I have been censoring my blog entries to exclude a lot of the drama going on within our house, but this has been the most challenging part of my experience so far. I want to present this as rationally as possible, and I’m sharing because it has escalated to a point in which something needs to change, and I am working out what the best option will be. When I entered this program, I was expecting to live in conditions of poverty similar to the people we would be serving. Also, I was led to believe that all the people who would be living in our house would have the intention of living together in a community that cares about each member, and is interested in growing as a group in our faith and love for each other. I have loved more these past 2 months than I ever would have imagined I could. However, it backfired, and our house has a feud going on where there is harboring of animosity for the others, and I have never experienced a situation so unhealthy to live in. In my last blog, I already commented on how fancy our house is. The need to wash our clothes by hand and boil water had been the two parts of our routine that were simple, but this week we got a water dispenser, and we are getting a brand new washing machine soon. Also, a phone line and wireless internet will be part of our lives soon. I feel that it is very hard to relate to those around us when we have so much more than they do. Mainly, I was just looking forward to a difference from what we are used to at home.
In some ways, I know that I am growing immensely because I am being challenged to love people who do not necessarily want to be loved. I understand more fiercely than ever how amazing Jesus was to be able to love perfectly when it was not at all accepted. I also realize that I’m interested in conflict resolution as a potential career avenue. I miss that part of being an RA. I really value the ability to reason through conflict, and being here, I realize that just because people are adults, does not mean that they have learned to communicate effectively. I feel like that’s one of the most important skills people need to develop. If I stay in Monterrey, I have come to a point mentally where I can move forward to help myself be a healthier and happier person. However, another possibility keeps coming to the surface.
Fernando Ferrara, the big cheese of the Foundation that is supporting us keeps pointing Mike and me in the direction of moving to Huasteca. He has suggested that we could work on 2 projects: further develop the cooperative that the indigenous women have to sell their crafts, and help get the lead out of the water that people are to drink there. Also, there is the possibility of enhancing their bottle recycling program. The benefits to being there are numerous. It is the experience I had dreamed of in living simply. When I was there, I finally got a chance to interact with people, and began to have an exchange of experiences. There is a small town feel where people know each other and are open to share. It would be a chance to escape being part of the parade of “missioneros” that comes into the clinic everyday and tries to talk to the same few people while cramping each other’s space. I honestly think that having 4 missionaries trying to do the same thing in the same little place is way too many, especially when there are such strong personalities. We have made a plan to try to change the structure of our days at the clinic to begin doing things separately, but still…I think what happened in Santa Fe, Mexico City last year was better, because with 2 people, they can support each other, but there are enough resources to go around as far as people go. Then, after the initial year, it’s okay to add 2 more, because 2 are already settled. Maybe that experience was more challenging than I see it, but all I know is that I find myself not talking to people because one of the others has already gotten to them first….it sounds so childish, and it IS! Yet, we seem to have a big sharing problem.
So there are also benefits to staying in Monterrey. It would be a really good thing if things could actually get better in our house, because it would be such a big challenge. It would mean that we wouldn’t have to start from square 1 again regarding living arrangements. I have my own space and I have already super-cleaned my room, and put pictures up, etc. It is an easy place to stay in touch with everyone and is convenient for visitors. I am already getting attached to many people who work with us, especially with the Sisters. The people who are supporting us in the clinic have been bending over backwards to help us in any way they can. It would be exciting to be part of creating the program to visit homebound people in their homes, and connect the parish and clinic. Also, I like the doctors that I have begun to get to know, and I have the opportunity to shadow them in the clinic. We have nothing to worry about as far as getting food here…and we have hot and running water, transportation to work every day, and easy access to buses to go wherever once we put the effort in to figuring out the routes. Also, there are brigades that go out from the clinics to Zwazwa for a day every 15 days (and I’m hoping to go on my first one this Saturday), and to Huasteca every few months for a weekend every few months. I could try to figure out a creative way to be helpful in the brigades to justify my being there. Also, I think I would be laughed out of Huasteca with as much stuff as I have accumulated already, so that’s a perk for staying in Monterrey.
