Thankful Thursday!

"Make new friends and keep the old,

One is silver and the other is gold."

Coming into Aldi's yesterday, I ran into Micah's high school youth pastor, Paul.  Paul, his wife and their four children are preparing to move to Africa this coming August.  In the course of our conversation, after finding out Paul's family was living "off campus" while in Tanzania, I asked if he would like to connect with a couple of families we've known since we first walked up the gangway on the good ship Mercy.  This families left the ship and lived on their own in Liberia.  Paul thought it was a great idea, so last night I sent an e-mail out to Paul, Sally and Olly, and Kristin. 

I am so thankful for these old friends - Sally and Olly in England and Kristin in Tennessee.  Olly joyfully offered to "share our failures and successes of living off-grid in Liberia".  Kristin is "happy to help however I can!"

To God be the glory on another "Thankful Thursday"!

 

Missing!

Everyone in my first class at the Y showed up for swimming lessons this morning.  Everyone in my third class showed up, too.  However, my second class was missing.  Four children, two siblings, not a one showed up.  It was excellent.  I caught up with the lifeguards!  

No Whining!

We were short-staffed at swimming lessons last night, so I volunteered to teach for Bryn - two classes, I only had to get in the water for one.  I could handle it.  I was given Julie's classes because the other sub had already subbed for Bryn once and we all know how important consistency is with children!  I was okay with her first two classes, but her third class was adult women and I just wasn't up for it.  So I tried to get out of it.  Ana couldn't teach it for me, Caroline had soccer and Bobbi just laughed when I asked her.

Fifteen minutes into the class, no one had shown up yet.  Five more minutes and I could leave.  Then Sandra appeared.  Apologizing for being late.  She had just put in her first tampon.  (I hope no children are reading this.)  She has a fifteen year old.  We talked about tampons.  Are they really secure?  Could she actually swim with it in?

While we were talking, I noticed her accent and asked her where she was from.  Togo, West Africa.  Imagine the smile I got when I said I had been to Lome.  I mean, what white woman from the upper Midwest even knows where Lome is - let alone, has actually been there! 

Naturally, the story gets better.  Sandra is a nurse.  Three guesses who gave a plug for Mercy Ships to the French and English speaking nurse she was teaching how to swim! 

To think, I did my best to squelch God's plans for me!

Houssainatou

Houssainatou’s childhood was defined by a painful tumor that had grown steadily in her mouth since she was a toddler. By the time she was 8 years old, it protruded so severely that she couldn’t even smile.

Now ten years old, Houssainatou lives in a town in the highlands of Guinea with her parents and her four siblings. Ever since she was a toddler, she suffered from a painful facial tumor that protruded from her mouth.

Houssainatou’s father, Souleymane, is a maize farmer with little income. He worked hard to protect her from the fear he felt about her condition so that she could have a happy childhood — but for him, the tumor filled every day with worry. He was afraid he would have to watch his daughter struggle and die at an early age.

“We have no money,” her father said. “The village clinic can’t help her. We can’t afford the kind of surgery she needs. We kept praying, and worrying, and looking for help.”

Two years ago, the family decided to keep Houssainatou home from school because of her health. Instead of being able to play and learn with other children, she would stay home with her mother to help cook and clean the house.

Then, one day, a relative living in the port city of Conakry told Souleymane about Mercy Ships. He brought his daughter for screening and soon she was accepted for life-changing surgery onboard the Africa Mercy.

When the time came for them to walk up the gangway to the ship, Souleymane called himself “the happiest man in the world.” Houssainatou’s bravery had never shone brighter — as she explored the place that would be her home for the next two weeks, a volunteer crewmember asked her how she felt about her upcoming surgery. “I’m not nervous… I’ll be asleep through it all anyway,” she said.

And what a transformation while she ‘slept’! After just one day — and a four-hour surgery — Houssainatou was down in the wards of the Africa Mercy, getting ready to see herself in a mirror, tumor-free for the first time in her young life.

