On Sunday, we lugged home from church two big boxes and one laundry basket full of shoes and a bag of shoelaces. We spent the afternoon sorting shoes - checking for holes, making sure the shoelaces were still intact, tying pairs together (not so easy with the velcro type). We stuffed each pair with a pair of soft, new, white socks. (Thanks, friends!) We also stuffed each pair with a note written by one of our elementary kids from church. A couple of Sundays ago, we provided small cardstock squares and markers and colored pencils and asked all the kids in Sunday school that day to write a note to the child who would be receiving the shoes they had collected. We typically have around 40 kids, so I thought if each kid wrote 3 notes, we'd have our shoes filled. Attendance was down a bit, not everyone wrote cards, and some were illegible, so we came home with only 50 cards. Another note-writing Sunday will be in order!
We let the kids decide what to write. We asked them to write a note, draw a picture, include their favorite Bible verse, or write whatever was on their heart. Thanks to Michelle, who with very little notice got us the Amharic translation of "Jesus loves you", we were able to write out "Eyesus Yiwodihal" for our kids to copy if they wanted. Most of all, we wanted them to sign their names. We want the kids in the Ethiopia Youth Soccer Ministry to know that real kids their own age collected these shoes and sent them half way around the world for them. In the "Kids' Cove" where our kids meet for Sunday School and Wednesday night services, we have an enlarged photograph of the kids in the Ethiopia Youth Soccer League. My hope is to take to those kids a picture of all the kids in our elementary program. I so want them to see each other's faces! How cool will it be for the Ethiopian kids to be able to connect a face with the name on the note in their shoes?!
My kids were excited to carry two big boxes, containing 50 pairs of shoes with socks and notes, into the "white house" where we have our weekly Ethiopia team meetings on Sunday evenings. Little by little, it comes together.
Which brings me to yesterday. I took Carlos to the pediatrician for his 9 year check-up after school yesterday. The boy is terrified of needles. I don't know how this happened or why. Neither his father nor I get squeamish at needles or blood or anything else really, and he's had no horrifying experiences with needles. But the last time Carlos really had to get any immunizations (maybe age 5?) he went completely beserk. He was kicking and screaming and flailing about the exam room. Fortunately, Dave was with me, because it took both of us to hold him down. He ended up kicking the nurse - with his gym shoes on. I was mortified. They marked his file. With the introduction of the flu mist, we were saved. A quick squirt up the nose each year has saved us the drama of the injection, so he has passed his yearly exams for a few years now without any incident.
However, remember that I wrote a few days ago that Carlos might need three vaccinations before our trip? For this trip, kids have to be vaccinated for Typhoid, Yellow Fever, and Hepatits A. Kidist got the Hep A when she came here 4 years ago. I couldn't remember if Carlos had received it or not. The doctor checked his chart yesterday, and sure enough, he hadn't gotten that one. Suddenly there was panic in his eyes - a shot?!!!! "Mom, I'm not supposed to get any more shots until I'm 11!!!" his voicing rising with fear. Dave was not with me this time. I explained that he had to have this shot for the trip. He started to panic, but I told him, flat out, "You cannot freak out on me this time. You have to sit here and take this shot like the big boy you are." I wasn't sure until the moment the needle hit his arm, but he did it. He let out a banshee scream that I'm sure terrified every child in every room down that hallway, but he sat there and took it.
I was proud of him. Rational or not, we all have our own fears. He had to face and conquer his right there on the spot. There are grown-ups who couldn't have pulled it together and sat there like he did. This trip is causing him pain and anxiety, and he's facing it with incredible courage and without bitterness and resentment. I am humbled watching him. I am grateful for God's Spirit within him.
By the way, I'm going to schedule him and Kiki for different days to get their last two vaccinations at the Travel Clinic. I'm afraid irrational fears are catching!
Friday, November 11, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Birthday Presents
Our children have been blessed to be able to have parties with their friends for their birthdays each year. However, with each birthday party, an additional 5 or 8 or 10 toys were coming into our house. Our kids have too much already, and Dave and I decided that beginning at age 5, our children could relinquish those gifts from friends for a higher purpose.
