20 Treasures

Today was Sunday. Sunday at SCH means all 82 of the children are at the home because none of our children are in school or at vocational training. I love Sundays at SCH. To me, it means that I get to spend more time with the school kids, who I see very little of during the week. Sometimes, I feel like I completely miss out on getting to know the school kids because they go to school all day, come home and go straight upstairs to do homework. Sundays mean we all get to spend the day, all together, as a family. Sunday is fun day. We just have fun! Last week, we played water games. Today, we colored with chalk and some of the children rode bikes and tricycles around the courtyard. Sundays also wipe me out. It’s quite a crazy, loud, and sometimes chaotic place at SCH on a Sunday. The children are so excited to be able to play with the toys and have the day off, so excited it makes for an overwhelming day for us volunteers. Their joy and excitement over bubbles being blown in the air is about as equivalent to surprising a child and taking them to Disneyworld. They love the simple things in life! It just doesn’t take much to make these kids happy. I love that.  

Right now is a very urgent and critical time at Sarah’s Covenant Homes. For the past 2 months, Sarah has been working hard as an advocate for the 20 children with severe special needs currently waiting in the government orphanage. Sarah finally has the papers signed and the government is ready to hand over the children to SCH. However, SCH is struggling to pay the bills and is not at a place, financially, to care for the children and meet all of the demanding needs they will come with. All of the children are severely malnourished, anemic, neglected, and not properly cared for in the government orphanage. They sit on mats all day, with no stimulation, in their own waste, and are not receiving the love or care that any person needs to thrive and grow. They are emotionally and physically deprived. So when they first come to SCH, their needs are especially demanding as they come with many health problems, often so severe that they are near death. Sarah’s Covenant Home’s mission is to rescue abandoned children, give them a family and an environment of love to thrive and grow in. But nursing them back to health and ultimately saving their lives is equally the work Sarah does for these children. Sometimes I am amazed at the stories I hear of children at SCH when they first arrived. Just the other day I heard the story of our little Andrew, a joyful, talkative, active 3 year old boy here at SCH. A year ago, when he came to SCH, he did not walk or talk, cried for hours a day, and was so unhealthy and malnourished he was barely alive. And now he is a different little boy! So full of life, laughter, and personality! Or there’s my little guy Cedar who came to SCH so sick and bone- thin that people didn’t expect him to stay alive much longer; he was literally fighting for his life. And now he is a healthy little guy who has plenty of meat on his bones. These kinds of stories are the same story of so many of our kids here at SCH. Each and every one of them is a miracle. The fact that some of them can still smile and have joy after the kind of life they have lived is a miracle in itself. And it’s all because someone just gave them a chance. They are all living proof that the simple acts of love and nurture can turn a life around. That is why it is so important for people to donate to SCH right now, because SCH wants to be able to do the same thing for these 20 new children as they have done for the 82 they have now. The longer they stay in the orphanage, the harder the fight becomes for them to stay alive and have the chance to come live with us at SCH. By September 7, Sarah would like to take the first 10 home to SCH. These 10 are the most desperate for our care and are at a critical point in their health. Before SCH can take those kids in, they need to raise $20,000 to pay existing bills and prepare for their coming. Those 20 children need to come to SCH so they can have a quality life and they need you to help them get there. You are not only helping to rescue these kids from a life of abandonment and neglect but you are saving their lives too. You’re giving them a chance at life. Just watch what they will do when they are given that chance. It will amaze you. It amazes me everyday. Their society has labeled them worthless but we, here at SCH, declare them a treasure. Help us take these treasures home with us. Most importantly of all, please be in prayer for these kiddos. Pray that the Lord will release them into our care at the perfect time. Pray that God would give them strength in their bodies to stay alive. Pray for the provision of God for funds to come in.

