[miel]

I received this description of an Orthodox sister serving for a while with the Missionaries of Charity. I found it very moving. I am not sure that I would be man enough for this service.

For myself, I am glad that where the rubber hits the road the Coptic Orthodox are willing to serve under Roman Catholic sisters in this field of service.

I don't think that all the space or all the time in the world would be
sufficient to describe this place, this experience, or this mission.
I guess at this point you all have somewhat of an idea of what it's
like. I echo what everyone has already put into words. I can say
with confidence that until very recently (i.e. two days ago) I, along
with several, if not all, of the people on this mission, did not know
why God has sent us here. Ever since we got here, God has humbled
each and every one of us in so many ways- beginning from feeling out
of place and out of our element, to the fact that there was an excess
of volunteers at the various homes of the Missionaries of Charity, to
the type of work that we were asked to do. But God is always good.
Through all these trials He sent his Word to remind us that "b y faith
Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his
inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was
going "- and we, thousands of years later, were asked to do the same.
On the day we were to receive our assignments, when asked where I
wanted to serve, I told the sister that I would go wherever I was
needed. She told me that I would be going to Shishu Bhavan, a home for
mentally and physically handicapped children. I was terrified. I
don't exactly know how to deal with "normal" children- let alone
children with special needs. When Gloria and I went to "report" for
our first day of service, there was a stench of something
indescribable. All the children were visibly deformed. My stomach
sank to my knees. I wanted to turn around and run all the way to the
airport and to get on the first plane back home. There was no one
there to tell us what to do. The children were just there, some
sleeping, some staring blankly, some crying out like they were
suffering from unbearable pain. Somehow, we got into it, instruction-
less and just as lost and helpless as the children there, we tried to
do what we could to fill any immediate need that we were made aware
of.
Yesterday, I spent the two and a half hours that I had at Shishu
Bhavan with a child that is both mentally and physically handicapped.
She cannot move. Her hands, arms, legs and feet are deformed. She
cannot speak. She cannot focus. Worst of all, she had this blank
stare on her face that would break your heart. All I wanted to do
was put a smile on her face - just make her happy for a moment. I
tried singing and dancing and playing but nothing worked. That same
blank stare stayed on her face for an hour and a half at which point
one of the sisters asked me to take her downstairs to the entrance of
the house to take pictures of the children in front of the manger.
Because she doesn't move, I picked up off of her rudimentary "chair"
and went downstairs to where the manger was. When we finally got
there, I told her "Look Bobi, there's Jesus! Do you know how much He
loves you?!" You won't believe me when I tell you that the once stern
face of that child lit up and she produced the biggest smile I have
ever seen. Ureka! But it gets better! I tell her again, "You see
Jesus?!" She starts cracking up! She's laughing so hard that her whole
body is moving and I can't keep a good grip on her to the point that I
thought she would fall right out of my arms. Tears start running
down my cheek at first and then I start balling outright. All I can
do is hug her and kiss her and the only thoughts that are going
through my head are "Thank you Lord for making this child happy."
Seeing that smile on her face and seeing her laugh like that not only
made my day, but in an inexplicable way, brought me closer to God.
Every one of us here is getting touched daily if not hourly by one of
these people and I think I'm finally starting to get it - we came here
thinking that we would serve the poorest of the poor, yet we are the
poor in spirit that are being served by these people whom God loves in
His own special way.

[wasssallx]

Dear Peter,

Thank you for sharing this moving account with us.

We can all pray for this mission, and I will certainly do so. But I also feel the urge to put a little money where my heart goes out - is there a way one can make a donation?

This is a marvellous example of Christian witness, which humbles me.


In Christ,

John

[Lotyqnag]

This is such a moving story, Peter.

I recommend a book called the Ascetic of Love by Nun Gavrillia, an Orthodox Nun who spent many years in India serving people with leprosy.

In Christ,
Sophia