So Thankful for This Little One

Of course there are many many, innumerable really, things I have to be thankful for, and I'm sure you have many very similar things, but I wanted to share one little miracle blessing with you in this belated Thanksgiving post.If you've been following along with Baby Jackie's story you know she's had an uphill battle all her life, and her open heart surgery and recovery were no exception. She initially did great after her surgery, she recovered well from anesthesia, had spunk and color, and an appetite for almost a week during her post-surgical antibiotics. But shortly after finishing her antibiotic she started to get a fever, diarrhea, and become pretty unsettled. After another week of doctor's appointments and treatments at home she was finally admitted to the hospital where she was diagnosed with an incision infection, sepsis (blood infection), osteomyelitis (bone infection), and pneumonia. We were all really concerned. So concerned, that all of the staff went in to the hospital to see her for possibly the last time as she was so weak and tiny fighting all these infections few adults could handle. But God could handle them, and He did. After a more than a week of the strongest intravenous antibiotics they could find she was able to return back to the Baby Home infection free. Her lungs were still full of fluid, but that too was starting to clear up as she was starting to cough more. We were already feeling extremely grateful for all this recovery, when we found out the hospital wasn't going to charge for any of her ten-day stay or the respiratory therapy and doctors' care, only her medications were being charged. What a blessing!

This morning Jackie was full of life at church. So much life that she was kicking me in belly, and she's strong! Thank you so much for all your prayers, when the doctors starting giving up God's glory started shining even brighter.

Recipe for a Perfect Weekend

What you'll need to get started:

A weekend with a forecast of partly sunny and a high in the 90s.

A dog that will forgive you if you don't spend anymore time with her on the weekend than you do during the week.

A lot of fun people.

To put together the perfect weekend, I recommend starting with a quince for three Cristo Viene quinceñeras. A quince is a very special 15th birthday party for Bolivian girls, similar to the US, less commonly hyped-up, Sweet Sixteen. On Friday, celebrate with the three beautiful girls many of their friends, cake, a little karaoke, and some lovely words of blessing for their futures as senoritas.

On Saturday, you'll need to round up your women's Bible study for an afternoon together at Gloria's new condo. It's a little far out of town, but don't worry you won't regret the drive. Take the kids along, the other moms will too, and let them enjoy the pizza and the playground, while you ladies read one of the last chapters in your semester long study of The Five Love Languages, then top it off with a viewing of Fireproof. (If I had it to do again, I might try to avoid having the kids all return from the park right at the tearjerker finale of the movie.) After your girl-time, take the kids to the condo complex's lovely pool and maybe even check out the weight room. If your nine year-old randomly starts talking about Jesus to the girl she meets in the pool, that's just like the cherry on top. ;)

Sunday, top it all off when "Family Day" at your church meets "Friend Day" at Talita Cumi. Let me explain. La Viña decided to have our church service in the park and invite our family and friends on the same day Talita Cumi Children's Home does their annual planning and sends all the children out in twos. So, pick up your two kids, preferably some of your daughter's favorites, and head to the park. Kick it off with some great worship in the outdoor amphitheatre that's so rocking it draws the passerbys, and is so loud it drowns out your own exuberant singing. Then take the kids during the sermon for a quick lesson on healthy competition and what the Bible has to say about races. Next, put it into practice with some classic winners like the egg-on-a-spoon race, water balloon toss, the find-your-shoe race, etc. After lunch invite the adults to join in the fun with potato sac races, tug-o-war, three-legged races, and of course the requisite soccer game.

Take your three girls to walk around the plaza and top it off with some ice cream before heading home and calling it a weekend, and a fabulous one at that!

A couple things I might add for the next time I use this recipe:

Sunblock, a little more never hurts.

A nap, not sure where to fit it in, but every weekend needs one really.

Pretending I'm Allowed to Work on Humans

A dentist, a veterinarian, a medical doctor, and a pastor walk into a bar... Ok, so maybe not a bar, but we really did walk into a market together today. The pastor feels strongly about healing through prayer, so health was definitely one common denominator of our motley crew, the other was our church, La Viña.

This morning we set up a little health clinic in a popular market on the outskirts of town. We announced to the customers and vendors alike that we'd be doing some free health screening, and then we tried to organize the 30 or so people that joined us. The dentist, pastor and I took turns checking people in, measuring their blood glucose, and praying for the guests before or after their tests as time allowed, while the doctor measured blood pressure and counseled the patients based on their results.

