Prayers

If you've been paying attention to the news you know that Honduras is in the middle of a Military Takeover. We are all sitting here in the states holding our breath to find out what will happen to this country that we have come to know and love as home. Pray for the people there and pray for the leaders of that country as well as the surrounding countries.

Aunt Nancy

I want to take a moment to honor one of the greatest women I've ever had the privilege of knowing. My aunt Nancy past away a week ago today. I was able to book a ticket and make it to St. Louis (her home town) in time for the funeral. My family had all gathered by the time I arrived so that we could collectively grieve the loss of this dear lady. She truly was special. She loved children, laughter, scrabble, games in general, chocolate, and most important....her family. She lived life to its fullest each and every day she was alive. She had an infectious laugh that could be heard all through the house whenever she was around and she used it often. 

This past summer I was able to spend a couple of days in St. Louis visiting my family. It was one of the greatest gifts I could have been given. Although she wasn't in the best state of mind and probably didn't know I was there....I knew. Our few hours together are the last I had with her and I will carry them in my heart for as long as I live. Even as her memory failed her and her body seemed to revolt against her the sense of humor she was known for still shined through. She was just as fun loving and stubborn as she had ever been. Obviously there are some things that even age can't take from you. 

As I was getting ready to leave my Uncle Carey (her husband) pulled me aside to encourage me to take a few extra minutes saying goodbye to her because it would probably be my last chance. He explained to me what the doctors had said at the last visit and what we could expect for the days ahead. Even with how sick she was my Uncle was determined to never put her in a nursing home. He was committed to caring for her until the end. As we stood there he began to take his wallet out of his pocket. Baffled I simply stood waiting on him to explain. A second later he handed me an old picture. It was visibly wrinkled and aged from all the years it had been in that wallet. It was my Aunt Nancy's senior picture. My uncle carried that picture throughout their entire marriage. 

As I looked up I saw the tears forming in his eyes and I listened as he told me how much he loved my aunt. He shared how special she was and all the things about her that he would miss when she was gone. He pointed at the picture and said "she's beautiful isn't she?" He openly admitted that he "had married the prettiest girl in the school" and that she was "just as beautiful today as she was the day he met her." From there he launched into the story of their life/love. She was (17 years old) sitting in a restaurant the first time he saw her. He couldn't stop staring at her "she was so beautiful." 90 days later they were married! They would have celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary this year. 

I tell you all of this not to show just how cute my uncle is but instead to tell you what kind of love they shared. Their love stands as an example for me and the rest of our family. Uncle Carey set the bar high for the kind of guy I hope to marry some day. If I've ever doubted that true love exists their love convinced me. My heart aches to think that my Uncle Carey is now without his beautiful bride. I can't imagine how lost he must feel after 55 beautiful years with her. 

Please pray for me and my family as we struggle through this loss. Pray that we don't focus on what we lost but instead on what we had. She truly was an amazing women. 

Taxi Service

Jen, David, and Sam live on one of the mountains in Tegucigalpa. Daily it seems like as we are driving up and down the mountain people will ask for rides. Having a truck is perfect for stopping to pick up passengers. A couple of weeks ago as we were going down the mountain one of the schools was just getting out. Kids were pouring out of a gate to begin the long treck down the mountain. One of them stuck his thumb out in true hitch hiking form and begged for a ride. Of course stopping to pick up one just wouldn't work so we took the whole lot. Pour Sam was squished in the back with about 15 - 20 kiddos! We joked that we were providing the school bus/taxi service for the day. It literally did feel that way as we stopped to drop kids of here and there. Yet we loved getting the chance to serve them even in that small way. 

Another team, another house

I had a team arrive Saturday. There are just 4 guys in this team. There leader, Levern, led me on a mission trip to Mexico 6 months before I moved here. I've recently reconnected with him and am loving getting to share this ministry with him and the rest of the team. 

Yesterday we were able to build a house for a family in a village on El Hatillo. They are a family of 4 who are currently living in another house with their extended family. The new house gives them a chance to spread out and have a place of their own. 

As much as I love the house building days I have to admit I almost always end up playing with kids more than I actually build. I guess I always feel like there are plenty of people on site who have never had the opportunity to build a house. Plus lets be honest....I just adore children and find joy in spending time with them. Today I found a special connection with a little girl named Wendy. It was another one of those moments where you have no idea how it happened....you just know that for whatever reason a special bond was instantly formed between your hearts. 

My Izzy

I have the privilege of having Izzy here with me this week. The people that usually care for her had to go to Nicaragua to the doctor. It just happened to work out that I have a team here so am able to care for her so ...she is stuck with me! :) 

She has been doing better. She will never be completely healed but at this point in life we are much more concerned with quality of living and not quantity. 

Although her seizures are much more controlled than they once were she still has them daily. That coupled with the lung disease she has makes comfortable living very difficult for her. 

