MEMO Cuba Sioux Lookout and Moose

Okay, so there is no connection between MEMO Cuba Sioux Lookout and moose except that I saw moose on the road close to our house on a day when I was working on some things for MEMO Cuba Sioux Lookout.

We are collecting medical equipment and supplies in preparation for sending our third container to Cuba with MEMO Cuba Sioux Lookout. We shipped a container in 2009 and a second container in 2011. We now have about 75% of the things that we need to fill our third container.

On Tuesday Clement Cospito and I went to Fort Frances to pick up a truckload of things that the hospital there donated to Cuba. We were able to get a lot of nice things. One of the things they donated was a surgery table. I will post a picture below of one of the surgery tables that was being used in the hospital in Cuba before we sent a surgery table on our last container. I told the people at the Fort Frances hospital that the surgery table was a wonderful gift. They said we have no idea how glad they are to get it out of their way! So, it works for both of us.

We are hoping to get some more things from here in Sioux Lookout, as well as some things from Dryden. If that happens, we should be able to fill our container.

The container gets taken by truck to Winnipeg, where is goes on CN Rail to Montreal. In Montreal it goes on the container ship to Cuba. After it clears customs in Havana it is taken by truck to the Santa Clara Province. Our things go to the hospital at Saqua de Grande.

It is wonderful to get things that would go to the dump here and place them into the hands of people who will use them. On our first container we sent some geriatric chairs that were not being used here in Canada. The staff at the hospital in Cuba were so happy for them. They had a kidney dialysis machine, and a kidney dialysis room, but no furniture for the room. They placed the geriatric chair in the kidney dialysis room so their patients would not have to sit on the floor while getting dialysis.

We also already have about a dozen wheelchairs for this third container. These are a real blessing there too. There are patients that are unable to get outside now because of mobility issues. With no wheelchair available they are confined to their beds or stationary chairs. Having a wheelchair makes it possible for them to get outside and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air.

This picture is the surgery table they were using in the hospital in Cuba before one of our other containers arrived bringing a better surgery table. I am sure the one we will be sending on our next container will replace a table similar to this one.

This is some of the staff in the hospital in Cuba with the chair they put in their kidney dialysis room. What an improvement to have a chair to sit in while you get your dialysis treatment!

Friday I was working on re-stacking some medical equipment in our storage trailers. After I came home Edith came home and said that there were two moose on the road close to our house. One was kneeling down and licking the salt off the road. I drove down to where they were. A car came and they left the road. I did get a picture of one of them standing in the bush.

This is the moose who now apparently has its desire for salt satisfied!

What is the Importance of a Name?

They say that the sweetest sound in any language is the sound of your own name. I don't know if that is true, but it does make an impression when people remember our names. Names are a curious thing. We tend to give names to our children because we like the sound of the name, or because of positive emotional connections with someone with the same name. We don't tend to give names solely on the merit of the meaning of the name. Yet the meaning of a name is significant.

I noticed on Facebook recently that a number of people are accessing a site that assigns a Native American name to them. It seems to be quite popular, and I assume that people think that perhaps the Native American name a computer assigns to them might have some significance. I really don't think it means much.

For many years I was not very interested in having people know my first name. It seemed old fashioned, and I didn't like it very much. I was always glad that my parents chose to use my middle name, Merle, instead of my first name, Ezra. Well 9/11 changed all that, and I can no longer avoid the use of my first name. I need to use it on all official documents and airline tickets.

But along the way, I also have come to appreciate the meaning of my first name. Ezra means "helper". That really is the kind of person I want to be. In contrast to that the definition of Merle is, "blackbird". I'm not quite sure how to feel about that one. Also, the Biblical Ezra was a man of God and was an honorable person. So, that is a good model for my life too.

One of my goals was to learn to know the names of most, if not all, of the homeless people in Sioux Lookout in 2011. I pretty much accomplished that goal. I think that often we tend to see homeless people merely as "one of them". Yet they have a name. They are a person with real feelings and emotions. I think for them to be approached on the street and addressed by name, adds significance to their existence. I have enjoyed learning to know them not only by name, but also having a chance to visit with them, and hear their personal stories.

