This week, Heavenly Father has been showing me how to work. How to really work.
Sister
Nakatsuka and I have had a number of opportunities for service among
the less actives in our area. On Friday, we got up early and went to
Annecia Farello's home. She is a young single mom, and only joined the
church for her husband. After the divorce, she didn't see much reason
to continue coming and quickly fell away. We had tried to make some
sort of contact with her, but had no luck for months, and decided to
give it some time. Well we had gotten a call from Brother and Sister
Just on Thursday night saying that they were finally able to make
contact with her, and that she needed some help. So we went over and
turns out she had a "lake" forming in her backyard from the sloped hill
on her property and the run off from the rain was beginning to leak into
her basement. So we dug a "trench" or "moat" of sorts that led from
her back yard, clear to the front of her property to create a path for
the water to go. It was about knee deep and 50 feet long. Now, I know
that's no water well, Dad, but it sure felt good to use a shovel as well
as many muscles I didn't know I had--we sure felt the soreness the next
day. But man, it was good to just get dirty, and know you did
something good for someone else.
On Monday, we went around visiting some of the older people in the ward in rest homes around White Oak. One of those women included a severely disabled widow by name of Paget--or "Pagie". She has suffered three strokes over the course of her life and is now bedridden and completely paralyzed on her right side. We have paid her several visits and enjoyed talking about better times with her. Times about when she used to live in Europe and her dad would give her and her sister 20 bucks and say "Go have a day in Rome". "Ahh," she would say, "...those were the days."
Well, Pagie has a "roommate". An even older Indian woman who is
quadriplegic. She has no way of moving except some small muscles in her
face. She would lie there, motionless and blink now and then. If she
wanted to get someone's attention, she would make a faint clicking noise
with her tongue in anxious beckoning for any listeners to come and help
her with something. On Monday, she caught my attention, and once I
walked over to her she eagerly mouthed to me "bathroom". To which I
nodded and proceeded to find someone who could help. None of the nurses
would make themselves available to help, and the few I could catch
simply said, "She'll have to wait, she's got a diaper." They weren't
occupied with anything else. I saw one of them sitting in the
hall...texting. After sitting back down with Pagie, having failed at
bringing the help I promised her I would get, every "click" struck deep
within me. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't let myself do that in front
of Pagie and her sister (who isn't a member). I tried so hard to focus
on the scrap-booking they were showing me and sister Nakatsuka, but all I
could think about was the neglect, and the insane idea that it was
"normal". Before leaving, Sister Nakatsuka and I decided to sing "If the
Savior Stood Beside Me". The Spirit came. And the clicking stopped.
Before leaving the male nurse finally came to help. He bent down to our
desperate neighbor, nodded, then turned to us as we left and said, "You
two, yeah you two girls...she likes you. She said to come back to visit
her again." Smiling back at her, we waved goodbye to our new friend. We
walked out the door, and I let the tears finally flow.
I have such a growing testimony of God's love for all of His children. Remember that no one is exempt. No one is exempt...
Love you all,
Sister Graff
PS--Remember to keep the Monsons in your prayers. Funeral services for Sister Monson should be broadcast on this week...
1. Zone activity!
2. So. Humid.
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