Residents of Bethesda pt 1

As I mentioned before, there are 110 residents living in Bethesda. It is a place that cares for kids/teens/adults who have special needs, whether physical or mental, and provides them with real-life skills while also teaching them about God.

Bethesda is very well run, everything is extremely organized. This is the Monday-Friday schedule for the House of Hope residents:

7 am the residents get up. They have to make sure their area is clean and make their beds.

7:30 am is breakfast which the residents do themselves.

8 am they go to their workshops.

12 pm is lunch.

1 pm they go back to their workshops.

3 pm they come back to their floor and have showers. We come to their floor around this time. Depending on the weather they sometimes go out for 45 minutes to exercise before their showers.

5 pm is dinner. Afterwards, everyone pitches in to help clean- which entails rinsing, washing, drying, and putting away the dishes, as well as wiping the tables, sweeping and mopping the floors. Once everything is back in pristine condition, those who need medication take it and everyone has their temperature taken which is recorded.

5:45 pm is free time.

6:30 pm they have devotions with their group. On Wednesday and Friday they go to the chapel and have a big group devotion with everyone.

7 pm there are different activities. We are done at this time so I’m not exactly sure what they do.

10 pm is bedtime.

Saturday and Sundays schedule is a bit different, there is less work and more relaxing time, as well as fun activities- especially with some of the more independent and capable residents. We go on walks, bike rides, take them for bubble tea etc… The wheelchairs residents are the hardest to come up with fun activities. Mirjam says that sometimes they go to a park with just those residents so they are able to get out of Bethesda and show them they aren’t forgotten just because they are in wheelchairs.

The residents live together quite well, it is like a big family here. As you can expect there are a few squabbles, but most of the time everyone is happy. Kajsa and I are affectionately called “姐姐” (jiě jiě) which translates to “big sister.” The funny thing is we’re much younger than many of them here, but in their minds we are older.

Each of these residents have stories and some of them have been deeply wounded. I’ve gotten to know the personal stories of some of these residents, and it makes me feel so sad. Many of them are unwanted by family because of their special needs and it does deeply affect them, even if they don’t realize it. The youngest resident is an 8 year old boy with Down Syndrome. At his home they kept him in a room by himself. He started to get so sick that his parents brought him to Bethesda as the last resort in hopes that they could help him. I think he’s doing better, but he is a lot of work for the already stressed mamas. He has a lot of trauma, and his way of coping is hitting his head against hard surfaces. This last time he did that the mamas weren’t able to get to him in time when he hit his head, and he hit it so hard it started to bleed and continued to for an abnormally long time. Another boy doesn’t have any family besides grandparents, who don’t want him. Mirjam told me she has to strongly encourage them to come visit their grandson. He also has self harm issues, so much so he knocked one of his eyes out.

Kajsa and I have become quite close with the 3rd floor in the House of Hope. We go there Monday to Friday from 3 pm to 7 pm. We are able to play games, do online exercise/dance videos, colour pictures, as well as do skincare or paint their nails! I hope they have as much fun with us as we do with them. I’ve been able to converse quite a bit because I’m becoming more confident and now enjoy using my Mandarin. Kajsa, on the other hand, communicates with actions and sounds.

In conclusion, I have found that there is much love here between everyone in Bethesda. The teachers towards the residents, and the residents to their fellow roommates. Everyone is loved here, it doesn’t matter who you are or why you’re here. It doesn’t matter if you have physical challenges or mental challenges, if you can walk or if you are in a wheel chair. They truly demonstrate the unconditional love of Christ! I witness it everyday when I’m with the residents and it’s so heartwarming to see.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Hosanna & Kajsa

P.S Kajsa leaves in a week. The time has sure passed by quickly. I’m going to miss her, but now that I’m settled it shouldn’t be as hard to see her go. The hard part has been figuring out how to re-pack her suitcase haha

The bakery where we spend the morning.

They love to play games, especially Uno.

Coloring is also a favourite activity.

Skin care time!

Pretty nails!

I got to dye someones hair for the first time lol, I think it went pretty well :)

Chapel time. It’s great to hear everyone sing and dance to their hearts content!