CLICK HERE FOR THOUSANDS OF FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES »

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Could this week get any crazier?

My SIL's sister called me tonight and asked if my parents had called me yet. I immediately knew that something had happened with my brother. I first thought a car accident, but she quickly told me that their shop had burned and my brother's 57 Chev truck was inside and not salvageable. Later my mom called me and gave me more details. Not only was his 57 truck (sentimental...he put so much work into it and drove it all through HS) but his new Ford crew cab was melted into the pavement too. He has lost tons of tools and everything in the shop. Thankfully, the family and the house is OK. They are out of power and still have the FD there checking everything. There is no word of how the fire started.
***Updated*** This was in the local paper
Garage Goes Up In Flames

Photo By Holly M. Gill
An unattached garage and two vehicles were a total loss on Monday, on Avalon Drive, north of Madras. Sparks from welding ignited the fire in the garage, owned by Brian and Crystal Morisette, of Madras. The garage was valued at $40,000, while the contents, including a 1957 restored Chevy pickup, a 2000 Ford pickup, two motorcycles and shop tools, were valued at $100,000, according to fire marshal Mark Carman.


They were holding out on everybody, but with all of the family around because of this happening they decided to release the news that they are expecting again! Krystal is due right around Kyndall's second birthday! I immediately told her that I would try to come and visit, but then I remembered that I very well may be preparing for travel for my own new addition.

Please continue to pray for God's guidance in the process of our agency referring our little boy. Only God can orchestrate what needs to happen. I need to step out of the way and allow it to happen, even if it may play out differently than I have planned.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Footprints




















[1]` If you were to go to Jerusalem and to climb the mount of olives you would find a mosque captured by Salidin in 1187. It was a church before that where it was believed that Jesus ascended into heaven leaving his last footprints on this earth. Many of us would question the validity of this claim, however, Jesus no doubt left mighty big footprints while he was on this earth. They are felt and experienced every day in every corner of the world. His legacy is one that is far reaching and touches every strata of income, every race, gender and color.


Luke 10:25-37 (NRSV)
25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”
27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
28 And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.
31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.



A woman lay dying on a Calcutta pavement. Her feet were half eaten away by rats and ants. She had been lying there for days and no one had taken any notice of her.
Then a nun came along. She was a tiny woman, dressed in a white sari which hung loosely about her and covered her head. She walked quickly, for she was always in a hurry. Her name was Mother Teresa.
When she saw the woman on the pavement she stopped. Full of pity, she picked her up and carried her into a nearby hospital for treatment. They told her there that the woman was too ill and poor to bother about. Besides, they had no room. Mother Teresa pleaded with them, but they said there was nothing they could do for her. However, she would not leave her patient, and set off for another hospital. But it was in vain. The woman died.
This was not the only person Mother Teresa found dying on the streets. There were many of them. There was an old man who was so thin he looked like a child. It was pouring with rain when Mother Teresa found him lying dead under a tree in a mess of sickness and blood. He was outside a hospital but no one had taken him in.
I think the world today is upside-down, and is suffering so much, because there is so very little love in the homes and in family life. We have no time for our children, we have no time for each other; there is no time to enjoy each other. If we could only bring back into our lives the life that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph lived in Nazareth, if we could make our homes another Nazareth, I think that peace and joy would reign in the world.

"Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat" - Mother Teresa"Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired" - Mother Teresa

And thereafter, she got engrossed with the task of serving the poor and sick people of Calcutta. The coming years witnessed the setting up of a charity organization called the Missionaries of Charity. In 1950, her source of concern was the care of lepers, the people discarded by society.Missionary of Charity opened its branches in almost every country to assist the poor, elderly, blind and people suffering from deadly disease like AIDS. For the bright future of children, she opened up schools. In 1979, she was awarded with Nobel Prize for the services that she had rendered to the society.

32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
On U2's last tour in 2005, which sold out more than 100 arenas worldwide, Bono gave his fans what they wanted to hear. For two hours, he belted out songs from the band's new album and sang old classics.
He also gave his fans what he wanted them to hear.
He took the opportunity to reach and inform roughly 20,000 people a night about his other job, of trying to eradicate poverty and slow the spread of AIDS in Africa. Through the band's music and his own words, Bono dedicated a portion of the show to bring attention to DATA, the organization he co-founded with Bobby Shriver and Jamie Drummond in 2002.
Bono went on to become a high-profile champion of Africa, as an artist, diplomat, lobbyist and negotiator. His eloquence, celebrity and Irish "moxie" enabled him to confront the rich and powerful from a mountain top in Davos to the General Assembly of the UN, from an outhouse in the bush of an impoverished African country to The White House and Congress, not to mention the stage of his sold out concerts and on every TV network. He has pushed, persuaded, cajoled, charmed and maneuvered the likes of Bill Gates. George Bush, and even Jesse Helms, to support debt relief and the fight against AIDS. He is a passionate campaigner. No one can say no to him
Bono was awarded the Liberty Medal on Thursday for his global work with DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) during a ceremony held on the front lawn of the National Constitution Center.

