This week, I was asked to translate for an elderly patient under the Haematology team. Their registrar on my ward had approached me (because of my Asian-ness) and asked if I spoke any Cantonese at all.
Now, when I get asked these things, I usually try not to offer and find someone else instead because my Cantonese/Mandarin is so poor, not to mention the numerous interesting accounts of my translation failures that mockingly invite me to try again.
My favourite epic fail story has got to be the time I attempted to translate:
"So tomorrow, you'll have a CT cholangiogram to check if there are any obstructing stones in your common bile duct post cholecystectomy because they couldn't do an intra-operative one."
It ended up being translated to something along the lines of:
"So.. tomorrow.. CT, you know what CT is? YA so CT, to see.. if anything inside. Ok bye."
This time though, the team was pretty desperate, so I agreed to help. I felt bad that I didn't remember much of the appropriate Cantonese greetings and honorifics and was worried that I was coming across as rude in how I addressed the patient. Still, I could understand most of what he was trying to relay, and could be a bridge of some sort in the midst of what this man was going through.
I did get stuck at "fat yim" though, which mum later told me meant infection.
And then today, I met his wife as well, who I could converse with a bit better, because she understood my shortcomings and spoke slowly with much expressive hand gestures and kept encouraging me to just try my best. She was grateful to have some form of communication with the staff at least, and would bow repeatedly to say thank you. This felt really wrong for me because she was an elder to me, and this really was just a small favour.
Sadly though, I later found out that this man was gravely ill, and not likely to survive much longer.
...
"To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
I couldn't help but think that all the steps I had ever taken in my life led up to those ones where I stood before a desperate couple, and that perhaps it was part of my calling in life to help them in that moment where our paths collided.
I think that too often we look at the idea of "calling", especially in our theology and Christianese, as a big thing. It's become the norm to believe that an appropriate life calling would be to play on big stages for millions, or makes billions and give it all away, or plant a new church.
But what if, the call above all other calls in our life, is simply to love as we have been loved by the King?
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and every one who loves is born of God and knows God."
- 1 John 4:7
"A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must also love one another."
- John 13:34
"This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another."
- 1 John 13:11
"Freely you have received, now freely give."
- Matthew 10:8
My housemate Megan recently returned from a mission trip in Papua New Guinea, where she got to go into hospitals, prisons, halfway houses and schools to just love on those that the world has rejected. She shared of how God broke her heart for the felons, drug abusers, murderers, sick, and the orphans.
It was as she shared that that a new revelation dawned on me - one that I am almost ashamed to admit to, but feel is necessary to expose in my quest for personal growth to love more like Christ.
For most of my life, my heart has been (and still is) for missions - to live amongst villagers, walk barefeet in the mud and reach out to communities afflicted by poverty. I've dreamt of reaching out to these forgotten people, of one day being released to the world to walk alongside them and show them the unfailing love of our God that flows through my actions because I freely receive it daily.
That little conviction in my heart, the whisper from Papa God came and asked me this:
"What about that patient that's come in for the chronic back pain who wanted more ketamine?
What about the patient who's still homeless and spends what little they have on drugs?
What about the schizophrenic you really did not want to deal with that day?
What about the family member that wanted to talk when you were so stressed, busy, hungry and tired?
What about those who've been diagnosed with cancer and months to live?
What about the difficult patients who are demented, loud, demanding, aggressive and anxious, or the ones with head lice, food in their beards, or reek of urine infections/faecal incontinece?
You've been walking alongside these rejected ones every single day, and yet you have forgotten to love them too."
The truth is, while we're not supposed to have favourites in hospital, we do. There are some patients who are so easy to love because they are extremely beautiful, kind souls who want to get better and, who trust us to do our jobs too; then there are those who we count down the days till discharge, even the ones we kick out of hospital for unacceptable behaviour.
And then there are also those we are indifferent to, who become nothing more than patient 372, nothing more than today's problem to fix and tomorrow's job to send home afebrile.
...
"If you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to others, to get back the same amount.
But love your enemies, do good and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful."
- Luke 6:32-26
So, I take this as my lesson today, to always remember to stop for that one patient who can offer me nothing good in return, and to generously love simply because we all need to be loved. Freely I have received, now freely I must give. :) And what a joy it is to be able to do that with my life.
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord."
