Just Going Outside

Captain Lawrence (Titus) Oates
17 March 1880 – 16 March 1912
Photographic Archive, Alexander Turnbull Library

On January 18, 1912, Titus Oates* and his 4 companions reached the South Pole only to find a short note in an abandoned tent with a bamboo pole flying the Norwegian flag.  Roald Amundsen's team had beat them to the pole by 35 days. 

Born to a wealthy family in London, Lawrence Edward Grace ("Titus") Oates enjoyed all the benefits of his family's nobility and influence.  He attended a preparatory school followed by Eton College and was commissioned as an officer in 1898.  He served in the 2nd Boer War where he had his femur shattered by a bullet. Twice when his besiegers called on him to surrender he defiantly shouted "we came to fight, not surrender." Though the wounded leg healed one inch shorter than the other, he recovered and went on to serve in Ireland, Egypt and India.  His military prowess earned him the nickname "Titus" after the infamous Roman General that sacked Jerusalem.

In 1910, Oates joined the ill-fated Terra Nova expedition of Robert Falcon Scott that was making an attempt to be the first to the South Pole. One can only imagine the disappointment of their 5-man team on seeing Amundsen's tent. Low on food and suffering the effects of injury, exposure and exhaustion, the men turned about for the homeward journey only to be engulfed in a terrible blizzard. Progresses was hampered by horrific conditions. Wind, snow and mid-day temperatures that rose to -40 degrees made traversing the glacier very hazardous. Refusing to leave any of his men behind, Scott's progress was slowed as they weakened. Edgar Evans died on Feb 17, 1912. Subsequently Titus Oates developed severe frostbite of his feet.

Robert Falcon Scott's journal records Oates' amazing selflessness:

—Friday, March 16 or Saturday 17–
Lost track of dates, but think the last correct. Tragedy all along the line. At lunch, the day before yesterday, poor Titus Oates said he couldn't go on; he proposed that we leave him in his sleeping-bag. That we could not do, and induced him to come on, on the afternoon march. In spite of its awful nature for him he struggled on and we made a few miles. At night he was worse and we knew the end had come. 

Should this be found I want these facts recorded. Oates' last thoughts were of his Mother, but immediately before he took pride in thinking that his regiment would be pleased with the bold way in which he met his death. We can testify to his bravery. He has borne intense suffering for weeks without complaint, and to the very last was able and willing to discuss outside subjects. He did not—would not—give up hope the very end. He was a brave soul. This was the end. He slept through the night before last, hoping not to wake; but he woke in the morning—yesterday. It was blowing a blizzard. He said ' I am just going outside and may be some time. ' He went out into the blizzard and we have not seen him since.

. . . We knew that poor Oates was walking to his death, but though we tried to dissuade him, we knew it was the act of a brave man and an English gentleman. We all hope to meet the end with a similar spirit, and assuredly the end is not far. 

A Very Gallant Gentleman
John Charles Dollman (1851-1934)

Titus Oates was one day short of his 32nd birthday when he sacrificed himself for his brothers. In spite of his sacrifice, Robert Scott, Henry Bowers and Edward Wilson perished two weeks later in an unremitting blizzard only 11 miles from food and fuel. One doesn't need to know many of the details of Titus Oates' life to recognize his greatness. It was his sort that the Lord spoke of when he said:

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13).

___________

*I first read about Titus Oates a couple of years ago when I read Sir Ernest Shackleton's South, the story of another disastrous antarctic expedition in 1914-1917. Shackleton had been on one of Scott's earlier expeditions. The grit and endurance of these men is very inspiring and I'd strongly recommend the book (here Project Gutenberg download of South). You can also get the Journal of Robert Falcon Scott (here).

The Bottom Line vs. Those That Line the Bottom

A wall hanging at St. Timothy's soup kitchen

At a recent commencement speech to the 2012 graduates of Loyola University, Father Gregory Boyle (see my post on Father G's ministry) said:

"Loyola has not prepared you for the real world. It has asked you to challenge it, to be less concerned with the bottom line and more concerned with those that line the bottom."

For the last week, “issues” at work have had me irritated and stressed out. Lately, practicing endocrinology has been relatively straightforward; being an employer . . . not so much.

Today was different. We closed the office after lunch and hosted today’s meal at the Friends in the Desert Foundation [1] in downtown Henderson. Everyone chipped in to chop celery & carrot sticks, make pasta salad, bag up cheese doodles & dill pickles and grill 120 hamburgers and hot dogs.  For dessert we made Rice-Crispy treats and no-bake cookies.  We loaded everything up at 4:15 PM and headed to St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, which hosts the meal.  We started pouring milk at 4:55 PM and then fired up an assembly line. By 5:25 PM we had served about 100 meals, cleaned the kitchen and were pulling out of the parking lot.