Some of the sweet ladies couldn't read or write to fill in their personal info on the sign-in sheets, but my favorite was the woman who didn't know how old she was. I told her it really wasn't that important and she could just estimate, but she insisted on going to get her national identity card to find out her age. When I found her birthday on the card and did the math, she was completely incredulous, she made me check my math!

Most of our visitors were very happy to let us pray for them, but one of the my most impacting moments was when the woman I was praying for turned around and prayed, very passionately, for me.

At practically no cost to us, and possibly great preventative benefit to some of our new friends, I think it was a successful morning all around. I look forward to going back in December to further hone my human venipuncture skills and watch God's love in a very tangible way affect people's lives.

El Gallinero Lleno de Amor (The coop full of love)

"Cuántas veces quise reunir a tus hijos,

como reúne la gallina a sus pollitos debajo de sus alas" -Jesús, Mateo 23:37

El Proyecto Gallinero del Hogar Cristo Viene Niñas se acabó, y fue exitosisimo. Creo que nunca voy a olivdar cuan divertido era colocar ladrillos a lado de mis queridos amigos. Espero que nunca olvidaré todo lo que aprendia de gallinas, gallineros, y construcción. Pero más que todo, lo inolvidable era la actitud de servicio y sacrificio de cada voluntario de nuestro equipo grande. En el sol fuerte, los días largos, el trabajo pesado, y usando su precioso tiempo libre, yo no escuchaba ninguna queja de nadie. Cada cara reflejaba el gozo de Cristo, y cada clavo bien puesto estaba lleno del amor que Dios quiere mostrar a las chicas a través del gallinero. Tampoco voy a olvidar como cada participante en el proyecto y en el taller usaba sus dones como albañil, profesor, bailarina, veterinario, pastor, pollo, granjero, modelo a seguir, amigo, y siervo de Cristo. Muchisimas gracias a cada uno de ustedes que nos ayudaba con alegría. Estoy muy orgullosa de ustedes. Aquí está un breve resumen en la forma del video, ¡disfrútalo!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wloxybw1yIY

Our Cristo Viene Girls' Home Chicken Coop project has come to an end, and it was a great success! I don't think I'll ever forget how fun it was to lay bricks working alongside my dear friends. I hope I won't forget all that I learned about chickens, coops, and construction. But more than anything, what was unforgettable was the attitude of service and sacrifice by each volunteer on our team. In the hot sun, the long days, the hard work, and using their precious little free time, I didn't hear a single complaint from any of the workers. Each face reflected the joy of Christ, and each well placed nail was full of the love God wants to show the girls through this hen house. I also won't forget how every student in the project and the final workshop used their gifts to play the roles of bricklayer, teacher, dancer, veterinarian, evangelist, human-sized chicken, friend, role model, and servant of Christ. Thank you so much to each of you who helped us with such joy. I am very proud of you all. Here is a brief summary video of the work, enjoy!

"How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings" - Jesus, Matthew 23:37

One Year Ago...

One year ago today, I went to a lawyer for an innocent consult. Wondering if as an unmarried foreigner, not yet a "national" of Bolivia, could I legally adopt a child? Less than an hour later I left his office nearly hyperventilating. Turns out I could, and I'd be a mom by Christmas. No nine months of gestation to get used to the idea, decorate her room, or finish off my single-person "bucket list." But fortunately, I don't have bucket lists, the room was pretty much ready, and I'm not very contemplative.

Today, as we spend our Saturday doing homework projects and rocking babies, I'm ruminating on all that I've learned this year. For instance:

- I had no idea that good hair comes straight from God, not from a bottle. Of all the hair product options out there, Angie doesn't use a single one of them and her mane is always gorgeous. I can barely get her to shower more than twice a week, but no matter, perfection can't be damaged by poor hygiene. She brushes it in the morning and I envy her all day long.

- In Bolivia parents have homework too. Literally. Ange comes home with projects that say, "Para Padre o Madre." Really, you want me to design a poster about the endangered giant frog of Lake Titicaca? Excuse me, why do I need to decorate this huge parrot and cheetah, again? I'm still not sure how they will punish me if I don't do my assignments, but I'm afraid only Angie will suffer, so I usually comply.

- A nine-year old could teach me so much. She's taught me how to cook rice the Bolivian way. All about head lice. That these chickens in the picture poked their own heads through the plastic on the roof of this car (I was baffled by how the owner had poked breathing holes in the tarp.) And how resilient a person can be after serious trauma, huge changes, and great challenges. She's a trooper.

