NPK

The reason why people struggle to swallow this adjective, is stated under the second and third meanings of the word. Nobody wants to believe that they are rude or angry as these are negative traits so when we get into debates and somebody calls us 'ignorant', we are offended. In this environment the atmosphere is tense and so we assume they mean it in a malicious way. We also view the origin of the meaning as being negative because who wants to be called 'uneducated' really?  I don't know everything about every culture, religion, socio-economic group, political group, disability, sexuality, language, campaign...  I AM IGNORANT..... and that is okay, provided we keep learning.  We use the term 'ignorant' flippantly. We use it often to describe someone who disagrees with us. By dismissing them as 'ignorant' surely that makes you moreso for refusing to listen, learn and understand. Is that not why you are angry at them too? It is a vicious cycle so...

I Wished Them Luck and Then I Said Goodbye As the sun sets on another humbling day, I stare out across the sleepy fields in Cihea. I am sitting on the balcony of the Mission Centre reflecting on my time here in this beautiful country. The crickets have began their evening song and little birds are tweeting their lullabies whilst children's giggles fade into silence as bedtime approaches. Lights have started to turn on, like stars surrounding the fields, luminating the few houses there are in these rural lands. The dogs engage in their twilight bark (101 Dalmatian fans please appreciate this) and the smoke of an evening fire rises up to meet the silhouettes of distant trees and watercoloured sky with clouds sketched  into the horizon. The city lights of Oradea twinkle in the distance. Nobody could recreate this moment with paint, film or photography. It's a scene fit for poetry. I am so lucky to be able to escape the sad stories I experienced today. I am so lucky to be bac...

When I See You Again I've realised that although I was heavy with the suncream yesterday, I forgot to do one place... I was brushing my hair this morning getting ready for Day 2 at Dezna when the bristles slashed across the tops of my ears. It felt like a million needles had stabbed them at the same time. If my mum was here, she would be laughing at me for forgetting such an 'obvious place' which she always did for me as a child.  The weather was more humid today with a light breeze, perfect for working in the 'garden' of wilderness....until a scorching heat spread up my back and sweat droplets trickled down my face. A roaring bonfire had been lit to burn the piles of brambles and rotten wood from inside the house, metres from where I was working. After the abuse from the sun yesterday I was not going to let the bonfire stop me from working today. It motivated me and the rest of the team to work harder and faster to escape the angry heat it spread. We slic...

Castle on the Hill  Well... I don't think I'll need that gym membership by the time I get home!! We all worked very hard today with the sun's rays glaring at us - the heat weighing down on our shoulders. Plastered in layers of suncream, sweat and insect repellent, we worked from 10am - 5pm at a new centre that Smiles are constructing in Dezna. It was an old project which unfortunately fell apart but now it is being resurrected by Mission Trip teams! The centre will be a retreat for children's outreach camps, conferences and may have a wing for those living without their hearing or without their sight. Motivated after a snooze on the 2 hour bus ride and after hearing the disappointment that the team felt at the project's fall in 2006, we got straight to work upon arrival. The labour was hard. The sun was persistent. I think everyone came away with blisters or sunburn (if not both) but it was worth it. By the end of the day, the land at the back had doubl...

You Make Me Happy When Skies Are Grey The things you do it make children happy ... 😂 I love working with children, making them smile is rewarding and their laughter is infectious. No matter the language, you can still communicate happiness. Today I got the opportunity to volunteer at a local Holiday Bible Club called COPs (Children's Outreach Programmes) with local Romanian and gypsy children. When we first arrived, the tiny heads all hid behind the backs of the pews peeping over wide uncertain eyes, unsure about how to cope with so many new people at once. After a very competitive game to help them remember names, we started straight into our prepared plans for the day. We taught them actions to Romanian songs, we taught them a children's religious song in English, we taught them a Bible verse and we did a roleplay on a Bible story. We even made crafts and played team games. It was strange to see how divided the communities of 'Romanians' and 'Romani Gypsies...

Forever Young We're all really still children at heart aren't we? I still love a good Disney film.   I still enjoy arts and crafts and if fancy dress was viewed as 'normal' for adults to take part in I would probably still do that too. The thing is I don't think people really age in life. People are trapped in bodies that age but their mind does not. As you get older your body becomes more limited in what it can do but your mind is limitless. Can you imagine how trapped you would feel? This is the reality for the elderly in our society. One day it will be our reality too so we must strive to provide the best quality of care not just for our current care home residents and social care users but for our own futures. We must set the standards now.  Today I visited a care home in Tileagd. It was a home primarily for elderly people but it has the facilities for assisted living for adults with disabilities or that need 24 hour support. It was an eye opening expe...