The Infirmary

I can easily say that visiting the infirmary was the most moving and eye opening experience of the trip for me. We had been preparing for this all week because of the emotional toll it usually takes on the students who visit it. We were told that the infirmary was a place where families send old and mentally-ill people to stay. One of the leaders of Won-by-One told us to imagine the worst nursing home in the United States and multiply it by 1000 and that is what we would be seeing at the infirmary. We were told to try to get past our discomfort quickly, so that we could engage in conversations with the people there. I had heard stories of the amazing things these people had to share with us. As much as I thought I had prepared myself, I quickly realized that it was not enough.

The smell was what hit me first. It smelt like a bathroom that had not been cleaned in years. What I saw there, I honestly cannot put into words. There were mentally-ill people sitting outside on the sidewalks in puddles of their own urine. There were three women curled up in one bed. Some people didn't have pants on, and one man was even covered from head to toe in his own feces. 

Most of the girls were able to instantly go and sit by a woman and talk to her and read the bible, but it took me a little longer. I cannot remember a time I was as uncomfortable as I was that day. I walked around for the first ten minutes just taking everything in and praying for the ability to open my heart to these people. Thankfully, God answered my prayer.

I had just entered the women's ward when I heard this huge voice belt out the song "At Last"by Etta James. This is one of my all-time favorite songs and is usually what I sing at vocal auditions. I looked around the room to find out where this voice was coming from, and I saw Daisy May King. She is the woman in the picture with me above. I felt like this was someone I needed to go talk to, and luckily I did. Daisy turned out to be one of the most extraordinary women I have ever met. We talked for hours about her childhood, music, and all her hopes in life. She had plenty of advice to give me about growing up and enjoying my youth. It was a conversation that I will never forget.

After speaking with Daisy, I made my way over to the men's ward. I sat down next to a man who I quickly realized could not speak very well. I tried to ask him some questions but he was having a hard time responding. He just kept pointing to my bible and saying "God is good." This single moment is one I have thought about everyday since. There I was, sitting next to a man who in my eyes had nothing. He had no family who visited him, no clean clothes, no one to take care of him, and yet he was able to sit there and tell me, someone who has everything, that God is good. 

The night after we visited the infirmary, we sat as a group and talked about our experiences. One of the boys on the trip made a very good point. He said to us, that after seeing what we all saw-how could any of us have a bad day? Since I have gotten home from this trip, whenever I feel like complaining about something or worrying about something small, I remember this place and the people I met.