I heard a love song on Pandora today (When a Man Loves a Woman) and I started thinking about all the little things Josh does for me and it filled me with a feeling of overwhelming love and gratefulness for all he does.
One memory of him being amazing keeps playing over and over again in my head so I thought I'd write about it. :)
When we were living in South Africa, I got a staph infection in my hands that turned septic. It was horrible. I could hardly do anything. Shower, get dressed, use the restroom, brush my hair, eat. Josh had to help me with everything. And he did it without complaining. But that is not the memory that stands out. Because of the infection, when anything touched my hands it caused excruciating pain. Even sleeping became quite the task. When I finally was diagnosed and got proper medicine, slowly but surely the pain went away, along with all the other symptoms. I remember the first time I was able to interlock my fingers as I was praying. It was such a great feeling!
One day we came back to our house with our team and Josh and I were walking up to the door. He took my hand and held it as we ascended the stairs to the house. One of our team members turned around and said how cute it was that Josh held my hand even on really short walks (from the car to the door). He looked at her and said, "I have to make up for lost time." When my hands were hurt, he couldn't hold them. I never thought about him missing that. Those 8 words have found a permanent place in my heart. Josh meant what he said. He wasn't trying to be sweet or earn brownie points. He was just being genuine.
This made me think of all the other ways Josh is amazing. I will give just one more story. Last year I was visiting my sister and her family in Nebraska. I kissed my nephew goodbye the night before I left because I was leaving very early the next morning. Or so I thought. I guess my nephew wanted me to hang around a little longer because he passed on his stomach virus to me through that sweet little kiss. So I stayed a few more hours until I felt "well" enough to tackle the 6 hour drive home. By the time I got home that evening, my temperature was 101. I knew I had to eat something so Josh made some chicken noodle soup. I took just a few bites before climbing into bed.
The next day I was feeling better but still sick so I made some more soup. It was the same brand that Josh had made the day before, but this one had carrots in it. It dawned on me that Josh had picked out all of the little carrot pieces because he knows I don't like them. I'm pretty sure I started crying right away and had to call him and tell him how amazing he is.
I'm not sure why I felt the need to write these two memories down, but I just had a feeling that I should so I did. I am so blessed to have married such an amazing man. For these reasons and more I am so passionate about young women waiting for the man God has chosen for them instead of settling for what they think is the best they can do. There has been a blog brewing in my brain about this for some time so hopefully soon the time will come for me to write that one. But until then, ladies - wait for your man. Pray for your husband. I started praying for my husband when I was 15. When I finally met him, I recognized him. And I didn't meet him until I was 23 (almost 24). He's worth the wait!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0CxOTheRJk&list=RDh0CxOTheRJk
This is a link to my favorite version of "When a Man Loves a Woman". Enjoy!
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Transparency
Since my last post, I heard from so many women who understood and appreciated the content of the blog. That support has inspired me to write more so maybe I can help those of you who are going through the same struggle I am.
It has now been almost a year since we began fertility testing and it has been a roller coaster of emotions. Through all of our doctors appointments, procedures, blood work, etc. there has only been one time that my doctor has said, "I have good news for you." One time. While I always try to hold my head up high, think positive thoughts, hold on to hope, I still have my bad days. Days where I ask God, "Why us?"
I titled this blog "Transparency" because I want to be as transparent with you as I can. I tend to be an open book anyway, but I want to be real with you about the struggles that women in my shoes and couples in our shoes face everyday when suffering with infertility.
Our journey with testing began with Josh having to have a semen analysis. This is where they analyze the sperm and determine if his sperm count is high or low, how the motility is and if there are any abnormal sperm. His test came back great which was a relief because I didn't want anything to be wrong with him. But then that left only one person who was "damaged"- me. Don't get me wrong, Josh never made me feel like damaged goods or that I was less of a woman or anything like that. But as a woman, it's just how you feel when you realize your body is the one who won't allow you to carry a baby.
So then I had to undergo all kinds of tests. First, my gynecologist ordered blood work in which they tested hormone levels, ovarian reserve levels, ovulation regularity and all of that. Those all came back fine. Then I had to undergo a hysterosalpingogram or HSG. This is where they inject dye into your uterus to see if there is any blockage there or in your tubes. I had heard horror stories about how painful this was so I asked my family to give me their favorite Bible verses that I could write down on index cards and bring them with me into the room. I read those verses over and over and they helped me stay calm and focused. Thankfully, Josh was allowed into the room (which we were initially told he wouldn't be). He held my hand and was there for me the entire time. The procedure didn't hurt nearly as bad as I was expecting or as I was told. It felt more like bad cramps that come on all of a sudden instead of gradually.
