The most important (and sometimes invisible) part of a story

I just returned from a Visiting Orphans trip to San Lucas, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala.  It was the first VO team I lead solo, and it turned out to be an incredible experience for all of us.  One of my kiddo's even got to come with me.  I shared photos on facebook so family and friends could follow along and see what God is doing at a place called Village of Hope - Guatemala.

You see, I believe there is a divine kind of power that comes from sharing our stories, life lessons and divine appointments.  And more importantly, I believe that others need to hear our stories so they won't be afraid of saying "yes" to something they've been thinking about for a long, long time.

Some people "liked" our Guatemala team pics and others "loved" them. 

But something was missing.

Someone was missing.

You see, ordinary people like me don't just decide one day to hop on a plane and fly off to another country to love on missionaries and spend time caring for abandoned and abused children.  It takes preparation and sacrifice and planning...it takes a leader to step up and do the REAL work.

This is the pic that was missing from my most recent trip.  This is the person who made that trip (and all the other ones - and ones to come) possible:

Some people have asked me what my husband thinks of the CRAZY things I do, and I finally found an article that sounds very much like the life my better half and I have lived for 20 years.  He's the reason we have the children we do, he's the reason we have gone through, survived and thrived after heartaches, and it's his faith and trust and love of God that makes our wonderful, hectic, imperfect, crazy life even possible.

Someday he wants to lead teams with me, but for now he leads me by leading behind the scenes and making sure that when he drops me off at the airport with 200 lbs of luggage plus a carry-on, I have everything I need and that things on the home-front will stay mostly 'normal' while I'm gone.

I share the following blog post because what is said in this story is part of our story, too.  Maybe it's a story you or someone you love needs to hear today. 

http://jasonjohnsonblog.com/blog/for-the-unsure-husband

A Special One went to Heaven this week

Dear Emma,

 

"By the time this post is written and posted to my blog you will have already met Jesus.  I can only imagine what that first meeting was like!  I know you are healed completely now, and that gives those of us with broken hearts, tremendous peace.  Knowing you for a short time made many people become better people.  Your life mattered.  And though your life on Earth was far too short for those who loved you and wanted to keep you close a little longer, your life in Heaven will be perfect.  But you already know that, now, don't you.   You will never be forgotten.  Ever. You are one of God's special ones.  And heaven became brighter this week, when you walked through the gates."
  

Mission trips are important.  Going to people, Being with them and showing them Love matters.  And the photo above was a day that mattered.  This was the day Emma (sitting on the right) decided to ask Jesus into his heart.  This was the day a very special short-term missions team was doing what they were asked to do; tell these kids about a God who loves them.  And coincidentally (not!), the girl sharing the Bible story this day was just 19 years old; prooving once again that our youth are going to be world changers as long as the adults in their lives don't spend too much time trying to keep them "safe." 

I told Chelsea this afternoon about Emma and her reaction was exactly what I expected it to be.  After all, she was one of many people touched by him and who never stopped praying he would be healed.

The mom in me doesn't want my children to hurt.  To feel sadness.  To be in pain.  But more importantly, I don't want them to turn away from those who are hurting, who feel sadness or who are in pain.  I want them to live life fully and without regrets.  I don't want them to be afraid of getting dirty, inconvenienced or heartbroken.  I want them to take risks.  I want them to do what God's called all of us to do; love Him and love others.

Chelsea said she is especially glad she was one of the "lucky" ones to have gotten to meet this little boy last summer.  And already she's trying to figure out what she can do to try and help another child who needs a friend right about now.  Something tells me her upcoming Spring Break trip to Guatemala will be even more meaningful now.

 
If there is one thing I want to avoid and want my children to avoid, it would be this; a life of depraved indifference.

-for Kayla, Amanda and to everyone at Sole Hope who climbed through brick walls with their bare hands to love Emma until Jesus welcomed him home.

I'm having a shoe-making party!

Ever since me and my mom got back from Africa, I've been doing a lot of thinking. The biggest thing I've been thinking about has been what I saw at Sole Hope.  For those of you who don't know what Sole Hope is, it's an organization that takes out jiggers from people's hands, feet, knees, and really any part of a person's body that gets them.

How does someone get them?  It's simple; by not having water to wash their hands and feet and by not having shoes to wear when walking in the dirt (which is everywhere in Uganda).  Jiggers live in the Ugandan dirt.

If the picture below grosses you out, I'm sorry.  But this is important and really, it's not nearly as bad as most feet I saw!

 So, what are jiggers?

