First, I am doing something that I never thought I would ever do or enjoy...grant writing. I am looking for grants for the school. I enjoy doing research and making a case on the behalf of another.
Second, this job is going to be tough. Already I am reminded of my days at Brook Ave. The first day on the job I sat in on a meeting concerning the welfare of a student. The school has a strong evidence that the student might be being sexually abused. 2 out of 3 children are physically abused in India. Just over 50% of them are sexually abused. You can read the full government report at http://wcd.nic.in/childabuse.pdf. My state has higher than average reported rates for both physical and sexual abuse. In fact, it is in the top 4 worst cities. Due to the children we work with having a mental disability they are more vulnerable to such things.
Third, the other day a group of drunken men out campaigning for the current elections surrounded one of our school vans and smashed in the front windshield. Luckily, no one was hurt.
On a funny note, the driver of one of our consultants got drunk and/or high that he couldn't even stand up. She had to call a taxi to come get her. He's going to be looking for a new job.
Working here I also get to see miraculous things. One of the students had a birthday. The centre always celebrates birthdays in a big way. This particular student's mom hired a band to come play. It was a pretty exciting time. It was fun to see the children having fun and getting up and dancing. Some of them had no inhibitions. They joyfully danced. I wished that I would be like that. Of course, for some the music was painful so they were being comforted, wearing ear protective gear like at a shooting range, and some had to be removed. Even with these children, I thought...wouldn't it be nice to be able to express our pain openly. These children freely express themselves. They are blunt and direct. They do not hide. I think we hurt ourselves by keeping things inside. I don't mean sharing it with everyone, but with a trusted few. We were created to live in community and share one another's joys and sorrows. These kids are teaching me something about being real.
The other thing they are already teaching me is that we are all disabled, or as we say at the centre---differently-abled. The students and their families have to come to terms with this and learn to live despite their disabilities. In fact, it is sometimes through their disabilities we see God more clearly. I think it is true for all of us. We are all differently-abled. He did say that His strength is made perfect in our weaknesses. I was reminded of the story of the blind man. The religious leaders asked why he was blind. The response just made more sense to me this week..."this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him" (John 9). Something I read recently pointed out that all these people that Jesus healed are known by their infirmity. It might just be that our disabilities truly are our greatest gifts.
I think this would be a great place to insert a song that has meant a lot to me over the past year. It is called Blessings. It is by Laura Story and she won a Grammy for it!
We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things
'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe
When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not our home
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise
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Embracing the brokenness so that I might be transformed.
There isn't anything glamorous or pretty about it,
but it is beautiful and sacred.
