Year 1 Complete

This week will be my 1-year mark in my "new" ish unit and I can only say time flies when you are having fun. When I was praying for a new job, little did I know that God would provide such a perfect place as this. It has been so fun getting to see the sweetest kids in the world. Some are bright and chatty, others shy and adorable. My heart just gets giddy thinking about these darn cuties. 

Some lessons/thoughts on the first year...

1. Resilience. These kids have so many health challenges but they fight hard. It's different from PICU because I see the way that their chronic illness affects their everyday routine- perhaps a more well-rounded perspective. I often wonder, how did they ever go through it all? Sometimes it just feels like they never get a break- bad news after bad news. But they bounce back and they are still afloat. 

2. Treasure the times. I've grown attached to the families I see (surprise surprise). The hardest parts have been expecting to see them but finding out that they are declining in their health or have passed before I got to say goodbye. On the brighter side, some kids finish treatment, and no longer need to be seen but even then it sucks to not be able to see them regularly. No one is ever guaranteed tomorrow, but why is it that when the time together seems short we start to value each moment? 

3. Sincerity. Connection and rapport build on the foundation of sincerity. You'd be surprised how much the families will trust you when you genuinely care about how that science project is going, how their birthday party went, or how they are coping with stressors x,y, and z. The nurses I call coworkers are so good and making people feel comfortable and well. They are true hallmark nurses that I've been able to glean from. 

4. Population in need. There are real gaps in good follow-up's for kids with chronic diseases. Some of these specialties could manage care better. Also, children with autism or downs syndrome need a facility that can meet their needs. Finally, parents with special needs children need extra support with the burdens they carry. 

LowKi One Take Jam Session

Remember the days when youtube videos were unedited, raw, and random? Here we are in 2020 with snippets of our park jam session with all its flaws and beauties. Katie taught me a song and this is us trying to sing it right after with kids playing in the background. We used to sing songs during times we were stressed out from art and nursing school when we lived together. We would promise that we'd sing only one song and end up singing through the night and get no work done. Here we are years later still singing through a pandemic. 

"I've found my fortress in you

And my soul is anchored with you

My resting place is in your name

Forever safe"

 

Malibu 2018

malibu from hanna on Vimeo.

Simple Joys

NAK-Anesthesia

Beautiful Destruction

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” 

                                             - C.S. Lewis

Transforming Pepperoni

Conversations with the little people

Patient: Let me tell you a secret
Me: What is it??
Patient: You can't eat pepperoni!
Me: Oh how come? I love pepperoni pizza
Patient: You'll turn into a PIG!
Me: What? Like I'll turn fat like a pig or I'll turn into a pig pig?
Patient: A pig pig!
Me: I've eaten it before though and didn't turn into a pig
Patient: BECAUSE YOU KNOW THE SECRET!
Me: Ohhh that makes sense.
Patient: so what grade are you in college? 10th grade?
Me:heeheeeee

Wait, the Verb

The past couple of months has been a lot of decisions and seeking in direction- ministry opportunities, uganda, work, school, relationships with people, life, etc. As a result, I've been thinking through what it means to wait on the Lord. Waiting is not like Sadness from Inside Out, being dragged along through life, in a slump of idleness. Rather, waiting is an active and deeply engaged tension of dependent trust and stewardship.

"Does it make sense to pray for guidance about the future if we are not obeying in the thing that lies before us today? How many momentous events in Scripture depended on one person's seemingly small act of obedience! Rest assured: Do what God tells you to do now, and depend upon it, you will be shown what to do next."

                                                             - Elisabeth Elliot

Gaze of the Soul

"Like the eye which sees everything in front if it and never sees itself, faith is occupied with the Object upon which it rests and pays no attention to itself at all. The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One. While he looks at Christ, the very things he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him. It will be God working in him to will and to do."

                                                        A.W. Tozer in The Pursuit of God

Good Shepherd's Fold

GSF APRIL 2017 from hanna on Vimeo.

I've been blessed to be able to spend some time in Uganda at Good Shepherd's Fold recently. This is just a compilation of random moments.  A video really does not do justice. In a nutshell, GSF is a place that uses it's orphanage as a platform to reach Uganda, helping meet physical and spiritual needs. They have a primary and secondary school for both orphans and village kids, feeding programs with medical attention, bible studies in villages,  special needs care, outreach, and more. I can explain better in detail about GSF's broad outreach to care for Uganda, or about my experiences over coffee. Please do ask!

I'd like to extend the offer to support GSF. Currently there is a need in funds for their school. About 90% of the school comprises of village kids who cannot afford their education. While it cost about $300 for a year's worth of tuition, most are only able to give a fraction of that. Their education is knit with how they will thrive. Education empowers them by being taught the gospel by their teachers, and to be equipped for the future- to be able to work, support their families, find financial stability, afford health care, etc! It's more than just school. Let us show our love to these children in action.
You can donate at this link": http://www.gsfuganda.org/

He gave

“You have not chosen one another, but I have chosen you for another. The friendship is not a reward for our discriminating and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to us the beauties of others.” C. S. Lewis

A good read:
https://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/melissakruger/2017/04/11/gods-choice-not-ours-the-joys-of-unexpected-friendship/