Perseverance

Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it.  I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down.  ~Charles F. Kettering

This has been one of those difficult weeks.  Poor Brody was challenged greatly, and I'm very proud of him for pushing through some hard doctors' appointments and sickness.  If you're new to Brody stories, keep in mind he has a sensory disorder and problems with anxiety. 


Monday was Brody's first time at the dentist.  This is a big deal for a child who does not like his head touched.  The staff at the dentist office was AMAZING!  They made the experience for him a good one.  It was very thoughtful how they explain everything to him, let him touch equipment, and prepared him for what was happening next.  I'm very thankful for how they went over and beyond for Brody.  He really enjoyed going....what an awesome surprise!  Please pray he will continue to like the dentist on Monday when he has his first filling.  I'm not sure if he will be able to do it, but we're going to try.  We have to try.

Also at the dentist, I noticed Brody had a slight cough.  I figured it was because of his mouth being open from the cleaning.  I was wrong.  As the day progressed, the cough kept getting worse.  I made a doctor's appointment because my "mama gut" said to.  Doctor said, "He has pneumonia."   He just had that a month and half ago.   Brody was so pitiful by that night.  One of the hardest parts about being a mom is not being able to magically make your child better.  I prayed.  I prayed, and God showed up BIG TIME.  I saw improvements by the next morning.  It was difficult keep him from running around for a couple of days.  Brody is a man on the go!

Since he has had several lung problems over the past several months, the doctor refer us to a pulmonary doctor.  Doctor's appointment #3 was on Thursday.  The pulmonary doctor really felt the lung problems were a result from allergies.   This makes sense because Brody has been on allergy medicine since he was 10 months old.  The Brice Family has kept Claritin's stock up for the past five years.  We have not done a skin test to find out what he was allergic to because of his sensory disorder.  The doctor stressed the importance of it so I gave the "ok" to do it.  I held Brody's arms and shoulders down, one nurse held his legs, and the other nurse quickly as possible stuck him with all the little needles.   He cried, but he did not have a panic attack.  Praise the Lord!

This was not easy or fun.  It was however a blessing in disguise because apparently Brody is allergic to many things.  Poor kid had some severe reactions.  

If you're curious, B-man is allergic to:
every type of grass- Bermuda, Kentucky, Fescue, Rye, Johnson, Orchard, and the list goes on.
every type of mold- Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cephalosporium, and the list goes on.
a couple of trees- Ash and Elm
a couple of weeds- Cocklebur and Pigweed
Food was not severe but he did flare some with Strawberry, Pecan, and Soybean


This grass business is a big bummer for the kid who loves to be outside.

Brody fishing with his Pops

Brody liked wearing his Nanny's boots so the ants could not bit him.

Since Brody is getting sick regularly, he is going to have to start getting allergy shots.  He will receive shots twice a week the first six weeks then we will go once a week.  I hate he will have to gets shots, but I hate him having pneumonia more.  


What did I learn this week?  Perseverance will pay off if you keep pushing forward.  If you would have told me two years ago that Brody would have gone to the dentist and had an allergy skin test done in the same week, I'm not sure I would have believed it.  Through God's hand being on Brody, our family's hard work, therapies, medication, and an amazing preschool we are seeing Brody make progress every month.  He is being successful because of perseverance.  I cannot count the days he and I have both shed tears.  And yes, some of those tears were this week!  We have not and will not give up on giving him every opportunity for him to be as successful as possible in life.  It may have been a hard week, but it was also a week of seeing results.  Sometimes it takes a little stress to have gratitude.   


Little encouragement for my bloggy friends
Don't give up!  Whether it's learning something new at your job, pottery training your child, teaching your child to read, dealing with your teenager's crazy behavior, learning to take care of a sick person, transitioning an adopted child into your family, trying to get along with your spouse, or whatever is really challenging you, please don't quit.  Stick with it, and it will get better.  I know some days feel like it's just too hard, but you have to believe that tomorrow is always a new day.  And should tomorrow be hard too, well there's always the next day.  ;-)

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them. ~Henry David Thoreau

We all have things we dream about seeing and experiencing, and I was very blessed to accomplished a couple of those last week.  Here are some pictures of my favorite things from Honduras.

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee!  One of my favorite things is coffee.  It was so neat to see it grow.  It was even more fun buying it. 

CHOCOLATE!  And here is another favorite growing.

A big old frog!  A little weird, yes, but this is my favorite list after all.

My favorite color is green.  Corn growing on the side of the hill is an awesome sight to me.

My favorite way to spend my time is playing with children.  I'm in the middle in a green shirt.

