From rshadian@hawaii.edu Wed Nov 13 18:49:01 1996 Date: Wed, 13 Nov 1996 18:43:24 -1000 From: Ritchard Shadian To: Chi Alpha Subject: The Brotherly, Volume FA96, issue 6 ### # # ### # ### ## # # # ### ####### ###### ###### ####### ## ## ####### ###### ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ###### ####### ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ####### ##### ## ## ## ###### ####### ##### ## ## ## ####### ###### ## ## ## ###### ####### ###### ## ### ## ## ## ## ###### ## ## ## ## ## ## ###### ### ####### ## ## ###### ## ## ## ####### ## ## ###### ### _ THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I AT MANOA CHI ALPHA CHAPTER ______________________________________________________________________________ NOVEMBER 13, 1996 VOLUME FA96 ISSUE NO. 6 ______________________________________________________________________________ Ye are the salt of the earth: Matthew 5:13a ******************************************************************************* Let's see... what can I use for a clever intro. Hope your having a good time? No, that's a cliche. How's midterms? No, that's sadistic. Please send articles? No, tried that, didn't work. Well I'll just dive in then. ----------------- | ANNOUNCEMENTS | ----------------- QUESTIONNAIRE ------------- As you recall, I sent out a questionnaire to everybody asking about what they thought of the "Brotherly". I'm glad I did, because so far I've gotten some helpful responses and suggestions. Again I want to thank all of you who participated so far. I hope to implement some of your ideas next semester. If you haven't sent yours in yet, please do so. It may look long because there is a lot of empty space, but it actually takes only a couple of minutes to fill out -- about the time it takes to read through these announcements. Answer only those questions you want to answer, or at least mark an X at the top where it says "want to stay on the mailing list, but don't want to fill this out". Every response gives very good feedback, and it also gives me an idea of how I'm doing. On top of that it tells me which email accounts on the mailing list are active. FROM FOOD TO THE FINAL FRONTIER ------------------------------- I brought this up last time, and a date has now been set for the movie/ dinner nite. On Saturday, November 30, (yes, that's the Saturday during the Thanksgiving weekend) meet at Chi Alpha corner at 1:30 pm. From there, the gang will be going to the new Star Trek movie followed by a meal somewhere (or maybe food then movie). Or, if our campus pastor Dallas is back by then, there will be a party for him (which still may include food and a movie). ROCK WITH FROLIC ON THE WEB --------------------------- Are you a Frolic Like a Heifer groupie? If you are, you'll want to check this new website out: Justin's Frolic Like a Heifer Home Page, devoted to the hottest new Christian band in town. The URL is http://www2.hawaii.edu/~jberg/Heifer.html The page is under heavy construction, so there isn't much there at the moment. But down the road it will grow with information about the band members, their upcoming gigs, and so forth. FOURTH SEMIANNUAL BYE-BYE BANQUET --------------------------------- Believe it or not, we are starting to close in on the end of the semester. At Chi Alpha that means gearing up for the event which is the only tradition we've consistently kept over the last two years: the Bye-Bye Banquet. (That's not the real name, it's just something I made up a minute ago). It's a night where we dress up and get together in an alternate venue with food around, and wish good-bye to the graduates and good-bye to the semester. Right now, we're in the process of looking for the venue. Last time we went to Castignola's. The semester before, we went to Hanate's Bistro. The semester before that, we went to Sergio's Italian cuisine. If you know of a place that is classy but inexpensive (a paradox, I know) and wouldn't mind hosting ten to fifteen loud and lively Christians, contact Amy (she's our banquet committee). THE NOVEMBER BIRTHDAY BUNCH --------------------------- (Sorry for being late with these, folks) Gaby 11/7 Claire 11/8 Kirk 11/10 Tim 11/13 Junior 11/13 Eliza 11/15 _______________________________________________________________________________ ------------ | FEATURES | ------------ AM I GOING TO HEAVEN? Jamie sent me this nice story. It's an excerpt from a book she's reading: a series of letters published in a book called "Am I going to Heaven" written by Sister Mary Rose McGeady. "Sister, am I going to heaven?" "I'm not afraid, Sister," Michelle said. "Really, I"m not." Her eyes had that look that the dying sometimes get ... a serene gaze that can seem close to angelic. That's how I knew she truly meant what she said. I took her frail hand and pressed it to my heart. She had lost so much weight, her hands were as light as birds' wings. I felt if I didn't hold on, they could just flutter away, towards heaven. She smiled at me, a smile that could light up a room. That's what the rest of the kids at Covenant House remember about Michlle the most. She was always ready with a smile. "Sister? Can I ask you a favor?" "Ask away," I replied, my throat sore from holding back tears. "Will you be with me when I die? Just like this, holding my hand?" "You can count on it." Michelle was already HIV positive when I met her. That was