Thursday, May 14, 2009

Volunteering in Calcutta

Kay Warren writes of a trip she took to Calcutta, India where she volunteered for one day at one of Mother Theresa's Homes for the Dying. She and the other volunteers were given specific tasks:

"Feed that woman over there. Be careful, she gets nauseated and throws up easily. Help this woman get to the bathing area, she cannot walk by herself. There is no hot water to wash your hands - use that faucet and dry your hands on your pants. Medication? Someone donated a few aspirin and some salve for fungus. What is wrong with that woman? The maggots got into the wound on her head and we have to pull the maggots out. Clean that bed over there. We are out of gloves. You'll find a piece of cloth you can use to scrub the diarrhea off the mattress. You should put a mask on - I think that woman you are feeding probably has tuberculosis."

Wow. Again, I am disturbed by the stark reality. I am humbled and ashamed at how angry I got this evening because my printer wasn't working. The frustrations of my temperamental home technology seem so important to me when I have clicked "Print" and my printer remains silent. There are people on the other side of the world with maggots in wounds on their head!! I am not certain I have ever seen a maggot. God, let me keep this perspective and thank you for all the blessings in my life!

This post is inspired by the book Dangerous Surrender by Kay Warren.

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