When you're helping, you're happy

 

A few weeks ago I saw this flyer at church.  I took a picture of it and sent it to Erin and asked her if she wanted to go.  She did.  The day came and we went to get pedicures and some pizza before heading out to North Bend.  It's always a bit surprising to me to realize just how large my Stake is.  It extends from Mercer Island to North Bend (at least 25 miles).  It's a lot larger than my stakes in Boise and Utah but even more than the physical distance, the cultural difference just seems even larger.  It was like going from the city to the country.  Just a little disconcerting.  

 

Erin, not being Mormon, was not aware of Mormon Standard Time.  We arrived 15 minutes early.  We helped set up and then got assigned to be pill breakers.  Were you aware that by giving 1/2 a zinc pill to a child for 14 days gets rid of their diarrhea for a year three months?  There was someone at our table that told EVERYONE that stopped by about this amazing miracle.  Erin had to correct her about the length of time the zinc miracle effect has on diarrhea.  Both Erin and I paused our conversation each time the woman told the story, waiting to hear if she would get the time period right. 

 

We broke the pills in half and put 14 halves in these little bags that we had placed stickers on with dosage instructions.  We went through 6 - 8 bottles in the two hours we were there.  At 250 pills per bottle that's 3000 - 4000 pills and  214 - 285 dosage packs.  Which means some little kid is going to be diarrhea free for 53 years!  It was fun.  We chatted with the woman who is going to Kenya to distribute the health care packs to clinics in villages there with The Imani Project.  Soon the cultural hall was filled with people making dosage packs of ibuprofen, acetaminophen, band aids, chewable vitamins, etc.  

There was one interesting take away.  One of the ladies was talking to another woman, telling her that her 20 year old daughter is engaged to be married.  The other woman asked the first woman:  Do you like him?  The mom rattled off:  He's alright, he's done with school, he's got a job and he's never been to jail.  Erin took it as: My daughter got the last good man in the county.  And I took it as a Mother's reluctance to accept that her daughter was getting married so young.  I know I had some concern when the first two kids got married at 20-ish.  Being so close in age to my nephews and nieces, I would look at them and see all that they had yet to experience, that I had just experienced.  I knew how selfish I was in my early 20s and how much change I went through between 20 and 25.  I was very concerned for those two couples and the struggles I knew they were going to go through as they grew up together.  Loving them as I do, I wanted to protect them from that inevitable pain.  I'd always wanted to protect my sisters' kids from any and all pain.  Because pain hurts and I didn't want them to get hurt.  

What I've learned over the past few years is that I can't protect those I love from pain.  That there is going to be some kind of pain always.  All pain is inevitable.  And often times we learn best from the pain that we go through.  I've also learned to express myself better and to try to not give my opinion when my opinion truly doesn't matter.  Because though I want to protect the kids, I also want them to be happy.  And how can they be happy with an Aunt always telling them what to do?


Also:  14 year old-ish girl that was breaking zinc with us said that the people from the Capitol in the Hunger Games look as if anime and Sephora had a baby.  Brilliant!