So, these are incomplete thoughts about that. Tere Manon, the director of the program is coming next week to visit us and try to figure out what’s going to happen. My goal is to figure out which of the challenges I am being called to at this point because I know either has potential, but either will also be hard. Please keep me in prayer as I try to work out what the best option is. I feel like a year is really a short time to be here, especially since Linda and Paula keep reminding us that they’re here “for the long haul” which means 2 years compared to the 1 that Mike and I committed to. I am practicing challenging myself to recognize that I can control how I feel and how I deal with situations. This is not easy though.
Today, we had a pretty good day. We began at the clinic with reading the gospel, and also a reflection on being present to people. Then, we got to spend a few hours with the elderly group that meets on Thursday mornings. I relate well with them, and I am looking forward to visiting them in their homes. Most of the women bring some craft that they are making, and the men like to play dominoes and some very confusing card game. Someone always brings food for us to try. Today we had homemade gorditas and a tasty drink made of corn, milk, sugar, and cinnamon. The Mexican government had a program called DIF that gives a box of nutritional supplements especially designed for senior citizens, and so they were handing them out for a portion of the time today, and it was interesting to visit with the people who do that as a job. In the afternoon, Mike and I went with several people from the clinic to the big hospital to run errands and we ended up having lunch at Pollo Loco. I like the taste, but I always feel sick afterwards. It has been really chilly here the past few days, and has gotten to about 16 degrees Celsius at night, and we are waiting for blankets still….brrr…and all the clothes I brought make sense for someone out in the country…not in a stylish city like Monterrey…and if it gets much colder, I’m going to have to go shopping…oh Andrea…
Still hanging on and loving all of you at home. Thanks for keeping up with me as you can and telling me what’s going on in your lives as well. Andrea Michelle
Thursday, September 24, 2009
I have been censoring my blog entries to exclude a lot of the drama going on within our house, but this has been the most challenging part of my experience so far. I want to present this as rationally as possible, and I’m sharing because it has escalated to a point in which something needs to change, and I am working out what the best option will be. When I entered this program, I was expecting to live in conditions of poverty similar to the people we would be serving. Also, I was led to believe that all the people who would be living in our house would have the intention of living together in a community that cares about each member, and is interested in growing as a group in our faith and love for each other. I have loved more these past 2 months than I ever would have imagined I could. However, it backfired, and our house has a feud going on where there is harboring of animosity for the others, and I have never experienced a situation so unhealthy to live in. In my last blog, I already commented on how fancy our house is. The need to wash our clothes by hand and boil water had been the two parts of our routine that were simple, but this week we got a water dispenser, and we are getting a brand new washing machine soon. Also, a phone line and wireless internet will be part of our lives soon. I feel that it is very hard to relate to those around us when we have so much more than they do. Mainly, I was just looking forward to a difference from what we are used to at home.
In some ways, I know that I am growing immensely because I am being challenged to love people who do not necessarily want to be loved. I understand more fiercely than ever how amazing Jesus was to be able to love perfectly when it was not at all accepted. I also realize that I’m interested in conflict resolution as a potential career avenue. I miss that part of being an RA. I really value the ability to reason through conflict, and being here, I realize that just because people are adults, does not mean that they have learned to communicate effectively. I feel like that’s one of the most important skills people need to develop. If I stay in Monterrey, I have come to a point mentally where I can move forward to help myself be a healthier and happier person. However, another possibility keeps coming to the surface.
Fernando Ferrara, the big cheese of the Foundation that is supporting us keeps pointing Mike and me in the direction of moving to Huasteca. He has suggested that we could work on 2 projects: further develop the cooperative that the indigenous women have to sell their crafts, and help get the lead out of the water that people are to drink there. Also, there is the possibility of enhancing their bottle recycling program. The benefits to being there are numerous. It is the experience I had dreamed of in living simply. When I was there, I finally got a chance to interact with people, and began to have an exchange of experiences. There is a small town feel where people know each other and are open to share. It would be a chance to escape being part of the parade of “missioneros” that comes into the clinic everyday and tries to talk to the same few people while cramping each other’s space. I honestly think that having 4 missionaries trying to do the same thing in the same little place is way too many, especially when there are such strong personalities. We have made a plan to try to change the structure of our days at the clinic to begin doing things separately, but still…I think what happened in Santa Fe, Mexico City last year was better, because with 2 people, they can support each other, but there are enough resources to go around as far as people go. Then, after the initial year, it’s okay to add 2 more, because 2 are already settled. Maybe that experience was more challenging than I see it, but all I know is that I find myself not talking to people because one of the others has already gotten to them first….it sounds so childish, and it IS! Yet, we seem to have a big sharing problem.
