Dream Trekker

Louise Sheldon Gabriella

Description

Not everybody gets to go home. Not everybody wants to go back home. I, however, had always wanted to see the land where my grandparents had been born. All my life, I had been curious about life on the other side of the pond, where my ancestors had walked and talked. I too wanted to walk the streets and see the scenery at fifty-five degrees latitude, but I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would go to Poland as a clown. So begins a series of seven journeys that would take Gabriella Sheldon around the world as a volunteer. In Poland, she helped in a wheelchair distribution, but later she would witness the atrocities of Auschwitz. She lived and taught at a school in rural China, and she also got to see such famous sites as the Great Wall. She was a clown, a teacher, an orphan caretaker, and a traveler. Her roles varied, and so did the cultures she visited. She studied Polish, Russian, Mandarin, Spanish, and Lithuanian, never gaining fluency, yet always learning. Each journey was a step of faith as she bought her plane tickets and made her plans, often joining strangers in an outreach. As you read Dream Trekker, you will find yourself immersed in the daily life of a volunteer.

Informations

• Publié par: Inspiring Voices
• Date de parution: 14 août 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781462402274
• Langue: English

Extrait

DREAM TREKKER
A glimpse into international volunteering
 
Gabriella Louise Sheldon
 
 


 
Copyright © 2012 Gabriella Louise Sheldon
 
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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
 
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ISBN: 978-1-4624-0227-4 (e)
 
Inspiring Voices rev. date: 08/01/2012
 
 
 
 
To my daughter Annie
CONTENTS
 
Preface  
Acknowledgments  
Greta Goes To Poland  
Greta Goes To Mexico  
Gabriella And Greta Go To China  
Gabriella And Greta Go To Russia  
Gabriella Goes To Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, And Denmark  
Dora Goes To The Caribbean  
Gabriella Goes To Ukraine  
 