The HSG confirmed that my right tube was open but my left tube was either blocked or shut. There was also something in my uterus that wasn't supposed to be there. So the next step was to take that information to our fertility doctor and see what her opinion was. Through an ultra sound she found a polyp in my uterus and a cyst the size of a peach in my left ovary. She was amazed that I had not had any symptoms caused by the cyst, which she suspected to be endometriosis. From the outside I had not had any symptoms that anything internal was not right. I had very regular periods with cramping that wasn't debilitating. I took ovulation tests every month and I ovulated at the same time every month. There were no clear warning signs that anything was wrong.
We scheduled a surgery to drain the cyst and remove the polyp. During the surgery, my doctor actually found 4 polyps in my uterus. She removed all of them and drained the cyst and sent the fluid off to be tested. It came back positive for endometriosis. She said it is rare not to have endometriosis on both sides, but mine was local only to the left side.
Two weeks later I went back to the doctor for a follow up ultrasound and found that the cyst had grown back. She said sometimes that happens and she went ahead and drained it. Side note: I got to watch from the ultrasound screen and it was really cool to see her drain the cyst :) The cyst was filled with a chocolatey type substance that is consistent with endometriosis, so my doctor was discouraged that it had filled up again so quickly.
While all my testing was going on, our doctor asked us to have Josh's semen analyzed again. She said they like to check for any patterns. With this test, they determined that Josh's sperm count was almost half of what it should be, his motility was a little low and there were some abnormal sperm present. His motility and abnormal sperm isn't quite a concern to the doctor but the low sperm count is. (Don't worry-I asked him if he minded if I included this into the blog and he said it was fine :) )
I went back again two weeks later to find out that the cyst had not only grown back, but there were actually two 3 cm cysts in my left ovary. I felt like we could not catch a break! In the midst of all of this, I had to redo some of my initial blood work because the lab wouldn't fax it over to my doctor. The one piece of good news we received was when my doctor got the second round of results. She said my ovarian reserve should be at about a 2 for someone my age, and mine is actually a 3! I can still replay that conversation in my head and I do that often when I need to remember that we have heard some good news through this process.
My doctor recommended us to another doctor who specializes in endometriosis and who performs minimally invasive surgery. We met with her in early November, and we fell in love with her! She took the time to answer all of our questions and was sensitive to our situation. We scheduled the second surgery for December 18th. In this surgery, she made 4 small incisions in my abdomen and she removed the cyst. She also discovered that there really wasn't a lot of endometriosis-almost none-but whatever she did find, she removed. She said my tubes looked good (although my left tube still appeared blocked, it wasn't damaged in any way) and physically everything looked ready for pregnancy.
Still....we have yet to get pregnant. My blood work also revealed that I have what is called Natural Killer Cells. This is related to auto-immune diseases and since I have a family history of auto-immune diseases, my doctor wanted to test me for these cells. You only need 10% of these cells present to be considered positive and I tested 9.9% and 10.9% (they run your blood twice). This means that were I to conceive, my body would recognize the fertilized egg as a foreign body and would attack it to where I would either miscarry or the egg would never implant in the first place.
That brings us to where we are now. All of the testing we can do has been done, all of the procedures we can do are done. There is nothing left for us to do except IVF. Josh and I talked about it and we decided that we are not going to do IVF. It is a very expensive procedure and because I tested positive for the Natural Killer Cells, I would need to have IV antibiotics before and after implantation which increases the price. While we know and understand that going through these procedures could result in pregnancy, the fact is they may not.
So as it stands at this moment, we have less than 1% chance of getting pregnant on our own. I thought I had dealt with that fact until this morning at church. We were singing a song with these words: "My whole life is Yours. I give it all. Surrendered to Your Name." It was all I could do to keep myself from breaking down and bawling my eyes out. I waited until we were in the car to do that :) I realized that while I would say I was okay and that I have handed everything over to God, the fact is I held a little bit back. I never grieved the fact that I may never carry a baby. I can't say that I am finished grieving or that I will be finished by tomorrow. But I can say that I now recognize the fact that I need to grieve and fully hand our situation over to the Lord. And I will do that....one day at a time.
