We made it on the front page of the local paper! heehee! :)
FAIRMONT - In March, 10 local women will travel to eastern Guatemala equipped with the skill, desire and over-the-counter medications they need to serve the impoverished people inhabiting the area. The young women are third-year nursing students at Presentation College, and have signed on to give up their spring breaks to help people they have never met.
Above: Presentation College nursing students lending their services in Guatemala, include, front row from left: Lana Howk, Katy Handevidt, Jessica Rabe and Courtney Baumann. Back row, from left: Rebekah Anderson, Alex Ristau, Kandra Miller and Stephanie Prentice.
The students get no school credit for their service, although they can use the time there toward their volunteerism graduation requirement. Some have never left the US, but all are preparing for a life of serving others and see this trip as an extension of their dedication to nursing. "I have always had a very deep need to help the disadvantaged, and I know this trip will change every single person who is involved in this project," said trip organizer Kendra Miller. "A trip of this type was never a question for me, it was just a matter of how and when." The group has coordinated with Hearts-In-Motion, a non-profit service organization with extensive ties to Guatemala, to distribute food, medicine and knowledge about nutrition and general health care. Since they are not yet licensed as nurses, the women will practice exclusively non-invasive procedures. "Our first day we will be going to a dump to hand out food," Miller said. Outside of the help they will give, the students are looking forward to how they will be changed by real-life nursing experienced in the impoverished region. Lana Howk, one of the students going on the trip, said that in addition to refocusing her dedication to service after her time in school, she feels the experience will help her connect with some of her clients. "I think it will help us understand our minority clients," she said. Miller agreed, saying, "There is no way that we could come out of this not being better people, better nurses, knowing that we've done everything we could to help. The amount of help that the people of Guatemala need is unfathomable; by simply being there, we will be doing something to help them. They have nothing; no food, home, and very little access to medical attention." In addition to fundraising, the students are collecting over-the-counter medications, toothbrushes, toothpaste and small toys to leave with the people they meet. "We will be providing the people with food, healthcare and toys for the children," Miller said. "In order to prepare for this trip, we have been feverishly fundraising, and reaching out to the Fairmont community for their support in making this nursing trip possible." The women need to raise $20,000 to pay for airfare, lodging and guides. Since the only Spanish-language experience anyone on the trip has comes from high school language class, they will rely heavily on Hearts-in-Motion guides to translate during interactions with clients. And while the travelers are all students at Presentation College, the school is not sponsoring the trip. Presentation College director Traci Lardy said the students came to her and told her about the trip, but they are going on their own. "I think it shows the dedication we have of our nursing students to share their skills," she said. "It is a special group." Miller hopes to see more students participate in a trip of this kind in the years to come. After their trip, they will present a slide show and discussion with donors.
*Donations are tax-deductible, and can be sent to:
Presentation College, attn: Traci Lardy, 115 S. Park Street, #117, Fairmont, MN 56031.
Eagle Butte-Aberdeen = 173 mi. by October 9, 2009 (PC Lanyard)
Aberdeen-Sioux Falls = 204 mi. by December 8, 2009 (PC Water Bottle)
Sioux Falls-Fairmont = 120 mi. by January 12, 2010 (PC T-Shirt)
Fairmont-Eagle Butte = 423 mi. by May 3, 2010 ($25 PC Bookstore gift certificate)
*A drawing will be held for all participants that complete “Walk PC” for the grand prize of a free massage at a day spa! oooo! :D An individual making the complete round trip will log 920 miles or 1,840,000 steps. If an individual is able to meet the 10,000 steps per day goal, the entire "trip" will have been made in 184 days.
Every semester Presentation pays for half of the membership fee at Martin County Fitness per semester, so between that and a busy life, I was able to complete the first leg of the challenge logging 370,734 steps which is about 182 miles. So I got the lanyard...but to my surprise, we also got a cute little shoe key chain which I like even better than the lanyard! heehee! ;) That's MY GREEN SHOE in the top pic! I love it! Heehee! :) The water bottle for the next leg is hardly a motivation, but the walking has been good for me and the possibility of a free spa massage at the end sounds like the perfect way to end our stressful junior year.
This passage never ceases to challenge and encourage:
Psalm 139
1O Lord, You have searched me, and known me. 2You know when I rise and when I fall; You understand my thoughts from afar. 3You encompass my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. 4Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. 5You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. 6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain unto it. 7Where can I go from Your spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8If I ascend up into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the remotest part of the sea; 10Even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will hold me. 11If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,” 12Even the darkness is not dark to You; but the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are both alike to You. 13For You have possessed my reins: You covered me in my mother's womb. 14I give thanks unto You; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are Your works; and my soul knows it very well. 15My substance was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. 16Your eyes have seen my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Your book were written all the days that were ordained for me when as yet there were none of them. 17How precious also are Your thoughts unto me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You. 23Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxious thoughts; 24And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Gen. 32:24 – 31 - 24And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.26And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.28And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.29And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 30And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. 31And as he passed over Peniel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
"You see the anguish of my soul, You see the blessing still unclaimed, You see my Spirit nearly crushed beneath the load. In my darkest night I wrestle with the angel of the Lord and I boldly claim the promise of Thy Word: that my diligent pursuit Thou shalt reward.
And though Thou bidst me let Thee go, I will not be denied, and it delights Your heart to see me so. When You touch me in my weakness it is but to make me strong and though weeping may endure the whole night long. You have promised in the morning joy shall come.
Everyone who asks receives and those who seek will find and all who keep on knocking enter in. Through each test of perseverance as we stand on sacred sod, soon we travel where victorious saints have trod. Let us triumph as a prince prevails with God.
I will not let Thee go until You bless me. I’ll wrestle with my God until the break of dawn. I cannot be content without the victory. Until the battle’s won, I simply can’t go on. With my soul in great travail, I know I shall prevail with Thee. Until the answer comes for me – no matter what the cost may be – I will not let Thee go."
Matt. 7:7 -8 - 7Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:8For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Yesterday I dedicated most of my time to my school work. Today I definitely fit school into my schedule as well, but I also used the afternoon to get a few miscellaneous projects done that have been hanging over my head. Cleaning out Josie's barn was one of them - the last time it's been cleaned out would have been sometime when Julie was home...maybe even before she ever went to college? Wow! I thought it was a perfect time because the birds would be gone, the wasps would be gone, the mice would be hiding to stay warm, and the spiders would be gone. Well, all was true except for the spider part. (actually, I'll confess that I did think there were mice hanging out somewhere cause I kept hearing little squeaks, but then I realized it was my boots as I was shuffling with the broom - just like the cartoons! haha!) There were nasty spiders galore (and mice droppings everywhere - bleh!) But I toughed it out and got her little home in tip top shape and I even thought to take before and after pictures so you could see how hard I worked, how brave I was, and what a nice job I did ;) Heehee! The picture of Josie in the grass cracks me up! She sat there like that the whole time. She was so nervous about what I was doing, poor thing!
