What was your best Christmas present?

I confess. I am a member of a chat board with a bunch of great ladies who are all adoptive moms. We share and help each other with many things that are particularly related to adoption issues that others may not understand. We also just chat; ask each other questions and poke fun at some of life’s issues. (Alright, we poke fun quite a lot at things. But, hey! It’s “fun and educational” so it must be o.k., right?)

One lady on the board asked the other day, “What was your favorite Christmas present and why?” I gave an answer about some nice little thing I got I wasn’t expecting. A good answer, but in my heart it didn’t feel it was the “right” answer. Then about two days after Christmas (while cleaning up some of the big mess from the big day) I looked out the window and figured out what the “right” answer was.

My two year old was giggling and crossing the yard after our cat. Somehow he had gotten our small digital camera and was trying his best to take a picture of the cat. (Years ago I would have fretted over wasted film… thank you Lord for digital!) He had figured out how to press the button, but not quite how to aim the camera in the direction of the subject that you want to take the picture of. I chuckled at his efforts. Then I called my husband on his cell phone in his little work shed to tell him (to think… we used to just yell out the back door when we needed someone!).

....sample of what most his pictures turned out to be...

Well, a few seconds later I see my husband’s head pop out of the shed and start walking towards the camera laden two year old. He called out to get the attention of the little amateur photographer. Next, instead of walking over to take the camera, my husband stops in his tracks, leans down, and strikes a crazy-silly pose for the child to take a picture of (the two year old obliged). Then my husband squats down and stretches his arms out …. You should have seen the smile on both their faces as the two year old ran like the wind to his daddy’s arms and almost knocked him over with a hug. Amazingly, the two year old willingly gave the camera up for his daddy to use.

...he actually got Daddy's feet in the picture...

What a scene. In my mind I visualized a similar scene of redemption for us. We are God’s “two years olds”, if you will. Go ahead and confess it. We DO act like two year olds many times. We constantly are getting into things we shouldn’t and God pops his head out of the shed to get our attention, reminds us of what we should be doing and loves us through it. God loves us so greatly and is just waiting like a Daddy for us to bowl Him over with our love right back.

...the elusive cat...

My favorite gift this year… the smiles?.... the hugs?... the family time?... Those are all great and I really do appreciate them, but not THE best. The best is God’s love and how it affects my family. It makes us different… improves us… helps us… makes us laugh at our mistakes, forgive and try harder. It is our hope and our redemption. I can’t imagine life without God’s love.

So, uh…. What was your favorite gift this year? And how does it affect you?

Romans 5:8 (New International Version)
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Psalm 52:8
But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever.
Psalm 136:2
Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.

P.S.

For those who asked....

Nate's minor outpatient proceedure went fine. I don't think he missed one beat from all his activities. Thanks for those who prayed and asked.

For those who wondered...

The Christmas cards are a commin'... with the mail what it is don't expect them until slightly after Christmas. If they show up sooner.. be pleasantly surprised!

Growth

This year is just racing to an end! Each morning it is: hurry and get ready, a pow wow with the family and check list for the day; encouraging [read "pushing" here] kids to finish every task; heading to any and all appointments/ practices/ rehearsals/ lessons/ or doctor's appointments; and then figuring out what to feed the little chickens for dinner, Bible reading, kisses, talks and bed. I seem to face each evening with a very disheartened face with the reality of what "still needs to be done". [Not to mention mounds of laundry]

It seems we run continuously at high speeds. Yet it's like driving out West where the roads are so long and straight the distance you must travel to your destination continously eludes you. Every so often I just have to stop and ponder... then look back to see just how far we have come. Nope, I'm not "looking back from my plow" and wrecking the row in front of me.... just stopping for a cold glass of lemonade and admiring the work done. [I have to... the laundry is taunting me.]

So our word for this year: GROWTH!
On so many levels.... spiritual, physical, emotional, health, patience [maturing can be a hard thing to do], cooking [it's a long story].


This year started with family and friends visiting and Daniel traveling. It seems to always happen, when Daddy's gone we have little emergencies. We spent the better part of this year figuring out why our little seven year old seemed to have juvenile arthritis in one of his knees. Praise the Lord for great friends and good doctors who helped put all the pieces of the puzzle together and Gabe has been symptom free for several months now!