One of the side benefits of learning to know the homeless people by name, is that they have also learned to know me by my name. I consider one of my greatest achievements in 2011 to have the street people know my name. It makes me feel successful to hear them use my name. If I could choose the people who would know me by name, they would be high on the list.

One of the things I look forward to is receiving a new name. The Bible tells us that we will be given a new name by our Heavenly Father when we arrive in the place he is preparing for us. Obviously, as a father he has every right to give us a name. He already knows us better than we know ourselves. Somehow, I think that name is going to be the one that will fit me the best. So, I am not signing up to have a computer assign me a Native American name. I think I will wait and see what name my heavenly father gives me. Who knows, it might even be Ezra!

Cornerstone Christian School Benefit Auction

The Benefit auction for Cornerstone Christian School will be happening the last Saturday of this month, January 28. The auction is held in conjunction with a spaghetti dinner at New Life Assembly on First Avenue here in Sioux Lookout.

We are gathering items to be sold at the auction. We have airline tickets from both Wasaya Airlines and Bearskin Airlines. We will have a good selection of baked goods. Also, we have a netbook computer donated by Wilson's Business Solutions.

It looks like we will have a good auction again this year. Every year we are grateful for the generous support of businesses and individuals. This year has been no exception. We do a live auction and a silent auction. I usually serve as the auctioneer for the live auction. It has some entertainment value for the people that attend.

So, if you are going to be in Sioux Lookout on January 28, you might enjoy attending the Cornerstone Christian School spaghetti dinner and benefit auction.

Here is a picture of a table that I refinished. This table will be sold on the auction.

The table has one board that can be placed in the top. This makes it oval instead of round.

Here is a picture of the spec sheet on the netbook computer that we will be selling too. It is a pretty neat little machine.

Homeless for the Holidays

The holidays of Christmas and New Year are a time when we think of family and being home. There is a lot of time and effort made to be home for the holidays. We probably all have good memories of being home for the holidays.

The last few weeks I have been thinking of those who are homeless for the holidays. On the day after Christmas, Boxing Day, I was walking down the street in Sioux Lookout and met one of the men who comes to our Sunday evening meal for the homeless people in Sioux Lookout. It impacted me emotionally to think of the disconnect he has with his family, and his community. Being homeless at any time of the year is not pleasant. Being homeless over the holidays must be even more painful.

But what does it mean to be home? To me being home means being in a place where I belong to a group of people. I claim them as my own, and they claim me as one of their own. We belong together. It is a place where I am loved and respected for who I am, by people who know my faults and failures, but choose to love me and accept me anyway. It is a place where I can be, without fearing that I am staying too long, or coming too often.

What about those who have no such place? We can look at the homeless people and accuse them of making bad choices. We can find a way to tell ourselves that it is their own fault. They ruined relationships and walked away from opportunities. We can only do that until we hear their stories, and learn to know more about their lives.

The homeless people who come to the church for our Sunday evening meal, gradually begin to tell us their stories. Just today, I heard some things I never knew about one of the men. My heart ached as I heard another piece of his story.When I hear the life stories of the homeless people who come for the meal, suddenly it isn't very easy to to find fault with the choices they have made in life.

It seems to me that over the holidays the homeless people are more aware of their lack of connection with their family and their communities. I wonder what it would feel like to walk the streets of Sioux Lookout and see so many people getting ready for family events, and have none to attend yourself. What would it feel like to be out there today, on New Year's Day, when it is snowing and minus 13 degrees with a minus 23 windchill? Somehow I think the chill of lost or missing family relationships would be worse than the cold weather. What would it feel like to get no Christmas cards, have no Christmas meals, and not be with your own family during the holiday season?

I hope that our short time with the homeless people at the church provides just a little slice of connection with community, and people who care. I hope that over the holidays we have been able to communicate personal warmth and caring.

The other group of people who are homeless over the holidays are the children that are taken into care over the holidays. The holidays can be stressful times for families. Those who struggle with addictions may lose their will to stay free from substance abuse, and sink into dysfunction. At a time when children should be loved, and be the center of attention, they may be neglected and if things get serious enough, they may be moved from their family to a foster home.

Going into care has to be a difficult experience at any time. To be taken into care over the holidays seems even worse to me. Children are a treasure. They are the most vulnerable members of our society. Someone once said, "When elephants fight, it is the grass that gets hurt the most". When parents fight, or lose the struggle to stay free of addictions, it is the small people who get hurt the most.