So there are also benefits to staying in Monterrey. It would be a really good thing if things could actually get better in our house, because it would be such a big challenge. It would mean that we wouldn’t have to start from square 1 again regarding living arrangements. I have my own space and I have already super-cleaned my room, and put pictures up, etc. It is an easy place to stay in touch with everyone and is convenient for visitors. I am already getting attached to many people who work with us, especially with the Sisters. The people who are supporting us in the clinic have been bending over backwards to help us in any way they can. It would be exciting to be part of creating the program to visit homebound people in their homes, and connect the parish and clinic. Also, I like the doctors that I have begun to get to know, and I have the opportunity to shadow them in the clinic. We have nothing to worry about as far as getting food here…and we have hot and running water, transportation to work every day, and easy access to buses to go wherever once we put the effort in to figuring out the routes. Also, there are brigades that go out from the clinics to Zwazwa for a day every 15 days (and I’m hoping to go on my first one this Saturday), and to Huasteca every few months for a weekend every few months. I could try to figure out a creative way to be helpful in the brigades to justify my being there. Also, I think I would be laughed out of Huasteca with as much stuff as I have accumulated already, so that’s a perk for staying in Monterrey.
So, these are incomplete thoughts about that. Tere Manon, the director of the program is coming next week to visit us and try to figure out what’s going to happen. My goal is to figure out which of the challenges I am being called to at this point because I know either has potential, but either will also be hard. Please keep me in prayer as I try to work out what the best option is. I feel like a year is really a short time to be here, especially since Linda and Paula keep reminding us that they’re here “for the long haul” which means 2 years compared to the 1 that Mike and I committed to. I am practicing challenging myself to recognize that I can control how I feel and how I deal with situations. This is not easy though.
Today, we had a pretty good day. We began at the clinic with reading the gospel, and also a reflection on being present to people. Then, we got to spend a few hours with the elderly group that meets on Thursday mornings. I relate well with them, and I am looking forward to visiting them in their homes. Most of the women bring some craft that they are making, and the men like to play dominoes and some very confusing card game. Someone always brings food for us to try. Today we had homemade gorditas and a tasty drink made of corn, milk, sugar, and cinnamon. The Mexican government had a program called DIF that gives a box of nutritional supplements especially designed for senior citizens, and so they were handing them out for a portion of the time today, and it was interesting to visit with the people who do that as a job. In the afternoon, Mike and I went with several people from the clinic to the big hospital to run errands and we ended up having lunch at Pollo Loco. I like the taste, but I always feel sick afterwards. It has been really chilly here the past few days, and has gotten to about 16 degrees Celsius at night, and we are waiting for blankets still….brrr…and all the clothes I brought make sense for someone out in the country…not in a stylish city like Monterrey…and if it gets much colder, I’m going to have to go shopping…oh Andrea…
Still hanging on and loving all of you at home. Thanks for keeping up with me as you can and telling me what’s going on in your lives as well. Andrea Michelle
In some ways, I know that I am growing immensely because I am being challenged to love people who do not necessarily want to be loved. I understand more fiercely than ever how amazing Jesus was to be able to love perfectly when it was not at all accepted. I also realize that I’m interested in conflict resolution as a potential career avenue. I miss that part of being an RA. I really value the ability to reason through conflict, and being here, I realize that just because people are adults, does not mean that they have learned to communicate effectively. I feel like that’s one of the most important skills people need to develop. If I stay in Monterrey, I have come to a point mentally where I can move forward to help myself be a healthier and happier person. However, another possibility keeps coming to the surface.