- Finally, I've learned just how weak I was when I thought I was so strong. But I've come to believe as God told us that through Him all things are possible.

-Matthew 19:26

Baby Update

God is just as good as we thought He was, and even if her surgery hadn't gone so smoothly, we would trust that all the same.

I posted a status on Facebook about little Jackie's heart success, but I can barely keep up with my own Facebook page so I couldn't expect you all to.

One week ago this morning, Jackie's heart was healed, and through the long life of this miracle child we hope that many more hearts will also come to a place of healing in Christ Jesus.

She was abandoned by her mother at birth due to her cleft lip and palate, I'm note even sure if her heart condition was known at that time. Doctor after doctor told Paul and Kristin (the couple running the baby home) that this little "unwanted" child was not worth the tests, treatments, surgeries and care that her life would require. But they disagreed. They knew her value was found in her Father's eyes, not in the world's. Thus, they fought for her, and they're winning.

Since the surgery, her newly revamped circulatory system has been carrying oxygen to all of her tissues like Santa on Christmas Eve. Her color is visibly pinker. Her energy is up. Her strength is already improving. Her appetite's impressive. And the spirit of the baby home is almost giddy in spite of the sleepless nights and busy days caused by a week of keeping Baby J in isolation.

This morning she had her one-week re-check with the cardiologist, who was so impressed with her turnaround that she called in the mother of another potential heart surgery patient to calm her nerves by showing her how well Jackie was progressing. Her lungs are improving after building up a bit of congestion from lying still all the time after the surgery. A quick echocardiogram showed everything in its proper place. And the physical therapist turns out to be a Christian so he charged only a cup of coffee in return for his services.

Now if we can just get the idea that we're gonna adopt Jaqueline out of Angie's head, everything will be perfect... Thank you so much for your prayers!

(Photos: Top - Jackie one week post-op. Middle - the newest arrival to the baby home. Bottom - another adorable recent arrival.)

"God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart."

-1 Samuel 16:7 TM (just bumped into this verse this morning)

A Precious Little One in Need of Prayer

Judah Quy, Home for Precious Little Ones, is the baby home of my pastor and his wife. With only five children of their own they felt, as wouldn't we all, that they just didn't have enough chaos in their lives, or maybe more likely that they still had more love to give, and thus followed the Lord's call to open a home for sick babies. They opened their doors in February with the quick arrival of three precious little ones. Two adorable toddlers with HIV and one sweet baby with a complicated list of problems to be unravelled through months of medical care. The most troubling of her issues being a hole in her heart that had limited her to 6.6 pounds at one year of age when she arrived, and now after 9 months of hardcore love and care from the caregivers at the home she still weighs in at less than 9 pounds. She's grown in strength, personality, vitality, and length, but her little broken heart just can't do any better.

Here she is waving to you yesterday as she rested peacefully during a great party in her honor. The staff at the home and volunteers from the church put together a lovely fundraiser lunch to contribute to her medical bills.

And now after a long winding road of tests, treatments, growth, and healing little Jaqueline is ready for her surgery. The urinary infections have cleared up, the seizures are completely controlled, a number of dangerous syndromes have been ruled out, and complicating chest congestion as a side effect from her cleft lip and palate are nowhere to be found. She's ready. We're ready. The doctor's are ready. Tonight, she'll be admitted for her open heart surgery to be performed tomorrow morning. All that's left to do is pray.

Will you pray with us that little Jackie is healed? That her heart is mended by the hands that formed it in her mother's womb. That the physical hole will be perfectly sealed, just as the emptiness of abandonment has been filled with the love of so many. And pray that God will start speaking to the hearts of her future parents He chose long ago to choose her.

She has amazed her pediatrician with her physical improvement against all odds. She has awed us all with her sweet stubborn refusal to give up. She has shown everyone that love is a better medicine than any man has created. And now she will demonstrate God's mercy and power through her recovery. We trust that He has great plans for this little miracle.

"Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you"

-Jeremiah 1:5

Praise: Since the opening of the home 9 months ago, one of the little tykes with HIV has been adopted by an incredible missionary couple with an empty nest here in Santa Cruz. He's the cute little guy standing up in the car behind Angie and Jackie in the top picture. And two more precious little ones have arrived at the home to replace him. It doesn't look likely that there will ever be a quiet moment around there.