Lonely for the ladies

It's been two days now since they danced. Since the 12 of them stood there in the brand new hospital all dressed up in new clothes with necklaces they had each made by hand. I hope I can hold onto the memories of that day like I do right now.

To memories like that of the oldest lady of the bunch putting on her own dance show right in the middle of the ceremony, swinging her hips a little extra and simply stealing the show after sharing her testimony of how after 30 years of leaking she is finally dry. She is this sassy old women who stole my heart, as I fear I will be just like her when I am her age. Every time she saw you she would call you over often by name pronounced in her own unique way with a  little scowl on her face. She wanted her pot emptied or for you to do this or that, whatever it was that she thought was so important at that moment. Her unique name pronunciations have now given my good friend Kathleen the nickname of Kapleenchy which I plan to use for the rest of her life! Once she got your attention she was not letting you go until you got it right even if it was 3 in the morning. Then once you had accomplished her requested task she would just beam a big smile of praise. Dealing with a little extra sass was worth every second as I watched her dance.

Then there was the memory of another lady whose little girl won you over with cuteness as she worked so hard at remembering our names and then shouting them loudly to get our attention even from across the compound. Every dress ceremony is filled with more than a couple potty breaks, but for women who haven't been able to go like the rest of us for the past however many years it is a welcome interruption. Well mama took her first potty break by walking to the bathroom but then decided she wasn't going to miss the action so the next time she just went right there in the room in a little pot tucked behind a bed. Just as she went she realized the other ladies were headed over to shake the doctor's hand and to show him their gratitude and so she quickly jumped up and ran over giving everyone in the room a laugh.

Lastly I hope I never forget the smile and look of joy as I caught the eye of and gave a quick wink to our smallest patient of this trip. She found some physical healing but also some spiritual healing and the truth and power of Jesus in her short time with us.

It has only been two days but I find myself missing them already.