We've loved on some neighbors and learned how to love neighbors. We've watched good friends move away, people lose their faith, and people grow in faith. We've learned what it means to live with an "adult child" in the house. [Forgive me M for using the word "child".] Hey! I even baked my first wedding cake! Our sweet 9 year old got out of braces and her older brother got into them. We've celebrated with friends growing older and mourned with friends who have lost. We've met people who have challenged us greatly in areas where we just plain needed it! Daniel has become a much better compounding pharmacist and learned so much about different areas of medicine that he had little oportunity to see before in the retail world. We even started building on his life long dream of an airplane.


We've homeschooled our little chick-a-dees. I've watched the incredible growth this year with 2 more readers in the house, a toddler with a passion to climb things and one pre-adolescent young man whose intelligence keeps his parents on their toes. Zeke has transitioned from his baby bed, bottle and baby food to definite toddler status. Between Daniel's trips to El Salvador in the Spring and Ethiopia in November he finished his first year as the teacher of the Adventure Rangers and all the camping and activities that come with that. [Talk about growth... for someone who never considered himself a teacher...] We spent not a few hours studying for Ranger of the Year Testings with our 2 older boys. [That's worth another post to tell you about the growth and what was spoken into our boys' lives there!]

In the mist of it all life happened.....and growth.

There have been late night conversations and heart searching questions to answer. There have been "ta-dah!" moments when something you've tried to put your finger on for years finally makes it way to the front of your brain. There has been great sadnesses, great moments of understanding, great lessons learned and even great silliness. [Great laundry piles also... I think it multiplies by itself!]

Sometimes I wonder how we can possibly grow in the mist of all the chaos life brings. Then I remember that God is working on us through it all.... and I smile and question how one "grows" from doing the laundry... [It is a very good thing God understands my humor and loves me anyway.]

Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

Lord help us to be like that tree... growing and producing fruit for You.

Merriest of Christmases to you all! Stop and look back to ponder where you've come from and the "Reason for the Season".

Hugs & Blessings from one laundry surfing mama!

Ethiopia Update

Well we have certainly taken long enough to update on that marvelous trip. I've just thought and thought of how to post about it, but words fail me on this one. You know, most medical teams go to give and bless others with their medical talents. Funny thing is that so many times you receive back what you could never give in the first place. Such spiritual blessings outpoured on this trip. The medical team was just overwhelmed with God's Spirit filling them up. If you wanna' know the details, you will just have to give us a call and we will fill you in!

A few photos...


Oh, yea... they saw over 1000 patients too! An interesting tibit of info: the country is seriously lacking in dentist. They were working with local medical doctors there to train them in dentistry so they can service the people's needs.

It's That Time of Year....

.... when the World celebrates Christmas!
Here's a picture of us with some extended family having a crazy fun time at a tree farm picking out the Grands Christmas Tree (it was actually at Thanksgiving)!

Praying for you to have a little real fun this Christmas in the mist of all the "have to dos". So turn off the tv and go run around some trees outside. You'll get cold, but that's what hot chocolate is for, right?! :o)

Zeke's Second Year

October 31st!

...a big day for us at the airport!

First, Daniel will be flying out for Ethiopia for a medical trip. (Please keep him and the entire team in your prayers. I will post about his trip as I get information.)


Second, it's the second anniversary of Zeke's homecoming day (we picked him up at the airport). What a journey! God bringing him into our family has taught us so much on so many levels. We are truly blessed. I've posted a short clip for you to watch of our little pumkin.

Happy Fall everyone! Blessings to everyone!

Medical Personnel needed

I was checking the HCM website this morning and ran across this post:

MD & DENTAL : ECUADOR
OPTICAL & DENTAL: ETHIOPIA
MD & OPTICAL : KOSRAE
OPTICAL : CENTRAL EURASIA



Personnel needed :: Ethiopia | Print |
We are in urgent need of optical and dental professionals for our trip to Ethiopia, which is scheduled for October 30 - November 10. If you are interested, please contact our Logistics department.
-------------------------------

Daniel is scheduled for the Ethiopia Team at the end of this month. Go to www.healthcareministries.org [posted on the right hand bar of our blog] and check out the future trips, personnel needed and just items you can donate for medical teams! It's a great site with some awesome pictures of some of the HCM folks on medical team trips! There's even one of them in a canoe heading to a clinic!

Missions updates!

Medical Evangelism Forum
Daniel came back from the forum all abuzz with meeting new people from churches all over this great nation and reconnecting with others we've met before. Deb Highfill is the new director of Healthcare Ministries. Bob McGurty, the outgoing director is stepping into a new role over at the Missions Headquarters and we will miss him.