Speaking of prayer, thank you for keeping Genevieve in your prayers. God is defiantly answering and her eye is recovering and healing so well this time! Just tonight, I saw that she was able to open her eye. There is no swelling, no infection, and her eye is responding well to the medicine. After 2 failed surgeries, we are all so happy to see that she is recovering well this time with no infection! Third time’s a charm right? Please keep her in your prayers as she still has more recovery to go through. The other day, Genevieve went back to school for the first time in months. Because of all her surgeries, she hasn’t been able to go to school. When I woke her up to get her ready for school, she shot out of bed and was so excited to get ready for her first day back. She was so happy to put her new school sandals on and wear her backpack. I felt like a total mom as I wanted to take a million pictures of her in her school outfit. She sang all the way to the bus stop. She really is such a happy kid and it rubs off on everyone she comes in contact with.

The other day, a friend was telling me about how she could never do what I am doing right now here in India. The first thought that comes into my mind whenever anyone says that to me is “I couldn’t do it either”. If only you could see how weak and ineffective I am on my own. And that’s just the truth about this whole thing; It’s only by the grace of God that I am able to do this. With what’s left of my energy, my love, my patience, my strength, and my joy is so limited and so very little. I am so limited in my own capacity to love these children and my strength to do it everyday ran out a long time ago. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said to myself, “I really don’t think I can do this”. At this point in the journey, I see more and more everyday how it is Him who is doing it all. In my own weakness, he has made me strong. The weaker I become, the more God takes over. I grow more tired and weak here everyday, but God shows himself all the more through that. It’s so interesting how God works. Sometimes, I just think he needs us to get out of the way so He can give us what we are so desperately in need for. I think one of the most powerful things I have experienced here is looking back on all my days, all my weakest moments, and the times I’ve said “I give up”, and seen how God has turned that into some of my best moments here, my most joyful times with the children, and my most successful days of ministry. And to think that all I had to do was just step aside and let Him do it. My prayer has turned from “Lord, make me strong” to “Lord, make me weak so that your power can work through me”

“And the Lord replied ‘my grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.’ Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now, I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size- abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over. And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.” 2 Corinthians 12:10-12 (the message)

Here is how you can donate to Sarah's Covanent Homes:
- http://www.share11.org/ A non-profit organization that raises money for SCH. They ask for 11 dollars and then for you to tell 11 others to donate 11 dollars too. It's as easy as that!

- Sarah's Covanent Home's Make a donation directly to SCH

Watch this video to see just how much we need your help!

The Need

Home Sweet Home

After being away in Hyderabad for 4 days this past week, it’s good to be home in Ongole! As I took the night bus back to Ongole, I felt the saying “home sweet home” repeating itself in my head. After being here for 6 weeks, this place truly does feel like home to me. In Hyderabad, I was homesick for the small town life that Ongole brings and all the kids at SCH. So, needless to say, it’s good to be back!

Last Tuesday, at the last minute, I was informed that I was going to be taking Genevieve to Hyderabad to see the doctor. Her eye was becoming infected once again, after having her second surgery on her cornea. Genevieve was born with a cyst on her eye and in return, has impaired her sight in the eye. She has had a successful surgery to remove the cyst, but now doctors are working on putting a new cornea in to give her sight. Both surgeries she has had to repair the cornea have failed and her eye has become infected and swollen. When I took her to the doctor in Hyderabad, he decided that she would go in for yet another surgery to try and repair the graft in her eye-this would be her third surgery. So for 4 days, I was shuffling little Genevieve around an Indian hospital, seeing the doctor and taking her into surgery with one of our SCH nurses, who speaks very little English. It was overwhelming trying to navigate myself around a very large Indian hospital, communicate with doctors clearly, and take care of Genevieve post surgery. Once again, I felt the amount of responsibility that was placed on my shoulders sink in. Genevieve is now back in Ongole with us staying at our apartment and her eye seems to be doing well. Being the one responsible to take care of Genevieve full time has made me feel like her mother in a way. It’s a full time job! It makes me appreciate all you mothers out there because you never really get a break. I’m realizing that motherhood may be a long way off for me!

