What a day

Yesterday was MLK day. Here at Bryan, we spend that day doing community service projects around Dayton. Well, Anna, Jessalyn, and I signed up for Washing Mrs. Pankey's Windows with Dr. Turner. So we all loaded into Dr. Turners mini-van along with his adorable five year old daughter Sydney, and went across town to the house we were supposed to windex. It was about 9:00 am when we arrived, and after struggling to pull off screens and reach high up windows, we were finished with our project in about an hour and a half. It is widely known here at Bryan that MLK day projects should last the whole day, so we were a little perplexed about what to do next. So we drove back to campus, after dropping off Dr. Turner's kids' movies at the library, and found Danielle, the director for the day, and she said that some people were needed at Laurelbrook nursing home. She asked if anyone could play the piano or sing, and I said that I could, and Anna and Jessalyn agreed to sing.

Little did we know what the day would hold for us.

I had been to Laurelbrook once before with the nursing home ministry, so I knew what to expect going in. This nursing home is for the elderly that certainly cannot take care of themselves without around the clock care. I've been to many nursing homes, and this one is the neediest I have ever visited.
We were met at the door by Dorka, the wonderful and caring activities coordinator (she's from the Dominican Republic) who told us what she wanted us to do for the day. We thought we were just there to entertain with some old hymns for the residents. But after a few songs, she wanted us to visit a few residents that were stuck in their rooms. Some of them could not even talk or look straight at us, but Dorka, now one of my heroes, talked to them and showed them love even when they seemed to be unresponsive. We visited the residents with Dorka for a good long while. She really enjoyed introducing us to her patients and encouraged us to do the talking. She clearly loves her job and I noticed her constantly talking about the Lord. It was such an encouragement to hear her and see her work so cheerfully in a place full of death and sickness.
Dorka let us eat lunch, but warned us jokingly that if we didn't come back she would be upset. Anna drove us to one of her friends houses so we could eat in a cleaner environment. Then promptly at 1:00 we showed back up at Laurelbrook, and Dorka announced that we would help her give "hand massages" to the residents. The three of us were a little confused as to how we would do this, but Dorka hastily brought out the lotion, germ-X, disposable gloves, and washcloths, and told us what to do for a hand massage. "It's good to stimulate them," she said. Needless to say, we were hesitant, but I kept telling myself, I want to be a nurse, and this is nothing compared to what I'll be doing later on. And surprisingly, I found myself enjoying our little task. We had the privilege of humbling ourselves and serving people who hardly knew what was going on. As I talked to my "clients" I found that they enjoyed the service being done to them, and more than anything they just liked being loved by another person. I don't even remember how many hands I massaged, but Dorka wanted me to make room-calls to the shut-ins that couldn't be wheeled out front, because she knew they would enjoy their hands getting lotioned-up too.

At about 2:00, we walked out of Laurelbrook exhausted! I'm going to have to work on that, too, if I want to be a nurse. It wore me out.

Overall, the day was amazing. We were forced outside our comfort zones and had the opportunity to practically serve "the least of these".