Fernando Ferrara, the big cheese of the Foundation that is supporting us keeps pointing Mike and me in the direction of moving to Huasteca. He has suggested that we could work on 2 projects: further develop the cooperative that the indigenous women have to sell their crafts, and help get the lead out of the water that people are to drink there. Also, there is the possibility of enhancing their bottle recycling program. The benefits to being there are numerous. It is the experience I had dreamed of in living simply. When I was there, I finally got a chance to interact with people, and began to have an exchange of experiences. There is a small town feel where people know each other and are open to share. It would be a chance to escape being part of the parade of “missioneros” that comes into the clinic everyday and tries to talk to the same few people while cramping each other’s space. I honestly think that having 4 missionaries trying to do the same thing in the same little place is way too many, especially when there are such strong personalities. We have made a plan to try to change the structure of our days at the clinic to begin doing things separately, but still…I think what happened in Santa Fe, Mexico City last year was better, because with 2 people, they can support each other, but there are enough resources to go around as far as people go. Then, after the initial year, it’s okay to add 2 more, because 2 are already settled. Maybe that experience was more challenging than I see it, but all I know is that I find myself not talking to people because one of the others has already gotten to them first….it sounds so childish, and it IS! Yet, we seem to have a big sharing problem.
So there are also benefits to staying in Monterrey. It would be a really good thing if things could actually get better in our house, because it would be such a big challenge. It would mean that we wouldn’t have to start from square 1 again regarding living arrangements. I have my own space and I have already super-cleaned my room, and put pictures up, etc. It is an easy place to stay in touch with everyone and is convenient for visitors. I am already getting attached to many people who work with us, especially with the Sisters. The people who are supporting us in the clinic have been bending over backwards to help us in any way they can. It would be exciting to be part of creating the program to visit homebound people in their homes, and connect the parish and clinic. Also, I like the doctors that I have begun to get to know, and I have the opportunity to shadow them in the clinic. We have nothing to worry about as far as getting food here…and we have hot and running water, transportation to work every day, and easy access to buses to go wherever once we put the effort in to figuring out the routes. Also, there are brigades that go out from the clinics to Zwazwa for a day every 15 days (and I’m hoping to go on my first one this Saturday), and to Huasteca every few months for a weekend every few months. I could try to figure out a creative way to be helpful in the brigades to justify my being there. Also, I think I would be laughed out of Huasteca with as much stuff as I have accumulated already, so that’s a perk for staying in Monterrey.
So, these are incomplete thoughts about that. Tere Manon, the director of the program is coming next week to visit us and try to figure out what’s going to happen. My goal is to figure out which of the challenges I am being called to at this point because I know either has potential, but either will also be hard. Please keep me in prayer as I try to work out what the best option is. I feel like a year is really a short time to be here, especially since Linda and Paula keep reminding us that they’re here “for the long haul” which means 2 years compared to the 1 that Mike and I committed to. I am practicing challenging myself to recognize that I can control how I feel and how I deal with situations. This is not easy though.
Today, we had a pretty good day. We began at the clinic with reading the gospel, and also a reflection on being present to people. Then, we got to spend a few hours with the elderly group that meets on Thursday mornings. I relate well with them, and I am looking forward to visiting them in their homes. Most of the women bring some craft that they are making, and the men like to play dominoes and some very confusing card game. Someone always brings food for us to try. Today we had homemade gorditas and a tasty drink made of corn, milk, sugar, and cinnamon. The Mexican government had a program called DIF that gives a box of nutritional supplements especially designed for senior citizens, and so they were handing them out for a portion of the time today, and it was interesting to visit with the people who do that as a job. In the afternoon, Mike and I went with several people from the clinic to the big hospital to run errands and we ended up having lunch at Pollo Loco. I like the taste, but I always feel sick afterwards. It has been really chilly here the past few days, and has gotten to about 16 degrees Celsius at night, and we are waiting for blankets still….brrr…and all the clothes I brought make sense for someone out in the country…not in a stylish city like Monterrey…and if it gets much colder, I’m going to have to go shopping…oh Andrea…
Still hanging on and loving all of you at home. Thanks for keeping up with me as you can and telling me what’s going on in your lives as well. Andrea Michelle
Sunday, September 20, 2009
So when push comes to shove, I would rather talk or journal than write on this blog. Since I decided to make it though, I feel obligated to write on it every once in awhile, especially since it allows me to share my experience with those who care about me back at home. The past couple weeks have been more of an emotional roller coaster than I have ever experienced before. I know that it is a good thing that I’m here, and I am recognize that the challenges are God’s way to help me grow. That doesn’t make the challenges any less.
