Thursday, July 29, 2010

Liberia 2010



Here's a little presentation I did for my home Church last Sunday. It's doesnt begin to hit on everything we did. But, I only had 3 min and this is what hit me the hardest...

This was my fourth trip to Liberia. I was blessed to be able to stay for 6 weeks this year.
Everyday I’d pray that God would direct me, guide me and teach me. That he would put me where He wanted me to be and use me. I have a chorus from a song stuck in my Bible, it says
I want to be your hands
I want to be your feet
I'll go where you send me
Sometimes, as I learned this year, where God wants and places you isn’t always as easy as we’d like it to be.
3 weeks into my stay we were still at the clinic in #2( The bush). We’d been holding clinic and things seemed to be running smoothly. The day that Ken, Jessica and Libby came in, our other group from Indiana was going home. I’d thought the week before that I wanted to go with Carolyn to the airport to pick them up, spend the night and get a nice shower with running water, because I knew it would be another 3 wks before I’d get to REALLY shower. A couple days before they came in I had a change of heart. People were coming to the clinic and I felt like I really needed to stay, and that the clinic needed to stay open. I talked to Carolyn about it and she felt like it was a good idea. So, Mary Helen and Mike stayed with me.

I was terrified when the truck with Carolyn and Dr. Hunt took off, and shocked that Carolyn trusted me to run things! I prayed that God would give me wisdom to treat whoever came in and show His love… "
Mary Helen took vitals, I saw the patients and nobody came in with anything too crazy.

Around 6 that evening I was told that there was an emergency, so Mary Helen and I rushed into the waiting room and found a little 4 year old girl named Ruth having a seizure. Her temperature was 105 and she’d been seizing for an hour and a half which is how long it took her parents to walk to the clinic. We put her in a tub of cold water and tried to get her temp down and to get her to stop seizing. She finally stopped seizing and I got malaria meds and pcm in her. Then we noticed her baby brother tied on his mothers back. He was having trouble breathing so I asked if I could look at him and try to help him too. Jeremiah was 1 year old and weighed 10 pounds. He was so tiny and fragile.


Ruth’s fever wouldn't stay down. Every hour almost on the hour it would spike back up to 104-105. We'd bath her again and I'd give her meds when I could. And sweet baby Jeremiah was getting weaker and weaker. I kept praying “God, please help these two babies!”. I tried everything I could think of to help Jeremiah out! And Little Ruth was SO sick! I just kept praying! 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says “Pray without ceasing” and that’s what we did.
For 5 hours I switched from one baby to the next. Their parents told me that they had already lost 7 children. I was holding little Jeremiah, his mouth was cold and white and he was struggling with each breath. His Dad sat down looked at his baby boy with so much love and sadness and said, “I know he’s dying”. I almost started crying right there. I told him that I would keep trying and praying! I handed the baby to Mary Helen checked on Ruth and decided that I’d better clean up while Ruth’s fever was under control. While I was cleaning up I prayed that God would keep those two angels alive! That he would work a miracle. Right then Mary Helen rushed in with Jeremiah, he’d stopped breathing and I couldn’t find a pulse. I started cpr. He opened his eyes took two breaths and died in my arms! I wrapped him in my arms and lost it. I can’t put into words how I felt at that moment! I felt guilty for having him die in my arms instead of in his parents. I was worried his parents wouldn’t trust me to take care of Ruth since he’d just died and take her away. So, many things! I kept praying that God would just keep Ruth alive. I pulled it together for little Ruth. Her fever kept spiking and she was still weak. Around 2 AM some of the family from their village arrived and the father carried little Jeremiah home to be buried. I stayed up with Ruth, bathing her every hour and giving her meds. By the time morning came Ruth was doing a little better. She still had a fever, but was able to take in fluids and sit up with a little help. I’d done everything I could for her and got her stable enough to send her to the government hospital. When her Dad came back we sent them to Buchanan with our battery operated fans and lots of prayer. People started coming to be seen, so I got back to work and prayed that Carolyn would get back before another emergency like that came in because I was exhausted! I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to see anyone as I was to see Carolyn that evening!

The next week we headed off to conference. I couldn’t get Jeremiah or Ruth off my mind. When we got back to #2 I was too scared to ask about Ruth, I didn’t want to know if she’d died, but I needed to find out either way. Finally JahnJah asked Pastor Don for me and I’m happy to tell you that she made it and is doing greatJ I also found out that their Dad had told the people in his village how thankful he was to have us there and to have had Jeremiah where he was when he died, that he knew we’d done everything we could and was glad someone cared enough about his son to keep trying. I know now why God laid it on my heart to stay at the clinic. There was a hurting Mom and dad who needed to see that someone cared about their children and loved them, and a little girl who would have died if I hadn't stayed.

I want to be your hands
I want to be your feet
I'll go where you send me

I’m going to keep singing this song! I’m going to keep praying that no matter how difficult it may be that God will direct me, guide me and teach me. That he would put me where He wants me to be and use me.
As horrid as the image of that little baby dead in my arms is; and as hard as I try to get him off my mind and fail, I know that God used us that night to show his love to hurting parents. I know that no matter how hard the circumstance may be; God can and will be glorified! That if we allow Him, He will use us to be His hands and feet.

I just want to thank all of you for your continued support and prayers. Thank you for helping me go where I feel God is sending me.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

I love lovely days

It’s so beautiful out today! I love lovely days
Right now I’m sitting with my Gramma. We sat outside playing with the dogs for about an hour. She’s an amazing woman! Both my Gramma, and my Mom extra extraordinary. God has blessed me so much by giving me such wonderful Christian women role models to look up to.