back in 1990. She showed up at our door late one night -- a scrawny, raven-haired beauty with deep-set eyes and an infectous laugh. But the symptoms, those horrible symptoms of AIDS, had already begun to eat away at her.... Sometimes she had night sweats and cried out in her sleep. When she woke up in the morning, the sheets would be soaked all the way through. She had a hacking cough that never left her. And there were dry patches on her skin that nothing could seem to cure. We fed her and clothed her and loved her, just like we do all our kids. Only this time, it was a little different. Because there was no escaping her fate. The kids knew it, I knew it, our staff knew it. Sooner or later, Michelle was going to die. There were so many things she wanted to know about death and dying -- questions that have challenged theologians and philosophers since the beginning fo time. Questions that, often, I didn't quite know how to answer. "Sister, why did God give me this disease?" "Sister, does God accept drug addicts in heaven?" "Sister, will I find someone to love me in heaven?" The best I could do was tell Michelle what I believe: That God's love and forgiveness is limitless. That when she left this earth, she would leave pain and suffering behind. That the unconditional love she never received from her parents would be found in the tender embrace of a loving God. When I told her these things, she nodded sagely. "You know, that's just how I thought it would be. That's why I'm not scared to die. I think heaven is going to be a wonderful place, where I never feel lonely or sad. "You know what I think heaven will be like, Sister?" "What?" I asked. "Like living at Covenant House." We buried Michelle just a few weeks ago. I wish you could have met her, and gotten to know her as we did. I think you would have liked her. I know you would have.... A lot of people condemn kids like Michelle for contracting the HIV virus. They think we should put them behind closed doors and pretend that they don't exist. But that's just another way to reject them for doing what they have to do in order to surivive. Some contract HIV by prostituting themselves in order to buy their next meal. Other risk the infection every time they get high. But they do it anyway. Because that's the only way they can cope with the horror of life on the streets ... and the knowledge that they have been cast aside by the very people who were supposed to love them without judgement or reservation. Well, there's only one place they can come where they will never be cast aside. Michelle called it "heaven on earth." The building's a little old and falling apart in some places (some would say the same of its president!). But as long as both Covenant House and I are still standing, we will welcome every one of God's children with open arms. If you had looked into Michelle's eyes and seen the light of hope and trust that shone there in her final days on earth, you would have welcomed her into your heart as well. I know you would. Despite her suffering, Michelle never gave up hope. Before her last visit to the hospital, she was making plans to enter nursing school. After all she had been through, her fondest wish was to devote her life to helping others. And I believe that she did just that. You know, the kids put together her Memorial Service themselves. They read poems by Maya Angelou and Karen Johnson. they told stories. And sang songs. One was by a singer named Eric Clapton. The kids tell me he wrote it after the tragic death of his young son. It's called "Tears in Heaven." We all cried when the kids sang it. You couldn't help but cry... In 40 plus years, I've seen so many miracles. I've seen street kids that many believed were beyond redemption summon up the strength to deal with their pain -- and make something beautiful of their lives. But I'm not sure I've ever known anyone stronger than that tender-hearted girl who arrived on our doorstep four years ago ... and changed our lives forever. I'm so grateful that Covenant House was here for Michelle. I spend a part of every day being thankful for the kids that God has sent to us (and even the ones he has taken back). And I never ... we never ... forget the people like you, who make it all possible. P.S. I know that, in some ways, this was a sad story. But here's the most encouraging thing I can say to you: that fact is, when Michelle had nowhere else to turn, we were here for her. She had a chance to know love and compassion for the first ... probably the only ... time in her life. That's the gift you gave to her. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= "Am I Going To Heaven?" Letters from the Street Sister Mary Rose McGeady Copyright 1994 by Sr. Mary Rose McGeady, pg 97-101 Dedicated to the 1,000,000 kids who will sleep on America's streets tonight- scared, cold, hungry, terrified, lonely and desparate to find someone who cares. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= _______________________________________________________________________________ Thank you for reading and skimming. Until next time. In Christ, Ritchard (rshadian@Hawaii.Edu) ============================================================================== Mailing list address: chi_alpha@Hawaii.Edu World Wide Web page: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~rshadian/chialpha/homepage.html