They are a type of parasite (a sand flea that looks like a white worm) that gets into a person's body, sucks blood, eats away flesh, and multiplies by laying eggs).  Sounds gross, huh?  It is.  And it's sad.  
Jiggers are painful, and after a while a person can't walk. Someone with enough jiggers can even die.  And if that's not sad enough, many people there believe that jiggers are a curse.  And if someone has a curse, they are neglected and people stop caring about them and for them.

I went to a couple of clinic days with the Sole Hope staff (who are AWESOME), and washed feet and charted on a graph where jiggers were on people's hands and feet.  The first day was hard to watch!  But I did it. I had to.  I wanted to help little children feel better and I wanted to be there for them even though it made me sad at first.

The clinic that Sole Hope has is set up outside on colored wooden picnic tables. The jiggers are taken out by a safety pin, a razor blade and a cotton ball, by the jigger removers.  Note takers have a clipboard with footprints and handprints on a piece of paper, and they put dots where jiggers were found so the staff can re-check their hands and feet in a few days to make sure they are completely gone.

These kids have NO pain killer or "sleepy medicine" to help them not to scream. They just get a sucker to suck on for comfort.  I sat there plotting jiggers on a little girls foot chart and she had 83 jiggers!  She was only 6 or 7 years old. She never screamed or yelled or fought back. Only quiet little tears were shed.  I loved this girl and admired how brave and tough she was!

 

 

See the girl in with the hula hoop?  Notice she's wearing shoes?  And she's playing and having fun?  Well, that's what happens after a kid gets a simple pair of shoes made out of jeans.

This is me washing feet before jiggers are removed.

This is me taking notes while jiggers are being removed.

This is our team fitting kids for shoes after their jiggers are gone!

Shoes are made from jeans. Most kids there have never had a pair of shoes in their entire life, and one pair of shoes can keep their feet jigger free. 


I'm having a shoe-cutting party and if you want to have one too, click HERE.

If you are coming to my party, please bring some or all of the following items to help out:

• jeans (must be denim material, but can be any color)
• large safety pins
• fabric scissors
• soft plastic (milk jugs, 2 liter bottles, plastic folders, etc.)
• gallon sized ziploc baggies
• $10 donation to sponsor a pair of shoes                   

One highlight of my trip was the day we got to hop on a bus and drive through the middle of the African bush to bring children back home after their stay at the Sole Hope Clinic (the really bad cases have to stay at the medical clinic for several days or weeks).  I met a girl who was my age and I got to play with her a few times when I was there.  She was SO happy when she got home and her family was even happier that she was healthy and jigger free!

UPDATE:

My mom wrote about a little boy in her last blog post.  Well, please keep praying because things - good things - are happening!  Pray for a medical visa (whatever that is), pray for doctors who will help him for free if he comes to the US and pray for him because he needs to be healed.  Thank You!!!!!  

The "God is up to something" post I warned you about

“Once our eyes are opened, we can’t pretend we don’t know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act.”  (Proverbs 24:12)

 

That verse has resonated with me for several years now. A couple of weeks ago, that verse spoke to me through the eyes of a not-so-little boy in Uganda.    

Emma is 11 or 12 year old (don't let his Americanized name fool you).  As you can probably tell, Jiggers isn't the only medical problem he is facing.  From what we've gathered so far, preliminary tests have been done in Uganda, but no formal diagnosis or medical treatment plan has been made.  Why?  Because there are no children's hospitals or specialists in his home country that know what do do about the growing problem this young man is facing.  And even if there were, he wouldn't have the financial resources to pay for it anyway.  Sole Hope has helped his feet, but they aren't set up to handle something like this, despite desperately wishing they could do something to help this sweet young man.

And so a team member of mine and I chatted.  And we prayed.  We both agreed that going home and doing nothing wouldn't be possible for either of us. After all, our eyes were opened....

Collectively we are making calls to people we know (and people we don't) asking how a boy who desperately needs medical attention could get it here in the US or in Africa with some kind of surgical team that does this sort of thing.

I have NO idea what I'm doing, but I can pray.  And I can make calls.  And I can ask my friends who/what they may know.

And so I'm asking....

Will you pray?

For the right connections to fall into place.

For finances (whatever they may be) to NOT be a barrier.

For favor with any necessary governmental agencies that may try to stand in the way.

For God to move mountains and be glorified through Emma's story.

As for acclimating back home, I guess you could say Chelsea and I are acclimated.  We aren't sick, we aren't tired and as expected, we notice all the "problems" people at the pool and the grocery store have.  Problems we want to help eliminate by politely walking up to them and showing them pictures of children with jiggers in their feet. 

You see, my girl is more like me than I initially thought.  With that said, please pray for her!  She's at the age where she wants to change the world and I desperately want her to hold onto that for as long as possible.  But I also KNOW that there will be people out there who try to discourage her.  Or ignore her. Or distract her. 