33 But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.


34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’

BRIGHTON, Iowa - If you sometimes get the feeling kids today only care about themselves, then maybe you should take a road trip to Brighton, Iowa, where a few nights each month dozens of children, heck, even teenagers, roll up their sleeves, don hair nets and go to work making meals for for hungry children thousands of miles away.
"It's changing them on the inside," says Don Fields. "Every one of these kids will want to come back and do this again."
Don Fields launched this operation two years ago, after a mission trip with his wife to Honduras. It's part of a national Christian program called Kids Against Hunger.
The Iowa kids have shipped container-loads of meals to places like Guatemala, Romania and Ethiopia.
"It helps them so they won't die," says 7-year-old volunteer Noah.
"I like doing it," adds 15-year-old Brianna. "It's really fun to know you are making a difference in the world."
And they are making a difference. To date, the kids have sent some 200,000 specially formulated meals overseas. Nationwide, Kids Against Hunger has prepared and shipped nearly 30 million meals.

36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Karen Daniels, a 31-year-old nurse from British Columbia who heard God calling her to minister through her medical skills in wartorn Sudan, where temperatures often reach 115 degrees and the only "bathrooms" are pit latrines dug in the ground.
Marianne Morton, who donated a kidney to a neighbor she barely knew, a Jewish man who was being kept alive only through daily dialysis


Projected number of orphans worldwide will reach 44 million by 2010

AIDS is taking lives in Sub-Saharan Africa, swallowing families, communities, hopes. So far 17 million have died. At least 25 million may follow. An intimate look at a modern curse.

Number of Christians 2.1 billiion

What can one person Do? What would God have me do?

He is a newborn baby in a third world country. He lives in a room filled with crying babies that no one picks up and no one cradles. He is fed just enough to live, changed on rare occasion. He will most likely never crawl, never play with his own toy, and never be spoken to one to one by an adult. He doesn’t know what it feels like to be full or what its like to be loved.

I don’t know his birth name-but he’s my son. He’s one of my footprints and that is what God has called me to do. What will God speak into your life? Where will he send you? What will be the difference that you make in this world?

Who then is your neighbor? Your neighbor is the person that you see who needs something that they can’t do for themselves. Your neighbor may not know the name of Jesus, the love of God or the feeling of being full.

What can one person do? It was one person who elevated the condition of the poor in India. It was one person who ended slavery in England after a lifetime of fighting it. It was one person who taught children to read on Sundays so that they wouldn’t be destined to lives of mining coal. It was one person who shared Jesus with you and changed your life.

What will you one person, do with one life to leave your footprints on this world before you go?
[1] The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Adoption Concerns

Please pray for Dave, myself, and our little boy. We know that God has called us to adoption and opened the doors so far (miraculously in some cases). Today, the US Embassy has issued a warning that could stop adoptions on Sept 1. You can read the warning here. Please pray that the right child is placed with us prior to Sept 1. I keep reminding myself that God is in control and this is not in my control. The good news is that we have made progress and we are now in the teens of the waiting list.....19!

Friday, April 18, 2008

New Hobby

I have picked up a new hobby. I have started riding my bike. I got it for Christmas a few years ago and rode it twice. Down to the school and back. It killed me. I was talking to a friend and she gave me some pointers of how to help the pain and then offered to be a riding partner. She is a previous triathalete who has not been as active as before. We have gone out a few times this week. We have logged 43 miles this week! This is much more than I ever imagined that I could do. It has been great for me to firm up some (it really works your back and arms too). I'm still not losing much weight, but I'm headed in the right direction!

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Ringling Brothers.....a great diversion







We had to create a diversion last night because Grandma and Grandpa Leonard were supposed to fly in for a visit. The girls have been looking forward to this for months. Dave's dad has had some health issues come up and will not be able to make it. The girls were understandably upset. Luckily the circus was in town! Dave will be flying out to be with his dad prior to surgery. This will probably be the middle of the week. After the circus we went to Starbucks and Dave's friend who is a doctor came in too. Dave was relieved to get a professional opinion and have reassurance that Dave's dad's prognosis is very good.


This was one of our favorites. As Miranda described it to Grandma on the phone: "It is a hampster ball for two people." It was absolutely incredible to watch. The guys would move very fast and jumped on the outside while the balls were moving....Hard to explain, but impressive!

This is hard to see too, but it was our favorite French Clown who rode this tiny bike through the ring of fire.

There were also TIGERS! I would NEVER get in a cage with a tiger, no matter how trained, let alone 6 of them!



Miranda was enjoying the before show entertainment.

Friday, April 04, 2008

5K


Yeah! I am reaching some of my goals! One of my goals before turning 30 was to run a 5K and have never worked up to it (better late than never). I finished my first unofficial 5K today! I am completely excited. I'm sure any one of you could have walked it faster, but finishing is my goal, not how fast I go!

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

DTV

In adoption blogging world this means our Dossier is in Vietnam. It will be translated and then wait....wait.....wait. Our next step is to get a placement of a child (referral). We are praying for one in July (much earlier than anticipated). Wouldn't that be wonderful news to start our new assignment in Guam with? It would be wonderful anytime, sooner would be better.

Our dossier would have been sent last week, but the US Consulate seems to have lost my police clearance letter. Luckily it is an easy and quick fix. I'll run down to the police department, probate judge office and the secretary of state office and have it off to Holt tomorrow. Thank goodness all of these offices are only a couple miles away from my house. It sure helps to live in the state capitol.