I slept and dreamt
that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life
was service.
I acted and behold, service
was joy."
The above
quote is written by Rabindranath Tagore, a philosopher and reformer who
lived in Calcutta at the turn of the 20th century and won
the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.
When I saw this quote, it struck me quite stunningly how accurate this
is in my life.
When I
went on my first mission to Africa, I was told that now my life would be split
into two parts…life before Ghana and life after Ghana. I didn’t believe it at the time, I thought
how could one experience change one’s life so irrevocably that it would never
be the same again. But it totally
did!! It was like I woke up for the
first time and saw how I should really live my life, caring for and serving
others. My path may be different from
yours, but whether we move to another country to serve and care for others or
do it in the town we were born in, we are all called to service. The amazing thing that I learned on my very
first mission was that when I gave myself totally in service to others, I was
filled with great joy…even through difficult times and painful experiences. It is not a joy born of earthly things, for
that kind of joy is temporary. The joy I
am speaking of comes from deep within yourself, it is a brightness, a
lightening of your load, a feeling of peace and of grace. “I acted and behold,
service was joy!”
This past February, missioners from around the whole
world came to Borongan City for the 12th Annual Bulig Kablas Medical
Mission through the Diocese of Joliet Partnership in Mission. 48 men and women including doctors, nurses,
dentists, builders, painters, and community outreach volunteers came to
Borongan traveling thousands of miles, spending hundreds of dollars, leaving
their families and their work. They
worked here for two weeks without pay healing the sick, helping to restore
dental health, building homes in the rain and reaching out to the poorest of
the poor, from the smallest children to the senior citizens. Why do they do that? What could be their motivation? I know what it is… it is the joy they feel in
serving others. It may seem hard to
believe, but even in the challenging situations, the painful encounters and
headaches and tummy troubles, there is joy! That is
why so many of these volunteers have been coming back to Borongan for this
mission for many years now. They acted
and behold, they found service was joy.
This year for the Medical Mission, I was on the dental
team. We served the poor in the barrios
of San Jose and San Miguel, we worked
two days in the provincial hospital and we also gave dental care to the
prisoners at the provincial jail and at PJMB.
Three dentists came from the US along with three dental hygenists, and,
working alongside Sister Michelle Ureta, one of the Oikos Sisters who is also a
dentist, they saw over 650 patients and did over 1,000 procedures!!! I was working as the dental pharmacist together
with other Oikos co-workers throughout the dental mission. It was really amazing to see all of the
dentists working so hard, bending over patients, one after the other,
understanding and feeling the fears and pain of their patients, working from
early in the morning until late in the afternoon and treating each person with
kindness and patience. Despite the back
pain, headaches, heat and long hours, at the end of the day, I could still see
the joy on their faces. Truly, there is
great joy in service! For me, it was my
first time working as a pharmacist, although all I gave out were pain killers
and amoxicillin! Still, being able to
offer a comforting smile, some relief from pain and receiving lots of smiles as
I gave the instructions for the medicine in Waray Waray, I felt blessed to be
able to do even that. The experience at
the prisons was something I will never forget.
It was the first time I did prison ministry, but I hope it won’t be the
last. I had a personal encounter with each
prisoner as I explained to them how to take their medicine, offered empathy for
their dental pain and gave wishes for a speedy recovery. Each of us received the grace to look beyond
the exterior of each prisoner to see the person God created, and gave them all
the care and love a child of God deserves.
There is
great joy in service, and I am so thankful to God for the blessing of being
able to experience this joy day in and day out with the Oikos Sisters in their
mission, Oikos Ptochos Tou Theo, the Poor Household of God. From the big acts of service like making food
for 600 people and serving it to the smaller tasks like encoding a songbook for
the Oikos Family to use during prayer, when I am able to put others first and
truly rely on God, I am filled with the joy of service.
I know
that Rabindranath Tagore did not write this poem for me... but I thank him from
the bottom of my joyful heart that he wrote it for it explains something I have
been trying to put into words for 4 years now. By the way, you
don't have to become a missionary or travel hundreds of miles to feel this kind
of joy. The Good Lord knows there are many, many people in need right
here in our city, our neighborhoods, possibly even in our own families.
Do the service...feel the joy...never stop!!!
  |
| Dr. Terry and Dr. Mike in San Miguel |
 |
| Ready to start the day!! |
 |
| Dental Hygienist Laura...can you find her? |
 |
| The dental team with our protectors...Thank you!!! |
