G-Loves!

Our special event this morning was "L-O-V-E Goes 'Round the World".  Our favorite relay was wearing gloves to take the wrapper off a Hershey kiss and then eating the kiss!  We weren't sure which picture we liked better, so we're giving you both!

 

Homemade Noodles . . .

. . . at the Blackburns last night and they were delicious!  Brian and Warrie were our first neighbors on the Anastasis and their girls, Alisa and Addison, are also adopted.  We've known them for ten years and Brian has been our "boss" on the ship all that time!

Only in Texas . . .

600th Post!

It is with great delight that I am able to share on this, my six hundreth blog post, my dear friend Sarah came to visit today!  Sarah and I met in 1985 at Eagle Lake Camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado - almost 30 years ago!  She lives in LaVernia, Texas, a good five hours away.  But her sister, Martha, lives in Arlington, Texas - only an hour and a half away.  Sarah and her daughter Isabella drove up to Martha's on Thursday and today those three, along with one of Martha's twin daughters, Sophie, came to visit!  

Me, Sarah and Isabelle

What makes this even more fun is Sophie will be a freshman at the University of Minnesota this fall and we'll be her home away from Texas!

Missing Memory Chip!

A missing memory chip did not allow us to post yesterday, but the chip's been found and now we can show you how much fun we had playing putt putt golf - or as one of the kid's said "pet pet golf"!  

This was my group - and they had far more fun playing in the water pit with their balls!

Gisele's Story

This shouldn't be Gisele’s story, but it is. 

In 1993 Gisele was 28 years old, married, and expecting a baby. Following a miscarriage with her first pregnancy, this baby was perhaps even more precious. She was elated with the anticipation of motherhood and the thought of building a family with her husband. Having children was all Gisele had ever wanted; it was the reason she believed she was here on this earth. 

Motherhood was within reach. 

Since the day she went into labor, Gisele’s life has been shaped by shoulds. She should have delivered normally. When she did not, she should have had emergency obstetric care. Perhaps she should have had a C-section. She should have become a mom. Today, she should be a mother to a 21-year-old son and his assortment of younger brothers and sisters. 

But twenty years later, Gisele is 48, divorced, and childless. 

During a prolonged obstructed labor in her Congolese village in 1993, Gisele lost her baby. Due to the trauma of the delivery, she developed a condition called obstetric fistula, also called vesicovaginal fistula (VVF). VVF is a childbirth injury that creates a hole between the birth canal and urinary tract, leaving the mother incontinent. For 20 years, Gisele has lived with a steady stream of urine trickling down her legs. 

Managing her incontinence was difficult because she could not escape the odor. Her damp skirt and wet legs reminded her of the child she lost and of the children she would never have. In the night, she had to wake up hourly to change out of her wet clothes. Gisele’s husband, realizing that she would probably never have children, decided to leave. He still wanted a family, he told her, adding bluntly, “And, with you, I am wasting my time.” 

While the nature of Gisele’s condition was terrible, her physical pain was now nothing compared to the emotional burden that came with her husband’s public rejection. In her failed attempts at motherhood, she grieved her life’s purpose. In her failed marriage, her fear was confirmed – to be a woman unable to have children was to have no value. Since 1993, Gisele says she has not lived a life – but that she has lived somewhere between life and death, waiting for the day her life would end. 

Due to her odor and the stigma around her condition, Gisele withdrew into a life of solitude. In reality, she was far from alone. There are over 2 million women in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia who live with VVF, according to the World Health Organization. In much of the developing world, basic obstetric care is inaccessible. Women must live with, or die from, the consequences of unattended childbirth. For women who endure complications during delivery, too many are left burying their stillborn children and lamenting a long list of shoulds.   

Gisele wanted to take her life, and she knew the way she would do it – with poison. What would it be like to drink that last glass of liquid, knowing that she would not live to feel it dampen her skirt? But something kept her going, kept her alive. 

With surgery, obstetric fistula is often repairable. As news spread around The Republic of Congo that Mercy Ships was coming, Gisele began to hope. But she tried not to get her hopes up; she had been let down too many times before. It was not until she found herself sitting on a hospital bed in the port of Pointe Noire waiting for surgery that she allowed herself to believe that she might be healed. 

Since her surgery, Gisele is all smiles. Graceful and bird-like, she knits with perfect posture and hums between conversations with the women on either side of her. A nurse makes the rounds to check Gisele’s catheter bag, which is full, and she asks if Gisele’s bed is dry. It is. These signs indicate that the surgery was a success. Gisele is glowing.           

While surgery fixed Gisele physically, it cannot make her a mother. However, she has found something else onboard the Africa Mercy. She has found emotional restoration in the attentive way the doctors and nurses check on her and care for her, and in the relationships she has built with the other patients, most of whom are not mothers either. 

Obstetric fistula is typically a condition of isolation. Confined in solitude, Gisele was poisoned by her belief that her life had no value. Now, in a room full of women who share similar painful journeys, they have healed through their sisterhood. When the women are restless, they walk the hallways – singing and holding hands. They are united, strengthened, and healed. 

When it comes time to discharge fistula patients, the hospital throws a going-away party called a Dress Ceremony. Each patient is presented with a new dress, which she will wear as she goes home. On the morning of Gisele’s celebration, the women gathered in the ward to do their make-up and fasten their head wraps. The room filled with chatter, smiles, and with an energy like that of a bridal party. Gisele surveyed the room of women getting ready and said ‘Aujord’hui c’est bon.’ Today is good. After the celebration was over, Gisele walked out of the hospital, down the dock, and took her first step back into society. 

Gisele should have had this surgery long ago. She should have re-entered society with all the fanfare of a Dress Ceremony years before now, but Gisele did not have access to shoulds. 

