Today, 25 October, has been the most emotional day of the trip, but I do not want to begin there. I want to first think about a conversation I had last night with my host family. When returned from a long day of teaching English and cleaning out a local church here in Glogow, Emma and I had kava and herbata with our hosts (coffee and tea).
Robert and Margaret just returned from their daughter's graduation at Cambridge just outside of London, England. She now has a Master of Philosophy in Economics. Talk about having someone to be proud of!
I asked Robert had he ever been to the US, but he and his wife have not. Their youngest daughter who is still in high school just returned from Minnesota. But, to my surprise, he said he does not have a desire to come to the US. Why!? I thought the Polish people loved us!?
They do and so does Robert. However, there is something we have in place that is quite unfair to our Polish allies. Just to visit for one week, every Polish person must apply for a VISA. Passports are not enough. When we go to Poland, they only require us to show a passport. VISAs cost a lot of money and time, but the Polish people welcome us as their own. I must testify that they have the greatest hospitality of any people I have ever met.
Robert and Margaret did not know Emma or me, but even before meeting us, they welcomed us to stay in their house. Every night when we come "home," they offer us kava and herbata as well as food. They always ask us if we have eaten supper just in case. I think this is a major issue... As Americans we expect the world to bow before us and even as Christians we think the same. Is our citizenship that valuable?
That is not the emotional part of the trip though! Today we visited a school/home for mentally handicapped children. Some of the kids were as old as 27. They are given up by their families, often by four or five months after birth because they don't want them or do not know how to care for them.
Imagine for one moment everything we have gone through this past week. Particularly, last week we visited Auschwitz to see the aftermath of the Holocaust and WWII. Picture in your mind all of those shaved heads and skinny bodies and then imagine their fate. That thought continued to race throughout my mind as we walked through all of the rooms. While these kids are not mistreated by the humans caring for them, they are in a very real sense being killed by their disorders and diseases.
Most of the boys we came in contact with today were about the same age as me. Most of them were between 22-27. Imagine yourself laying in the same beds, or being just as conscious as they are, but without the ability to live like all the people who are coming in and out to care for them.
As I looked in their eyes, I saw myself. I remembered back to a time when I was not emotionally stable and hoped not to live, but yet most of these boys are living what I would consider a very low standard of life, yet they smiled. Their smiles were much bigger than the smile I normally have, if I ever have one. They were excited to have visitors. Much more excited than I have ever been. Some of them have lived their entire lives in a bed, staring at their caregivers and the ceiling.
While they cannot speak, the loud groanings they made were not of pain, but of joy! If they can find joy in their situations, why can I not? Why did it take me traveling 5 thousand miles to have this kind of emotional experience? I am usually a strong guy.
I never cry, just ask Emma. While touring this facility, I am convinced my heart ceased beating at one point due to the emotional stress. It literally felt as if my heart stopped, took a gigantic breath, and started back up. Almost as if it needed to take a breather just to continue. It was almost impossible to hold back the tears and eventually I could not. All you have to do is imagine not being able to speak to anyone, think of your parents abandoning you, and then being stuck in one bed for your entire life, looking up hopelessly into the eyes of strangers.
Robert and Margaret just returned from their daughter's graduation at Cambridge just outside of London, England. She now has a Master of Philosophy in Economics. Talk about having someone to be proud of!
I asked Robert had he ever been to the US, but he and his wife have not. Their youngest daughter who is still in high school just returned from Minnesota. But, to my surprise, he said he does not have a desire to come to the US. Why!? I thought the Polish people loved us!?
They do and so does Robert. However, there is something we have in place that is quite unfair to our Polish allies. Just to visit for one week, every Polish person must apply for a VISA. Passports are not enough. When we go to Poland, they only require us to show a passport. VISAs cost a lot of money and time, but the Polish people welcome us as their own. I must testify that they have the greatest hospitality of any people I have ever met.
Robert and Margaret did not know Emma or me, but even before meeting us, they welcomed us to stay in their house. Every night when we come "home," they offer us kava and herbata as well as food. They always ask us if we have eaten supper just in case. I think this is a major issue... As Americans we expect the world to bow before us and even as Christians we think the same. Is our citizenship that valuable?
That is not the emotional part of the trip though! Today we visited a school/home for mentally handicapped children. Some of the kids were as old as 27. They are given up by their families, often by four or five months after birth because they don't want them or do not know how to care for them.
Imagine for one moment everything we have gone through this past week. Particularly, last week we visited Auschwitz to see the aftermath of the Holocaust and WWII. Picture in your mind all of those shaved heads and skinny bodies and then imagine their fate. That thought continued to race throughout my mind as we walked through all of the rooms. While these kids are not mistreated by the humans caring for them, they are in a very real sense being killed by their disorders and diseases.
Most of the boys we came in contact with today were about the same age as me. Most of them were between 22-27. Imagine yourself laying in the same beds, or being just as conscious as they are, but without the ability to live like all the people who are coming in and out to care for them.
As I looked in their eyes, I saw myself. I remembered back to a time when I was not emotionally stable and hoped not to live, but yet most of these boys are living what I would consider a very low standard of life, yet they smiled. Their smiles were much bigger than the smile I normally have, if I ever have one. They were excited to have visitors. Much more excited than I have ever been. Some of them have lived their entire lives in a bed, staring at their caregivers and the ceiling.
While they cannot speak, the loud groanings they made were not of pain, but of joy! If they can find joy in their situations, why can I not? Why did it take me traveling 5 thousand miles to have this kind of emotional experience? I am usually a strong guy.
I never cry, just ask Emma. While touring this facility, I am convinced my heart ceased beating at one point due to the emotional stress. It literally felt as if my heart stopped, took a gigantic breath, and started back up. Almost as if it needed to take a breather just to continue. It was almost impossible to hold back the tears and eventually I could not. All you have to do is imagine not being able to speak to anyone, think of your parents abandoning you, and then being stuck in one bed for your entire life, looking up hopelessly into the eyes of strangers.
No comments:
Post a Comment