Things at the home have been going great! This Monday was Independence Day in India and so we got to celebrate with the SCH kids. They put on a festive event at the home, the kids dressed in their best outfits, and proudly waved their Indian flags. It was fun to be apart of a very big day in India. We also have had a couple recently come to volunteer for 1 month. They were here last year for 3 months and they have returned this year with a non profit organization up and running to raise money for SCH. Kody, is a professional photographer, so their main objective this time is to film the kids and make videos to promote their organization. He is an amazing photographer and has captured some really special moments at SCH so far. Their organization, called “share 11” is really unique too, it asks people to donate 11 dollars to SCH and then get 11 other people to donate 11 dollars too. With Sarah’s Covenant Home’s being so young (only 3 years old) they are still striving to make ends meet with basic things the kids need. Things like diapers and pediasure are two of the most expensive things on SCH’s monthly budget, yet they are absolutely the most important things on their monthly budget. Share 11 raises money to help meet those basic needs of the kids here. I hate to be one of those people that try to convince you to donate your money to a good cause, but it’s different when I am able to see so many deserving kids with needs that can easily be met by people like you and me. Seeing the many different needs and knowing that 11 dollars could meet one of those needs is exciting to think about. So consider going to share11.org and finding out about how you can make a big difference with very little money.

Update on Cedar- he is doing so good! For the past 2 weeks, I have been able to walk into his room and see him awake in his crib. This is a miracle in itself as the first three weeks I was here, he was asleep all day, everyday. Oh the joy when I greet him everyday and I get to see that big smile of his light up the room. Since he has been awake and alert for most of the day, he is doing so much better sitting up on his own. I have had him sitting up in his chair for an hour at a time now and he is smiles the whole time! From the little boy that slept all day and cried whenever you sat him up to an awake, happy boy who sits up for an hour each day with a smile is a miracle in itself. He is definitely making progress and should be able to start practicing standing up soon. It just goes to show a little practice each day makes a big difference! I’m so proud of him.

Seven weeks living in India and working at a children’s home for special needs orphans has done nothing but challenge and amaze me on a daily basis. I often contemplate what I will say when I return home and people ask me about my experience. It’s been the hardest seven weeks of my life that I would not take it away for anything in the world. I have fallen in love with 82 truly special and precious children. But the Lord is relentless in continuing to stretch me and ask me if I really trust Him on a daily basis. Never have I been put out of my comfort zone more, had to be more flexible and willing to do whatever needs to be done, and give up what I know to be familiar. I’ve been stripped of anything easy or comfortable. That’s something I’m still getting used to everyday. If anything, I realize everyday, more and more how attached I was to everything I have back home. I realize how comfortable I was, how I was able to think of myself before others more often, and how I truly took for granted the life of privilege I lived. I needed to be taken away from my life of comfort. I needed to let God grow me and stretch me. I needed to surrender the things I was attached to that deep down, really didn’t matter. And God has given me such a gift in this great challenge. And that is the joy of knowing Him and being given the chance to love people that have been called “the least of these”. It’s the joy of walking through the gates of SCH and knowing 100% that God has called me to this time and place to be his hands and feet. It’s the joy in finding comfort through rocking and singing to a child at the end of the day. It’s watching the smile on their face when you say “I love you”. It’s the contentment in knowing that beyond everything there is in life, I will always have Jesus. That’s why the challenge is so beautiful.

Prayer Requests:

-         Genevieve’s eye recovery. Pray for complete and full healing in her eye and that this surgery will be successful. Pray that she would have restored eye sight.

-         Pray for finances and provisions to come in for SCH

-         Pray that Cedar would grow strong in his body and his legs would have strength to stand and walk. Pray for continual joy in his spirit.

-         Pray for strength for me to run this race with endurance and finish my time here strong.

Rejoice! His Love Endures Forever

I am relieved to say that things have been quite mellow and peaceful around here for the past few days. Of course, I say that while 3 year old Genevieve (the little girl who lives with us while she recovers from eye surgery) runs around our apartment with bells around her ankles. There's always a bit of chaos around here but that makes for never a dull moment. Everyday is such a ride! 

