Little Sisters of the Poor
We arrived at the Sisters' convent on Friday where we unpacked and then got a "good nights rest." The Little Sisters' apostolate is caring for the poor elderly. What surprised me the most is that when I walked into the facility it did not smell like a nursing home. Usually I gag when I walk into a nursing home because of the smell, but not here. I later asked a sister why that was and she said that it was often the case in many nursing homes that the residents will sit in their own waste for sometime before someone helps them. This was not the case here.
I also noticed how happy the residents were. I did not meet one unhappy resident. They were all so glad to see us. When I work at the nursing home in Atchison many of the residents are very bitter but this was not the case at the Little Sisters of the Poor. The sisters veiw each resident as Jesus and thus treat them with love and respect.
The sisters had us up by 7 o'clock the first day helping the residents get out of bed. Many of the girls had to dress and/or put on makeup. I was asked to talk to the residents while they waited for their medicine. The saddest part was when a women said that she had a brother but she hadn't talked to him in a while so she didn't know if he was dead of alive.
We played uno attack with the residents and they really enjoyed that. Even the lady who did not understand what was going on was tickled when the machine shot cards at her.
I sat with Rose for a while and she end up giving me a scarf because she likes to crochet but has no one to give the things she makes too. It was a very pretty navy blue scarf.
On Sunday we invited the residents to go to Mass and Natalie, Gina, and I were the chior for the day. It was a lot of fun. After we said goodbye to the residents we headed to Lincoln, Nebraska.
