Well, as I implied before...Christmas this year was rather quiet and laid back for me. I flew out of Arkansas on Dec 24th, just before a big storm and blizzard hit the Central midwest region. It was so bad in Oklahoma, in fact, that they closed the airport, highways and Interstate. Thankfully I missed all that excitement. However, when I got to Chicago, everything was in a hub-bub! Traffic was being delayed, flights cancelled....people were getting bumped. Initially I was hoping I'd get bumped too....because then maybe I could get a free airline voucher. (Last year I got TWO of them!!) But no such luck...my flight was as scheduled...and only a few minutes late in departing for Dayton, OH. Later as I was watching the news, I realized that God was actually looking out for me, for bad weather was predicted to hit Chicago later that night. I didn't need to be stuck in Chicago!
It was good to be with my sister Sunny and her husband Tim again. Tim is a Internal Medicine resident at Kettering, so he was on call. So we spent our Christmas eve having supper with him at the hospital in the doctor's lounge. (Wow - they treat the doctor's good! I had no clue!) They even had a beautiful tree set up in the lounge...as pictured here. That was cool since we didn't have our own tree this year. When Tim had to go back to work, Sunny and I came home and talked and listened to Christmas music. We wished more of our family (Hollands & Arakawa's) could have been with us...but we were thankful that at least we could be together!
Christmas day we slept in, had a late breakfast, and then began cooking for Christmas dinner. Sunny is quite the little "home-maker." I'm soooo proud of her!! Tim came home from the hospital and then slept for awhile as he'd been up all night answering the frantic calls of "agency nurses." (I can only laugh!)
Christmas dinner began about 6:30pm. Sunny and Tim had invited a couple friends over. It was small, quiet and nice. Sunny had prepared the American traditional: turkey roast (vegetarian of course), green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad, rolls, stuffing, cranberry relish....and I helped her make her first apple pie. It was all scrumptious...and we had enough left-overs to invite everyone back for Sabbath lunch the next day.
Christmas evening, after our company left, we opened a couple gifts. Tim's parents had sent them a beautiful personalized calender with his mom's beautiful photography. Wow...we ooohhed and ahhhed over that for awhile. Then Mom and Dad Holland had sent Sunny a cool recipe book (which now I'm gonna have to get) and Tim some home-made wheat-sticks. (These unfortunately were too good for us to allow him to eat all by himself!) They had sent me a sweat shirt from my favorite Botanical Gardens in OKC. Then Sunny and Tim gave me a new heart.....just what I've been praying for! (Actually...it's a silicon heart-shaped baking dish. But it was something I'd been looking for for a couple years...so that was exciting!)
The big moment of the evening was when Tim gave Sunny a Vita-Mix!!! He'd told Sunny not to get anything, because they weren't gonna do gifts this year. (I guess he knew he was getting his own gift as well as Sunny's!) Needless to say, Sunny was pretty excited. (The picture below is of the gag-gift Tim gave her to start with. It was a box of Vita-Mix "spatula's"...the real blender was TOO BIG to wrap...but it was funny, because Sunny saw "Vita-Mix" written on the box, and she knew a "Vita-mix" was around somewhere. She's like, "So WHERE is the rest of my gift???????" We were all laughing...) So, as to be expected, all our meals since then have been made using the new Vita-mix!! :-)
And so my Holiday here in Ohio has gone...nothing fancy or too dramatic...(besides the "Vita-mix" entrance!) Just balanced and restful! Just quiet and simple. Time to talk and share, cook, rest, spend time with God, read...watch a few cute "Youtubes" and enjoy the gentle falling snow, which finally reached us yesterday.
And to be honest, this was just what I needed. As I've been contemplating life...and my life from the last year, I've realized the hazardousness of my natural tendencies to live on the edge of my endurance and capabilities. I don't know if it's my type "A" personality that doesn't know how to stop, if it's the urgency of the times in which we live...or just the fact that I like to be involved in everything that comes along. The fact is...it's been too busy of a year, and I'm tired!!
Of course, I know that our lives here on this earth aren't meant to be a relaxing vacation. God has called us to a life of active service for Him. But as I read Mark 3:14, I'm reminded again that all those deeds, all that "doing for God," all those commitments, all those acts of service - even though they may be good...they are fruitless unless we have FIRST taken time to really "be still" and be with Him! This balance we must have in order to not just survive, but THRIVE!!
Recently some quotes I read really convicted me afresh of times in which we live, how the enemy is constantly working to control and distract our lives (anything to keep us from God) and yet how our only safety is our continual "abiding in Him."
“An intensity such as never before is taking possession of the world. In amusement, in moneymaking, in the contest for power, in the very struggle for existence, there is a terrible force that engrosses body and mind and soul. In the midst of this maddening rush, God is speaking. He bids us come apart and commune with Him. “Be still, and know that I am God.” Ps 46:10
"We are to love God with all our hearts, and if we have an eye single to His glory we shall eat, drink, and clothe ourselves with reference to His divine will. Every one who has a realizing sense of what it means to be a Christian will purify himself from everything that weakens and defiles. All the habits of his life will be brought into harmony with the requirements of the Word of truth, and he will not only believe, but will work out his own salvation with fear and trembling, while submitting to the molding of the Holy Spirit."