When Carlos turned 5, we explained that he would be getting birthday presents from mommy and daddy and aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents, so that he didn't need to get so many more toys from friends. We asked him to think of someone who might need something and then ask his friends to bring a gift for that person in need. That first year, Carlos asked his friends to bring new or used baby toys for the nursery at our church. the nursery workers were in the process of cleaning out old, worn-out toys, so it was the perfect time to bring in new ones for the babies. His friends (or more accurately, his friends' parents) all complied with our request, and Carlos was able to deliver new and used toys to the church nursery. One of his favorite people in the world, Mr. Hap (the Children's Minister at our church), was there to receive the donation and talk with Carlos about it, and he was hooked. He got it. He liked it. And any consternation over what he might be missing was gone. The next year he chose to support our church's food pantry, Covenant Foods, and asked his friends to bring food for the food pantry. We delivered more than a shopping cart full of food to the pantry that year. Covenant Foods has been his passion since.
When Kidist was first presented with the idea, she was ready, because she'd witnessed her brother contributing to Covenant Food all these years. However, it's tough to give up birthday presents at such a young age, especially for Kiki - our social, vibrant, fun, in-the-moment kid. She did it, though, and right out of the gate, she wanted her substitute presents to go to Ethiopia.
Carlos still loves Covenant Foods and Ms. Mary, who runs it, but after much thought, he decided this year to do something for the Ethiopian children he will be meeting and serving in January. The elementary aged kids at our church (which includes Carlos and Kiki) collected over 100 pairs of gym shoes this summer to give to the kids in the Ethiopia Youth Soccer Ministry, a ministry we will work with in Addis Ababa. There are about 100 children in that program, all of them street kids in Addis. Carlos decided it would be nice to give each child receiving a pair of shoes a new pair of socks as well. He asked his friends to forego a present for him and bring new socks to his birthday party. He received 104 new pairs of socks! The very best part is that our kids had collected 103 pairs of shoes. I love it when God makes the math work!!!
Tomorrow we will begin stuffing shoes with socks. I can't wait to see my kids' faces when they actually hand those socks and shoes to kids who desperately need them. I know that giving up birthday presents will never be the same for them after that. How grateful I am that they can learn that lesson so personally. What a privilege and a blessing. Thank you, Lord!
When Carlos turned 5, we explained that he would be getting birthday presents from mommy and daddy and aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents, so that he didn't need to get so many more toys from friends. We asked him to think of someone who might need something and then ask his friends to bring a gift for that person in need. That first year, Carlos asked his friends to bring new or used baby toys for the nursery at our church. the nursery workers were in the process of cleaning out old, worn-out toys, so it was the perfect time to bring in new ones for the babies. His friends (or more accurately, his friends' parents) all complied with our request, and Carlos was able to deliver new and used toys to the church nursery. One of his favorite people in the world, Mr. Hap (the Children's Minister at our church), was there to receive the donation and talk with Carlos about it, and he was hooked. He got it. He liked it. And any consternation over what he might be missing was gone. The next year he chose to support our church's food pantry, Covenant Foods, and asked his friends to bring food for the food pantry. We delivered more than a shopping cart full of food to the pantry that year. Covenant Foods has been his passion since.
When Kidist was first presented with the idea, she was ready, because she'd witnessed her brother contributing to Covenant Food all these years. However, it's tough to give up birthday presents at such a young age, especially for Kiki - our social, vibrant, fun, in-the-moment kid. She did it, though, and right out of the gate, she wanted her substitute presents to go to Ethiopia.
Carlos still loves Covenant Foods and Ms. Mary, who runs it, but after much thought, he decided this year to do something for the Ethiopian children he will be meeting and serving in January. The elementary aged kids at our church (which includes Carlos and Kiki) collected over 100 pairs of gym shoes this summer to give to the kids in the Ethiopia Youth Soccer Ministry, a ministry we will work with in Addis Ababa. There are about 100 children in that program, all of them street kids in Addis. Carlos decided it would be nice to give each child receiving a pair of shoes a new pair of socks as well. He asked his friends to forego a present for him and bring new socks to his birthday party. He received 104 new pairs of socks! The very best part is that our kids had collected 103 pairs of shoes. I love it when God makes the math work!!!
Tomorrow we will begin stuffing shoes with socks. I can't wait to see my kids' faces when they actually hand those socks and shoes to kids who desperately need them. I know that giving up birthday presents will never be the same for them after that. How grateful I am that they can learn that lesson so personally. What a privilege and a blessing. Thank you, Lord!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Happy Birthday, Carlos!