Will's graduation party went well. I think that everyone had fun. Snosh counted and we had almost 45 people crammed into our tiny little kitchen when we ate. I think that we had around 50ish come and go. We were hoping and praying for lovely weather conditions... however it rained off and on all day. We set up a little tent thingy in the backyard which provided tolerable fortification from the exterior elements.

I leave for Liberia one week from today... and I'm not ready. But then again I'm never really ready for anything.
It’s been an exciting year so far. God has blessed me beyond all imagination and I'm so thankful to be right where I am at this moment in time and excited to see where HE leads me later on. So, for today I'm standing on the promises of Christ my Savior.
Colossians 3:14&15
14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Good gravy!!!

Good gravy!!! Graduation/Liberia… can I say stressful!?! I’m super excited about both, but I’m a tad bit overwhelmed. Anyway, today Joshua took William to register for… COLLEGE!!! I’m so proud of him and looking forward to this next year. Anyway, I’m off to get a few supplies for Liberia, and I’m still thinking about what to get for Sunday:/



When I wipe away my tears I still know that you are here.
I see the works of your hands all around me.
I will lie down and sleep in peace tonight and in the morning when I awake you’ll still be with me.
I will praise you in the storm, and give thanks even with this broken heart.
I will lie down and sleep in peace because I know you’re always with me.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Captivating Splendor

Captivating splendor is something I rarely see or rather rarely acknowledge. As I grow older and the years pass I find myself ignoring God’s amazing art work more often than I care to admit. When I do happen to open my eyes I feel guilty for ignoring and not giving due credit to my wonderful Creator.
As I was driving home the other day I was self absorbed in worries and rather distressed. And as I drove down a little road filled with trees I turned a corner and the sight before me took my breath away and if I hadn't felt like crying before, I did at that moment. You see it wasn't just the serene scene that made my heart skip; it was the overwhelming feeling of love and grace. For if my God can paint the hills and sky to form in such a gentle way and cares for the sparrow and lily... how dare I ever feel so miserable? Life can feel so cruel and almost too difficult to deal with at times, but as I learn and grow I know that even if it is unfair and brutal God is always just and loving! I see the blessings and gifts all around and when my heart is breaking I know that my God cares. He has given me so much to be thankful for and when the unfathomable slaps us in the face I know that my God is there, and though I may not be able to see him face to face just yet, I see His hand in everything around me. So, today look out side, take a walk and absorb your creators art gallery!
Isaiah 40:28&29

28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

Verse 1:
He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

Pre-Chorus:
And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

Chorus 1:
Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves.

Verse 2:
We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…


Verse 3:
Well, I thought about You the day Stephen died,
And You met me between my breaking.
I know that I still love You, God, despite the agony.
...They want to tell me You're cruel,
But if Stephen could sing, he'd say it's not true, cause...

Chorus 3:
Cause He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us.
Whoa! how He loves us.
Whoa! how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves.


Sunday, March 29, 2009



What a fun weekend! I made my first wedding cake.... it was a ton of fun, it didn't turn out as nice as I would have liked... but, I think the lovely, cute as a button couple liked it. Plus I got Noah and Isaiah for a night and got Nehmiah for a few hours.
And I got to spend today with Mom, Dad and Levi. Dad "worked" on my breaks that didn't need fixing. Rather irritating almost being bluffed into paying some guy to fix them. Thank goodness for wonderful Dads:)

Friday, March 13, 2009

Writing with Will reading over my shoulder...

(K)"So, William... what would you like the world to know?"
(W) "I don't know"
(K) "Well, why are you reading over my shoulder?"
(W)"Because I'm nosy!"
(K) "Do you mind?..."
(W) "NO! Hahaha"

I really don’t have much to write about. But, I noticed a lot of "traffic" on here and decided I might as well write something. Let me see.... I made fried chicken for the first time tonight. Will and Joshua were being big babies and talked me into making fried chicken, mashed potatoes and corn. Now my house reeks of fried chicken. But it was pretty good if I do say so myself. I'm pretty sure I've created two spoiled big brats (i.e. William and Joshua). After dinner and cleaning up Joshua and Will both said "Thanks it is was great" and I jokingly responded, "My life would be nothing if I couldn't cook for you two", and the crazy part is... that has become a big part of my life lol. But it's a part I LOVE. I really do enjoy cooking for the boys. I love cooking for anyone who dares to eat my concoctions :) And now I have another specialty to add to my list thanks to the boy’s insistence on fried chicken for dinner lol.
(W) Thanks for giving Kristi your recipe Aunt MaryLou

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The end of our long journey is nearing...

The end of our long journey is nearing. Where did the time go? The last few years have been somewhat unexpected. I’m sure all of you know what I am talking about. As I sit here in my living room and scan my surroundings. I’m struck with joy, apprehension, contentment, lament, wonder and hope. The end of our journey is near, the last 3 years are coming to a close and our little William is grown up!
I’ve struggled with letting go my whole life. I thought that this would be easy. I was going to be ready to let him fly the coop. I am so ready in so many ways. Yet I am petrified. This probably sounds like a lot of gibberish… but, it’s something I am struggling with and not sure how to fell or what to do. Not that he is moving out or going away… but, it’s going to be different. He’s an adult and making his own decisions and I think that that is what scares me the most. Anyway, Life is always changing and always a journey. So as we close one chapter we open another in this crazy mixed up beautiful mess we call life.

Psalm 143:10
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.