She had a pretty rough night Sunday night. She started to cough and run a low grade fever. By evening time on Monday she sounded terribly raspy and wouldn't stop crying. Feeding her or getting medicine in her was next to impossible and listening to her squall nearly broke my heart. Then suddenly she started seizing and wouldn't stop. It was like my worst fears playing out before me again. My eyes started to fill with tears and my prayers couldn't come fast enough as I begged God to restore peace to her little body. Within minutes of the seizure starting Sam, my mom, David, and one of the guys on the team had crowded around her and were saying their own teary eyed prayers. After 15 minutes of constant seizing I got my phone out to call the doctor. 

Let me just start by saying she has seen this doctor just twice....in the same week and that happened nearly 9 months ago. I didn't expect him to remember me but I knew from our brief encounter that I not only trusted him explicitly but also that he was just about my only hope. 

One of the guys on the team placed the call for me. He simply said he was "with Ashley and the baby was sick." That was all it took for the doctor to tell us he would meed us at the hospital in 30 minutes. Moving quickly we headed straight for the hospital. With David driving and Jen in the backseat offering all the encouragement she could I began to feel a little better. I knew that whatever happened we would walk it out together. 

We spent about 2 hours at the hospital. True to his word the doctor arrived almost the exact same minute that we did. After seeing her he sent us down for x-rays. He diagnosed her with pneumonia and gave us all kinds of medicines to help with the seizing, high fevers, cough, and more. He walked Dr. David through the procedure and dosage for each medicine. 

The whole trip...x rays, doctor visit, (late night) and medicines that he injected into her right there all cost around $50.  It was a reminder of how different things are here. If you had called a your normal doctor at 9:30 at night to say your child was sick he would tell you to go to the ER and come into his office in the morning. He a doctor that you've seen just twice needs no further information than "my child is sick" and he assures you he will meet you at the hospital as quickly as either of you can make it. We didn't even go to the ER we went straight to his office we he dedicated the next 2 hours to making sure Izzy was well cared for. He never once rushed us or acted like he would have been anywhere other than right there caring for my child. Then as if that isn't enough we got away with the whole thing on just $50!!!! You couldn't even get the sample medicines in the states for $50. Let alone what being seen by a doctor late at night would cost you. The X-Ray cost us 290 Lemps ($15) It would have cost well over $290 in the states! The doctor did his best to discount the total price for us. His kindness seemed to have no end. So even though I've stated it verbally probably 100 times tonight I want it to go into writing...I LIKE THIS DOCTOR! 

We go tomorrow to get some blood work ran and then go back to the hospital to see the doctor on Wednesday. Please please please pray she gets over this junk quickly. When she gets pneumonia (which happens frequently) she runs a fever, and when she runs a fever she has more seizures, and when she has more seizures her little body gets weak and can't fight of sickness. It really is a nasty cycle. So tonight I BEG for your prayers. 

Day at the Beach

This past Saturday I got to spend the day at the beach. However, it wasn't your normal beach vacation. Our church rented two buses and then sold seats on the bus. For just $5 you could get a ride to one of the beaches on the south part of Honduras. So all the Casa kids, the 5 brothers and their parents, my mom, Mike, David, Carlos, Saul, Eduardo, and a friend of the boys all woke up at 3:30 and were loaded on the bus by 5:30 ready to make the 3 hour trip to the beach. In true Honduran form we left 30 minutes later than we had planned and things were absolutely chaotic. We sat on a hot bus for far longer than any of us cared to be on there and broke every bus capacity limit ever set. 

We dealt with bus sickness, boredom, jelly fish stings, monstrous waves, fatigue, cranky pants, sibling fights, and so much more. Yet simply watching the kids enjoy the day made it all worth it. They laughed and played all day. I loved watching them chase waves or conquer their fear of the water. 

Katty was fearless. It didn't matter how many times she got knocked down or sucked under water she always came up giggling and ready for more. She loved to have me carry her out into deeper water so that we could get walloped by big waves together. Every time I'd see a wave coming I'd tell her to put her head down. She'd take a big breath, close her eyes, and tuck her head in just in time for the wave to come crashing in around us. She thought it was the best. 

Maryuri conquered her fear of the waves and even seemed to enjoy herself. Granted it took a huge wave that knocked her and my mom over before she decided it wasn't half bad. 

Throughout the day I found myself reminiscing about beach trips I've had with my parents. I can remember my dad playing with me in the waves. I can remember him reaching down to pull me out of the water countless times after a wave knocked me down. I LOVED (still do) the beach. It was fun being on the flip side. This time I was the parent....ripping kids out of the water when they got knocked down. I found out that dragging your kids to the beach isn't all fun it games...it is HARD! :) 

And of course our trip wasn't without calamity. On the way home we had problems with the police AND blew a tire. We had to stop for half an hour or so to get the tire fixed. Needless to say with all the added problems it took us much longer to get home. 

Spoiled by Grandma

My mom flew in this past Tuesday! yay! It has meant time to be spoiled for sure. Not only have I been getting spoiled but everyone else has too! Today the kiddos got to enjoy being spoiled rotten by Grandma. In true Grandmother form she came armed with candy, toys, and all kinds of other fun things. Today they got to hunt for candy filled easter eggs. Afterwards they each enjoyed a chocolate bunny and then played for hours with egg shaped sidewalk chalk. I think we had as much fun as they did.