We are in our new house now as of the first week in September. It is in the same block as a couple of Sisters of the Incarnate Word that are amazing. Sor (Sister)Beatriz and Sor Angeles both work at the clinic that we are at. Both are nurses and have done a lot to make us feel at home here in Monterrey. Sor Beatriz has been our main contact for moving forward at the clinic, and we fondly call her “Mama.” Sor Angeles is our “tia” or aunt. The house is pretty fancy for what we were expecting. It is two-story with a bathroom, kitchen, and dining/living room on the first floor, and we have 3 bedrooms upstairs. Mike and I each have our own rooms and share a bathroom and Linda and Paula share the master bedroom that has a bathroom and walk-out terrace. Here’s to living simply… We do wash our clothes by hand which is interesting! Yesterday I bought scotch tape so I put up pictures on my walls, which actually makes my room feel like home.
This past week, Mike and I went on a trip to Huasteca in the state of San Luis Potosi from Monday through Thursday to live with indigenous families. There were 10 of us total that did the 7 hour drive each way. Most of the group had participated in a weekend workshop on non-violence with Carl Kline who is an activist in South Dakota and Mathai who is from India and has worked with many people who knew Gandhi. It was the best 4 days that I had had since being here. It was my first time bathing outside with a bucket of water and cup, and even though everything was harder and took more time, I loved being there. I learned how to make tortillas by hand and we had a traditional danza where the Teneek people did their type of folk dancing…very fun! Also, Mike and his host family killed a deer, so I got to try very fresh venison. I felt like the trip was what I was hoping for in the whole missionary experience. It was very hard to come back to the city life of Monterrey after enjoying Huasteca so much.
Friday we went back to work at the clinic and I actually had a really good day—probably the best day since being there. In the morning, Mike and I talked with Laura Vega (a wonderful social worker that had been working at the clinic in Huasteca for the last 4 years, but decided to go back to school for physical therapy so is working full time at our clinic, Fommerey 35, while she also goes to school full-time. She has been working a lot to help us set up our game plan at the clinic and in her time off, she has even helped us to figure out the bus system a little, and has offered to help us figure out the city and do whatever she can to help. She’s 31 but I feel like we’re peers….a very good person to know here.) Then I visited with Laura Dwarte (She is a middle-aged nurse who is in charge of taking care of the details for Brigades. Every couple weeks, a team of doctors and nurses spends a Saturday at Zuazua which is another clinic in the Fundacion. Also, they send medical brigades out to 2 clinics that are in Huasteca about every few months. The clinics are always staffed with general doctors, but the brigades are made up of specialty docs that are willing to take care of people in poorer areas.) Talking with Laura reminded me that Monterrey is our home base, but that we aren’t really stuck here. I will probably have opportunities to get back to Huasteca and spend time with those people who I really loved there, so I don’t need to worry that I’m in the wrong place for mission. Laura gave me some apple juice and some sweet bread that is typical of Monterrey too, and I had been too sleepy to pack a lunch because I was wiped out after the trip, so I really appreciated her generosity. I can actually understand and participate in conversations in Spanish now, which is really exciting. After I left Laura’s office, I went in search of my fellow missionaries. Paula and Mike were in the auditorium listening to a group of nursing students from UdeM (University of Monterrey) give a presentation to the community about hypertension. After the talk, they gave water bottles and fruit cups…I’m kind of a sucker for free food. Anyone who knows me enough to read this already knows that. After the presentation, I went toward the bathroom, but ran into Dr. Julio who I had met a couple weeks ago at a baby shower for one of the nurses at the clinic. He is 25, and works as a general physician at the clinic. When I met him, he told me that he works 8pm-8am, so I assumed that I wouldn’t see him at the clinic again, but we got along really well from the beginning. He plans on specializing in dermatology at a school in Spain after working a year at this clinic. (To become a doctor in Mexico, right after high school there are 6 years for med school followed by a required year of social service which is common to any major. So…there is no undergraduate degree with pre-med requirements like I had to do, so they can actually finish med school at a decent time in their lives.) Dr. Julio told me that he had been working the day shift all week and since I wasn’t there with Linda and Paula, he thought I had gone home. It was nice that he noticed. I think he’d be a great friend, too. He has offered that I can shadow him anytime when he’d working over in the clinic since he knows that I am hoping to have some clinical experiences during this year.