PREFACE  
The following accounts are true, faithfully written from journals created shortly after the fact. They document one woman’s travels around the world as a volunteer. I am that woman; my stories are not unique, for I joined others as I traveled and shared God’s love with those I met. As you read, you will find yourself immersed in cultures around the world: Poland, China, Mexico, and elsewhere.
Who am I? I’m a twice-divorced mother of six and grandmother of eleven. I have taught at several colleges and universities. My home sits in rural northern Michigan. I have deer, black bears, and coyotes as neighbors. Sometimes when I’m driving to town, I won’t see another car for 10 minutes, yet I’ve now seen some of the most populated cities in the world: Mexico City, Shanghai, and Beijing.
Have you ever dreamed of stepping outside your comfort zone? Of volunteering in an orphanage? Of teaching your skills to the needy? There are thousands of opportunities. My travels merely document seven very different journeys that I have taken. My purpose for compiling my journals is to give you a glimpse into the world of international volunteerism, with hopes that you too will want to get a passport, save money, and make a difference in the world. Maybe you will join me on my next journey.
Gabriella Sheldon, 2012
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS  
My wholehearted thanks go to the Christian outreaches and individuals that decided to take me as a volunteer:
Joni and Friends Wheels for the World
North Shore Baptist, the Warrens, and the Morales.
New Day Creations
International Teams
LCC International University
Ciudades de Angeles of Cozumel, Mexico
Richard Smith of Belize
Ed Gibson of Grand Cayman
Sandy Bay Lighthouse Ministries of Isla de Roatan
Besides these, I couldn’t have ministered without all the many individuals named in my journals. Thank you, everyone.
A special thanks goes to my mother who helped take care of my home in my absences, to my son Matthew who tended to lawns and problems, and to Paul Erdman who took my cat into his home for several months and house sat.
And special thanks goes to all my dear friends at Bethlehem Covenant Church, who helped financially, but most important, prayed for me.
GRETA GOES TO POLAND  
Poland June 2005 with Wheels for the World, a ministry of Joni and Friends
Not everybody gets to go home. Not everybody wants to go back home. I, however, had always wanted to see the land where my grandparents had been born. All my life I had been curious about life on the other side of the pond where my ancestors had walked and talked. I too wanted to walk the streets and see the scenery at 55 degrees latitude, but I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would go to Poland as a clown.
Actually the dream I had began long before I ever became a clown. It began way back in high school when I made my plans to be a medical missionary doctor. I entered the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor as a premed student. Two years into my studies, I realized that being a medical doctor wasn’t my calling. I became a teacher instead and the dream of helping in the medical field simmered on the back burner.
Time changed a lot in my life. So did six children and an unfaithful husband. Then my life changed some more as I learned to love nine grandchildren and to accept the estrangement of my second husband. As events in my life continued to provide challenges and opportunities, I felt a longing surging up within me to reach beyond myself, to do some missionary work again, for in my younger days I had gone on two mission trips, one to Mexico for three months and one to Colombia and Ecuador for six weeks. Both had centered around construction. I wanted to go again, but where and with whom I didn’t know.
I started to pray and to seek direction. I found out about Wheels for the World, an outreach to the disabled through Joni and Friends. I filled out the registration and decided that June would be a good month to go. Much to my surprise, I found out that a team would be going to Poland in June. I had never even thought that I might be going to the birthplace of my dad’s mother and father, both who had died long before my birth. After filling out everything, I ran into a small problem. The team director for Poland had everyone she needed for the distribution of wheelchairs. She didn’t need me. I didn’t know how to respond except I really felt I needed to be part of that team. In a last minute effort to get her to accept me, I said I also clown. She asked me to send her pictures of me clowning along with a letter. She would think about having a clown on the team.
Some weeks later, I got a call saying that I had been accepted on the team going to Poland, and I would be going as a clown.
Since I knew only a few words in Polish, I got some tapes and started studying Polish. I wanted to be able in interact with the people coming to get wheelchairs. I wanted to say something that would make them laugh. Twenty tapes later, I knew a couple hundred words, enough to communicate a little. Polish is one of the most difficult languages to learn partly because the words change spelling in different situations. I knew I’d have fun mispronouncing words. Mispronouncing would be easy. Saying anything correctly would be a lot harder, but I managed to memorize enough words correctly to give the semblance of knowing more than I did.
Polly was my clown name, but Polly really didn’t want to go to Poland. She was pretty fussy. She had to dress in a private room, and she took a long time to put her face on. Polly was going to have to stay home. Who could go in her place? I designed a new outfit that slipped over my clothes and got new hair, a new hat, and a new face thanks to some prosthetic teeth and a nose tip. My new clown needed a name, so I went to visit a Polish aunt. Using a Polish calendar for ideas, we found the name Greta, and so Greta went to Poland instead of Polly.
June 4, 2005.
I’m on a 777 Boeing, British Airways flight 299, heading for London, where I will change planes for Warsaw, Poland. In my Wheels for the World carry-on with me I have Greta, my clown persona, a change, and other important items. My other carry-on is my balloon bag. I smile as I recall having blown up balloons for about a dozen children waiting in the airport. One child stopped crying when I gave him a balloon. It isn’t easy to travel with little children. I am alone although three others on the flight are supposed to be part of the Wheels for the World team. I haven’t met anyone yet although we have communicated via email. So many months of planning have gone into this trip. It hardly seems real that I actually am heading to Europe to be part of a team, all strangers to me except for our electronic letters.
The flight to London is short: six hours and 55 minutes. We were delayed in starting over an hour. I just made contact with the three other members of the team. They had been on the flight when it landed in Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, where I had boarded, so that is why I didn’t see them in the waiting area. It is 9:30 CST and I am getting hungry. In the airport I had an Angus steak burger at 2:30, so I am ready to eat again.
June 5, 2005.
After eating lasagna, I fell asleep and missed breakfast. Then we were in London and transferring to our flight to Warsaw. A light lunch was served and we were in Poland. Clowns aren’t supposed to cry, but when I actually landed in Poland and heard everyone speaking in Polish, I cried. Of course, Greta was still in the suitcase. She might not have cried just then. My being able to give a little something to Poland brought tears to my eyes. At that point in time, I really didn’t think I had much to offer, but I did have a heart really, really wanting to give.
We gathered together and went through immigration. Two members of the team couldn’t find their luggage. One piece arrived with another plane, which had other members of the team. Another piece was missing also. We spent some time try