Experience, Strength and Hope

By RJ O.

Cold, selfish and unhappy is how I spent my Christmas in years past. My mood and emotions reflected Mother Nature on a cold winter night. I always looked forward to Christmas morning when I would receive many gifts, but I was always ungrateful and all I wanted to do was exchange the gifts I had been given for something “better”. Everyone around me was all smiles and on this beautiful day while I indulged in my own churlish attitude. A part of me knew that I should be thinking about others and focusing on giving rather than receiving, but that part of me was like a mouse trapped in a giant Tupperware bowl scrapping at the transparent wall trying to get out. It took me a full year during my stay to finally allow this seemingly hopeless mouse to see the light of day again.
I arrived at The Family Foundation School on December 14, 2010 I wasn’t looking forward to spending another Christmas away from home. My previous Christmas before was spent in the woods of Vermont in, The True North Wilderness Program provided a Christmas that I would never forget. On Christmas morning I was handed a wooden spoon and five Tootsie Rolls. You would think I would be grateful after graduating from the wilderness program, but after going home and surrounding myself with the same people, places and things, I shut out the new person I had become during my wilderness experience. I put myself in a position where I was going to miss my second Christmas with my family and I was not thrilled to say the least.
I adjusted well to the school, but I wasn’t the most pleasant person to be around during the holidays. Materialistically I was content, but there was something missing. I felt like the Grinch with a shriveled up heart because all I cared about was me and nobody else. I did in fact gain some relationships with kids because I was living with them; the same superficial relationships I shared with friends back home.
Early November 2011 I found out I was going to miss another Christmas at home. My first reaction was to be frustrated and complain about something I couldn’t change. But after thinking about the true meaning of Christmas and saying a prayer I had a change of heart. With a selfless attitude my 2011 Christmas at The Family School was one to remember.
Love spread through Talbot House faster than a blink of an eye. This warm compassion felt like burrowing up in your blanket on a frigid night. Everyone was happy and nothing else mattered besides seeing the expression on the face of the person who was opening up the present you got them. When I went home on December 27 and this selfless, open-hearted attitude traveled with me from the school to my family. These new emotions felt weird at first because I had never showed them in my home or in front of my family. It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t excited to open up presents at my house, but my mind wasn’t consumed by these material things. I was content with being home and being surrounded by people that I love and by people that love me, so opening presents was the icing on the cake of a memorable day.

 Lisa G. graduated from The Family School in December 2003. This letter is a continuation from the last issue, where she talks about her journey of service and charity. Her trip is coming to an end and she shares her thoughts and feelings.

 Hujambo!

Please forgive the briefness of this update, but I am currently very strapped for time. So, I’ve completed six weeks now in Tanzania and there were many changes in the last two weeks. First, we got in a fresh group of four-week volunteers, and our last “four weekers” have gone. I have a new roommate. His name is Chris and he’s an amazing person. I feel incredibly lucky to have what I feel is the best living situation of anyone, but my opinion is probably a bit biased. We also started our community teaching these last two weeks. We go to bomas (or groups of houses belonging to one family) and if they have time and the inclination, we teach them about any health topic they’re interested in. So far, the main topic of interest has been family planning, and I’m glad since many families have upwards of eleven children. One very interesting boma we visit has one Babu (grandfather) who is 91 years old, with his 8 wives (plus three more in another region). He has 55 children, 300 grandchildren, and his youngest wife is only 19. It seems so strange, but it is very interesting to talk with them and to learn about their beliefs as this is a very traditional Maasai family. The children do not go to school, so sometimes we teach them English if we have time.

Anyway, I think we’re making a really big difference, and all the participants seem very eager to learn about everything. We’ve also been doing several community improvement projects including filling a started but never completed latrine hole, fixing more desks, and conducting after-school activities with the children, during which we’ve been teaching them about different cultures all over the world. We’ve also painted educational canvases to hang in the classrooms. Our days are busy and completely full, and I fall in bed exhausted every day, but I am also extremely fulfilled and satisfied with the work we are doing here.

I’m coming into my last two weeks here, and I’m extremely sad. I don’t know how I’ll say goodbye to this place, and maybe sometime I’ll tell you more about the personal changes I’ve been going through. Suffice it to say, I am a very different person from who I was when I left, and I struggle with the idea of returning to my old life. Anyway, I hope this update finds you well. -Lisa.