- Psalms 37:23
Because after all, maybe nothing is coincidence, and the very fact that two paths would collide for but a season is nothing short of miraculous, and carries every possibility to change the world as we know it.
Now, when I get asked these things, I usually try not to offer and find someone else instead because my Cantonese/Mandarin is so poor, not to mention the numerous interesting accounts of my translation failures that mockingly invite me to try again.
My favourite epic fail story has got to be the time I attempted to translate:
"So tomorrow, you'll have a CT cholangiogram to check if there are any obstructing stones in your common bile duct post cholecystectomy because they couldn't do an intra-operative one."
It ended up being translated to something along the lines of:
"So.. tomorrow.. CT, you know what CT is? YA so CT, to see.. if anything inside. Ok bye."
This time though, the team was pretty desperate, so I agreed to help. I felt bad that I didn't remember much of the appropriate Cantonese greetings and honorifics and was worried that I was coming across as rude in how I addressed the patient. Still, I could understand most of what he was trying to relay, and could be a bridge of some sort in the midst of what this man was going through.
I did get stuck at "fat yim" though, which mum later told me meant infection.
And then today, I met his wife as well, who I could converse with a bit better, because she understood my shortcomings and spoke slowly with much expressive hand gestures and kept encouraging me to just try my best. She was grateful to have some form of communication with the staff at least, and would bow repeatedly to say thank you. This felt really wrong for me because she was an elder to me, and this really was just a small favour.
Sadly though, I later found out that this man was gravely ill, and not likely to survive much longer.
...
"To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
I couldn't help but think that all the steps I had ever taken in my life led up to those ones where I stood before a desperate couple, and that perhaps it was part of my calling in life to help them in that moment where our paths collided.
I think that too often we look at the idea of "calling", especially in our theology and Christianese, as a big thing. It's become the norm to believe that an appropriate life calling would be to play on big stages for millions, or makes billions and give it all away, or plant a new church.
But what if, the call above all other calls in our life, is simply to love as we have been loved by the King?
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and every one who loves is born of God and knows God."
- 1 John 4:7
"A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must also love one another."
- John 13:34
"This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another."
- 1 John 13:11
"Freely you have received, now freely give."
- Matthew 10:8
My housemate Megan recently returned from a mission trip in Papua New Guinea, where she got to go into hospitals, prisons, halfway houses and schools to just love on those that the world has rejected. She shared of how God broke her heart for the felons, drug abusers, murderers, sick, and the orphans.
It was as she shared that that a new revelation dawned on me - one that I am almost ashamed to admit to, but feel is necessary to expose in my quest for personal growth to love more like Christ.
For most of my life, my heart has been (and still is) for missions - to live amongst villagers, walk barefeet in the mud and reach out to communities afflicted by poverty. I've dreamt of reaching out to these forgotten people, of one day being released to the world to walk alongside them and show them the unfailing love of our God that flows through my actions because I freely receive it daily.
That little conviction in my heart, the whisper from Papa God came and asked me this:
"What about that patient that's come in for the chronic back pain who wanted more ketamine?
What about the patient who's still homeless and spends what little they have on drugs?
What about the schizophrenic you really did not want to deal with that day?
What about the family member that wanted to talk when you were so stressed, busy, hungry and tired?
What about those who've been diagnosed with cancer and months to live?
You've been walking alongside these rejected ones every single day, and yet you have forgotten to love them too."
The truth is, while we're not supposed to have favourites in hospital, we do. There are some patients who are so easy to love because they are extremely beautiful, kind souls who want to get better and, who trust us to do our jobs too; then there are those who we count down the days till discharge, even the ones we kick out of hospital for unacceptable behaviour.
And then there are also those we are indifferent to, who become nothing more than patient 372, nothing more than today's problem to fix and tomorrow's job to send home afebrile.
...
"If you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to others, to get back the same amount.
But love your enemies, do good and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful."
- Luke 6:32-26
So, I take this as my lesson today, to always remember to stop for that one patient who can offer me nothing good in return, and to generously love simply because we all need to be loved. Freely I have received, now freely I must give. :) And what a joy it is to be able to do that with my life.
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord."
- Psalms 37:23
Because after all, maybe nothing is coincidence, and the very fact that two paths would collide for but a season is nothing short of miraculous, and carries every possibility to change the world as we know it.
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