Roadrunner Trip with “Iker” & Sudan Roadrunners

I became a Sudan Roadrunner in 2014. There have been many good experiences I would not trade for anything.  We see miracles, develop friendships with others we would never otherwise have met, and we develop relationships with families that are rewarding. On top of that, I believe it is in self-interest and critical to our own well-being to exercise, gratitude, generosity, kindness, and optimism, especially in the later seasons of life.

Recently, Walter Waters and I met in New Bern, drove out to Mt. Olive to pick up Iker and his mother.  I had called a few days earlier to arrange this and spoke to Iker’s dad.  His mother had quickly passed the phone to her husband who spoke near perfect English.  He asked about the cost, and I assured him we would cover it all.  We found their mobile homes on a dirt road.  We saw our passengers coming out, and after introductions, we loaded up and began the long trip to Shriner’s Children’s, Greenville, SC.  Iker is six years old. He told me that he speaks English but that his mother does not.  He would be the interpreter.  Iker was very happy after Walter gave him one of the Easter baskets that had been donated by the Golden Age Club.  We arrived just in time for dinner at the hotel.  They came from their room after Walter and I had already started eating in the crowded dining room.  After a few minutes, Iker came right over to our table, looked me squarely in the eye and said that he needed my help.  He wanted a hot dog, and I half-wondered why he needed help. I thought maybe he couldn’t reach high enough up to get one, as he wasn’t very tall. I found that he couldn’t fix himself a hot dog because he had only one hand.  He had been hiding that all day, or maybe I just had not noticed.  He smiled widely when I fixed him a hot dog with ketchup on it.

The next morning, we loaded up the van after they were done at the hospital.  I noticed that his Easter basket was gone except for a stuffed turtle.  Iker told me he was going to give it to his little sister.  I don’t hear as well as I once did, but I heard Iker singing softly almost the whole six-hour trip back to Mt. Olive. We arrived about 4:00pm and said our goodbyes and recorded the date for the next appointment.  Before we could even leave, Iker came back out and said something to me I couldn’t quite understand about chickens.  Walter told me that Iker wanted to know if we like eggs.  We told him we did like eggs. He ran off as fast as his little legs could carry him and returned carrying a plastic ice cream bucket, filled with eggs, with his one hand. He had a smile on his face about as big as the bucket.  Iker’s mother was standing in the doorway with his little sister, and they too were smiling.  Walter and I both knew that they didn’t have much to give, but they wanted to give what they had.  Absolutely humbling.

This article was submitted by Nobles Bill Fitzpatrick and Walter Waters.