Worth of an Individual

January 11, 2012

This morning I had an even harder time getting out of bed, but Kendra and I were having a “heart to heart” pretty late into the night. I really enjoyed laughing with her as we listened to all of the various snores. Hannah and I did our debate on “just war” this morning and I thought that we did very well. After lunch, the nursing majors walked down to the Good Shepherd Clinic where we spoke with Nurse Margaret. She was absolutely and utterly inspiring. I learned so much in just a matter of minutes. I honestly felt like God was speaking through nurse Margaret because she talked about a issue that I have been dealing with for quite some time. Nurse Margaret changed my perspective a little because she talked about the worth of individuals. She gave the example of a patient who had a major stroke. The patient cannot move, talk, or perform any type of functioning. They cannot hold a job, they cannot pay for their healthcare, they cannot clean themselves, they cannot contribute anything. So what is their contribution to society? They can love God. They can praise and thank him every second while they are lying immovable in their bed. Is that not why we were created? We were created to love God, to praise God, and to bring others to God through our testimony. Who are we as humans to judge the worth of another human being? The whole time that she was talking about this, she was looking right into my eyes, as if she had read my heart and seen the struggle within me. I feel honored to have had a moment with God through this beautiful Mother Teresa. She taught us many other things, I wish that I could remember everything. While I was listening, I kept wishing that I had a recorder so that I could listen to her wisdom over and over again. She taught us the nursing is not a profession. Our professors would kill us if they heard us repeat that. Nursing is not a profession, nursing is a vocation. A profession is something that you choose to do with your life. A vocation is what God calls you to do. You do not choose your calling. He gives you the talents for a reason, this reason is to follow God through His calling on your life. I now understand why Kendra loves and admires this woman so much. What an amazing person!

We were not able to help in the clinic today, so we walked to the market. On the way we saw two large lizards on the concrete wall. I bought several things at the market, but it was really hard to shop because it was so hot! We stopped by a pottery artist's place and I learned about the process of black beans. He was very nice and I would like to speak with him again sometime. Us girls were whistled at and hollered after while we were walking by. We acted confused and asked if they were whistling at my husband, Cody. They were so funny as they started shouting, “No, no!” We took showers, ate supper, went to Benny's, and then came back to camp.