Yesterday was an eventful day. Christy and I had been busy painting the new school building the day before, Nancy was spending some quality time with a lady named Mona. Sue was answering some Hairy questions on Sex and Jennifer was busy working in the Nursery and Kitchen.
Well in the morning Ermerla (perhaps Nermerla) arrived into camp. She and Nancy had some history and she was excited to hear Nancy was back in town. Ermerla is a homeless lady in Fiji. She was once a school teacher, from a high flying Indian family. Now she sleeps in the park at Suva and hangs out near the MacDonalds.
Well she hadn’t bathed in almost a year. Her toes riddled with fungus and tar. Hair matted and dirty. She only wears one outfit between visits. Her bag only has Cardboard for sleeping, otherwise she carries no possessions.
Sue and Nancy were on point with Tia. The soaked her feet and washed her legs. For hours they worked tirelessly on her nails and feet. Steadily cleaning and washing her. Christy was called into the mix as well.
I dropped in and visited with them a number of times. Ermerla showered for about 1 hour leaving all her old clothes on the floor (we had to bleach the bathroom) after. What did become obvious was she was very picky and bossy about everything. She didn’t like the skirt, bra, food, clothes and tops we bought. She sent everything back and demanded very specifically something else.
Still the ladies persisted. We were close to finished by the jacket wasn’t quite right. She wanted a black zip-up warm jumper. Just like the Aeropostle one I own. So I bought it out….the color wasn’t right. I told her I had multiple choices, black, so pick one. Take it or leave it, we have no other options. SO she took it. Possibly the most bossy homeless person I ever met. The team got to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
Two days ago, the ladies got to visit some of the ladies living offsite in the valley. Apparently it was filled with comedy and adventure. I’ll let them share that story when they get back to COC.
Anyway Nancy and Jennifer are healing up from a Cold and a stomach bug. Otherwise the team is doing GREAT!
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