The sight made Souleymane exuberant with joy and gratitude. “I cannot believe it. She is so beautiful!” he exclaimed. “I am so happy and so excited to bring her home to see the family.”

After several post-op follow up appointments, Houssainatou was healed — happier and healthier than she’d ever been. As the two got ready to leave the ship and return home to their family, Souleymane reflected on what her surgery has meant to them.

“My heart is free now. The fear is gone,” he said. “I used to spend every day afraid she would die young, but now I will spend my time helping her have a future. I want her to become a doctor so she can help people the way she herself has been helped.”

Venting!

Yup, I'm on a rampage!  And I want to use real names because none of them are innocent, but I will refrain.

K - If son number one just got over the flu, son number two is home with the flu, don't send son number three to the swim lessons to hack all over me!

S - If you kid has green loogies flowing out of his nasal cavity during swim lessons, it IS your responsibility to take care of it.  By the third time I sent him out to get his nose wiped by YOU, I hope you realized that maybe you shouldn't have brought him.

A - I love you. I love your sons.  I do not love green loogies.  Stay home.  Your lessons we can make up.  They're private.

What am I doing today?  Fighting a cold, compliments of the families above who so generously shared their germs with me on Thursday and Friday.  In the future - NO THANKS!

If you child is sick, keep him/her HOME!!! 

 

Thankful Thursday!

This Thursday, my friends, it's going to be a three-fer!  Get ready . . .

ONE  I am thankful for my friend, Cherie, from LeMars, Iowa, who sent me a text last night asking me if I was ever going to post anything on my blog again as it has been a while.  Cherie and I met at church camp when we were in fifth grade and have been friends ever since.  She's the one who cheered me though my first bionic knee because she had gotten one five years earlier.  Why did we ever run track?

TWO  I am thankful for the God-nudge I followed this morning, asking Linda, alias "the Tank", about her husband as I had heard he had cancer.  Friends, I believe she needed someone to talk to and that someone was me!

THREE  As nasty as this sounds, I am thankful for children who don't show up for swimming lessons!  The twins were missing in my first class of five, so I only had three swimmers.  Eddie was home sick for my second lesson - thank you, Kimberly, for keeping him there!  That brought the class size down to two.  Emma's mom had a baby.  A little girl.  So my last class was only two, too.  It was a pleasant day.  We don't make up missed lessons.

Number 72.

Since Wednesday was my day off and I was getting my hair cut in Apple Valley anyway, I decided to go to the Apple Valley DMV to get my driver's license renewed prior to my birthday next month.

In case anyone is wondering, it's not at the courthouse on Galaxy.  Nope, it's a separate building between State Farm and Wild Bill's.  And it has absolutely no parking.  When I finally got into the building, I pulled number 72.  They were currently serving number 56.  

I sent out a couple of texts, then started to read the book I had brought along.  It was amazing!  I was in and out of there in about twenty minutes - with a new driver's license!

You call it!

Last Friday into Saturday, it was predicted that we were going to get the biggest snowfall yet this winter.  It could be anywhere from seven inches to a foot or more.

I was scheduled to teach CPR-PR/First Aid/Oxygen at the Y Saturday morning and I thought, "If the weather report is right, I don't want Sam to have to get up in the wee hours of the morning to scoop me out."  So I asked the powers that be - could we start an hour later?

After much debate back and forth - with one of my supervisors wanting to wait until 7 p.m. that night - I was told to call it.  I did.  

We all slept in an extra hour.  No one complained.  And we still got the class done early!

The snow?  My Dad got it in northwest Iowa - we sure didn't!

Thankful Thursday!

Some days just don't go as hoped.  Sam overslept and never put the laundry in.  I plugged in the crock pot and just got a blinking light.  My level two at swimming lessons was worse than my level ones and my level fours weren't nearly as good as my level three.  So what am I thankful for today?

