the second day

"welcome new residents!" that was the sign on the door of the spiritual care department at the methodist hospital today. it was a great day. i met lots of people and firsthand experienced what everyone says about the culture at tmh...everyone is so nice and will do just about anything to help you. here's a peek into my day:

*morning report...everyone gathers first thing to get a heads up on patients from the night before and pray for the ministry to be done that day.
*morning worship...how awesome is it that i get to start every day with worship in the chapel!?!
*orientation part 1 of who knows how many...we exchanged our basic stories. we are made up of 3 men, 3 women/1 from korea, 1 from fiji, 1 from india, 3 from texas/2 singles, 1 widowed, 3 married with kids/1 catholic, 2 methodists, 2 presbyterians, 1 baptist...can you say DIVERSITY?

*review of the next two weeks...i am shadowing the on call chaplain on friday night from 9-12am, and my first on call by myself is a 12hr shift on sunday, sept 13th from 7am-7pm.
*the ceremonial handing over of the pager and the office key...i have always wanted to carry a pager and now i have one to carry with me 24/7 for the next year.
*shadowing...we will shadow a different staff chaplain each day through thursday so that on friday we can select the unit/chaplain that we want to work with for the next 6months.
*the journey home...hopped off the rail a few stops early to meet stephanie who was near the med center so she could expedite her ride home in the HOV. however, i randomly ran into our friend emily as i was crossing the street to meet steph, and we all ended up at an undisclosed location for a beverage and a little debriefing on the day.

with all that being said, i think one of my favorite parts of the day was my 15 minute break in crane garden, a.k.a. the lobby, listening to the pianist (yes, it's kind of like a fancy hotel or nordstrom's where the guy is just playing the piano). it was melodic and calming. and then just when i closed my eyes for a little meditation, he busted out with "i'm yours" by jason mraz!! i wanted to sit on the piano and sing along. don't worry, i refrained. it didn't seem appropriate for the chaplain, especially on her second day.