Gisele may always carry with her the grief of the child she lost and the pain of the years of suffering, but she will carry it with her head held high, because she knows the truth. She knows her worth. For too many years she suffered with what should have been, but now it is. Now she can.

At the nail salon . . .

Jan and Joan are sisters from Wisconsin who work at Mercy Ships.  Jan is the Guest House Manager and Joan works in the Chaplain's Office.  We have had great fun getting to know them and tonight Micah is showing them how to do their nails just like hers!  Take a peek:

Joan, Micah and Jan

 I think I'm having way far more fun as a mouse in the corner . . .

Bits from today . . .

We were on a roll!

Just me and my mummy!

Balloon Stomp!

Today was our cook's birthday!

Of course, we had to wish her a great day!

 

Field Trip Failure!

Did you ever just have one of those days where if anything could go wrong, it would?  We were to leave at 9:00 a.m. this morning to go to putt putt golfing, but things happened and it was a bit closer to 9:15.  Then the GPS took us on a scenic route to the putt putt place.  Brian went in to pay and three van loads of kids from a day care showed up and got into line - a line we would have had to wait in had we stayed.

Fortunately for us, Tyler, Texas is the rose capital of the world.  Brian thought we could spend some time in the rose gardens before attempting putt putt golf.  Unfortunately, most of the roses were dead!

. . . for Sheila - Sheila's Perfume

The only two DRY people at the fountain . . .

 

 

Who knew dead cicada shells were fun?

 Since we hadn't had snack yet and it was close to lunch time, we decided to go to Berkshire's Playground for lunch.  It sprinkled throughout lunch, but it didn't start to really rain until we were all in the far playground . . .

What?  You can't see the raindrops?  They're falling!

Fortunately, the Green Acres Baptist Church bowling alley was our next stop in the rain.  Unfortunately, that GPS took us to their smaller church site first!  But we were only ten minutes late for our time slot . . .

An hour and a half of bowling, wiped out the kids.  Take a peak . . .

To God be the glory . . .

It never rains in East Texas in the summer . . .

At least, that's what my supervisor told me!  Why, last year - not a drop during the whole Kids-On-Boarding Program!  This year, we've seen it a lot!  But after the rain, there's always a rainbow!

We have old friends from the ship on each end - Trevor from Australia and Erica from Canada with new friends in the middle - Bobby (US), Marina (Canada) and Andrea (US).

You do realise . . .

That exactly six months from today will be Christmas Eve!  Since we're on field trips all day tomorrow, we had to celebrate today!

Nothing like an extremely large Rudolph nose!  What was I thinking?

 

We've discovered extra large gloves work best for unwrapping Christmas gifts!

 

Greatly appreciated bracelets that our children's pastor sent down with us to use as our Christmas gifts!

Uno . . .

Yes, make that one . . .we had one child from 8:00-9:15 a.m. this morning.  Two were home sick and five were home sleeping!  Had I known, I would have enjoyed sleeping in, too, on a MONDAY!

Just dropping names . . .

You know, Paul Baloche, Christian songwriter of songs such as "Open the Eyes of My Heart", "Hosanna" and "Glorious", is worship director at the church we've been attending down here in Tyler, Community Christian Fellowship.  He came back from a France/South Africa tour this week and led an awesome time of worship this morning.  We think he's shorter than Micah . . .

The Trees of Texas . . .

It has been so much fun to see the flowering trees of Texas . . .

with my favorite being the mimosa tree.  I can smell long before I can see it on my mornings runs and I'm blessed to run by three . . .

After dinner last night . . .

We drove into Garden Valley and visited the grave sites of Keith Green and Leonard Ravenhill.  They're in a small cemetery by a small Baptist church . . .

 

Date With God . . .

This morning we had a "date with God" (thank you, Valerie, for the plans!) to help the kids better understand what their parents will be doing tomorrow when they spend a day with God.  I can only say we were blessed!  We had nine stations that we went through as a group.  We shared our favorite Bible verses or stories, soaked in God's love, created a prayer wall, prayed for the nations, wrote who God was on a rock, built a wall around Africa, shared God's love for us in play doh, drew a picture of God's love for us and put God's gift to us on a gift tag.  It was amazing . . . simply amazing!

From Shiver Me Timbers . . .

 

to pirate charades . . .

  Is it possible that every day is good?

More exciting than it looks!

Today truly was more exciting than it looks - I just kind of forgot the camera this morning back at the Loft!  We went out to the Mercy Ships farm and saw the agricultural projects - moringa trees, chickens and cattle; then over to Brian's house to play in his backyard.  This afternoon, we were a bit fruity as we went over the fruit of the Spirit!  

Fruit Loop Pass

Fruit Flies

One more fruit fly!

 

Some of the scoop!

Wondering why Keith Green made today's blog?  Well, it's an interesting story - unfortunately, I don't have all the bits yet, but here's what I do have . . . The wife of the founder of Mercy Ships was a "Green" before she became a "Stephens" which made her more closely related to Keith Green than just kissin' cousins!  The building Micah and I are living in is one of the original buildings from Last Days Ministries - the ministry of Keith and Melanie Green.  LDM sold it to Teen Mania sometime after Keith's death and there may have been another group in there, but eventually it was sold to Mercy Ships and is now their International Operations Center!  Interesting, eh?

We're Exhausted!

That's pretty much how we feel today!  We started out at the Discovery Museum in Tyler where we had a blast discovering!

Then we were off to the park for lunch and to play on all the playgrounds.
 

Lunch was followed up with the "cadaver" museum with all sorts of "stuffed" animals - even more than the Bigler homestead!

 Last stop, Sonic for some ice cream!