Franciscan Friends Music Mission - Part Three of a Four Part Series

My name is Wendy Grady and together my husband Denis Grady and I organize a yearly Music Mission. Are you a musician who enjoys sharing the gift of music with those less fortunate?? Perhaps your gift is not using an instrument but you are someone with a gift of compassion and a great love for Jesus. We are looking for people who believe in working together in community to serve for the betterment of those less fortunate such as the palliative, the addicted, those imprisoned, and the poor living in the West Indies and Grenadine Islands. If you feel called to serve in a new and exciting way please join us as part of the Franciscan and Friends Mission Tour. I have included an excerpt from my diary of 2008 to give you an idea of what you can expect. I can promise you one thing. You will grow in your love for Jesus. Please check out our website at www.franciscanandfriends.com or call Denis and Wendy Grady at 403-243-1049

Next stop was the “Nursing Home” where we found one of saddest places I have ever been. It was home for the elderly, palliative, deformed and any other type of disease or mental illness. June our wonderful host and driver informed us before we entered that we were there to help celebrate five women’s birthdays. June thought of everything! She brought all kinds of tiny sandwiches and treats along with ice cold drinks followed by “birthday cake” and presents. Those in our group who were not musically inclined helped to seat those who were able to come, in a brightly decorated room. We assisted June in preparing tiny plates of delectable delights and handing out cold refreshments. The musicians on our team entertained the group with lots of cheerful upbeat tunes. They loved it! Some even stood and moved gently, fully enjoying every note. Smiles were everywhere even though some of them were not able to communicate verbally it was evident they were having fun. I couldn’t help but notice that many of them were very concerned with caring for one another. Then June turned and handed me a tray full of the same treats and asked me to take them upstairs to those who were unable to walk down to where we were celebrating. She pointed outside but I couldn’t see any stairs. Suddenly a young man appeared and pointed the way. Up I went coming to a complete standstill when I heard the sound of women screaming. I took a deep breath before saying a quiet prayer. I asked Jesus to give me strength and courage to face whatever lay ahead of me. Later I found out the screams came from women being hosed down in the showers. When I walked through that doorway it was like entering another world. The first woman I saw was sitting on the end of her bed, both legs amputated at different places. Her blouse was nearly off exposing her flat dark breasts completely. She had eyes full of tears. I tried very hard not to cry and did not. I just asked Jesus to guide me to say and do what he would do in my place. I reached over and touched her leg then hugged her and helped her cover up. I gave her a plate of the tiny cakes June had prepared. Suddenly they were all wanting some as they reached out for me. They were all on beds less than a few feet between them. There was a woman screaming and moaning in pain as she lay on her bed. She was large in both stature and shape. Her eyes were closed with what looked like some sort of infection. I went to her and touched her face asking if I could help her. She answered only by moaning. I brought a tiny piece of cake to her lips and asked if she was hungry. At first there was no reaction as I waved it under her nose. Then slowly she bit into it as she took it from me. She quieted down as I gave her more and a sip of lemonade to wash it down with.

Part 2 Franciscan Friends Music Mission Diary

My name is Wendy Grady and together my husband Denis Grady and I organize a yearly Music Mission. Are you a musician who enjoys sharing the gift of music with those less fortunate?? Perhaps your gift is not using an instrument but you are someone with a gift of compassion and a great love for Jesus. We are looking for people who believe in working together in community to serve for the betterment of those less fortunate such as the palliative, the addicted, those imprisoned, and the poor living in the West Indies and Grenadine Islands. If you feel called to serve in a new and exciting way please join us as part of the Franciscan and Friends Mission Tour. I have included an excerpt from my diary of 2008 to give you an idea of what you can expect. I can promise you one thing. You will grow in your love for Jesus. Please check out our website at www.franciscanandfriends.com or call Denis and Wendy Grady at 403-243-1049


