairs, keeping their own record of who arrived when and they greet us warmly when we pull up at 7:40...

Although regulars returning for refills on their BP and diabetic meds have priority, Elsie, our receptionist, makes sense out of the group and determines who is first.

Our small staff ~Elsie, Jackie, Bob and I~ gather for prayer. A little after 8AM the first patient is sent through to be seen.

Thursday was no different. Except that in the crowd to be seen was a Pastor and his brother. This pastor oversees several small churches, along with his own. He's known for his booming voice. Usually when he enters, I hear him before I ever see him. He can preach without a microphone!

But Thursday was different...I didn't hear him; I only saw his vehicle parked outside.

Then I opened the door to the reception area to call a patient back to explain their meds to them. Normally, I can hear their lively conversations long before I open the door. Try putting a receptionist, 15 or more people, including babies and small children (they bring friends and family members) and a TV playing a Christian movie into a room barely larger than most US bathrooms and you can get an idea of the noise level.

But this time as I approached it was quiet....as I slowly opened the door (I've hit too many people with the door to open it quickly any more!) the first people I saw were sitting very quietly with their attention to the wall where the TV is wall-mounted. But the TV wasn't on.

As I opened the door further, I heard a very gentle voice. It was this pastor, who was there as a patient himself, quietly talking to the assembled patients. No loud booming voice; no wildly pointing finger to make a point. He was leaning against the wall and in the most gentle and loving voice he was talking to all of them. I only caught a couple of words of what he said. But those two words were perfect...
"Jesus" and "loves"

Through the rest of that chaotic day my mind went back to that scene. We were swamped that day, only had 20 minutes for lunch, and didn't get out of there til 5:40PM (Normally we're done just before 5) But in all the busy-ness of that day, when I wanted to scream "Enough!!!" I could see this pastor leaning against the wall tenderly telling them about the love of Jesus....

That's why we're here doing what we're doing ~~because Jesus loves!

To the Glory of God

"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

~~I Corinthians 10:31~~

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"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the LORD,

and not for human masters."
~~ Colossians 3:23~~

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"If a man is called to be street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well."

~~Martin Luther King, Jr~~