Today is Carlos' 9th Birthday! He set his alarm this morning for 6:17 a.m., the time he was born. I set mine for 6:15 a.m., so I could be by his bed when he woke up. What a blessing to sit there in the dark and listen to my son breathe! Somehow, I woke him up, and he sat up in bed, very excited, and said, "Mom! Get in and lay down with me, so we can be together when the alarm goes off!" So much excitement over the moment of his beginning. We laid together like spoons, and I thought back to the cold, November morning nine years ago when he left me to take his place in this world. Precious. He's so big now. I told him as we headed downstairs for breakfast that I thought he'd gotten taller overnight!
He got a half hour of Wii before breakfast, and we ate cinnamon rolls, both big things in a house where TV/video time is tightly controlled and Mom buys only healthy cereal and high-fiber, low-sugar oatmeal!! The cinnamon rolls were his sister's idea. She is a sweet freak, so I'm fairly sure she wasn't thinking as much about her brother's birthday as she was angling an opportunity for herself to have junk-food for breakfast. It made for a fun start to her brother's day, so we went with it. When he found out breakfast was her idea, she was rewarded with a huge, lift-your-feet-off-the-ground hug. It was a good morning.
I am reminded of how intensely and abundantly we are blessed. It really is crazy when you think about it - over the top, "open the floodgates of heaven and let it pour out" kinds of blessings. My kids are beautiful, smart, healthy, good, safe, well fed, and well cared for. So, so, so many others are not. I don't know the whys of it all, but I do know that as a family we want to do something about it.
Happy Birthday, Carlos! We love you so much! Enjoy this day. And remember, Son, that all your many blessings are from the Lord.
He got a half hour of Wii before breakfast, and we ate cinnamon rolls, both big things in a house where TV/video time is tightly controlled and Mom buys only healthy cereal and high-fiber, low-sugar oatmeal!! The cinnamon rolls were his sister's idea. She is a sweet freak, so I'm fairly sure she wasn't thinking as much about her brother's birthday as she was angling an opportunity for herself to have junk-food for breakfast. It made for a fun start to her brother's day, so we went with it. When he found out breakfast was her idea, she was rewarded with a huge, lift-your-feet-off-the-ground hug. It was a good morning.
I am reminded of how intensely and abundantly we are blessed. It really is crazy when you think about it - over the top, "open the floodgates of heaven and let it pour out" kinds of blessings. My kids are beautiful, smart, healthy, good, safe, well fed, and well cared for. So, so, so many others are not. I don't know the whys of it all, but I do know that as a family we want to do something about it.
Happy Birthday, Carlos! We love you so much! Enjoy this day. And remember, Son, that all your many blessings are from the Lord.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Citizenship
Kidist was adopted 4 1/2 years ago, but we never completed the citizenship process for her. When we finally decided that all four of us would travel to Ethiopia in January, we knew we had to get that done asap. We did not want to take her back to Ethiopia without her being a full-fledged American citizen. The application was submitted many weeks ago, and we have been praying earnestly that it would be reviewed and approved expeditiously without any of the delays for which INS is so well known. From the beginning of our adoption journey, God has sheperded our paperwork through the federal government with incredible speed and accuracy. We trusted the same would be true this time. We need her citizenship finalized in order to get her an American passport (which takes at least 6 weeks), so time really is of the essence.
On Saturday morning, the doorbell rang. Dave and Kidist answered the door and found the postman standing there. Kiki immediately began giving him a hard time. (Normal for this child and an enormous embarassment to her older brother who tried to stay out of sight in the dining room.) The conversation went something like this:
On Saturday morning, the doorbell rang. Dave and Kidist answered the door and found the postman standing there. Kiki immediately began giving him a hard time. (Normal for this child and an enormous embarassment to her older brother who tried to stay out of sight in the dining room.) The conversation went something like this:
"Who are you?"
"I'm the postman."
"Why didn't you just put the mail in the mailbox?"
"Because I have something you have to sign for."
'Who is it for?"
"A Kidist Valadez."
"Hey, that's me!"
"I suspected as much."
