CNA Diaries: Week 1

One week into my Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) training done and I nearly was too. Since Im taking my class with the Red Cross the coarse  differs a little from the usual as it is completed within the full span of six weeks. So as you can imagine they pack an incredible (-ly painful ha ha) amount of skills needed from us as CNA's. The skills themselves  plainly involve simple things from hand washing (Yes, we actually do get tested on this..OVER and OVER) and making beds to taking vital signs, giving bed baths serving meals and lots of detailed work in between.  But in all honesty, the academics and memorization involved was actually a very small part of the pain of the first week. The real challenge? Getting along with fellow classmates.

 I love getting to know new people. I think its incredible how diverse peoples lives can be yet somehow, can also be interwoven and similar in so many ways. Being in a new classroom setting was something I looked forward too. This coarse is also the stepping stone of my nurse prerequisites Im wanting to complete before applying for  pre-nursing, so I was excited about being in an adult class. I was looking forward to learn as much as I could about being a CNA as well as adulthood because I thought Id probably be one of the younger class members and surrounded by the maturity I thought Id be surrounded with, I couldn't imagine a better learning environment, right? 

  

Wrong.

Apparently things like, "general class etiquette" or "common courtesy" are not so general or common. Eating food loudly, talking at the same sound level as the teacher to others sitting near, texting, and snide comments about how "under qualified" out instructor (Who is an RN which is more then any of us can try to match up to right now seeing as how we are all STILL STUDENTS) is. Theres no excuse for it either, age wise I mean. They are all out of high school and majority of them are parents to small children. That kind of behavior is just rude but the blatant disrespect of a not just a instructor but simply another human being is paralleled by the fact that the class we were in was limited and there was a full waiting list of people who genuinely wanted to be here and maybe even were in dire need of income through CNA certification
 Being at this new point in my life where Im seeking out a lot more independence I feel myself looking at the world with new eyes and seeing things Ive never thought about around me and in people. And Ive realised that even through each moment in at this point in my life is a new lesson.
So heres a first:
 

#1:    Age does not define maturity level.

There's a bunch of reason a person doesn't act their age Im sure, but through this past week of class Ive realised that that demographic is a lot wider then I thought.

And with that I take rest..A whole new weeks continues..Dear God give me grace not strangle anyone.

Paiute Reservation Weekend Mission Trip-Aug.2011

Being back and settled three days now at home in Santa Rosa I feel a lot more organized to tell what went on weekend before last.  My mum drove me down to join  this youth group I was invited to join  in Sacramento lead by Bill and Kula Ramanikiwai (Old friends of my parents) and their three kids (good friends of mine) called Fuzion. Its a a combined group from youths of different churches. 

   I was intimidated thinking about how I didn't know majority of the youth and was now going to go on a three day mission trip with them. Then I felt the Holy Spirit really speak peace to my own spirit reminding me of my purpose in this whole thing and I felt a sense of calm and confidence to just blend and get to know this seemingly friendly enough bunch of young people. And sure enough, it really didn't take long to feel connected and apart of them. That feeling alone reaffirmed something God has been calling me to walk out for a while. If He brings me into a place he also covers me with His grace which enables me to reach out to people  wherever.
        After all the thirty plus youth were divided into designated vans we were off to Nixon, Nevada. A four hour drive of singing, laughing and snacking finally brought us to Nixon. Then came the beginning of the drive into the reservation. The drive was fascinatingly beautiful. The sun setting over hills of desert landscape made the land just golden. The desolation and quiet of the desert approaching evening was such a grand entrance to the Paiute Reservation.

We stayed at a little school. The girls in a make-shift bedroom originally a classroom and the boys camped out in the gym. We spent our first night meeting the pastor of the local church we were to work with, and his family and playing volleyball. The next day started early with devotions lead by one of the Fuzion Youth leaders. We spent the day weeding an orchard for the reservation and then had a lovo dinner and did dances to mingle with the locals. The last day (Sunday) we did door to door evangelism.

It was my first time doing door to door without an adult and the nervousness hit me once we on the doorstep of someones house. 

   This is where I really took something deep from the whole trip. When I look at my patterns at pivotal points of my life too many a time something has seemed to rob me of choosing to go through them and instead of taking step forward, I wind up taking a step backwards or stepping down altogether. Fear. Crippling and stifling fear. 

Doing door to door evangelism challenged me to my core. How far and how willing was I to follow through with what God has asked of me?  I wondered. The enemy had used fear of failure way to long in my life. And as the door to door came I realized how tired I was of missing out on what God had beyond challenges HE brought me to. How completely done I was with letting the enemy come in between me and deeper waters the Lord desires me to dive into. But I think the  most fresh revelation from the whole experience was what I was doing, inviting people to church, sharing with them the love I know all to well Jesus holds for each one of us on this Earth, was beyond me and my insecurities and whatever I feel I lack to do in the will of God, He makes up for as I trust Him. And that's what faith truly is.

        Being able to be challenged how I was that whole weekend on different levels was a delight. I feel rejuvenated but this time in a more substantial way because its not of my doing nor based on some other person. God has shown me fear for what it truly is. A lie and a barrier. I'm done with barriers holding me back and by Gods grace, I have more understanding of how to look past them and trust God for whatever I lack.