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As mentioned in yesterday's blog, we did have lunch with Doctor Sister Rexline, and what a treat this was! Since she is such a busy women with many things on her plate, she was not able to spend time with us during the entire lunch but did grace us with her presence for a brief chat at the end.
She truly is amazing. In 1975, after completing her medical degree (the first nun in her order to do so), she started what is now known as St. Thomas Hospital. It started as a one-room building and now spans several large buildings including the hospital, nursing school, convent, etc. In her early days, she would ride her bike to the local villages to determine who needed her care, whereas she now lives at the hospital so that she can take care of people's needs in a moment's notice.
Her efforts reach across India. Often through volunteers and other convents (I believe Mother Theresa's locale is also involved in this effort), she and her team assess the needs of small villages throughout India to determine the levels of fundraising needed.
Besides the hospital and fundraising, she is in charge of Assisi Elam, the orphanage/daycare we have been assisting at, homes for the elderly, and other such things. Doctor Sister Rexline told us that she cannot run all of these things as the hospital keeps her too busy so she delegates this work to others. (Her biggest challenge at the hospital is clean water, so she must send men out to get this water.)
I was impressed with her directness and strong opinion on education. She believes that education is the most important "possession" a person can have. Apparently, she knows that Stephen's wife, Sheeba, studied nursing. She reminded Sheeba not to waste that education - she should be a nurse. During lunch, we brought over the first orphan baby to ever come to Assisi - Sophia. While she is adorable, the nuns at Assisi spoil her immensely, and Dr. Sr. Rexline had no qualms about pointing out how this is impacting Sophia's behavior. We had quite a chuckle as she was so right. Sophia won't even talk to us because we make her share our attention with the other kids at Assisi. Luckily, she is a brain child, and we are guessing that Sophia is in training to one day run the hospital.
My biggest chuckle came when Dr. Sr. Rexline's cell phone rang. My immediate thought was, "Wow! So that's what a modern day saint looks like." Don't worry, our cameras were snapping away.
Outside the hospital doors is a sign that states, "Finding out the sex of your baby is illegal." I used to think China was the only country in which boys were the gender of choice at birth, but we found that this is often the case in India as well. As a result, one is not allowed to determine the gender of the baby prior to its birth for fear that women will abort the baby. Stephen mentioned that many wealthy Indian families will fly out of the country to determine the gender, and if they find that the baby is a girl, they will abort it.
We are so thankful to have had the opportunity to meet and interact with Dr. Sr. Rexline. She is an amazing women. I wish her well - she is sick and almost died last year due to several lung infections. Once lunch time was over, we were off to our afternoon duties.
Linda W. and I went to St. Joseph's for our afternoon of conversational English with the novices. Their homework assignment was to share their favorite Bible story, and I enjoyed hearing their passion for such stories. Interestingly, this discussion brought up questions by them of religion in America and my own faith. I was very careful with what I said, acknowledging America's and my faith, but that it is different from both India and what they are doing at St. Joseph's. Luckily, they are young and hungry to learn so I gave them just enough information so they understood that our life is different but at the same time was careful not to horrify or insult them. Phew!
Off to my last day of volunteering....
She truly is amazing. In 1975, after completing her medical degree (the first nun in her order to do so), she started what is now known as St. Thomas Hospital. It started as a one-room building and now spans several large buildings including the hospital, nursing school, convent, etc. In her early days, she would ride her bike to the local villages to determine who needed her care, whereas she now lives at the hospital so that she can take care of people's needs in a moment's notice.
Her efforts reach across India. Often through volunteers and other convents (I believe Mother Theresa's locale is also involved in this effort), she and her team assess the needs of small villages throughout India to determine the levels of fundraising needed.
Besides the hospital and fundraising, she is in charge of Assisi Elam, the orphanage/daycare we have been assisting at, homes for the elderly, and other such things. Doctor Sister Rexline told us that she cannot run all of these things as the hospital keeps her too busy so she delegates this work to others. (Her biggest challenge at the hospital is clean water, so she must send men out to get this water.)
I was impressed with her directness and strong opinion on education. She believes that education is the most important "possession" a person can have. Apparently, she knows that Stephen's wife, Sheeba, studied nursing. She reminded Sheeba not to waste that education - she should be a nurse. During lunch, we brought over the first orphan baby to ever come to Assisi - Sophia. While she is adorable, the nuns at Assisi spoil her immensely, and Dr. Sr. Rexline had no qualms about pointing out how this is impacting Sophia's behavior. We had quite a chuckle as she was so right. Sophia won't even talk to us because we make her share our attention with the other kids at Assisi. Luckily, she is a brain child, and we are guessing that Sophia is in training to one day run the hospital.
My biggest chuckle came when Dr. Sr. Rexline's cell phone rang. My immediate thought was, "Wow! So that's what a modern day saint looks like." Don't worry, our cameras were snapping away.
Outside the hospital doors is a sign that states, "Finding out the sex of your baby is illegal." I used to think China was the only country in which boys were the gender of choice at birth, but we found that this is often the case in India as well. As a result, one is not allowed to determine the gender of the baby prior to its birth for fear that women will abort the baby. Stephen mentioned that many wealthy Indian families will fly out of the country to determine the gender, and if they find that the baby is a girl, they will abort it.
We are so thankful to have had the opportunity to meet and interact with Dr. Sr. Rexline. She is an amazing women. I wish her well - she is sick and almost died last year due to several lung infections. Once lunch time was over, we were off to our afternoon duties.
Linda W. and I went to St. Joseph's for our afternoon of conversational English with the novices. Their homework assignment was to share their favorite Bible story, and I enjoyed hearing their passion for such stories. Interestingly, this discussion brought up questions by them of religion in America and my own faith. I was very careful with what I said, acknowledging America's and my faith, but that it is different from both India and what they are doing at St. Joseph's. Luckily, they are young and hungry to learn so I gave them just enough information so they understood that our life is different but at the same time was careful not to horrify or insult them. Phew!
Off to my last day of volunteering....
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