Assembly Line @ T - 5 minutes

What we did today was not difficult, nor was it complicated. Pretty much anyone could do it. But it was a very different Wednesday afternoon from the normal routine for us. Normally our team works ten-hour days taking care of complex medical problems, which really can’t be treated in a regular medical office. [2] The staff is very adept at checking to make sure all the details are correct before the patients are seen. This includes verification of eligibility and benefits, prior authorizations, compiling lab results, updating addresses, payment of copays and outstanding balances, etc. 

Today's clients were mostly homeless and living in the desert; at best they were severely under employed. They have virtually nothing.  Many had mental illness or poor health (I spotted at least one diabetic foot). Without exception, they were down on their luck. They were certainly not the beautiful people. Yet nobody was turned away.  They were all welcomed with open arms and on their own terms.  Without doubt, this is what makes St. Timothy's such a special place. I am certain that when 'the King' goes out for dinner in Las Vegas, he prefers a back table in the fellowship hall at St. Timothy's.

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Matthew 25:40

This project felt bigger and more important than might seem logical, considering what we normally do at work each day.  Today, we were certainly out of our element, but we made a difference in a small way that meant so much to these people. We must not forget that 'by small and simple things are great things brought to pass' (Alma 37:6). As I was reflecting on the small things of this day, I realized that my annoyance coefficient has dropped by an order of magnitude. Miraculous! Perhaps it was because we were worrying less about the bottom line and more about those that line the bottom. 

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[1] Since 1998, it has been serving hot meals for around 100 homeless and disadvantaged members of our community daily at precisely 5:00 PM.  In a year, that translates into over 20,000 hot meals and around 4500 sack lunches.  It is 100%-operated by volunteers from multiple congregations, organizations and businesses in the community.  The goal is “to serve ‘the least of these our brothers’ with a dignity that they otherwise don’t see.” Contact them to help make a difference. 
[2] For example, yesterday a patient’s husband insisted on seeing Kevin immediately and in private; he had no appointment and didn't want medical care (Kevin said he thought the guy was going to shoot him or something).  In reality guy wanted to thank him for saving his wife’s life, and insisted on hugging him instead of a handshake.

The Worst Thing You've Ever Done

"Father G" and his homies

26 years ago a young Jesuit Catholic Priest named Gregory Boyle began a ministry in one of LA's more impoverished and troubled neighborhoods. He taught in Delores Mission (as well as in 25 juvenile detention centers) and was able to reach out the the neighborhoods and people that were suffering the ills of gangs and drugs and poverty.  

Determined to make a lasting change in the community, he used charitable gifts to purchase a bakery that had been closed down. It is now baking bread and employs dozens of women and men---mostly paroled felons--to give them hope and a place to start afresh. As the bakery has prospered, he has developed other businesses including a cafe, a silk-screen shop and tattoo removal service. Homeboy Industries (read the story; visit their site) now provides work for many in his community, where Father G is fiercely loved. In fact, there is a large mural one story high and half a block long with the faces of Martin Luther King, Emiliano Zapata, Cesar Chavez and Father Gregory Boyle.

Father G has many gifts, but perhaps his greatest is an uncommon vision.  He has cultivated the ability to see others as God sees them.  This vision is not distracted by race, tattoos, or the stains of sin. Affectionately calling his 'homies' mijo, dawg or kiddo, he reflects that vision in all that he does.  He is in the business of changing lives by giving unconditional love along with second, third and fourth chances. When he looks a person in the eye and says "you are exactly what God had in mind when he made you", or "you are so much more than the worst thing you've ever done", miracles take root in soil once thought to be sterile.


Father Boyle is not out there saying 'all is well in Zion' and or 'there is no devil'.  There are plenty of do-gooders out there that try in vain pacify the world with messages like 'whatever makes you happy--just be a nice person.' On the contrary, Father Boyle is healing hearts and saving lives with the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But that message rings hollow if the one that gives it doesn't believe the Lord can deliver on what he's promised: "he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord remember them no more" (D & C 58:42) and "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18).  Father G believes it, and recorded his experiences over the many years in his book (Tatoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion. New York: Free Press, 2010).


It was Jesus Christ that told us: “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God” (D&C 18:10). We could all use a little more of that clarity of vision--same vision that sees a soul instead of gang tattoos; a son of God rather than a panhandler on the street.