Stories from Christmas

We started with the children's homes where we sang and tumbled and ate cake with the kids who gleefully gasped at their presents...and in the end were mostly enamoured by a box. The atmosphere was more solemn at the AIDS ward in Georgetown Public Hospital...Kay lie curled up on her side, bones jutting out from joint to joint, breathing laboured due to the fluid collecting in her lungs. She held the soft towel from her giftbag to her face, gently exclaiming, “It's too much, it's too much,” while her blind eyes stared into nothing. Smiling, she revealed a gold tooth, marked with a “K” as we belted out O Holy Night at her bedside. She probably won't live more than 3 days. I asked Jesus to take away the pain in her chest and minutes later she was no longer wimpering.

While we were singing to a man near the nurses' station, Daniel pointed out a tearful visitor – and the lifeless body 4 beds away. The nurses covered the dead man's body ¾ of the way with his sheet and pulled a curtain in front. I waited for an opportunity to approach his lone visitor. Tears falling, she told me she had planned see her brother this morning but wasn't feeling well. By the time she reached the hospital in the afternoon, he was dead. I prayed for her, then she left.

A light-hearted memory of the afternoon was when one of the patients – a young man – drummed his fingers on a dairy creamer container, keeping rhythm with Steve's rockin version of Silent Night.

And then there was the conversation with Mr. J- “I used to believe in God but now I don't see the use...He should've never created us without our consent...”

In the children's ward we gave out toys and balloons and apologized to the nurses for buying mini-trumpets and noise makers -but the kids were loving them! We listened to moms and one dad about the strain and difficulty of seeing their child suffer and I prayed with a weary single mom, offering affirmation of her devotion and care for her son.

I was delighted to feed and hold the teeniest 1-year old boy I have ever seen. Adorable -really just wanted to be cuddled. His mother abandoned him at the hospital a month ago. He was malnurished and is still very underweight but he's better than before and the nurse said there is a family that wants him. Thank God.

We stood in the center of the room and sang more carols while the kids played with their toys and 9 year-old Sasha looked on from behind her oxygen mask - her cheeks were tear-stained from the latest procedure and her enormously distended belly prevented her from lying comfortably.

And finally, there were the little old ladies at the seniors' home, repeating, "God bless you!" between songs while clutching their shiny gift bags.

The best blessing is to be a blessing.

Thank you, Dr. Kandola, for giving so that we could give in Jesus' name.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

"...And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6b