The earliest possible date we could have expected her citizenship paperwork was November 4th. I wasn't even thinking about it and couldn't for the life of me figure out what Kidist would be getting in the mail that would require a signature. When she brought me the envelope and I saw "US Citizenship and Immigration Services", my heart jumped. I immediately had a quick thought of "I hope this is good news!" You never know. We quickly opened the envelope and found a blue folder with gold embossed letters on the front forming the US Department of Homeland Security Seal and "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services". I knew we were in good shape. Inside was a very fancy certificate of citizenship, along with a letter from the President. The child was proud of herself!! I swear she grew an inch just standing there proud and tall. In true Kiki-like fashion, she promptly asked, "Will I get to see the President?" No, child, I'm sorry. Carlos piped in, "I bet Mrs. O'Bama would really like Kiki!" You know what, Carlos? I think you are right!
At any rate, we are one step closer. And this piece was fun. Now we pray that passport issuance goes just as well.
Thank you, God, for shepherding our steps, one at a time.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Humbled
Last night was the fund-raising dinner hosted for us by our Sunday School class - amazing and wonderful friends who truly live out the words of Christ: "No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) These people have laid down their lives and taken up my own more times than I can count. And they do it in such beautiful ways! When we walked in last night, there were beautiful items laid out for a silent auction. Incredible artwork by dear friends who have the gift of creativity - paintings, photographs, jewelry. Donations of babysitting services and home cooked dinners. Fun things like a Colts helmet grill and a cooler that cools without the need for ice or can heat for you if you prefer! I was struck by how those gifts, those donations, illustrated how we are all called to give - of our time, our talents, and our treasures. Then, of course, there was the food. Tons, it seemed, of delicious home-made Italian dishes. (Thanks, girls!) The most delicious sweet tea. (Thanks, Kelly!) A cake decorated as the Ethiopian flag! Prayer cards were handed out with our family's prayer requests. (Thanks, Elizabeth!) And thank you, Amanda, for it all.
Our friends had asked that all four of us speak. Dave spoke so clearly right to the point of why we go: obedience to the Lord, teaching and training our children, and because it is a privilege. I spoke about beautiful feet and pure and undefiled religion - to care for orphans and widows in their distress (James 1:27, our family verse for this trip). But the most profound moment of the evening came from my eight year old son. We had told the kids just a week ago that our friends wanted all four of us to speak. We gave them a few days to think about it. We didn't make a big deal of it or even discuss it with them. Just let them think. Yesterday after school I reminded Kidist that she had been asked to speak and asked her if she knew what she was going to say. She told me "Yes!" and then said two or three short things, mostly about returning to see her family. I asked Carlos if he knew what he was going to say. He, too, said, "Yes." I asked him if he wanted to talk about it. He said, "No, I think I've pretty much got it." I left it at that.
After dinner, Dave spoke first, and then Kidist got stage fright and couldn't speak at all. Carlos went next. He has terrible anxiety about speaking in front of people, especially a room full of adults, not all of whom he knows well. However, he seemed perfectly calm, and when I asked if he'd go ahead, he just nodded his head yes. He stood beside the small podium, not much taller than it, and said, "Well, I'm not much into this" (meaning the trip). He then described how he was "not courageous enough to go". He openly shared his fear and ended by saying, "So, please pray for me." I'm not sure I can even describe to you how I felt - so proud of him for being honest and brave enough to admit his fear, so humbled by his complete humility in submitting to something he fears and having no anger or rebellion against it, so amazed to see God working in my own children as we prepare for this journey, young as they are.
Michelle said at our first team meeting that the journey has already begun, and she's right. God is at work in us - in every one of us - and in those around us.
For what was a fairly small group of people last night, an amazing amount of money was raised. We won't know the final total until tomorrow, probably, but I believe another full 10% of our trip will be funded. One check from one church family and one dinner event from another church family and we are 20% of the way there. God truly provides. But what I love most is the precious, beautiful way He provides and how He changes us and calls us into something new as He provides.
I can tell already that my personal theme for this trip is going to be "Humbled".
Our friends had asked that all four of us speak. Dave spoke so clearly right to the point of why we go: obedience to the Lord, teaching and training our children, and because it is a privilege. I spoke about beautiful feet and pure and undefiled religion - to care for orphans and widows in their distress (James 1:27, our family verse for this trip). But the most profound moment of the evening came from my eight year old son. We had told the kids just a week ago that our friends wanted all four of us to speak. We gave them a few days to think about it. We didn't make a big deal of it or even discuss it with them. Just let them think. Yesterday after school I reminded Kidist that she had been asked to speak and asked her if she knew what she was going to say. She told me "Yes!" and then said two or three short things, mostly about returning to see her family. I asked Carlos if he knew what he was going to say. He, too, said, "Yes." I asked him if he wanted to talk about it. He said, "No, I think I've pretty much got it." I left it at that.