Can you say, "Co-op"??!!! That is the new word of the day at the MEF. Timberline Church in Colorado was on hand to lead the way and tell how churches can co-op with each other and HCM to put together medical mission trips. Smaller churches [or churches who just don't have the medical volunteers] that have never been able to send medical teams out are now being able to be part of medical missions.

HCM [www.hopethatheals.org] comes along and provides: training, team leaders, medical supplies, missions manual for leading teams, healthcare education and so much more. Empowering the local churches here in the US to be able to send medical evangelism teams and bring "Hope That Heals" to the World. All this in conjunction with host missionaries who are making a long term impact in their country of ministry.

It is so exciting to see the body of Christ come together and work to reach out and be the hand of Christ to a hurting world!


OK... so what does the buffalo have to do with the MEF??? Nothing! Except, I must be a little more specific with Daniel when I send the camera with him next time.
He meets people from all over this nation and comes home with 5 pictures of a buffalo! His excuse... "Well, It was one BIG buffalo head!"

Vacation, Wedding and Rangers... oh, my!

I got up at 5:00 a.m. this morning to work some more on the huge paperwork pile that I started digging through yesterday. All I could think of is, "Where has the last two months gone!" (Well that and "I've got to come up with a system to tame this paperwork tiger in my office or hire a secretary!") I get chastised about not updating my blog more often.

So here are highlights on the last couple of months:
August
We started back homeschooling full force again in August. The little chickens weren't too happy about it; but we keep telling them that reading/writing/'rithmatic are necessary evils. We also took a lovely trip to the Great Smokey Mountains in August. Ahhh, that place is a slice of heaven on earth. I think my kids would have made great mountain men years back... hiking trails and discovering every bug, leaf and plant along the way suited them just fine. I think the highlight of the trip was when were hiking back from a waterfall and a black bear stepped in the path in front of us! [Don't worry! We didn't mess with him an he didn't mess with us!] We even got to spend a couple days with Grandmother and Papa on the trip.






September
We came back from the mountains in time to have a graduation with the Rangers and MPact girls. Both Nate and Gabe medaled this year and qualifed to go to Ranger of the Year testing for each of their age groups. Michaelyn is in Stars class and was the "Super Star" this year of her class! Zeke is always a star, but they don't hand out medals in nursery.


Yes! It was a perfect day for a wedding. Our "basement girl" [as we very lovingly called her for the last six months] and her fiance' were married this month. My mother came up and did the flowers for the wedding [Mom, you are marvelous!] I actually made the wedding cake and Daniel left for Medical Evangelism Forum [next post for details on that one]. The birds were singing in the background in the garden wedding and the b-b-q in the pavillion was yummy! [God, you did a marvelous job on the weather!]





Through everything, we spent the last two months studying daily for Ranger of the Year testing. We took the books on vacation with us [and actually studied them!], we studied in the car with a cd running errands for the wedding, and we studied so much I think even Zeke could recite the Ranger Pledge! Well, they did it! Nate scored Outstanding and is competing at District this coming weekend. Gabe scored Outstanding [actually he scored 100%] and this was his first year competing! If you ever want a good program to be involved with kids...Royal Rangers does an awesome job of mixing scouting with Bible and life skills.



Now I must get back to the huge pile in the basement. So, if there are any volunteer secretaries out there.... I'd totally be glad for you to give me a ring!

Words that "cut to the quick"

Ever read a book or heard a speaker that just nailed something straight into your heart that you knew you needed to hear/read?

Daniel and I are reading through Voddie Baucham, Jr.'s book "Family Driven Faith" right now... and WOW! I don't know where to begin in sharing this book.. there is too much to share.

"It all comes down to a simple question: Why are we here? Does our family exist to prepare children for the Major Leagues? If so, then baseball will be the center of our family's universe, and everything will bow to the whims and wishes of the baseball god. Does our family exist to produce socialites? If so, then our family must revolve around the social calendars of our overloaded teenagers and their hectic schedules. However, if our family exists to glorify and honor God and to lay a biblical foundation in the lives of our children, then we must not allow anything to interfere with our commitment to family worship, prayer, and Bible study." V. Baucham, Jr.

There is so much more to this book.... if you need your fire lit a little... pick it up at your bookstore!

Fall Notes

Just a brief post to update everyone on the upcoming events for the Fall.

The Medical Evangelism Forum is coming up in September. It should be an awesome time of training and growing.

Ethiopia - Daniel is scheduled to head out to Ethiopia at the end of October. Everyone be in prayer for this trip. It is a long travel and there is great need there. (more updates soon)

We hope everyone enjoys their last month of summer as we transition back into the Fall routines.

