Love finds a way

A young woman organizes a social distancing food drive in Detroit.

Many compare COVID-19 to a war. In war,fdonat there is a concrete enemy, and everyday citizens can enlist to fight for their country. In the case of this pandemic, however, the best thing we can do is to stay home, an action that inherently goes against human tendencies. This often leaves us feeling helpless.

While it may be difficult to remain at home, there are those in our communities who do not have that option. People who live on the streets, the ones we often pass without a second glance (or in my case, Detroit’s 15,000 homeless), are a perfect example. Often living with preexisting conditions and no healthcare, these members of our community are some of the most vulnerable.

After learning about the detrimental impact of the virus on Detroit’s homeless community, my family and I decided that simply “staying home” would not be enough. We understood the necessity and importance of social distancing, but we also wanted to find a way to help those most at risk. Thus, we came up with the idea of a “social distancing food drive.”

Our food drive would be different than any done previously in that we would apply the rules of social distancing to our collection process. We asked everyone who wanted to donate to place their donations on their front porch. We then drove over to their homes, collected their donations, and brought them back to our house. Finally, we organized the donations and transported them to Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, one of the organizations working to offer housing and COVID -19 testing to Detroit’s homeless population during the crisis.

We posted our efforts on social media. We were astounded at the positive response. Donations came in not only from our neighborhood but from other suburbs as well. In the first two weeks of our drive, the total weight of donations received was 550 pounds! This included food and hygiene packs. We were incredibly inspired by the kindness of the people in our community.

Through this drive, I realized that each one of us can make an impact and help those near us. Yes, we must keep our distance, but that does not make us helpless; it makes us active contributors. Whether by making masks for medical workers, calling up those who are alone, or even donating to a food drive, there are many ways in which all of us can give our contribution.

Clarisa Russenberger (Michigan)

No longer a loner

An occupational therapist gains the trust of a difficult patient.

Her very being seemed to shout out, “I don’t want you, I don’t need you!” Though her words were not quite as abrupt, their meaning was clear. 

A glance around the room, however, told a different story. She lived alone in a one-room apartment. She had a neighbor who would sometimes check on her, and it was this neighbor who had called us and convinced her to see us, but it took her a good 10 minutes before she answered the door.

I was there as a home care occupational therapist. Though she was clearly unwelcoming, I proceeded with the evaluation. The room showed neglect. She had just returned from the hospital and could not do much for herself.

Although she didn’t welcome me, I knew that I could welcome her. After all, she was my neighbor in that moment, and I knew that I could love Jesus in her. So, I smiled and tried to listen carefully to all she was saying.

No matter what she said, I continued to smile, asking her questions about the many porcelain cats that lined her bookshelves. These cats turned out to be some of her dearest possessions. She began to tell me about them, and about herself. She had been a loner all her life, never having married. She had convinced herself that she didn’t need anyone.

However, by the end of our session, when asked if she wanted me to come back, she said “Yes.” As the sessions progressed, our relationship grew, though due to her memory problems, the beginning of each session would always be more difficult than the end. Yet she always let me in — something which wasn’t always happening with my colleagues.

On the day of her last session, I had to wait for a long time outside the door before she let me in. By the time we finished, she was smiling and saying she wished this wasn’t the end. She took down her favorite porcelain cats from the shelf, wrapped them carefully, put them in a basket, and told me she wanted them to be mine.

M.D. (New York)

Compassion goes beyond rules

A passionate Math professor sets aside teaching methods he had relied on for 36 years.

Mathematics has been my passion since high school, and I enjoy sharing this passion with others. For the past 36 years, I have been teaching mathematics in a university in an area north of the metropolitan area of New York State.

I could walk into a classroom and teach the subject without notes, with only a whiteboard marker and eraser in hand. Occasionally, I would bring the textbook or laptop to calculate something quickly or to help a student solve a particular problem.

Then the coronavirus appeared, and schools were ordered closed for the rest of the semester! How was I supposed to teach when I couldn’t be in the classroom? Midweek before spring break, we were told that we may have to deliver all instruction online for the remainder of the semester. That Friday, we had to submit a plan on how we were to accomplish this and a list of resources we needed to do our job.

I never believed completely in online teaching and always wondered about the quality of learning in such an environment. How could I gauge if students understood what I was saying if I couldn’t see their facial expressions? More importantly, how could I evaluate objectively what each student learned if the integrity of my assessments could be compromised so easily since I didn’t have control of the situation? For a moment, there was panic and a feeling of helplessness.

Nevertheless, I remembered that in doing the will of God, he gives us a special grace so that we can accomplish what is needed. I had to trust that my students would do their work honestly and that their desire to learn the material would be more important than that of obtaining a higher grade through dishonest means.

First, I thought that I could make the exams harder so that they could not easily look things up on the computer or ask help. I could enforce stricter time limits regarding electronic submission of work and not allow late submissions.

But I knew that this pandemic was affecting everyone – my students, their families, their friends, and everyone needed a little more compassion and understanding. My students were already worried about a family member getting sick or laid off, and I felt that I shouldn’t cause additional stress and burden.

Moreover, what if the Internet broke down and students couldn’t access the exam or submit it on time? They were living in different time zones; those farthest couldn’t be expected to take an exam at 3 am. Some students didn’t have scanners or printers, and the list of unforeseen obstacles goes on.

So basically, I had to give up some of the strict rules about student work that I had followed for more than 35 years. I found myself answering a lot more emails with requests for extensions, resubmissions due to corrupted transmissions, clarifications on questions, and other problems. I had to be more patient, generous, and forgiving in dealing with them.

After assuming this new attitude, I still had no materials to teach online, no handouts, and certainly no videos of myself talking to a blackboard while writing equations. For the following weeks, I had to write notes and scan them into the university learning system, create slides, scrounge the Internet for useful videos on partial differential equations and learn Zoom so I could “meet” my three classes virtually.

This has all become the will of God for me in this particular period. I had to do these things to help my students.

My wife was on leave, and we were suddenly together 24 hours for several weeks. It was a glimpse of retirement, except I was in my home office all day preparing or teaching class. She kept busy sewing facemasks for us and preparing meals. Unity was sometimes hard, but when we tried to stay in this new will of God, He was always present.

I look forward to seeing my students again and traveling with my wife to visit our children. I believe it will happen in God’s time.

Mao Bautista (New York)

(Living City, USA)