Then Linda, Paula, Mike, and I had some time with Laura Vega to talk about the goals of the program that we are putting together to implement at the clinic. The goal of the program is to create a team to serve people with disabilities and terminal illnesses that are pretty much homebound. The idea is that we as missionaries work together with nurses and doctors to serve these members of the community that currently are not receiving all the care they need. We have spent a lot of our time at the clinic reading about how to do hospice care in order to visit sick people in their homes like a pastoral minister would. We are working with the local parish that already has la Legion de Maria which sends volunteers out to people’s homes to help them clean and just listen to them. The idea is to build on this service by providing pastoral and medical care too. I am honestly getting tired of the planning for this program because it seems like busywork and it doesn’t seem to move forward. I want to go with a volunteer on their visits and just start spending time with the old folks. I’m not much of a planner by nature. That’s how I feel about that.
Antioco, one of the accountants who works at the clinic drove us home and he is such a hoot. He wanted to know how to say happy birthday in English, and it was a wonderful opportunity to actually laugh out loud. Mike says I cannot do justice to the moment by writing about it. He is a jokester, and it was just we needed at the moment.
Later that night, Mike and I decided to make a birthday cake for Linda, so Mike ran to the grocery store to get a cake mix and frosting, and we made a cake while she was at the ciber café. It was a big hit. Her birthday was September 16th when we were gone. It was good to do something for her.
Yesterday afternoon, Mike and I went grocery shopping for the house, and then prepared a wonderful spaghetti supper, we went to mass with Sor Angeles, and then invited her over for supper. It was awesome to have company because we all sat down to eat together for the first time since being in our house. We played one round of uno which was also very fun.
I have had to learn a lot about myself in order to be a helpful member in community. I have had to adjust my expectations a lot. Also, many things I have “known” about getting along with others has taken on a whole new meaning for me.
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things which I cannot change, the strength to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Please keep us in prayer. I miss and love you all. We are going to have wireless internet in our house sometime in the relatively near future, so hopefully I can talk myself into writing on this more often. I also have wonderful pictures that I will get up soon somehow. Please write me too. Love, Andrea Michelle
We are in our new house now as of the first week in September. It is in the same block as a couple of Sisters of the Incarnate Word that are amazing. Sor (Sister)Beatriz and Sor Angeles both work at the clinic that we are at. Both are nurses and have done a lot to make us feel at home here in Monterrey. Sor Beatriz has been our main contact for moving forward at the clinic, and we fondly call her “Mama.” Sor Angeles is our “tia” or aunt. The house is pretty fancy for what we were expecting. It is two-story with a bathroom, kitchen, and dining/living room on the first floor, and we have 3 bedrooms upstairs. Mike and I each have our own rooms and share a bathroom and Linda and Paula share the master bedroom that has a bathroom and walk-out terrace. Here’s to living simply… We do wash our clothes by hand which is interesting! Yesterday I bought scotch tape so I put up pictures on my walls, which actually makes my room feel like home.
This past week, Mike and I went on a trip to Huasteca in the state of San Luis Potosi from Monday through Thursday to live with indigenous families. There were 10 of us total that did the 7 hour drive each way. Most of the group had participated in a weekend workshop on non-violence with Carl Kline who is an activist in South Dakota and Mathai who is from India and has worked with many people who knew Gandhi. It was the best 4 days that I had had since being here. It was my first time bathing outside with a bucket of water and cup, and even though everything was harder and took more time, I loved being there. I learned how to make tortillas by hand and we had a traditional danza where the Teneek people did their type of folk dancing…very fun! Also, Mike and his host family killed a deer, so I got to try very fresh venison. I felt like the trip was what I was hoping for in the whole missionary experience. It was very hard to come back to the city life of Monterrey after enjoying Huasteca so much.
