We are only passing through...

Friday, August 2, 2013

Time to resume my writings & musings...

Hard to believe it has been more than 3 years since I last wrote here.... and I love the written word, as evidenced by my inability to discard books, etc. Much has happened. Loss and gains. My daughter & her husband now approaching their third anniversary of marriage. My relationships in and with Jamaica continue to grow - for which I am grateful. I need to organize my thoughts and my actions to avoid being overwhelmed. Later, I will have to write later - too much to do for now. But I want to get back in the saddle so this is it.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Back on track - Medical Missions

Well, 2011 is here and with it comes new opportunities for growth and good work. Project HOPE contacted me regarding my availability to go to Haiti with a relief team. I had tentatively set aside the time but was just about to lose any hope of going. God surprises me all the time. I have my packing list. I have provided documentation for everything - education, immunizations, etc. I was ready with most of this since the earthquake in Jan. 2010. As a matter of fact, I had even updated my typhoid vaccination at that time in anticipation of being called upon.

So now it is really about to happen. Mandy from Project HOPE has arranged my travel. JFK to Miami, Miami to Port-Au-Prince... I wonder if I will need to pack an extra bag for the butterflies in my gut? I am excited, a little anxious even. How much will I be able to recall from my time in Kansas City for the INMED International Medicine Intensive course? We shall see. I have long hoped for an opportunity to work with Project HOPE. Actually, it is part of my tentative retirement plan. My idea of a good time when I "retire" is to spend a few months of the year on board a ship providing aid & services to developing nations such at Liberia, Ghana, Togo... Plus I have wanted to gain experience working on a team with an established group so I have more to offer ADF/Atorkor Village in Ghana. I have not been there for more than 18 months but I keep in touch with the Togbui of the village as well as some of the other wonderful, lovely people I have met there and now call friend. It all comes together. All my experiences have a link, a common thread and help me to function beneficially in a variety of settings.

To do some good while we are on this earth is the ultimate goal, for we may never get another chance to come this way again...after all, We are only Passing through....

Friday, August 13, 2010

Life changes and time marches on...

Thrity five more days until the big day, my daughter's wedding. I find as the day draws closer, I have more thoughts about what this means for her, her husband to be, their children and even for me. Granted they have been together for many years. But this step of actually getting married, of making their union official as it were, represents a whole new stage in this relationship - not only in how they relate to each other but also with their children, their friends, our families and even me. I will have a Son-In-Law, for better or for worse, he is here to stay. Oh my. :) The fact that they have chosen to do this in the Church means alot also. My daughter has grown to be her own woman with her own relationships, her own terms and rules of engagement with the rest of the world. We don't agree on everything, nor do I expect us to. Her experiences and mine are different. I'm not the same as I was when I was her age. Life is about change and growth. This is but a stop along the way.

Forty one days until I return [home] to Jamaica. Why home? I fell in love with the island from my first visit there in March '07. Hard to believe it has just been a little over 3 years that I have been going there. But from the beginning, landing in Montego Bay represents a huge weight lifted off of me as I go into "destress" mode - as opposed to "distress' mode - and I relax. I have made friends and found my own little niche. Amazingly, after running from, and I do mean running away from, the men, the gigolos, the lotharios on the sand, I have finally met someone who I want to spend time with and who treats me with nothing but respect. Now, when I go to Jamaica, I am spending more time away from the tourist areas and getting a taste of real life in the country is like. Little dirt roads that twist and wind their way up into the hills, not really big enough for cars and barely suited to the motor bikes that serve as the main means of transportation. Children go to school seated fore and aft on the bikes as their drivers take extra care to manuever the obstacle course of potholes until they drop their charges off safely. Gray haired grannies sit primly on the gas tank, side saddle as it were. Young girls lightly hop on and off - they saunter away unfazed by comments from young men on the road and often are ready with a comeback of their own .

The people are resiliant, taking in stride the difficulties life tosses at them. Wooden "board houses" line the road, alternating with cement structures of varying size, grandeur and degree of completion. A few homes show signs of damage from storms in years past, Ivan, Gilbert, and others, which continue to leave their mark as the funds needed to rebuild and repair are in short supply. The house next to where I stay has a ramshackle kitchen that is just about holding on, barely attached to the main structure. The old man living there doesn't own it so he is not inclined to invest in a repair, despite the obvious damage and the lack of having a proper place to prepare his meals. Even if it was his own, he doesn't have the money to do much of a fix up.

At night, the little frogs provide a rhythmic sound too loud to be a lullaby but hypnotic and soothing in it's constancy. The mosquitos too are there, relentless in their desire to have some fresh foreign blood as their main course. Now that we have screened the windows, the louvers can be left open safely, allowing the cool breeze to flow through and eventually the heat of the day is swept from the room. Later as the cooler night air collides with pockets of hot, humid air, there is some storm activity and the rain begins to fall. Sitting in the back door, leaning back against my beloved, I watch the lightening play out over the hills in the distance as the rain pours down. The air is now cool and fresh, the warmth of his body against my back is soothing as we sit together on the tiny hassock, speaking a little but mostly just content to be. The rhythm of our breaths syncronize and become one as we relax in contented peace. His voice growls in my ear, deep and rumbling, my lion of Judah speaks quietly leading me back to bed now that the heat has passed, washed away by the rain that continues to fall, now more softly. Striking the tin roof in a faint stacatto beat, the raindrops provide the soundtrack to my dreams as I doze off in the arms of my lover.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Long time gone...

Wow - it has been a long, long time. Not as if I have not been doing ANYTHING but I certainly have not taken any time to write about it. I must remain true to my title and remember that we are only passing through. Every day, every step represents a one time oportunity to make a choice, make a difference, share a kindness... Reading some of my older words can be fun and it helps me to center a bit.

The wedding - daughter's - is two months away so now it is CRUNCH time! All I want is for it to go well and for her to be happy. In the meantime, no travel although during my last trip to JA, I was able to connect with someone who is interested in going to Ghana and passed her information along to the NGO. It would be nice if something came of it. More to come soon...