Through all of this, we still have hope. We know that God resides in that fraction of a percent. And we have all confidence that if it is His will for us, we will get pregnant. In the meantime we have decided to pursue adoption and we are so excited about it! We found an agency that we feel is the right fit for us and we are in the process of filling out the application :) It is a freeing feeling to fully trust the Lord even if it means waiting awhile for the answer.
I know this was a long blog, but I hope it helps at least one person. I am praying for all of you women and couples out there who are going through the same struggle we are. You are not alone - even on those days when it feels like you are. I am always praying for you!
It has now been almost a year since we began fertility testing and it has been a roller coaster of emotions. Through all of our doctors appointments, procedures, blood work, etc. there has only been one time that my doctor has said, "I have good news for you." One time. While I always try to hold my head up high, think positive thoughts, hold on to hope, I still have my bad days. Days where I ask God, "Why us?"
I titled this blog "Transparency" because I want to be as transparent with you as I can. I tend to be an open book anyway, but I want to be real with you about the struggles that women in my shoes and couples in our shoes face everyday when suffering with infertility.
Our journey with testing began with Josh having to have a semen analysis. This is where they analyze the sperm and determine if his sperm count is high or low, how the motility is and if there are any abnormal sperm. His test came back great which was a relief because I didn't want anything to be wrong with him. But then that left only one person who was "damaged"- me. Don't get me wrong, Josh never made me feel like damaged goods or that I was less of a woman or anything like that. But as a woman, it's just how you feel when you realize your body is the one who won't allow you to carry a baby.
So then I had to undergo all kinds of tests. First, my gynecologist ordered blood work in which they tested hormone levels, ovarian reserve levels, ovulation regularity and all of that. Those all came back fine. Then I had to undergo a hysterosalpingogram or HSG. This is where they inject dye into your uterus to see if there is any blockage there or in your tubes. I had heard horror stories about how painful this was so I asked my family to give me their favorite Bible verses that I could write down on index cards and bring them with me into the room. I read those verses over and over and they helped me stay calm and focused. Thankfully, Josh was allowed into the room (which we were initially told he wouldn't be). He held my hand and was there for me the entire time. The procedure didn't hurt nearly as bad as I was expecting or as I was told. It felt more like bad cramps that come on all of a sudden instead of gradually.
The HSG confirmed that my right tube was open but my left tube was either blocked or shut. There was also something in my uterus that wasn't supposed to be there. So the next step was to take that information to our fertility doctor and see what her opinion was. Through an ultra sound she found a polyp in my uterus and a cyst the size of a peach in my left ovary. She was amazed that I had not had any symptoms caused by the cyst, which she suspected to be endometriosis. From the outside I had not had any symptoms that anything internal was not right. I had very regular periods with cramping that wasn't debilitating. I took ovulation tests every month and I ovulated at the same time every month. There were no clear warning signs that anything was wrong.
We scheduled a surgery to drain the cyst and remove the polyp. During the surgery, my doctor actually found 4 polyps in my uterus. She removed all of them and drained the cyst and sent the fluid off to be tested. It came back positive for endometriosis. She said it is rare not to have endometriosis on both sides, but mine was local only to the left side.
Two weeks later I went back to the doctor for a follow up ultrasound and found that the cyst had grown back. She said sometimes that happens and she went ahead and drained it. Side note: I got to watch from the ultrasound screen and it was really cool to see her drain the cyst :) The cyst was filled with a chocolatey type substance that is consistent with endometriosis, so my doctor was discouraged that it had filled up again so quickly.
While all my testing was going on, our doctor asked us to have Josh's semen analyzed again. She said they like to check for any patterns. With this test, they determined that Josh's sperm count was almost half of what it should be, his motility was a little low and there were some abnormal sperm present. His motility and abnormal sperm isn't quite a concern to the doctor but the low sperm count is. (Don't worry-I asked him if he minded if I included this into the blog and he said it was fine :) )
I went back again two weeks later to find out that the cyst had not only grown back, but there were actually two 3 cm cysts in my left ovary. I felt like we could not catch a break! In the midst of all of this, I had to redo some of my initial blood work because the lab wouldn't fax it over to my doctor. The one piece of good news we received was when my doctor got the second round of results. She said my ovarian reserve should be at about a 2 for someone my age, and mine is actually a 3! I can still replay that conversation in my head and I do that often when I need to remember that we have heard some good news through this process.