Friday we went back to work at the clinic and I actually had a really good day—probably the best day since being there. In the morning, Mike and I talked with Laura Vega (a wonderful social worker that had been working at the clinic in Huasteca for the last 4 years, but decided to go back to school for physical therapy so is working full time at our clinic, Fommerey 35, while she also goes to school full-time. She has been working a lot to help us set up our game plan at the clinic and in her time off, she has even helped us to figure out the bus system a little, and has offered to help us figure out the city and do whatever she can to help. She’s 31 but I feel like we’re peers….a very good person to know here.) Then I visited with Laura Dwarte (She is a middle-aged nurse who is in charge of taking care of the details for Brigades. Every couple weeks, a team of doctors and nurses spends a Saturday at Zuazua which is another clinic in the Fundacion. Also, they send medical brigades out to 2 clinics that are in Huasteca about every few months. The clinics are always staffed with general doctors, but the brigades are made up of specialty docs that are willing to take care of people in poorer areas.) Talking with Laura reminded me that Monterrey is our home base, but that we aren’t really stuck here. I will probably have opportunities to get back to Huasteca and spend time with those people who I really loved there, so I don’t need to worry that I’m in the wrong place for mission. Laura gave me some apple juice and some sweet bread that is typical of Monterrey too, and I had been too sleepy to pack a lunch because I was wiped out after the trip, so I really appreciated her generosity. I can actually understand and participate in conversations in Spanish now, which is really exciting. After I left Laura’s office, I went in search of my fellow missionaries. Paula and Mike were in the auditorium listening to a group of nursing students from UdeM (University of Monterrey) give a presentation to the community about hypertension. After the talk, they gave water bottles and fruit cups…I’m kind of a sucker for free food. Anyone who knows me enough to read this already knows that. After the presentation, I went toward the bathroom, but ran into Dr. Julio who I had met a couple weeks ago at a baby shower for one of the nurses at the clinic. He is 25, and works as a general physician at the clinic. When I met him, he told me that he works 8pm-8am, so I assumed that I wouldn’t see him at the clinic again, but we got along really well from the beginning. He plans on specializing in dermatology at a school in Spain after working a year at this clinic. (To become a doctor in Mexico, right after high school there are 6 years for med school followed by a required year of social service which is common to any major. So…there is no undergraduate degree with pre-med requirements like I had to do, so they can actually finish med school at a decent time in their lives.) Dr. Julio told me that he had been working the day shift all week and since I wasn’t there with Linda and Paula, he thought I had gone home. It was nice that he noticed. I think he’d be a great friend, too. He has offered that I can shadow him anytime when he’d working over in the clinic since he knows that I am hoping to have some clinical experiences during this year.
Then Linda, Paula, Mike, and I had some time with Laura Vega to talk about the goals of the program that we are putting together to implement at the clinic. The goal of the program is to create a team to serve people with disabilities and terminal illnesses that are pretty much homebound. The idea is that we as missionaries work together with nurses and doctors to serve these members of the community that currently are not receiving all the care they need. We have spent a lot of our time at the clinic reading about how to do hospice care in order to visit sick people in their homes like a pastoral minister would. We are working with the local parish that already has la Legion de Maria which sends volunteers out to people’s homes to help them clean and just listen to them. The idea is to build on this service by providing pastoral and medical care too. I am honestly getting tired of the planning for this program because it seems like busywork and it doesn’t seem to move forward. I want to go with a volunteer on their visits and just start spending time with the old folks. I’m not much of a planner by nature. That’s how I feel about that.
Antioco, one of the accountants who works at the clinic drove us home and he is such a hoot. He wanted to know how to say happy birthday in English, and it was a wonderful opportunity to actually laugh out loud. Mike says I cannot do justice to the moment by writing about it. He is a jokester, and it was just we needed at the moment.
Later that night, Mike and I decided to make a birthday cake for Linda, so Mike ran to the grocery store to get a cake mix and frosting, and we made a cake while she was at the ciber café. It was a big hit. Her birthday was September 16th when we were gone. It was good to do something for her.
Yesterday afternoon, Mike and I went grocery shopping for the house, and then prepared a wonderful spaghetti supper, we went to mass with Sor Angeles, and then invited her over for supper. It was awesome to have company because we all sat down to eat together for the first time since being in our house. We played one round of uno which was also very fun.
I have had to learn a lot about myself in order to be a helpful member in community. I have had to adjust my expectations a lot. Also, many things I have “known” about getting along with others has taken on a whole new meaning for me.
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things which I cannot change, the strength to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Please keep us in prayer. I miss and love you all. We are going to have wireless internet in our house sometime in the relatively near future, so hopefully I can talk myself into writing on this more often. I also have wonderful pictures that I will get up soon somehow. Please write me too. Love, Andrea Michelle
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