Early Registration Deadline Approaching for the MEF

The early registration deadline for HCM's Medical Evangelism Forum is June 30, 2008. HCM is hosting the next MEF Sept. 17 - 19, 2008, in Springfield, Missouri. This forum will offer training for churches and/or individuals who are, or wish to be, involved in medical evangelism.

There will be a special training session prior to the forum, The Role of the Nurse in International Medical Evangelism, Sept. 15 - 16.

In addition to general sessions, there will be workshops specifically for churches who have never sent medical evangelism teams as well as churches that have been sending teams for years. Wherever you are in medical evangelism, there is a place for you at the forum.

Register Now!

Email questions to events@healthcareministries.org

Spring 2008

We have finally gotten past the end of the school year activities with the kids and are trying to get into the summer groove of things around here. Whew! What a year!! Have fun looking!!!

Sharing...

Ever been somewhere doing something totally unrelated to any other part of your life when God just opens a door for you? It seems to be our story this Spring. So many little stories to share... I'll just pick one...

Once upon a time, a family was at a picnic far away from home. They were fishing, eating water melon, paddle boating and just enjoying the crowd of people. (OK, ok... I'll just tell the story) Seriously, we were at a picnic and met some great young people who were mission minded. The daughter was leaving the next day to go on a trip and the young man was very interested in medical missions and med school. I think we spent half the afternoon talking with these young people and their family about missions. Daniel was able to really share some advise and answer questions for the young man. (Many things we wish we had known years before.) God is so faithful. He knows when a person's heart (and ears) are open and ready to hear.

I just think it is so awesome to meet young people with real hearts for God and His work.

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord..." Psalms 37

Catching up...

Life has been ever-so-busy since Daniel's last missions trip in March. Meetings and scheduling conflicts have kept him off some trips this spring. (I have an amazing story to share about a trip when I get permission to share it.) We are currently looking at the late summer/fall schedules for some training and more trips.

Paperwork Update: Our paperwork has made it to headquarters and is plugging along through that process. Looks as if we may be doing to training,etc. in the fall. There are also many changes happening in structure and staffing in the HCM department. It's all good. Life is ever changing and so is ministry.

Family Updates: We are all well. We have one child who has been going through some testing because of joint inflammation. So far tests have all come back negative (which is a positive thing in medical terms). We have had some extended family members go through some difficult medical needs and it truly was a blessing that Daniel was home and able to go be with them during this.

Amazing... God's timing is never off.
"Redeeming the time..." Eph 5:16

Heatwave Lessons

We are currently going through a heatwave on the Eastern side of the U.S. It happens to be sweltering hot down South. By mid-afternoon yesterday the thermometer upstairs in our home read over 86 degrees... INSIDE!! (and we have central air!) Our airconditioner is obviously struggling to keep up. Weather is amazing to me.

Usually it is hard to keep the kids from going outside, but right now they can only stand it if the sprinkler is on (and we are on water restriction). The funny thing is that this morning (at 6:00 a.m. because it is so bright, who can sleep!) I was out watering our vegetables, talking to God, and contemplating all the good aspects of the heatwave.

A few things I have learned from the heatwave and life on water restrictions....
*You wash much less laundry. (yipee!)
*No one complains about nighttime thunderstorms.
*Towels and jeans can dry faster hanging on the porch railing, than the delicates in the dryer.
*If you don't wash the car...no one judges you about it.
*You meet more neighbors while out watering plants in the yard.
*Fresh summer squash is wonderful.
*If you set the sprinkler next to the swingset...life is grand.

I'm sure there are more, but I've got to go get the jeans off the back porch.

Be blessed, use your sunscreen and look for the postive in life!

"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven" Ecc.27:1

It's A Small World After All...

Since HCM works with missionaries all over the World, we are privileged to get tidbits of unique news from around the globe that you probably will never hear/see in the mainstream media. Some things we can share openly and some things we can only pray about because of the sensitive nature of it. I marvel at this amazing way we can now instantly communicate things happening in other lands that touch our hearts and open our eyes to the lives lived so far from the places we call home.

My heart is heavy this week for a couple of ministries that are doing precious works of grace in Asian Countries. One ministry I cannot write about because a dear friend is heading to an area that is not so open to Christians. We have the comfort of knowing the safest place he could ever be is in the middle of the will of God. Please pray for him… the Lord knows his name.