Do It Anyways

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.  Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

-this version is credited to Mother Teresa

No matter what others think or say, always do what you know is right.  Some might think it's pointless to go feed people who might possibly end up in the same situation again.  I say feed them anyways.  Some might think it's pointless to educate people who strongly stick to their customs.  I say teach them anyways. 

It is always right to help those in true need.  When a people group is starving, feed them.  When your neighbors are without clothes, clothe them.  When a widow is facing the world alone, defend her.  When a child is without parents, adopt him.  When the poor cross your path, provide for them.  When you see the lonely, befriend them.  No matter what the world might say, do it anyways!

 

This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.  Jeremiah 22:3
 

Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.  Psalm 34:14

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?  Isaiah 58:6

Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.  Isaiah 1:17

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.  James 1:27

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.  Psalm 82:3

Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.  Proverbs 31:9

So that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.  Deuteronomy 14:29

I loved this little boy's Diego shirt. It reminded me of Diego's rescue song, "Al Rescate Amigos, To the Rescue My Friends"
Matthew 22:36-39 says, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself."

To love our neighbor, we need to come to their rescue when they need help.

This Honduras trip has really taught me to "do it anyways" and "Al Rescate Amigos!"

Honduras...it's one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Can you find the house?

It's almost like a hidden treasure. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined it to be so beautiful. It's green everywhere, and trees and plants are a marvel to me. The hills and mountains take my breathe away. Everyday when we load up in the truck, I'm so excited for what I get to see.

The Chorti live in some areas that are hard to get to, but when we finally reach our destanation we are amazed at the beauty of their land.

Many people dream of waking up to palm trees, and these people experience it daily.

Now their homes are simple homes because they are a simple people. They farm, their fathers farmed, and one day their children will farm.

The average child only goes to school through the 1st or 3rd grade. Some do not get to attend school at all. They learn the basics of reading and writing. After a basic amount of schooling, they farm as well. Very few go onto to a high school.

You know what you know because it's all you have ever known. The Chorti, like everyone else in the world, does not get to pick where and what they are born into to. Of course, I figure they would have it no other way. They know the beauty of where they live. So what happens when the weather does not cooperate for good farming? All food supply is used up and there is no more food. They do not have the money to go buy food. At this point, they have to have help. Almost 40 Chorti villages have now been given a month's supply of food.

To recieve food they register with the Chorti council. Our church then brings bags of corn and beans according to the number of families reported to us. The line up to sign-in (a finger print because some cannot sign their name and we also don't want to embrassed anyone). They also have to show an ID. Did you know everyone here has an ID? That doesn't even happen in America, but that's a story for another blog.

At one of the villages today, there were five families that did not get registered with the council. All of the village lovingly gave a bowl of corn and beans from their bags to these families. It was awesome watching them share and take care of one another.

Today we learned of even more Chorti villages, and there is a need of more workers and funds to meet the needs. I don't know where more funds will come from, but God will take care of it. Please pray for these people. They are such a kind and gentle people who really deserve to have food. They will have a harvest come fall, but that is several weeks away.

Honduras Day 4

I wrote about food distrubution in my last blog, and today I'll try to fill you in on what the whole day is like.


-5:40 am we leave the hotel to walk to the mission house
-5:50 am is a devotion time lead by a student
-6-7 am is spent eating breakfast and packing a lunch
-7:00 We head to a warehouse that stores the corn and beans
-Loading up the trucks (bags weigh between 50 and 100 lbs.)
-Driving to a village
-Registration, distrubution, Bible story, and playing games at the village
-Drive back to the warehouse to eat lunch and load up the trucks again
-Driving to a second village (none of these villages are easy to get to in case you were wondering)
-Registration, distrubution, Bible story, and playing games at the village
-Driving back to the hotel
-Rest
-Dinner
-Team meeting
-Free time, but mostly just bedtime

While all the food stuff is going on, we also spend time with the children. Each one of our teenagers has been assigned to learn a story from the Bible. The Chorti culture learn a great deal through story telling. It is important each teenager tells his or her story well because the children will pass on the story to others in their village. After the story, each child gets a coloring sheet that goes along with the story. This a good reminder of the story, and it is also a way to review the story. The Chorti really love to color. I've been amazed at how long the children and sometimes adults will color. It's funny how sometimes the kids will fight over the black crayons because they all want to color the hair black.

After the story or sometimes before the story, we play games. The boys love throwing a tennis ball around. The girls tend to like jump roping better. Today we got out a parchute to play with, and it was a big hit. The smiles on the children's faces when they played with the colorful parchute was priceless. All the kids like playing soccer too!

These days are long and tiring and some of the best days ever! It is a lot of fun, and we are all very grateful for the opportunity to come to Honduras. Each village has been different, but they are all a very gentle people. It's been an honor to meet the Chorti!