Oh KENYA... Oh how we love thy!

What do you think the average person could do in three weeks? Clean their garage? Read two to three books? How about travel the world and hand deliver glasses to people with visual impairments? Brenda Claypool, a radiology tech here at Valley and her family did that exact thing. In the last week of November till December 14th 2009, Brenda found herself in Paris, Kenya, Rome and somehow also found time to do a Safari. The trip was part of a Christian convention held in Nairobi, which brought many different cultures together from all parts of the world. Imagine walking into a room filled with 37,000 people representing 35 different countries, all dressed and representing their communities. Brenda’s husband Jim and another man along with their families, from Spokane, were chosen to take part in this amazing opportunity.

Having typical female DNA, I instantly start to wonder “How do you pack for such a trip?” Think about it, you’re leaving Spokane in the middle of winter and going to a place that is depicted in every Hollywood movie as a “hot spot”. Me personally, I would need at least four, maybe even five suitcases. Brenda on the other hand, brought only 3 suitcases total for her and her family. Then one of those suitcases was filled with 160 glasses. Why glasses you might be asking? Well before the leaving for Kenya, Brenda went looking for a “need” that she could fill during her trip. After doing a lot of research and talking to a Jehovah witness missionary, Brenda learned that the average worker in Kenya makes only $3 a day. A pair of cheaply made glasses cost $10. This became the “need” Brenda wanted to fill.

Brenda recruited the help from hospital employees asking for donations of used eyewear and reading glasses people had lying around their homes. Then she also got a donation from the Union Gospel Mission and finally retained the rest of the glasses from fellow Jehovah witnesses. The thing that should be learned throughout this whole story is the idea that everyone has a choice, nay a responsibility to help their fellow neighbors. Valley Hospital employees came along side Brenda and helped fulfill this need in Kenya

Miracles... Real or Just an Emotional HIGH?

"Do Miracles Happen or are they just something that happened in the Bible years ago? Doesn't the Bible also say that "God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow? How does this compute?"

As the room sat quiet really trying to comprehend the question, Lisa chimes in with the suggestion that it was a "rhetorical" question, feedback was needed. Then the room became a game of "Mad Lib". Most everyone in the room, determined that miracles were still real and still happening but the census was that we're just too busy to care or notice.

Are we too busy to notice miracles?

Yeah, NO! I think the average person would notice if someone blind started to see again. I also think that if a man really did feed a whole 5000 people with just two loaves of bread and some fish. I also think this would noticed. I also think that if a huge ark showed up in yard over night, I don't know and I could be wrong, but I think you'd notice. So... my question is, "Do miracles really happen anymore?" Who knows.

I do think our definition of miracle is skewed if anything.

Miracle according to the "christian" sense means an unexpected event attributed to divine intervention, ~AKA~ God's hand in someone's life that goes against science and natural law.

However, when I think of the idea of miracle and with this new definition means, I am guilty of using the "miracle" in the wrong sense. Just last week before my Employment Law Final, I remember thinking it would be a miracle, if I could just pass the test with a grade higher than a "B". This would "wow" me but getting an "B" would not be God's hand changing the natural order of the world. Even though that would be nice (hint hint BIG GUY! :) It's still no miracle.

Then when I hear the "New BABY is born" chime go over the intercom at work, I hear people say having a baby is a miracle, but it's NOT! Don't get me wrong, I can understand how the pain of pushing a watermelon size anything through a hole the size of ... Well, you get picture! Even though, this is amazing and awesome. The only birth that has ever been a miracle was Jesus' birth. His mother, got pregnant without doing the nasty. Jesus' mother, got pregnant in a time when women where stoned to death for doing the nasty outside of marriage but somehow, in a crazy world wind of events. Mary lived and married Joesph, who knew Mary was pregnant. Doesn't this seem a little bit of a miracle in itself.

Just think about it... Mary who I think is in her early teen years, gets a visit from an angel, telling her "Your pregnant and by the way... It's God's SON!" Now I could be jumping to conclusions, but I think any teenager in their right mind would of wonder, damn what the hell did I eat, drink or smoke? I know I would of :) Then to think about telling my teenage boyfriend, "Hey want to get married and oh yeah, I'm carrying God's Child!" This is an amazing story and only in the bible does it make sense. In our time and age, Mary would of ended up in some crazy loony bin completely drugged up and her baby, well, either society would of had it taken away or she would of been forced to abort it. That's a scary thought when you really think about. So... back on track, do miracles still happen?

You know, I can't say either way. I want think that I've experienced miracles in my own life but I'm a science guru and I do think that most miracles are a little bit of coincidences. Then again, in 1996 when my family went through a house fire, which almost took the life of my little brother Steven. I can't help but wonder how so many things happened. Steven died in the house, but coughs on my dad's third try in the buring inferno. Robby passes out in the kitchen but somehow ends up outside. I could't find a door handle to save my life, something so simple seemed impossible but the door opened and I felt someone pushing me through the house to safety. I felt something and thought it was my brother but when it pushed me down the stairs, scaring the crap out of me. I turned to yell at NOTHING, Robby wasn't there. Then old people that talked to me outside, telling me to stop worrying because God had it under control. That's was an interesting conversation :) No one saw them, but they were reason I didn't run back into the buring house to try help find Steven. The whole night was blur of crazy events but is was a miracle that a family of five got out of the house fire that should of killed all of us. Who knows, but for some crazy reason... God still has me here and asking the question, "Do miracles still happen?"

What do you think?

If I Could......

About a good week ago, I ran across a friend's status post on facebook asking the question, "If you could do anything and know you wouldn't fail, what would you do?" As I stopped and thought about the question... my list of "what ifs" got huge. There was a whole string of things that I would do, if I knew I could succeed at them without failing. Then I wondered, my list of "what ifs" ....are they really things that are stamped with the knowledge that failure as the outcome or were they nothing more than things that could cause a moment of "judgement" in my life from others. Was I more afraid of the outcome or was I more afraid of what people would think. So I went and asked the question to my friends... "What was their list of things?"

The list came back; flying, singing, playing an instrument, dancing the gig and even one person stated an Iron man. The list went on and on... My list compared to thier list was pretty similar to my friend's but I also wanted to walk in Trump's office and tell him, "Your fired!"

So........ what is it about these "chance of failure accomplishments" that make us sceptical about attaining them? From what I gather, our society, thanks to television, magazines and even high school popularity contests... we have all been told our whole life that it matters what others think or do. Now my question is, how do you raise a daughter telling her that everything she wants is attainable and can be done but, your most wanted dreams, will be dreams that you fight the most for.