Ezra, has returned from the hospital after receving surgery on his broken femer. About a week ago, we noticed that Ezra's leg was swollen and when we took him to the hospital the doctors quickly determined that his leg was broken. For the past week, Ezra has been in Hyderabad receving treatment and surgery. Today, he came home to stay at our apartment while he recovers. He should be with us for a while. I'm actually really excited to have him here because he is one of the boys I have made a strong connection with. He is, however, in a lot of pain. Please keep him in your prayers as he recovers from surgery. He has cerebral palsy so any kind of surgery recovery is made extra difficult and painful because of the lack of muscle and body control. He is such a sweet little boy and even in the midst of his pain, I see that heart-melting smile of his come out every now and again. 

We have had a world race team come and volunteer with us for the month of august. It has been really fun and helpful to have them around the home to help with the children. They have been traveling around the world,to 11 different countries in 11 months, doing missions work. They are in their 11 month now and so their last stop is SCH here in India. I have been so thankful for their company and being able to listen to their stories as they have been on one crazy and amazing adventure for the past year. And of course, having them share their experiences with someone like me who is obsessed with missions and travel, I think they may have sold me on the idea of joining the world race someday when I am done with college. Who knows...I could be in their shoes in a few years. Anyways, I'm getting a little too ahead of myself. With the team being here, they were able to clear out our storage closet at the home. They were able to pull out the wheelchairs and walkers so lately, I have been taking kids with CP outside for a walk while I push them in the wheelchair. To see the smiles on their faces as I walk outside the gates of SCH to go for a walk is priceless. Today, I took one of our boys Joshua, on a walk around the village and he was giggling and smiling the whole time. It's also nice for me to be able to explore the neighborhood a bit and take some one-on-one time with kids. This has become my new favorite thing to do with the kids at SCH, especially because I know how much of a difference it makes for our immoble kids to get out of bed and their rooms. I have also been able to see Cedar awake and laughing in his crib for the past 3 days as I have come to SCH every morning! I can't even describe to you how happy it makes me to walk into his room and see him awake and laughing after a month of walking in to see him asleep everyday. This has made for some really great Nat and Cedar time! 2 hours with this guy feels like 2 minutes. Time flies when your watching him laugh and adore being tickled and held. What I would do to take him home with me and be his mom. Who knows... maybe when I am married I can come back for him and he could be my son? But there I go again, getting a little too far ahead of myself. Besides having some great time together, he has also been doing a great job sitting up on his own. Since he is awake and alert, its a lot easier to work with him on sitting up.He has been doing so good with this and I can see that he is getting stronger. Regardless, I am so overjoyed to see him awake and one happy boy.

The faithfulness of God has been a consistent reminder to me while I have been here. The other night, after a long day and once again feeling overwhelmed with homesickness and loneliness, I was just laying in my bed talking to God. I was just telling him how I felt and soon I was asleep having a dream that I know God decided to deliver to me. In this dream, I was exhaustingly walking up a long ladder in a small log cabin. I was so tired and grumbling to myself the misery I was in. The ladder soon reached to a small and cozy loft with a window facing out onto beautiful scenery. When I reached the top, I was still moaning to myself while at the same time, walking without hesitation toward a man sitting in a pile of blankets peacefully looking out the window. As I said the words "and all I really want is a friend" I was crawling into his lap. The moment I plopped into his lap completely limp, I was instantly at perfect peace. I was where I was supposed to be. I was in the arms of Jesus. When I woke up, I knew that Jesus was holding me in the moments I feel so weak and alone. He has been holding me this entire time and he has been everything I have needed when I have needed it most. Sometimes, it can feel like I am constantly climbing a ladder. I grow tired and weak but he is faithful to be at the top, ready to hold my tired body and spirit in his arms. I dont think the Lord could have given me a more beautiful and clear picture of his steadfast love for me. Not a day goes by where he doesnt remind me of his faithfulness to bring me through each day with a smile on my face and joy in my heart. It's hard and he is stretching me more than ever but I am growing because of it. Even as I moan and groan as he challenges me, he is consistent to recieve me with open arms when the growing gets tough. He is taking care of me, walking me through each day with his patient love, and giving me the ability to recieve each new day that comes with joy and thankfulness. God is good. All the time.

I can say with full confidence that I am having the most amazing, challenging, exhausting, joyful, stretching, growing, satisfying, and rewarding experiences of my life.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul." Psalm 23: 1-3

Thanks for taking time to read. Love you guys.