For those of you who know us and how much "fun" we've had moving across the country, well, let's just say that the 7 of us are all on the same page now where certain things are concerned.  Certain things that will hopefully change everything.  Certain things we are "circling" and praying about each night.

I titled this blog "No More What If's" because I don't want to look back on my life and wonder what would have, could have or should have happened if I had taken a chance, took a risk or stepped out in faith when deep down the answer was "yes" even though the world around me said "no".  More importantly, I want others to change their "What if...." to "Why not?..." and Go For It.

In the meantime, our family's first Sole Hope Shoe Cutting party is being planned.  When I initially posted info. about it on FB, I was blown away at how many people wanted to attend one.  As of now friends in 6 states are talking about organizing a party of their own!  I sent info to those people, but if you aren't a FB friend and want to know how that works, here is the info.  It's easy to do and it TOTALLY changes lives!  In fact, the life it changes the most just might be yours!

Click the Logo below for information:

The Resettlement

Four days ago our team sat on picnic tables in the side yard of the Sole Hope outreach clinic, taking notes as to where jiggers had buried themselves on tiny, and not to tiny, feet.  We literally had a front row view of how jiggers are removed, what the tiny worm-like creatures look like, and what constitutes a “more severe case.”

Today, we got a front row seat to the beauty that came from the ashes of those formerly infected feet.  Today some of these courageous and tough people went home to anxiously awaiting family members.  We were blessed and got to go along for the ride - and boy was it a ride!  

They call it "resettlement".

 

This is how SH takes notes upon admission.  This was the
"before" chart for one special pre-teen girl.

 

  

This little girl is Chelsea's age and they spent three days together this week.  SO CUTE!  Chelsea got to be with her as she returned home this afternoon to a family who had obviously missed her very much.  Her family was over-joyed, to say the least!

 This is her family - excited to see her healed and home!

The scene at each home we stopped at was the same - joyful excitement.  What was once a painful inconvenience at best and a death sentence at worst had been completely healed!  Only God....

As you can see, each person treated at SH gets supplies to go home with.  Care-takers and social workers come along for the ride home because they educate family members - and any neighbors who show up for the surprise homecoming - on how to prevent infection in the future.  You see, jiggers are preventable.  It's just that when one lives in poverty, away from towns and facilities, the ability to perform simple hygiene isn't so simple, and it's not a priority; food, water and shelter takes precedence.

We drove for over 6 hours today - on a 30 passenger rickety bus - through the hills and villages of RURAL Uganda.  We were, literally, in the middle of NOWHERE most of the day.  And this is where SH goes every week - to the middle of nowhere to let those suffering from jiggers know that they are not forgotten.

Yes....this...happened....and then the storm moved in...and, thankfully, away from us.

The other amazing thing I didn't blog about yesterday was that we hung out with a missionary family here in Uganda.  They've been here for a few years, and are going through a lot of things most people couldn't possibly understand - unless they lived here too. 

And so we had a feet washing ceremony and time of prayer for them - after dinner and play-time, of course.  This precious family reminded me yet again how important it is to care for, pray for and serve those who are "in it"; those who have taken up their cross and sold everything to do what very, very, very few are willing to learn about, much less DO.  It was beautiful, and they deserved it!

I'm not posting pics of this event because it was sacred...and special...and just for them. 

Have you prayed for a missionary today?

 

A Day of Play - A Night of Pampering

Today we played with the same children who had jiggers removed from their feet and hands just two days ago.  Have I told you how tough these kids are?  Our team re-enacted a Bible story, played games and just spent time talking with them.  We even attended a class; a "Jigger Prevention 101" taught by one of the SH staff.

Each child has a story; every single one of them.  Sadly, nobody really asks them what it is until they show up at Sole Hope with painful jiggers blistering the bottoms of their feet.  But the beauty in their arrival, despite the pain about to be therapeutically inflected on them, is that they get to see and feel the love of Jesus all around them.

Tonight we were given the gift of hosting a party for the staff and volunteers who show up day in and day out to care for little hands and feet while telling the faces looking back at them about Jesus.  40 ish people in all attended.  Considering how big of a need jigger removal is here, the fact that only 40 people are doing it should give you a little bit of an idea as to how how hard these people work.  EVERY SINGLE DAY.  Some men and woman told us that this was the first party they had ever been invited to - another harsh reality that makes me sad. 

And so we pampered our party guests.   We provided Ugandan food, had amazing dance parties and "dance off's", gave manicures and pedicures and washed the feet of anyone who wanted to indulge.  They loved it.  They more than DESERVED someone pampering THEM for a change - even if only for one night.