Between visiting the destitute children of the slums, to the sweat and push of thousands of desperate bodies seeking medical care at our clinic in Madhupur, to the sweet scent of dozens of newly bathed Orphan children as they clamoured into our laps wanting a bedtime story at Bangla-Hope...I have once again seen both extremes of Bangladesh. The side of despair and the side of HOPE!! The side of caus and pain, and the side of what could be if ALL of us "Rich American Christians" (we are rich compared with them) truly went out of our own comfort zones to give and care. And once again, my heart has been touched...and challenged.
After spending a grueling challenging week at the medical clinic where, as I mentioned before, we saw over 3,000 patients, going to the Bangla-Hope Orphanage in Northern Bangladesh was a real vacation. I had visited last year and spent time with the children, so it was a joy to return and be welcomed with open arms and delighted squeals from all the little kiddos... "Melody!!!! Melody!!! Melody is here!!" And they all clamoured for hugs and kisses. Melony, my little girl who I want to adopt someday, was the first that came running into my arms. (She was the first that I met last year when I came too!) I was sooo happy, I couldn't help letting the tears flow as Melony snuggled close and they gave us their welcoming ceremony. (Of course, it was sooo hot, my tears just mixed with the sweat - so it wasn't very obvious I was crying!) The kids were also quick to accept and welcome Valerie, and right off Valerie began to love and reach out to them as well. (It was a real treat to share this experience with my best friend!)
Thankfully, with the help of generous donors, I was able to bring clothes and supplies for the Orphanage as well as a special toy for each child - a doll for the older girls, animals for the younger, light-up balls for the boys etc. Orphan kids very rarely can claim something of their very own, so it was a joy to see the delight in their eyes as we wrote THEIR name on THEIR very own toy! Here I am below with my girl Melony (on my right) and Kocolie (on my left) who is the first child the Waid's took into their orphanage!
As to be expected, our remaining week in Bangladesh at the Orphanage went all too quickly. Each day we spent as much time as possible with the kids, telling them stories, playing with them on the playground, doing games and teaching them songs. We also spent time with the care-givers (who are mostly local Christian women who have no formal education.) I talked with them about the principals of raising and loving children (as outlined in "Child-Guidance" - after all, I am not really my own expert on the topic, though I like to pretend to be at times. Ha ha!!) Then Valerie did basic CPR education and had the women take turns resuscitating a toy doll. (That was kinda funny!!!) Of course, another great joy was to see my Bengali sister Shati, who has such an incredible heart of gold. She always takes such good care of us when we visit and cooks the best food ever. But not only does she serve just us....she's one of the most hard-working and unselfish of the team and the kids just love her to death. It's nice to see the touch that Shati has with them. 
The most difficult part of the whole trip was saying goodbye...I literally thought I (if not the kids) were going to get "dehydrated from crying." In fact, the kids started crying 2 days BEFORE we left when they heard our time was almost over. I felt soooo bad. In fact, it made me wonder if maybe coming and then leaving again did more damage then good...after all, so many of these kids have either lost or been abandoned by their own parents. But after talking with my good friend Litton (who works in the Administration at Bangla-Hope, but also spends as much time with the kids as he can), I was encouraged that even though our time was brief...it meant sooo much to the kids to know they were loved and cared for, and that they mattered to people on the other side of the world. "They always remember you in their hearts...and just like this time...they can look forward to when you come again! It gives them a reason to HOPE...knowing someone cares!"
So...with hugs and tears, we once again said goodbye. But the children and Bangla-Hope staff, and the sacrificial dedication of the Waid's and all those that help sponsor the children of Bangla-Hope are not forgotten. And Valerie and I are determined to be more frugal in our own lives so that we can help the Orphanage with their many needs and expansion.
Already they have almost 100 children (there were 69 last year when I visited), but they are running out of room (they need to build a second floor). They are building a medical clinic for the Hindu community right at their doorstep, but need medical workers to come and staff it. They do multiple trips to Dhaka (7hours away for staff or supplies) and yet all they have is a 4 seater Toyota truck that breaks down or has to be pushed to start every time you turn around. (They need a larger vehicle or van that can carry their staff and supplies.) They have a huge beautiful lawn, but must put all their money into upkeep and feeding the children rather than buying a lawn-mover...so they cut the grass all BY HAND. (Can you imagine?? Yes, they need a lawn mower!) They have a garden, but need more tools to work it. They have an office where they keep up with all the business of running an Orphanage plus taking care of almost 600 children in their community feeding school programs, but their office equipment is old and breaking down. (They need new up to speed equipment.) They already have many "feeding day-schools" around Bangladesh, but they need funds for more. (There are sooo many kids yet unreached!) And the list of needs just goes on and on!!!!!!
If only all of us, would truly reach out with the resources God has given us...we could do SOOO MUCH MORE...yet...we are comfortable; Comfortable in our spacious mansions (you should see what little space they have to live in those Orphan rooms - clean and tidy, but still some with 18 kids to a room), comfortable with our heaping tables of food (the kids are well fed...but they pretty much only eat rice and curry with sometimes some vegetables and a banana for snack!) We are comfortable with our nice car or the variety of ware that our ward-robe boasts. (These kids are clean and clothed, but rarely have clothes or toys of their own!) We are comfortable giving our 10% tithe and offering, comfortable doing Sabbath afternoon outreach, and comfortable sharing our lunch with a friend at work. But the Bengali missionaries that work for their people often live on less than $100 a month and barely get by, living in conditions that would make us stutter. Sacrifice...true sacrifice for the Orphan, the widow, the outcast... Who of us really knows what that is???? I'll be the first to say, "I don't!"
