Bend Community Healing
  • Home
  • Offerings
    • Community Acupuncture
    • Zero Balancing
    • Meditation
    • QiGong
  • Workshops & Events
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Opt-In Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Home
  • Offerings
    • Community Acupuncture
    • Zero Balancing
    • Meditation
    • QiGong
  • Workshops & Events
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Opt-In Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Lviv - Day 5 (8/10)

8/10/2023

4 Comments

 

This morning I attended a service for 2 soldiers from Lviv who were killed days ago.  The Church of the Most Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, where these services are held, was filled with weeping women,  grim-faced men, and both male and female soldiers.  Here's a picture of the pre-funeral service held in the church.

Picture

Here's a picture of the coffins being carried into the church for the service. 

Picture

Afterward I found my friend, Lise. outside the church, with tears streaming down her cheeks. I asked her to come have a coffee with me and we went to a nearby cafe, where tourists around us chatted and laughed, oblivious to what had just happened 3 blocks away. 

Here's a pic of Lise with a special Ukrainian roll of toilet paper.....

Picture

I haven't been able to find a venue to offer acupuncture at, but Lise and I are volunteering at "Make It Possible Ukraine", a non-profit that gives a variety of enrichment experiences to children who've fled the war zones with their families (mostly mothers).

On Monday Lise led an art project of vision- boarding that allowed children to use various media to express their feelings about themselves, what they've been through, and what they hope for.  I was assigned to sit with a 3 or 4-year old girl who had one of the most haunted expressions I've ever seen on a person's face. We traced the children's outlines on construction paper for them to fill with what seemed right to them.  Then I just sat with her and held out a sheet of images till she pointed to one for me to cut out so she could glue it onto her outline. 

The first image that she glued onto her paper, at the level of her face, was a tank. 

It was a slow process, but when we finished she came over to me and hugged me. 

The next day there were more boys in the program and I noticed how they often took things from the girls.  So it was touching when a volunteer handed out potato chips and this little girl brought her chips over and set them on the table right next to me, looking up with a searching expression to confirm that I wouldn't let anyone take them away from her. 

All the children in the program come and hug or shake hands with each of the volunteers when they arrive in and leave the classroom.  It seems to me like I can feel what an effort it takes for them, with all the trauma they've experienced and the churn of volunteers arriving and departing, to do this, but there's a level of graciousness that I feel in them that I have rarely experienced in American children, an apparent confirmation that terrible things can bring out the best in us, as well as the worst. 

I feel grateful to be here with the other men and women who felt called to come here from all over the world. And proud that there are so many of us from the U.S.

"Make It Possible Ukraine"'s website and donation page are here: 
https://makeitpossibleua.org/

Here's a pic of the view from my hotel room window when I got back tonight. 
More tomorrow. 

Picture
4 Comments
Janet Campbell
8/10/2023 04:43:29 pm

Volunteering with children who are traumatized is so important. From volunteer work I did as a CASA with children in foster care, I saw that art is a valuable way for them to communicate their feelings and fears. Thanks again for providing a window for us into the world that Ukrainians are living in. They need and so deserve our support.

Reply
Trip Quillman
8/10/2023 05:58:17 pm

Thanks for the latest post, Mark
The way you weave what you're writing with a photos really give a sense for me of immediacy.
The story about the little girl giving her chips to you is easy for me to envision. You're just kind of a chip protector guy.

But I think what moved me the most was your tuning into kids hugging people they don't know out of, at least to some degree, a sense of graciousness.

And the photo of Lise made me smile. There's something great about realizing that putting the face of somebody you're not terribly fond of on a roll of toilet paper isn't quite enough. That you've got to give the toilet paper the finger to really finish the job.

Thanks again for including us. I look forward to whatever's coming next. And do take care.

Reply
Mary Morgan
8/11/2023 08:35:48 am

My Favorite quote of day is from Trip.
“You're just kind of a chip protector guy .”

Reply
Winifred
8/14/2023 06:46:28 pm

Thank you for continuing to share your experiences, Mark. And for the link to a concrete, reliable site for donations. I will put something in now, that being the only means I have of supporting your efforts from here.

Lots of love,

W

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Workshops & Events

    Bend Community Healing offers workshops and events open to the community throughout the year.

    Archives

    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    November 2021
    September 2019
    August 2019
    February 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    February 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed


​Bend Community Healing ​

541-322-9642
[email protected]

244 NE Franklin Ave., Suite 1
Bend OR, 97701

​
Picture
Clinic Hours
​
Acupuncture

Monday, Wednesday:  9AM - 12:30PM ; 2 - 6:30PM 
Friday:                                   9AM  -  1PM
Zero Balancing:
Tuesday:                               Noon - 6PM