Our team had just as much fun, I can assure you!  Every single person here has a heart to serve and love and come along side those who are "in the trenches" day in and day out. They get it.  They understand the importance of it.  That's what Jesus called them to do.

This is what Jesus calls ALL of us to do.

I have no clue what the Ugandan version of YouTube is, but I know our "western ways" of dancing were entertaining - so much so that a Ugandan man had his laptop and recorded almost every dance-off that took place between friends who are separated by an ocean, but forever connected by small brown children with beautiful smiles and mangled feet.

I wonder what the Ugandan version of YouTube is?

PS)  HAPPY GOTCHA DAY, Jacob.  I didn't forget - and I never will.  Meeting you pretty much changed not only my life, but all of our lives.  Love, mom

Face Time - the real deal

My head isn't spinning as much as it was, but it's still spinning.  So much to do, and see, and love.  Here is a brief summary of what we've been doing and a few random thoughts that popped into my head...

Day 1 Travel. We were on the unlucky side of the airplane – our personal tv's were broken for some reason. After about hour 6 with no “distraction” the 15 hour flight slowed....way...down. Thankfully our team was social because our seats became the last place any of us wanted to be, so we gathered around different people at different times, sharing funny stories and just getting to know one another. When you are 12 years old, though, it's much harder to “do nothing” for 15 hours – especially when you live in a country with iEverything and On Demand everything else. My pre-teen “travel buddy”, however, was a trooper and barely complained at all. She knew where she was headed and how much “nothing” kids she was about to meet did every single day of their lives.

Day 2 Baby Cottage. I'm not a baby person anymore, but babies are cute. Seeing a dozen of them laying in tiny box-cribs one on top of the other, on top of the other, in a room us Westerners would barely consider big enough to be called a nursery for one, was far from cute. The walking children, those anywhere from 18 months to 4 years old, all shared one room that housed two tiny picnic tables and one double mattress which laid on the floor. This room served at their dining room, their bedroom, their living room and their play room. In all, 34 children called this place home. The orphanage director has an incredibly powerful testimony and bucked the system, so to speak, as she grew up in Uganda. It seemed that God had a calling on a young Ugandan woman long before she even knew what a calling meant. Her motto, her mission, is to love the children from now until they have a family or go to heaven to be with Jesus – whichever comes first.
The staff at this orphanage is what makes this otherwise dreary place to live more than bearable, though. These women, day after day, hold these children, play with these children, and feed these children three times a day. They also bathe them and change their clothes every....single...day. In their free time, they are washing bottles and dishes and laundry. And oh, how much laundry they wash....in buckets....outside....by hand...in the hot sun....every single day.
Our team arrived one morning to help with bath time. There were 18 of us and despite our well-oiled, well-planned out process for getting children through the line, it took more than a couple of hours, and several trips to dump out and re-fill the make-shift bath tubs (buckets, really), before all of the children were laying down in their cribs or on the mattress.

Day 3 – Sole Hope Outreach Clinic. Today was tough – especially for my 12 year old. I knew it would be, but what I didn't know was how well she would handle what she saw and push through it anyway. Despite being given the choice to step away from watching jiggers being removed from the feet of children younger than her, all the while “note taking” for the Sole Hope worker removing them, she chose to stay...and watch...and help. I know not everyone has the stomach to do this, and not everyone can handle watching this process unfold before their very eyes. I get it. I do. But at the same time, everyone needs to see what we saw – what my daughter was brave enough to push through – because it's not fair. It's not fair for children to collect jiggers on their feet just because they don't have shoes or parents or a loved one who knows what to do about preventing them. It's not fair that kids with jiggers are considered “cursed” because of these tiny worms that crawl into their skin as they walk, sit and sleep on the red dirt that is Uganda.
Equally importantly, however, is that it's not fair that I have a choice to pretend things like this don't happen and have a choice to “change the channel” when something I come across is too disgusting or too tough to stomach. It's not fair that I can Google anything I want to entertain myself instead of first having to Google something that could change me; cause me to do something to improve the life of someone else. In a world that revolves around the internet, T.V., video conferencing and face-time, why do we spend so little time learning about the world outside our little, safe, comfortable bubble? Why do we make ourselves feel better first....and then, if time or money allows...then maybe....someday....we will do something...that might change the world.

Day 4 Sole Hope goes to school. Today the Sole Hope land rovers loaded up and drove to a school where more than 300 kids attended – barefoot kids. We followed, as our job was to be the extra hands their team needed to get as many kids' feet checked out as possible. The make-shift, portable, jigger-removal clinic runs like a well-oiled machine, but no matter how fast and efficiently they work, they can't possible get all the kids they visit through the line by the end of the day.

To be continued.....going to Sole Hope...to spend time with kids...in real Face Time