ST VINCENT
Part Two
First stop was the Mental Institution. I was there last year so was somewhat familiar with the place but many of our group were not and found it quite shocking. Some of the men were waiting for us, welcoming us all as we entered the dark stone entrance which led to a small open aired stone courtyard bare of anything except patients and benches. I could sense how hard this was for some of our group so I prayed silently and decided to lead the way hoping to make them more comfortable. Over to the right of the courtyard there was a small window with bars. A man looking to be in his late 60’s had both hands on the bars and his head was down. I felt drawn to this man who seemed in such pain. It looked like he was in prison. I reached through and touched his hands, asking him “what was wrong”? He said his head hurt bad. I asked him if he would like prayer and he said yes. I held his head between both my hands and prayed for healing out loud. He said it helped but now he was hungry. He looked terribly sad. I caught Paula’s eye over to my left as she wiped away tears. It was heart wrenching because it looked more like a prison. I coaxed the man out slowly to come join us in the fun. Our group looked like “court jesters” performing for royalty. The Lord was happy and joyous as he came alive in that courtyard. I went around and hugged each one of the men and women, introducing myself and asked their names. They were so sweet and gentle. As I left one of the men gave me a gift he had made. A small piece of wood about 4 x 5 inches, painted like a “target”. I asked if I could take his photo so as to remember who gave it to me. He was more than happy to oblige but some of the other men overheard and wanted their photo taken as well, so a group shot it was and they were all smiles as they posed for me. Nearby I noticed the most amazing tree I have ever seen. It was all large and gnarly at the bottom with a tiny pool of water hiding within the knotted limbs. For some reason it reminded me of elephants feet, not sure why other than the color was similar.

Franciscan Friends Music Mission:Part One of a Four Part Series

Wendy and Denis Grady are part of a unique music mission known as the Franciscan Friends Music Mission. They are currently recruiting musicians to join them on their next mission in November (see separate article in the JUST FOR ARTISTS section). In this series of articles, Wendy shares personal reflections from her diary which paints a vivid picture of what it's like to serve on a mission.

My name is Wendy Grady and together my husband Denis Grady and I organize a yearly Music Mission. Are you a musician who enjoys sharing the gift of music with those less fortunate?? Perhaps your gift is not using an instrument but you are someone with a gift of compassion and a great love for Jesus. We are looking for people who believe in working together in community to serve for the betterment of those less fortunate such as the palliative, the addicted, those imprisoned, and the poor living in the West Indies and Grenadine Islands. If you feel called to serve in a new and exciting way please join us as part of the Franciscan and Friends Mission Tour. I have included an excerpt from my diary of 2008 to give you an idea of what you can expect. I can promise you one thing. You will grow in your love for Jesus. Please check out our website at www.franciscanandfriends.com or call Denis and Wendy Grady at 403-243-1049

ST VINCENT
Part One
I woke at 6 am after a sleepless night. Too hot for sleep though my body and spirit was weary. I lay back down till my husband Denis awoke then got up for an early Mass at 7 am. Denis, Cathy, Hedi, Brent, Guy and I attended with a few “sisters” from the Pastoral Center where we are staying. Afterwards we made breakfast of two hard boiled eggs, toast and two small pieces of bacon, orange juice and fresh coffee or in my case a cup of tea using teabags I always bring from home. Then the cleanup, I washed dishes, my sister Paula dried. Hedi made egg salad for lunch and Paula made coleslaw for supper. Catherine and I did laundry, lots and lots of laundry. Then hung it all up in the porch only to have “Rueben” (security for the Pastoral Centre) complain to Sr. Ann and I that it was in his way. So I had to move it all down one more level and rehang it. Yikes!! Five trips I made carrying heavy wet laundry in terrible heat down stairs into the yard. I was hot and exhausted. Denis caught me at one point and I began to cry but stopped just as quickly. I’m tired. On one of those trips Rueben locked the two large metal gates leading outside where the clothesline was. I had my arms full of wet clothes! I told Sister Ann and she said she would speak to Rueben and was perplexed at his behaviour. Anyway soon it was lunch and everything we prepared earlier was nearly gone. The musicians had all left at breakfast time to do Radio Interviews but not before grabbing eggs and toast on the run. One of the guys even made himself a plate to come back to. When they returned they ate again!. Then they ate lunch! I really felt the Lord telling me to “let it go” all day. Before we left I said “let’s all wash our own dishes and drinking glass for the next meal” and I did just that. Then we were off to do what we came here for, working for Jesus.

We will continue with Wendy's diary about the mission in Part Two of our series on the Franciscan Friends Music Mission, coming in a few days. Stay tuned . . .