So, over this holiday season, I have been thinking of those who are homeless for the holidays. I want to be part of making a connection for them, that ministers to their hearts during this season. I want to communicate that no one is alone. We are a community, we are a church, who cares, and we are willing to make connections with people who tend to have little or none.

Burma Shrimp Farm Project

I will make no apologies about it. I love shrimp. In my opinion they are one of God's better food ideas. I know they are bottom feeders, but they are such delicious ones! So, when the opportunity came to have a part in an economic development project in Burma to provide funding for a shrimp farm, of course, I was interested.

In October of this year I traveled to the Irrawaddy Delta region of Burma, or Myanmar. One of the main occupations on the island we visited is shrimp farming. These families have been shrimp farmers for many generations. The island is a large island with ten Karen tribal villages on the island. There are hundreds of acres that used to be used for shrimp framing. This acreage has been reduced down to a very small amount due to the devastation of Cyclone Nargis in 2008.

After the storm the central government would not allow aid agencies to deliver aid to the island. It was a form of ethnic cleansing. It seemed that the government simply wanted as many people as possible to die. And die they did. The population in the village we visited, was 1,000 people before the cyclone and was reduced to about 240. Now there are many partial families in the villages. Finding households that are made up of combined families or partial families is not abnormal.

This led to much of the shrimp farming land ending up being owned by people who are not able to farm shrimp. It may belong to a widow lady, or a person who does not have shrimp farming skills. Then there are many shrimp farmers who have no land.

Shrimp farming is hard work. Acres of land are enclosed by building a mud bank around the perimeter of the land. This is all done by hand with no power equipment. Imagine building a four foot high dyke around 30 acres of land, and doing it with only a shovel in your hands! This takes several months of hard daily work. The entire island is very flat and only about 4 feet above sea level. When they build the dyke, they build gates that open to the ocean. Between the middle of February and the middle of March there are baby shrimp in the ocean. The shrimp farmers open the gates and allow the small shrimp in with the ocean water. Then they close the gates and the small shrimp are trapped in the shrimp farm.

The shrimp farmers then plant rice in the paddy they have created. The shrimp, crabs, and rice grow together until harvest time. When the shrimp are harvested in the morning. The shrimp farmers open the gates to the ocean and trap the shrimp in the gates. The shrimp that have reached the proper size are collected. They are shipped by boat for four hours to the town of Laputa. There they are put on an over night bus to Yangon. The next morning they are put on a plane and flown to Taiwan. From there they are processed and sent all over the world.

This project is what is known as a rehabilitation project. Relief is done when immediate aid, such as shelter, water and food are needed after a disaster. Development is done when there is little or no economy and people need to create jobs and learn new skills. Rehabilitation is when the skills exist, but there has been some event that has destroyed a specific industry. What happened on the island in the Irrawaddy Delta is that the shrimp industry was destroyed by Cyclone Nargis. Getting the land into the hands of the men who have the shrimp farming skills is what is needed to recreate the shrimp industry on the island.

Isaac, our coordinator for our trip to Burma has a plan to get the men with shrimp farming skills back to farming shrimp. With the help of investors he will buy shrimp farming land. Then he will put shrimp farmers on the land. They will repay the investors over a three year period.

God has provided investors who were willing to provide enough funds to purchase another 30 acre tract of shrimp farming land. The funds from the investors will buy the land, pay the wages of the farmers until they have their first crop of shrimp, and build the buildings they need to store they tools and equipment.

Out of their income they will repay the investors in three years. 40% of the income from the sale of shrimp will go to the shrimp farmers as their wages. 40% will go back to repay the investors. 10% will go to the local church. the final 10% will go to the community to help build a medical clinic in the village.

I am grateful for the compassionate people who stepped forward as investors to this project. It will be interesting to follow the progress of the project as it develops. The funds should be in Burma by the end of January and the men will be able to begin building the dykes soon after that.

Meredith Mitts

Last year Edith started making mitts by recycling used wool sweaters. She has done a very good job of being creative, and producing a quality product that is also very attractive. She made her first mitts last November. I took 11 pairs to a craft fair last Fall and sold all 11 pair in less than an hour.

