Tuesday brought a welcome rain accompanied by cooler temperatures. The Yellow Bus traveled over rolling hills past breathtaking countryside before arriving at the place where147 men call home. As we pulled into the gravel drive and glanced across the front lawn, 40 cows and a few young calves greeted us with a quick look and then immediately went back to grazing on the luscious green grass. One small man was in charge of the herd and carried a small piece of wood about the size of a yard stick to encourage any strays back to the group.
Tony and I got off the bus to see if we could find the director and came across a man working on the engine of a car. After we told him who we were looking for, he pulled out a cell phone and made a quick call. He told us the director would be there in a few minutes. Meanwhile on the bus there were 15 Americans who had traveled an hour on full stomachs needing to find a rest room. Small droplets of rain began to fall from the sky as we patiently waited for the director. One at a time, some of the residents made their way to the bus and to the place we were waiting under the trees. The residents were dressed in ragged clothes and their feet were muddy because of the rain. Most of them wore some kind of slipper/sandals with out socks. They were peaceful men and quite friendly although our interpreter couldn't understand much of anything they said. As we stood there, I began to hear a sweet melody coming from the bus; our team was singing praise songs. The residents stood at the doors of the bus to hear the voices of those who traveled from the other side of the earth just to bring the Light and hope of Christ to them.
This home for mentally impaired men was a place of refuge for some and a prison for others. When the director finally arrived we were all escorted to a new building, still under construction, to use the toilets. Welcome relief was found in shining new squatties! (A squattie potty is one where you stand or squat over an opening. There is usually a way to flush but sometimes it is just a hole in the floor that drops into a pit.) These were porcelain squatties with the ability to flush, we felt honored to be able to use them. The alternative was probably an outhouse so you can see why this was a privilege!
On the way back to the meeting hall we passed an older building where there were men locked in rooms with bars on the windows. Their arms were hanging out of the barred windows and they called to us as we passed by. Later, Anya went over to speak to them and they asked her to go to town and buy them bread. They offered her money and said they were hungry. Anya felt so bad she gave them her lunch which consisted of a sub sandwich an orange and a candy bar. Had any of the rest of us known what was going on they all would have gotten lunches but we didn't realize what had transpired until later.
The other item of interest besides the cows grazing on the front lawn was an unusual statue (pictured above) of Lenin and Stalin. This is the first time I've seen anything like it so that is why I included a picture. Evidently this institution was quite proud of the monument because it was well cared for and in a prominent location. AS time goes on you see fewer of these kinds of statues but some still hold to the ideals of socialism and dream of the past.
A good number of the men were working in the garden that day along with others who were building a "pig house" for the 100 pigs that they care for. The director told me the garden, cows and pigs were the main source of income and sustenance for the home. They get some help from the government but not enough. It was evident by the shabby clothes of the residents there wasn't enough to go around.
Most of our group met in a meeting hall with the men who were not working. They shared with them, sang to them and of course did a Gospel presentation. I went with Dan's group to the dormitory. There were some care givers on the second floor who gave us a tour. A few men were watching TV in a room and kept turning up the volume. The building was very old but it was clean and the rooms were sparse but tidy. Sharyn shared the Gospel message with the ladies who seemed very interested. We passed by one room where we could see a man lying in bed. I asked if we could go in and pray for him, the caregiver didn't think that would be a good idea so we stood in the hall right outside his room and Dan prayed for him. As we walked down the hall, there were a few men in a common area, one sitting in the corner looking out the window that appeared to have Down's Syndrome and the other was stretched out on a row of chairs sleeping.
This was a dark and depressing place. It didn't appear that there was much if any kind of activity for the men who didn't work. They just walked around aimlessly. After we finished our "tour" of the dormitory, we were sent back to the hall where the other groups were meeting. The men seemed happy to have visitors and were quite pleased with the gifts we brought. For the first time in a number of years some of the institutions we plan to visit, asked for food. This is one of them that requested food along with soap, shampoo, toothpaste and socks.
By the time we left the cows were being hearded to the barn for milking. The residents who participated in the group presentation were standing around the bus shaking hands and giving hugs to our team. There was not one overweight person we saw and it was difficult to leave knowing the men in lock up were probably not the only ones who didn't have enough to eat.
.JPG)
No comments:
Post a Comment