The Miracle of Love

It has been a crazy past few days! And like usual, I have been stretched as I have been placed in situations that I was not prepared for. But, here in India, you learn to just go with whatever is thrown at you. Living in India, everyday brings new experiences and surprises. But living in India and working at Sarah's Covanent Homes...well, that means double the surprises.

Our most recent child we have received here at SCH is an autistic boy named Benjamin. Benjamin is 13 years old and he was brought to SCH in December of 2010 after being found roaming the streets alone. We don't know what Benjamin's life was like up until he came to stay with us. Benjamin is severly autistic and the way he is stimulated is through biting people. And when I say biting, I mean a kind of biting that takes peoples skin off. Lately, Benjamin has been biting too much and causing a lot of chaos at the home. So, when many of our Iaya's (the women who live in the home full time and take care of the children) were away visiting their families for a few days, there was no one to watch Benjamin one-on-one to make sure he did not get up and bite people in the night. So, we took Ben home with us! He came to stay with us in our apartment for the night. It took us quite a long time to get him to fall asleep as he screamed, kicked, and of course bit. We ended up having to safely restrain him in order to keep him from hurting himself and us. Morning came, and we took Ben back to the home. But, once again, Ben was up to no good at the home and continuing to bite people. This time, it was much more severe and he was clearly out of control. By the end of the day, we had Ben being restrained in our offices, calling doctors to see what kind of medicine we can give him to help him calm down. 2 hours later, we decided that it was best for Benjamin to go to a psychiatric hospital. As we were leaving the home with Benjamin, we remembered that one of our other little boys was very sick with a fever, had not been eating for 3 days, and was very dehydrated. Cassie and I ended up taking Jeff to the hospital while the other's took Benjamin to the psychiatric hospital. We ended up driving to multiple places, getting blood work done, and seeing doctors for Jeff. As I sat in the rickshaw at 8:30 at night, holding a paralized and very sick boy in my arms, I had one of those moments where you stop yourself and realize the kind of situation you're in. I never thought that I was going to be given so much responsibility in caring for these kids, but what an honor it is to be their advocate and shuffle them around until they receive the medical attention they deserve. What a responsibility I feel the Lord has placed in my lap, but how honored I feel that He has entrusted these precious lives into my hands. How I take this responsibility seriously and with great pride.

Currently, Benjamin is still in the psych hospital being observed and tested for new medication by the doctors. He should be back with us at SCH in a few days. As for Jeff, he was able to get some medicine from the doctors and his fever has gone down. After taking him to our apartment after seeing the doctor, he is starting to eat again and is hydrated. In one day, we have seen Jeff go from barely moving and completley limp to kicking around a ball with his feet and laughing. It's amazing how a little special attention and love can go with these kids. I honestly believe that the encouragment and love we lather on these kids gives physical strength and a strong will to keep fighting against their ill bodies. What power there is simply loading up your love on a needy child. What a miracle it is to watch the transformation when they are able to receive it. I may not see physical miracles here everyday but I get to watch the miracle of love take place on a daily basis. As I watch their spirit's come to life with a simple smile or a hug, I can feel my spirit come alive too. I am reminded of how divine and beautiful the Lord has made the connection between human spirits.

This morning, as I woke up exhausted from a crazy night going from different hospitals, I felt pretty drained. In all honesty, sometimes I just miss home and yearn for the comforts of being surrounded with friends and family.This morning was one of those mornings. I listened to a podcast from my church, and with my random selection of messages, I soon realized that this was the just the message I needed to hear. It was talking about how God gives us an ability and with that comes responsibility and with that comes grace. God is not going to give me an ability and responsibility without giving me his grace to do it. I have been graced by God to do this and his grace is sufficient for me to make it through the tough times. I was so encouraged to be reminded that indeed, this is where God has called me and this is what he has graced me to do. How thankful I was for his never ending supply of grace this morning. "You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus"(2 Timothy 2:1) Praise God that he has given us all so many different and unique abilities and more than enough grace to fully use it for his glory. I walked into the home today fully energized and ready to get my arms around those kids. And I knew that it was by his grace that I was able to do so.