[guide.chat] In Reply To: Visiting.
- From: "Dawn Watson" <dawnyhen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Guide Chat" <guide.chat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2012 18:16:36 +0100
Jim,
What a lovely and rewarding story. Firstly your perseverance has paid off,
Secondly who would have imagined that 15 years later you would have heard from
her. And thirdly she would be working as a Staff Nurse in Malawi,and that you
hope to visit next year and, hopefully , meet her again. I hope all goes
well.Best wishes and safe travels Dawn.
Hi, Dawn;
Thanks.
Yes, I do enjoy the visiting side of being an elder. I don't regard it as a
chore or as a duty, but I look forward to it. I've visited another three houses
today; only seven more to go!
I'm lucky, in that my district is closer to the street to which I moved
two years ago, and, since I've been walking in that area for most of my life,
all the kerbs, paths and gates are familiar to me, so navigating the area isn't
a problem. Actually, I think many residents look forward to having a blind
visitor; after all, I can't see what state the house is in.
There was one house I used to visit as part of my duties. The mother was
a Church member, but she was sadly going senile. She was eventually better off
in residential care. I kept up visiting, however, as her daughter remained in
the house, and she was a drug addict. She was never violent, but the state of
both her health and the house deteriorated over the next few years. I don't
believe in in-your-face evangelism, but a quiet word amid talking about
everything from Coronation Street to hip-hop music (which I HATE), must have
worked. After a lot of effort, we got her into a Church run rehab unit, where
she gradually came off heroin. I lost touch with her then, as she remained in a
flat near the rehab unit in Edinburgh.
Imagine my joy last year when I heard from her for the first time in fifteen
years....
She is a staff nurse with a medical mission in Malawi, Africa! I'm hopefully
going to Malawi next year as part of a Presbytery mission to our twin
presbytery in Bandawe, Malawi, so I really want to meet up with her there.
-----Original Message-----
From: Dawn Watson - Email Address: dawnyhen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent On: 28/09/2012 18:59
Sent To: Guide Chat - Email Address: guide.chat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [guide.chat] In Reply To: Visiting.
Hi Jim, it is a wonderful thing that you do. It is obvious you enjoy what you
do,despite being plied with numerous cups of tea. and trying to leave the
person's house. But look at it another way you are not using any of your own
energy as in electricity, only your own energy to talk when you can get a word
in edge ways. Think yourself lucky you are not visiting me, as I have been told
don't I ever shut up, my nick name is little Miss Chatter Box. It Could be even
worse you could be visiting Carol.
Hope you sleep tonight.
As an elder in the Church of Scotland, I have a district to supervise;
and, because we're on the run up to our communion season, each elder is
expected to visit each member of their district to invite them to the service,
and check that all's well with them. My district has fifteen households in it.
The majority of the members of my district are housebound...and women.
Sorry, ladies, but you lot can talk, and talk, and talk! Communion's a week on
Sunday, and I'm supposed to have finished my rounds by now.....aye, right! Some
hope. I have ten houses STILL to visit! Oh, yes, it's great to chat with
friends, and, of course, that's what they are. The trouble, though, is getting
out of their homes! I've just spent two hours visiting one old lady whom I've
known for twenty years. She's wonderful for her age, her mind's as sharp as a
knife, and she has a strong, confident faith. We had a great natter...even
mentioning God for thirty seconds.
So, what's the problem?
Tea.
She loves it - drinks it by the gallon. And you simply cannot refuse a cup;
she'd be offended. The problem is, though, that she must put half a packet of
tea in the pot...and stew the brew for ten minutes. The resultant tar in the
cup is absolutely deadly...you could use it as a substitute for Domestos! There
must be an overdose of caffeine in each cup. That means that, at this time of
night, I'm normally tired (I usually get up around six in the morning for my
medication). Not tonight, though - the caffeine has simply driven all thoughts
of sleep from what's left of my mind.
WOMEN!
Jim
PTL! < <
-----
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 10.0.1427 / Virus Database: 2441/5295 - Release Date: 09/27/12
As an elder in the Church of Scotland, I have a district to supervise;
and, because we're on the run up to our communion season, each elder is
expected to visit each member of their district to invite them to the service,
and check that all's well with them. My district has fifteen households in it.
The majority of the members of my district are housebound...and women.
Sorry, ladies, but you lot can talk, and talk, and talk! Communion's a week on
Sunday, and I'm supposed to have finished my rounds by now.....aye, right! Some
hope. I have ten houses STILL to visit! Oh, yes, it's great to chat with
friends, and, of course, that's what they are. The trouble, though, is getting
out of their homes! I've just spent two hours visiting one old lady whom I've
known for twenty years. She's wonderful for her age, her mind's as sharp as a
knife, and she has a strong, confident faith. We had a great natter...even
mentioning God for thirty seconds.
So, what's the problem?
Tea.
She loves it - drinks it by the gallon. And you simply cannot refuse a cup;
she'd be offended. The problem is, though, that she must put half a packet of
tea in the pot...and stew the brew for ten minutes. The resultant tar in the
cup is absolutely deadly...you could use it as a substitute for Domestos! There
must be an overdose of caffeine in each cup. That means that, at this time of
night, I'm normally tired (I usually get up around six in the morning for my
medication). Not tonight, though - the caffeine has simply driven all thoughts
of sleep from what's left of my mind.
WOMEN!
Jim
PTL! < <
-----
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 10.0.1427 / Virus Database: 2441/5295 - Release Date: 09/27/12
-----
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2012.0.2221 / Virus Database: 2441/5295 - Release Date: 09/27/12
-----
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 10.0.1427 / Virus Database: 2441/5296 - Release Date: 09/28/12
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