After dinner, Dave spoke first, and then Kidist got stage fright and couldn't speak at all. Carlos went next. He has terrible anxiety about speaking in front of people, especially a room full of adults, not all of whom he knows well. However, he seemed perfectly calm, and when I asked if he'd go ahead, he just nodded his head yes. He stood beside the small podium, not much taller than it, and said, "Well, I'm not much into this" (meaning the trip). He then described how he was "not courageous enough to go". He openly shared his fear and ended by saying, "So, please pray for me." I'm not sure I can even describe to you how I felt - so proud of him for being honest and brave enough to admit his fear, so humbled by his complete humility in submitting to something he fears and having no anger or rebellion against it, so amazed to see God working in my own children as we prepare for this journey, young as they are.
Michelle said at our first team meeting that the journey has already begun, and she's right. God is at work in us - in every one of us - and in those around us.
For what was a fairly small group of people last night, an amazing amount of money was raised. We won't know the final total until tomorrow, probably, but I believe another full 10% of our trip will be funded. One check from one church family and one dinner event from another church family and we are 20% of the way there. God truly provides. But what I love most is the precious, beautiful way He provides and how He changes us and calls us into something new as He provides.
I can tell already that my personal theme for this trip is going to be "Humbled".
Friday, October 28, 2011
Immunizations
Great news! I went to the travel clinic this morning to update my immunizations for the trip. I needed none. However, that is not the good news. The good news is that my kids will only need 2 vaccines!! Carlos may have to have three, but I'm hoping for 2 each. I hope they will be happy when they hear the news this evening. Thank You, Lord, for your mercies!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Beautiful feet
I love that verse in Romans. "How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good tidings!" When I die (a long time from now, I hope!), I want it to be said of me that I had beautiful feet. I want to be an announcer of good tidings, a giver of hope and encouragement, a teller of good news. I pray that Dave and the kids and I will do exactly that in January when we travel to Ethiopia with Hope for His Children on a mission trip.
We will be going with about 20 others, and we will be staying primarily in the capital city, Addis Ababa. We will be working with some amazing organizations: Compassion Family International, a drop-in center for impoverished children; Ethiopia Youth Soccer Ministry, a sports program for street kids in Addis; Onesimus Children Development Association, a drop-in center for homeless street children in Addis. The amazing thing about these organizations is that they have been started and are run by Ethiopians who have sacrificed everything to serve the suffering children of Ethiopia. There will be other organizations as well, but these are ones we worked with on Hope for His Children's 2011 trip, which I went on with my mom, who is with me in the picture on the right waiting for her turn to be braided! I sure look forward to going back and supporting these new friends. We will take loads of donations, words of encouragement, and hearts full of love for the kids and the adults who faithfully serve them.
However, we have much to do before then! First, there is a large amount of money to raise. It costs alot to go on mission to Addis Ababa, and there are 4 of us going! We have started our fundraising. In fact, dear friends from our church will be hosting a fundraising dinner for us tomorrow night. They have also asked all 4 of us to speak. When we mentioned it to our kids (who are only 8 and 6), I expected a quick "I don't want to!" But neither of them responded that way. They were quiet and thoughtful, and Kiki, my wild one, responded with a short and sweet statement about why she wanted to go. How humbling it is to see God working in my children as we prepare.
I was also humbled when we went back home to Illinois to visit my parents this past weekend. I attended the same church my whole life until I moved away to college and then married. The church is a small, white country church, just like in the pictures you see in calendars and magazines. The people in that church are family to me, many of them actual blood relatives, but the remainder every bit as much family even though our blood lines don't cross. As we joined hands to close out the service on Sunday morning in prayer, the pastor stepped toward me and handed me a check - an offering of support and love from my home church. I was moved to tears as I accepted that check and they prayed over our family and our upcoming trip. I was absolutely blown away later that day when I opened that folded check and saw the amount. That tiny little country church has already funded 10% of our whole trip with just one check. I was drawn to my knees.
