I ended up sitting with a woman who was 80+ if she was a day old. She was so small and crinkled and she had the most beautiful pale blue eyes. The interesting thing was that she only spoke Hokkien and I only speak English. I just sat with her and tried to sign some things, which she obviously didn’t understand and I eventually fell silent again.
After a while with her, for some reason the story of Jonah came to my mind. I said to her out loud, I know you don’t under stand a word that I am saying, so I will speak to your spirit instead and believe that there, you will understand me.
So I told her the story of Jonah. And then I prayed for her that her heart who not be like Jonah, and that she would not run away from God and his purposes for her. I prayed that her spiritual life would be rich, even though your physical life could no longer be. Then I sang a few songs to her. She watched me, but didn’t really respond.
After that, it was dinner time and we were invited to stay longer and to help feed the residents. I was paired with an old lady. She suffered from dementia and was tied into her wheel chair because she was prone to wandering. Again, she didn’t speak a word of English.
I had to spoon feed her, which went well at first, until she got really restless. She kept grabbing my arms and pulling on me while saying something. I asked a friend to come over and translate what she was trying to say. My friend told me that she was saying, ‘I don’t understand what you are saying when you speak English, but I don’t mind - please just take me away from here’. It was heartbreaking to hear.
After she had eaten as much as she would, I asked if I could wheel her around the garden and the nurses told me that I could.
It was during this time that I realised how much God must have been working in my heart!
I used to be a dental nurse. I was one of those hyper clean types. I was the most sterile in my working manner. The dentists used to joke with me that my future kids would get sick all the time because I wouldn’t allow them to be exposed to any germs.
Back to this elderly lady, she kept spitting, but the saliva wouldn’t drop off, so she would grab the saliva with her fingers and throw it onto the ground. And then she kept grabbing at my arms telling me where to take her in the garden. It took me a few moments to adjust to the idea that she was spreading her saliva all over my arms. And then I realised that for this lady, she didn’t get this opportunity very often as the nurses are far too busy to spend half an hour wheeling her around the garden.
I have a very soft spot for the elderly and I usually come away from spending time in homes for the elderly feeling sober and every teary. This time was not different.
I came away feel how blessed I am to be able to honour the people who shaped this nation that has ‘adopted’ me. I am only sad that the language barriers stopped me from being able to communicate with them.