In 2011 she has been trying to average making one pair of mitts a day. She is still on target to do that, but it might be a little more challenging since she broke her wrist last week. I have been helping her with some of the things she can't do since her arm is in a cast. Maybe we can keep on schedule. We'll see.

She has been very successful in selling the mitts so far. She has two stores that handle them here in Sioux Lookout. They are at the gift shop at the Meno Ya Win Health Centre, and at Good News Books and Things. She also has them at Ella Lynn's in Dryden and at Egli's Sheep Farm.

This year she has sold over 250 pairs of mitts. We were at a craft fair last Saturday in Kenora. She sold 30 pairs there. Today we were at a craft fair in Dryden. She sold 22 pairs there.

She also makes stuffed puppies out of the scraps from the mitts. They are very nice too. She wasn't selling puppies as fast as she was selling mitts, so she made a few dog beds and stuffed them with sweater scraps. We sold one dog bed last Saturday and two today.

The mitts she makes are extremely warm. They are lined with polar fleece. The wool exterior and polar fleece lining both add to the warmth. Another unique feature is that there are almost never two pairs exactly alike. Each sweater is different, and when it is gone we don't have another one exactly like to it keep making the same color and style.

Today we met several people who bought her mitts at one of the stores that are selling them. Some of them bought more mitts to give to friends or family for Christmas. One of the nice things about being at a craft fair is that even the people who don't purchase mitts, give some nice compliments about them.

Here are some of the mitts that Edith made in the last year.

Here are two of the puppies Edith has made.

Plain Fear - The Amish Vampire Series

With the Amish romance novels and the vampire novels, this was bound to happen sooner or later. Still, it seems so wrong!

Today Author Leanna Ellis is going to tell us about her story FORSAKEN, the first from her Amish-Vampire “PLAIN FEAR” series. Leanna has written this for a secular publishing house but the stories OF COURSE has a lot to say about spiritual matters. Here’s the blurb:

Hannah Schmidt,a young Amish woman mourning the mysterious death of her beloved Jacob, must decide between two brothers, between good and evil. When she learns her first love is now the vampire Akiva, she must forsake him and cling to a new love, a lasting love, one that will protect her soul.

Here’s Leanna and why she wrote this story:

“Amish and vampires? Really? Yes, really. I’m asked a lot how this book came into being. Forsaken actually began as a joke. I was at a book signing and another author and I made a joke about we should write an Amish-vampire story because those were the two genres that were selling so well. Well, it really was a joke. I didn’t rush home and start writing the book. But I suppose some seed was planted in my warped little brain and took root. Soon a character was speaking to me about her story and wanting me to write it. I resisted. But there was a very intriguing element that I couldn’t seem to ignore. To me, this was a Phantom of the Opera type story, with a love triangle, and a clear dividing line between good and evil. So I wrote the prologue and first chapter. Then I set it aside because I was busy meeting other deadlines. Besides what was I to do with an Amish-vampire story? I mentioned it eventually to a couple of writer friends.They laughed but in a good way and encouraged me to write it. Well, I wasn’t so sure although I was becoming obsessed with the story. I spent a lot of time in prayer over this book, because I don’t want to write something that God doesn’t want me to write. Also, I knew I’d have to leave the Christian market and sell it in the secular market. I wasn’t about to make that move without God’s clear direction. And he began to show me in more ways than one that this was the book He wanted me to write. More than a year passed, and I was at a writer’s conference minding my own business and not pursuing this story at all. An editor said the perfect submission would be…you guessed it! An Amish-vampire story. So I made an appointment to meet that editor and just talk about the idea.It almost felt like when an addict first admits she has a problem. I felt like I was teetering on the edge when I said, “I’m a writer and I’ve written an Amish-vampire story.” Well, she requested it. What I love about this story is that it shows the battle of good and evil. Evil doesn’t always appear with pitchfork and horns. Quite often, evil is appealing and attractive and hooks us in before we realize what has happened. Such is the case with my heroine Hannah. She simply loved a boy. But she opens her heart and her mind too easily and the consequences could be devastating. Even though this story is published in the secular world, it has a powerful spiritual message, a message the world needs to hear.”–Leanna