| "A Very Special Holiday" by Esther Smith << previous page
Thirteen residents of Tindall House and Wendy Margaret Home, together with Daniel, Joe and Matthew who attend daytime projects at Crag House Farm regularly, set off with staff members and a volunteer, Rod, on the long trip across the Atlantic. Members of the Caring For Life, U.S.A. team helped with arrangements in California and Zoë had worked hard and long in the UK to sort out practicalities plus special provisions with the airline. “Are we nearly there yet?” is not something one wants to hear constantly on a twenty-four hour journey, but that is what we heard. “What day is it now?” and “When will it be morning?” were constant questions from one young lady with a significant learning difficulty. In total confusion, despite endless attempts at explaining the time change to her, we suggested she just “Go with the flow”. “Oh, I don’t understand, “ she said. “What don’t you understand?”, we asked. “I don’t understand America!” was her final comment on the subject. After a difficult and rather frantic “close call” change at Philadelphia airport, the group of twenty six people finally arrived in Los Angeles, all totally exhausted. There waiting were members of Team USA plus members of Grace Providence Church. They very kindly loaded up the entire luggage, piled everyone into cars and drove us to Huntingdon Beach, where five large RVs were lined up, fridges stocked with food and everything set for a great holiday. Sunday was a very special day which was hugely enjoyed by everyone, including those who had rarely attended church but had wanted to go along. Grace Providence Church, of which Mike Castle is the pastor, had set up a big sign outside the building “Welcome to Caring For Life” and had laid on a fellowship lunch, including tables decorated with autumn leaves with CFL’s name on and two huge cakes, one with “Caring For Life” on and the other with “Sharing the love of Jesus”. The young people felt extremely special as they received such an enthusiastic, warm welcome. A week of touring in the RVs followed. Monday really was a horrible day, starting with two blocked toilets, which became a recurring nightmare for Jonathan, who emptied the tanks. Not far along the freeway, one of our drivers was involved in an accident, not her fault at all but very unpleasant. Thankfully no one was hurt. Following the journey, tempers were frayed and one young lady had an epileptic fit, but it was happily not an extended one and special medication had been prescribed to help to avoid serious fits. Following this sad episode, Peter had an accident and sustained a number of nasty injuries. To cap it all, generators were not allowed on the site in Death Valley, so after a very speedy meal, everyone was plunged into darkness. This provided the most wonderful opportunity to gaze up at endless stars, with no city lights to impede their beauty. An incredibly exciting tour followed as we sought, with varying degrees of success, to engage very damaged people in exploring a whole new world; scorpion tracks on sand dunes, salt crystals in Death Valley, the utter vastness of the Grand Canyon, a black widow spider on her web, dolphins playing in the surf at Huntingdon Beach and pelicans diving into the sea on their fishing expeditions. Combined with a visit to Universal Studios, (free to our young people courtesy of one of our literacy tutor’s sons), a trip to Disneyworld and various (endless!) shopping trips, the whole holiday was exhausting for the staff but an opportunity to concentrate on the needs and feelings of those in their care, getting to know individuals in a very different environment and at a different level. The decision to take enough staff to provide one-to-one care for several young people was clearly justified and the holiday was invaluable in highlighting some specific care needs, but also totally blessed in spiritual terms. There were opportunities to draw alongside “Little Joe” who has been attending church twice every Sunday for some months; also a young lady with a significant learning difficulty, who asked if she could pray and prayed the most beautiful simple prayer. This was the first time she had ever prayed and it was a blessing that just came out of nowhere. As we later explained the gospel to her in very simple terms, she just listened and heard it gladly. Lots will have to be explained, again and again, but what a privilege! Whilst we were away, news was received from the UK and there in the USA that was both glorious and amazing, and also deeply sad: news of incredibly sacrificial giving and then news of the death of one of our volunteers, plus serious ongoing concerns for Mike’s health. Highs and lows, but through it all, the constant assurance that God is with us and the blessing of being part of the CFL family and the family of Christ worldwide. A very special holiday for some of those in our care, in every possible way!
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