Training
The Survivor's shoes
Today started with the production of 2 special extra-wide benches. Having trained Bryan Thompson in the art yesterday, I had the satisfaction of seeing him assemble them almost single handedly. Too bad he had to leave before lunch!
The person who drove away with him left me a new helper, an MK (missionary kid) called Andy. Today I had to slow down and take time to train Andy, but by sunset he was really catching on. He should be here for 2 more days, and really speed things up.
Wouldn't it be nice to have someone who could stay longer after being trained? I think virtually every relief agency feels that way. However, it is not only the work we get done for tsunami victims that counts, but also the work God does in the hearts of those who come to help, even for a short time. The "victims" teach us, as well.
Take the lady we talked to this morning, for instance. We made a deck for her yesterday, and today I was measuring her entryway for a shelf. Part way through, she started explaining about some of the things I had to work around.
"I'm sorry about all this stuff. It came from relief supplies. Most of it was good, but there was some weird stuff, too. Look at these boots. These are motorcyclist's boots!"
I suggested she and her husband could take up motorcycling.
"Ha! Me and gramps there on a motorcycle!"
She pulled out another pair of shoes.
"These are the ones I wore when I fled the tsunami. They're wreaked from the wet, but I can't bring myself to throw them out."
"That day, we left for higher ground as soon as the earthquake was over. Some of our neighbors stayed to gather stuff they wanted to save. They're all dead. I got to the stairs going up to the temple. I had to crawl up on my hands and knees- I'm 88, after all. We have nothing left. Afterwards, I crawled around on the piles of flotasm looking to see if there was anything I coluld save. I did find the nameplate from our house later. That's all we have."
Later in the day, we were at another project building a double deck to join two units. It was dark when we finished, and the lady of the house gave us coffee and snacks. As we ate, she told us her story.
"This is a nice project. These units are built better than most. And, we have this big open space back here. I won't tell anyone about it, though. Most of them don't have so much space, so they can't have a nice big deck like this. It will be so great to be able to air our bedding finally! It's nice being here in the highest units. More space- and those ones at the bottom- well, the tsunami came right up to there. I feel better up here, let me tell you. Before the tsunami, the house we were in was right by the shore- it was practically in the water. So, as soon as it stopped shaking, we got out. There was no doubt there would be a tsunami, and no doubt we would get flooded. But, we never thought it would go that high. We lost everything. Everything. But, I have to be thankful for what we have- we have a roof over us, and this place will at least be warm this winter."
Training- I guess 3/11 is training all of us.
It's not over yet.
The person who drove away with him left me a new helper, an MK (missionary kid) called Andy. Today I had to slow down and take time to train Andy, but by sunset he was really catching on. He should be here for 2 more days, and really speed things up.
Wouldn't it be nice to have someone who could stay longer after being trained? I think virtually every relief agency feels that way. However, it is not only the work we get done for tsunami victims that counts, but also the work God does in the hearts of those who come to help, even for a short time. The "victims" teach us, as well.
Take the lady we talked to this morning, for instance. We made a deck for her yesterday, and today I was measuring her entryway for a shelf. Part way through, she started explaining about some of the things I had to work around.
"I'm sorry about all this stuff. It came from relief supplies. Most of it was good, but there was some weird stuff, too. Look at these boots. These are motorcyclist's boots!"
I suggested she and her husband could take up motorcycling.
"Ha! Me and gramps there on a motorcycle!"
She pulled out another pair of shoes.
"These are the ones I wore when I fled the tsunami. They're wreaked from the wet, but I can't bring myself to throw them out."
"That day, we left for higher ground as soon as the earthquake was over. Some of our neighbors stayed to gather stuff they wanted to save. They're all dead. I got to the stairs going up to the temple. I had to crawl up on my hands and knees- I'm 88, after all. We have nothing left. Afterwards, I crawled around on the piles of flotasm looking to see if there was anything I coluld save. I did find the nameplate from our house later. That's all we have."
Later in the day, we were at another project building a double deck to join two units. It was dark when we finished, and the lady of the house gave us coffee and snacks. As we ate, she told us her story.
"This is a nice project. These units are built better than most. And, we have this big open space back here. I won't tell anyone about it, though. Most of them don't have so much space, so they can't have a nice big deck like this. It will be so great to be able to air our bedding finally! It's nice being here in the highest units. More space- and those ones at the bottom- well, the tsunami came right up to there. I feel better up here, let me tell you. Before the tsunami, the house we were in was right by the shore- it was practically in the water. So, as soon as it stopped shaking, we got out. There was no doubt there would be a tsunami, and no doubt we would get flooded. But, we never thought it would go that high. We lost everything. Everything. But, I have to be thankful for what we have- we have a roof over us, and this place will at least be warm this winter."
Training- I guess 3/11 is training all of us.
It's not over yet.
posted by John Elliot | 8:43 PM
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