Another ministry is reaching out to the North Koreas who are going through a terrible pandemic of measles, typhoid and scarlet fever. SAM, International (Spiritual Awakening Mission) is a medical mission and relief organization that has as its goal to meet the medical needs of some of the world’s poorest and forgotten people. They currently are ministering year round along the boarder between North Korea and China (a fact that is totally amazing to me).

Here is a quote from their website…

“Due to the rapid rate with which these diseases are spreading across the country, millions of men, women and children are at great risk for infection. Prolonged starvation, lack of water and proper hygiene, have left the mass population in a weakened physical state, with compromised immunities against the most common diseases. Hospitals and clinics in North Korea lack even the most basic medicines and supplies. Without our intervention and help, these people have no fighting chance for survival against the ravages of these pandemic diseases.”

This particularly touches my heart because our dear fourth child was adopted from South Korea a year and a half ago. Since that time, I have met so many wonderful Korean people and learned so much about their culture and giving hearts. Please go to SAM’s website, read about this mission, and pray for the great need there.

http://samf.net

Our God is awesome and none of this slips by Him. He tells us in Matthew chapter 10…

26"So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny[d]? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

"Live out loud" this week! And feel free to send us tidbits of news from your corner of the World too!! :O)

Ever Wondered..

What pharmacist do when they aren't on a missions trip?

Build go-carts with neighborhood kids...
Go to trainings to learn how to sterile compound...

Yep, that's Daniel up front learning something exciting.

Ever seen cool equiptment like this before??



Hey! Daddy made some great suckers with his compounding equiptment and brought some samples home for the kids!

El Salvador Pics 4

Fun comes in so many forms!


Vision screenings seem to be one of the parts of a medical trip that give you immediate gratification of watching someone's life change. To be able to see someone see clearly when they could not is truly miraculous to watch.


Pulling teeth seemed to be what every medical student wanted to have the opportunity to experience.

El Salvador Pics 3

Morning devotions under one lovely, yet quite large, tree!

Consultations.

The new medical clinic being built will even have a surgery suite.

Of course, the vet in Daniel could never resist getting a few pictures of the local animal life.

El Salvador Pics 2

La farmacia! (The Pharmacy)

There's always a cute kid!

Pharmacist hard at work!

Another cute kid.

Training a student.

Glimpses of El Salvador

The team consisted mostly of pre-med and nursing students under supervision of several doctors, dentist, nurses and one super nice pharmacist!

A lovely sunset over the volcano lake just past the compound.

A morning chat on the compound between students and mentors.

Photos from one of the clinics.

Notice the dirt floors.

Meet The El Salvador Team

Well the team assembled and was a really neat mixture of the "seasoned" medical team members, translators and a great group of pre-med and nursing students. The women were out in full force on this trip (as you can see in the pictures).

Overall, they treated 620 people in the medical clinic, 112 people in the dental clinic, and 450 in the vision clinic. There were 106 commitments to Christ in the clinic and one very special team member conversion. (Long story, but oh so marvelous... guess you'll have to call Daniel and ask!)

After seeing patients all day, the staff would teach and quiz the students in the evenings ("grand rounds") along with nightly devotionals and dinner. Exhausting, yes! Marvelous...absolutely!

It's so amazing how the teams go down to meet others needs, but end up being so touched and ministered to themselves. The Lord truly spoke of this when He spoke of "casting our bread on the waters" and it [the "bread"] coming back multiplied, pressed down, shaken together and running over. How can you describe the friendships, the miracles and the opening of one's eyes and hearts that you can only find when you step outside your own little corner of the World and hold up the hands of a brother?

Enjoy the pictures and leave us a message! We love to hear from you.

Daniel has left the building!

After arriving back home Thursday night around midnight and spending all day Friday home with the kids and I, Daniel hit the road again this morning at 5:30 a.m. Who said traveling was glamorous?

We printed out the final travel list last night from headquarters. Daniel is amazed at the size of the team. There are quite a few students on the trip. There are also a couple of doctors, dentists and a nurse. We filled in the spaces of his suitcase with a big bag of candy and some personal hygeine items for Master's students (who never have the money for it at the "cantina").

There is not a good connection for email at the King's Castle, therefore I may not be able to update you guys with stats and pictures until he gets back. Pray for the team and the people they minister to. Pray for me and kids while we "hold down the fort".


Some playtime with Daddy!

Watching the lunar eclipse.


"What manner of love has the Father given unto us that we should be called his sons and daughters?" My random thoughts early this morning..... sending some of that love back to you all!