Well, the laundry's done.  The crock pot must have just been tired because eventually it did go on - right after I whined to Sam.  And my boss at work?  She took on the Level 4 mom's!  They weren't nearly as understanding as the Level 2 mom who actually watched her child swim.  Barbara clearly showed them the requirements: "They may have passed at the Prior Lake Y, but at Burnsville, this is the standard we hold them to."  For that, I am thankful!

Cancer . . .

Cancer, 

It looked like you were ahead in the game this week.

Neighbor B. has only one of the two mutations needed for clinical trials for his type of cancer so he's not in the trials, but he spent the day at Mayo today trying to determine what's next.

Co-worker M. just found out she has an aggressive type of cancer and she's not going to win.  It's a matter of time.

Friend K. is battling leukemia and her counts are up again.  "I pray, I do the right things, but I'm not winning the battle."

That's three strikes.  But they're not out.  They're fighting.  

I needed to hear the victory.  Friend E.'s cancer is diminishing.  To God be the glory.  May He show mercy on B., M. and K.   

"42 Seconds"

I'm currently reading the book "42 Seconds" by Carl Medearis.  The premise of the book is that forty-two seconds is the average length of Jesus' conversations as recorded in the Gospels.  This week's challenge was to discern what's really going on with people.  

Last night at work, a Muslim woman was early for "Women's Only Swimming Lessons" so we chatted for a bit with me attempting to follow the principals found in this book.  

Sure enough, she was born in Somalia, lived in Kenya for a bit, and then came to Minnesota while she was in HIGH SCHOOL.  She's lived here for a while.  Do you know what her greatest fear is as a Muslim woman?  The angry people standing behind Donald Trump.  

A very sad statement for America, indeed.

Thankful Thursday!

After some disconcerting things happened at our house over the past month or so, I contacted our post-adoption social worker at New Life Family Services on Monday.  Three days later, I remain thankful to Rebecca for her insight and her input.  I remain thankful that New Life has policies in place that will protect my family.  And I am always thankful for that family . . .

A Terrible, Horrible, No Good Day!

I should have know yesterday that it just wasn't going to get any better!

While walking Annie in the dark, I thought I had dropped my mitten while bending over to pick up her doggie doodoo.  I hadn't dropped my mitten.  I reached down picked up a handful of doodoo.  At least it was warm . . . remember, it was a bit nippy yesterday!

Then I got to go shopping.  I hate to go shopping.  My happiest moments are when good friends offer me clothes they no longer want to wear!  But shop I did - three stores and I still didn't get everything I needed.  

Note:  Should I be concerned that as I was walking into Aldi's, so was the pest control man?  With his stuff?  Fortunately, it mustn't have been a bit deal because he walked out when I did, and Aldi's was my shortest list of the day. 

Naturally, while making dinner I dropped my brand new now-using-it-for-the-first-time $13.00 glass container of Ghee.  I tried to look at the bright side.  I dropped it after I had taken out what I needed.  

Needless to say, until the old TV shows, Sam did not come home to a happy wife last night!

    

I love . . .

 . . . my big brother!

. . . the dog!

, , , Annie!

Christmas in January!

Our Third Annual Christmas Cookie Baking with the F.O.O.'s happened today!  The choices were chocolate crinkle cookies and chocolate chip cookies.  Neither are what you would normally think of as "Christmas cookies", but both were delicious!  Take a peek:

Bakers, get ready . . .

Adding chocolate chips . . .

Adding and eating chocolate chips . . .

Some man to man time over cookies . . .

Thankful Thursday -- Twofer!

The first thing I am thankful for today is the daughter who finished cleaning the house and walked the dog while I went out for lunch today.

The second thing I am thankful for is the friend I went out for lunch with today.  It was an awesome time of love, laughter and sharing.  

Thank you, Jesus!

Unthankful Thursday!

When I first started serving in the Children's Ministry at Open Door, the kids favorite song was an old Boy Scouts tune that went something like this . . . 

"I just lost my underwear,

I don't care,

I'll go bare . . ." 

That was my tune this morning as I unpacked my pool bag and found out that I had left all my underwear at home!  Not a comfortable choice with blue jeans . . .