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Thursday, September 13, 2012

Red Crescent Women's Hospital

A few months ago, I read a story from a previous Jerusalem student about going to a local women's hospital and volunteering in the maternity ward. I was so excited for a chance to hold and feed newborn babies. When we arrived, the service couple (Brother and Sister Schafer) gave us the news that we would be able to volunteer, but we were no longer allowed to hold the babies.

I could not wait for this perfect service opportunity, so I volunteered for the first day, which was today. We went down to the Red Crescent Women's Hospital where I was assigned to the postpartum ward. There had been miscommunication between the Hospital Volunteer Coordinators and the nurses, so they expected us to be nurses, not just students from the "Mormon University." They had no idea what to do with me, so I was told to sit quietly on a sofa in an empty hallway. I sat and sat and sat some more. I felt completely alone and more like a foreigner than ever before. I saw a few glimpses of some beautiful newborns, but that was the most contact I had with anyone. One of the nurses felt bad that there was nothing for me to do and she gave me a chocolate and another let me help her move some medical supplies. I'm grateful for their attempt of communication. Eventually they let me go to the kitchen where a group of BYU girls had helped prepare lunch for all of the patients. The chef, Nissir, was the former BYU Jerusalem Chef. He was kind and welcoming and treated us to some food. The food was delicious and we missed lunch at the Center, so it was the perfect thing to cheer me up after a disappointing few hours.  Nissir sent us off to a nearby out-patient facility where moms and babies go following delivery. We helped the kindest woman set up lunch. She spoke very little English, but she tried so hard to communicate with us. We learned that she has 3 children, 2 girls (10 yrs and 5 yrs) and a 1 boy (8 years). She was surprised that we were not married yet. It was fun to learn a little bit about her and receive some motherly kindness in return.

Overall, it was an interesting experience. Upon returning, I learned that 2 of the girls were allowed to watch a C-Section and the girls doing food prep had lots of fun. I honestly don't plan to do it again, but I am grateful that I could see a little bit more of the Islamic culture. It was a rough day, but somehow a piece of chocolate and a few smiles made it better.

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