God is amazing, and I love seeing the wonder of Him in His precious children - living, breathing images of Him on this earth. How much they mean to me. What a beautiful representation of what it really means to be the body of Christ.
There is also the matter of immunizations. I go tomorrow to get mine. That visit should be easy, as I went before my trip last year and got everything updated from our trip 4 years ago. I will need one or two at most, I suspect. Dave will need a few more, but more than anything the kids are TERRIFIED about this part. They heard all the stories about how Dave and I had to get 8 (all at one time - 4 in each arm) the first time we went. Carlos has never handled shots very well, and when Kiki first heard that she had to get shots to go, she flatly said she wasn't going! (This is the child that has talked non-stop about going since I went last year.) Pray for us. I pray for the wisdom to know what they really should have and what they can be spared. I pray for no side effects or long-term consequences. I pray they will be courageous and handle it with grace. (Carlos actually kicked a nurse once in panic mode over an immunization!)
The list goes on, but for now that is enough. Pray for us, please! Pray that the funds will come and that God will cover us with His grace and mercy as we face the dreaded injections! Pray that he prepares our hearts for the work He has laid out for all of us to do there.
We will be going with about 20 others, and we will be staying primarily in the capital city, Addis Ababa. We will be working with some amazing organizations: Compassion Family International, a drop-in center for impoverished children; Ethiopia Youth Soccer Ministry, a sports program for street kids in Addis; Onesimus Children Development Association, a drop-in center for homeless street children in Addis. The amazing thing about these organizations is that they have been started and are run by Ethiopians who have sacrificed everything to serve the suffering children of Ethiopia. There will be other organizations as well, but these are ones we worked with on Hope for His Children's 2011 trip, which I went on with my mom, who is with me in the picture on the right waiting for her turn to be braided! I sure look forward to going back and supporting these new friends. We will take loads of donations, words of encouragement, and hearts full of love for the kids and the adults who faithfully serve them.
However, we have much to do before then! First, there is a large amount of money to raise. It costs alot to go on mission to Addis Ababa, and there are 4 of us going! We have started our fundraising. In fact, dear friends from our church will be hosting a fundraising dinner for us tomorrow night. They have also asked all 4 of us to speak. When we mentioned it to our kids (who are only 8 and 6), I expected a quick "I don't want to!" But neither of them responded that way. They were quiet and thoughtful, and Kiki, my wild one, responded with a short and sweet statement about why she wanted to go. How humbling it is to see God working in my children as we prepare.
I was also humbled when we went back home to Illinois to visit my parents this past weekend. I attended the same church my whole life until I moved away to college and then married. The church is a small, white country church, just like in the pictures you see in calendars and magazines. The people in that church are family to me, many of them actual blood relatives, but the remainder every bit as much family even though our blood lines don't cross. As we joined hands to close out the service on Sunday morning in prayer, the pastor stepped toward me and handed me a check - an offering of support and love from my home church. I was moved to tears as I accepted that check and they prayed over our family and our upcoming trip. I was absolutely blown away later that day when I opened that folded check and saw the amount. That tiny little country church has already funded 10% of our whole trip with just one check. I was drawn to my knees.
God is amazing, and I love seeing the wonder of Him in His precious children - living, breathing images of Him on this earth. How much they mean to me. What a beautiful representation of what it really means to be the body of Christ.
There is also the matter of immunizations. I go tomorrow to get mine. That visit should be easy, as I went before my trip last year and got everything updated from our trip 4 years ago. I will need one or two at most, I suspect. Dave will need a few more, but more than anything the kids are TERRIFIED about this part. They heard all the stories about how Dave and I had to get 8 (all at one time - 4 in each arm) the first time we went. Carlos has never handled shots very well, and when Kiki first heard that she had to get shots to go, she flatly said she wasn't going! (This is the child that has talked non-stop about going since I went last year.) Pray for us. I pray for the wisdom to know what they really should have and what they can be spared. I pray for no side effects or long-term consequences. I pray they will be courageous and handle it with grace. (Carlos actually kicked a nurse once in panic mode over an immunization!)
The list goes on, but for now that is enough. Pray for us, please! Pray that the funds will come and that God will cover us with His grace and mercy as we face the dreaded injections! Pray that he prepares our hearts for the work He has laid out for all of us to do there.
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