“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It's not.”
-Dr. Suess, The Lorax

Sunday, October 20, 2013

A Time to Transition

So, in case you missed it, last Sunday night I posted this on FaceBook :

"On Thursday of this week, our family will be returning home to KY. We feel that God has told us that it is time for us to return to be with our families and our daughter, Lesley. Sometimes family is the most important ministry, and we feel that's true for us at this point in time.

God has given us great peace, but we know that the next few days will be difficult as we say goodbye to so many dear people that we have grown to love. Cazale will always be our second home, and we feel that God will bring us back here again someday. We just don't know when. But God does, and we trust Him with the plans He has for us.

But no worries, I already have enough stories to make rambling fb updates for a lifetime.

Thanks for loving us and encouraging us so much through these past 16 months as we've been on this incredible adventure. What's next? Who knows?! But we're game for anything. Bring it on."


We wrapped things up, then we said our good-byes.  We laughed, we cried.  We counted our many, many blessings.  It was a beautiful, heart-wrenching few days.  





This Sunday night we are tucked away here at our home in Kentucky.  The past few days we have eaten pizza and ice cream, gone on a hayride at a pumpkin patch, spent time catching up with family, and enjoyed hot showers.  Brianna drank straight from the kitchen sink faucet, "because I can!"  On a late-night run to Walmart, I forgot which buttons did what on the steering wheel of my car; so I accidentally turned on the cruise control instead of changing the radio station...as I approached a stop light.  You know.  Stuff like that.  



Transitions.

The confused looks we get from strangers near us as we have a quick chat on the phone in Haitian Creole with a friend calling from Cazale.

The inside jokes we share that NO ONE here will understand.

The stories we have trouble telling to our friends and family...because how can you ever thoroughly verbalize some of this stuff?!

So, yeah..... we are certainly now in a time of transition.  We are tired, but we are content.  God has given us great peace (once again) to reaffirm that we are on the path He has laid out for us.  The soothing of our hearts can only be from Him.  Last Thursday as we drove out of Cazale, my heart felt like it was being ripped to shreds.  It literally hurt.  It was a deep hurt that I had never felt; a grief similar to the pain of a loved one's death.  

What does the future hold for us?  We have absolutely NO IDEA.  But as we've done for the past 16 months, we will continue to take life one day at a time.  We will be listening for direction and open to God's prompting.  Our answer has been and remains to be "Yes"  to whatever He asks of us, whatever it might be.

            
We know that Haiti is now knit in the very core of us.  We will not forget or forsake her and her precious people.  It seems logical that God will continue to use us there in the future, in some way or another.  When we have direction and the time is right, we will joyfully get back to work, sharing His love.

For now, we will rest in Him....in our Ol' Kentucky home.  
Mesi, Jezi.  

Friday, June 14, 2013

Wilted Flower

After changing his diaper, I laid his weak, bony body on a blanket on the floor. We will have to rearrange kids again to make a bed available for him in the ICU. He blinks ever so slowly, exhausted from his day of travel to Cazale and being shuffled around through the admission process. His parents are dead, his aunt and uncle care for him. But they have 5 other mouths to feed first. This little guy...he's withering away, like a wilted flower. Without the right foods, he will die. The aunt says they don't have enough money to travel each week to bring him here for Medika Mamba and the required check-ups. The decision was made to admit him. So he won't die. 
So.  He.  Won't.  Die.

Life and death here....the line between the two is something as simple as nutritious food. Food, for goodness sakes.

I kiss him on the cheek and tell him to sleep. He's safe here. And will eat here. Lord see these children in this broken world. Come quickly.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Good Stuff

We head back to KY for a break in 3 weeks. I find myself fantasizing about Alice Springs chicken and chocolate milk. (I can almost hear the sound of the spoon clanging gently against the glass of cold deliciousness as I stir it.) I think about the leisurely walk down Broadway, soaking in the familiarity of my beloved downtown. Hugs from family and friends are soon to be had. Kicking back on my Mom and Dad's couch, listening to the hum of the air conditioner. Driving on smooth roads with the sunroof open and radio cranked up.

Good stuff.

But I treasure every minute of changing nasty diapers on precious babies, plugging numbers into Excel spreadsheets to document weigh gain, holding a kid tight while sweat trickles down my back, and looking people in the eye -as my own body feels yucky- and being able to honestly tell them "our problems are big, but God is bigger."

Chocolate milk is good, but this stuff is incredible.
 

 

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

I am Nothing, He is Everything

I haven't blogged in six months.  The reason?  Take your choice:
  -My brain is tired when I have down time, and I just don't want to write.
  -I have lots of subjects that I could blog about, but I'm still working through my thoughts and feelings on these subjects.  Some are very deep and tricky subjects, and I'm just not ready to open up to the world about them yet. 
  -I'm too lazy to pack my laptop home with me, and when I'm in the office, I can't get my writing groove on.
  -Have I mentioned my brain is tired?

I was just thinking about my blog this week, how I've let it go.  I have shared lots of insight, fun stuff, hard stuff, and everything in between via Facebook.  FB status updates allow me to keep things brief, to the point.  I like that discipline of getting my point across (or sharing a story) with limited words.  I can be really wordy, as if you haven't already figured that out about me. 

I realize, though, that not everyone that might want to read my words is my Facebook friend.  So it occurred to me this week that I ought to start posting my juicier FB status updates on my blog.  Let's just see how it goes.

Last night I was up with tummy troubles.  Again.  I'm fairly certain there are some mean cooties living in my gut, and they aren't my friends.  I noticed it was a beautiful night, so I sat out on my staircase under our mango tree in the backyard.  A gentle breeze was blowing, the moon was shining bright through the coconut tree leaves.  I sat there for a few hours.  I hung out with God.  We talked.  It was good.

(In your face, intestinal cooties.  I enjoyed my middle-of-the-night time despite you!) 

So at around 3:00am, this was my FB post I wrote as I wrapped it up and headed back inside, finally ready to sleep again.  I hope it speaks to you...and you don't have to be up all night with a tummy bug to hear it.  :)

I have no degree, no certifications, no credentials, no titles. I'm a nobody; a nothing. 

But I have small gifts and talents given to me by my Father. These gifts of mine may not seem like much, but I know deep in my heart that if these gifts are from God, then they're pretty darn special. 

So I say to you, my brothers and sisters reading this, don't ever trivialize what God has called you to do. You may feel as insignificant as a speck of dust, but if you are living your life for The Lord - no matter where you are at or what you are created to do - know that He sees your value. Even if no one else (including yourself) does. 

We all have God-given gifts and talents. Dig in and use them. And savor the joy that results from it.
 
 Today. Live it fully. For Him.