My doctor recommended us to another doctor who specializes in endometriosis and who performs minimally invasive surgery. We met with her in early November, and we fell in love with her! She took the time to answer all of our questions and was sensitive to our situation. We scheduled the second surgery for December 18th. In this surgery, she made 4 small incisions in my abdomen and she removed the cyst. She also discovered that there really wasn't a lot of endometriosis-almost none-but whatever she did find, she removed. She said my tubes looked good (although my left tube still appeared blocked, it wasn't damaged in any way) and physically everything looked ready for pregnancy.
Still....we have yet to get pregnant. My blood work also revealed that I have what is called Natural Killer Cells. This is related to auto-immune diseases and since I have a family history of auto-immune diseases, my doctor wanted to test me for these cells. You only need 10% of these cells present to be considered positive and I tested 9.9% and 10.9% (they run your blood twice). This means that were I to conceive, my body would recognize the fertilized egg as a foreign body and would attack it to where I would either miscarry or the egg would never implant in the first place.
That brings us to where we are now. All of the testing we can do has been done, all of the procedures we can do are done. There is nothing left for us to do except IVF. Josh and I talked about it and we decided that we are not going to do IVF. It is a very expensive procedure and because I tested positive for the Natural Killer Cells, I would need to have IV antibiotics before and after implantation which increases the price. While we know and understand that going through these procedures could result in pregnancy, the fact is they may not.
So as it stands at this moment, we have less than 1% chance of getting pregnant on our own. I thought I had dealt with that fact until this morning at church. We were singing a song with these words: "My whole life is Yours. I give it all. Surrendered to Your Name." It was all I could do to keep myself from breaking down and bawling my eyes out. I waited until we were in the car to do that :) I realized that while I would say I was okay and that I have handed everything over to God, the fact is I held a little bit back. I never grieved the fact that I may never carry a baby. I can't say that I am finished grieving or that I will be finished by tomorrow. But I can say that I now recognize the fact that I need to grieve and fully hand our situation over to the Lord. And I will do that....one day at a time.
Through all of this, we still have hope. We know that God resides in that fraction of a percent. And we have all confidence that if it is His will for us, we will get pregnant. In the meantime we have decided to pursue adoption and we are so excited about it! We found an agency that we feel is the right fit for us and we are in the process of filling out the application :) It is a freeing feeling to fully trust the Lord even if it means waiting awhile for the answer.
I know this was a long blog, but I hope it helps at least one person. I am praying for all of you women and couples out there who are going through the same struggle we are. You are not alone - even on those days when it feels like you are. I am always praying for you!
Friday, August 30, 2013
Thoughts From a Wannabe Momma
I've been thinking about writing this blog for awhile and I'm glad I have the time to do it now. This has been on my heart and mind for quite some time and I hope it all comes out right. :)
For past few months or so, Josh and I have been going through fertility testing. After 4 years of trying to get pregnant unsuccessfully, we decided to pursue further testing. As it turns out, I need to have surgery to remove some things that are in all likelihood preventing us from getting pregnant. Through blood tests and other tests we also found out that both of us have somewhat minor issues that could be preventing pregnancy.
With that in mind, I hope you can understand a little more about why I wanted to write what I am writing.
I can't tell you how many times I read Facebook status updates that almost make motherhood sound like a curse instead of a blessing. I read about parents who think it's crazy or even stupid for a couple to want two or more children. I read about parents offering to give their child away for awhile until they start behaving better. I read about pregnant women who can't wait to get their baby out of their belly. Women who complain about experiencing morning sickness and can't wait until the pregnancy is over. I could go on and on.
Please understand that I totally get the fact that parenthood is not easy and some days you just want a quiet day and sometimes you just need a break. And I agree 100%. And I know that every parent who has posted statuses like the above love their kids and would do anything for them. I just don't think they know how their words can hurt women like me.
I would love to be able to say that my child is cranky because it would mean I would have a child. I would be okay with sleepless nights if that meant I could cradle my newborn baby. I would throw up a thousand times a day from morning sickness with joy in my heart because I knew I was pregnant. I would smile as I watch the scale slowly rise as it would mean I had a life growing inside me.
Some of you may be thinking "That's all well and good but just wait until it happens and you will understand what I'm saying." Please believe me, I do understand. I know that any child I have will not be perfect and there will be days when I am trying to figure out how to get some time to myself and I will miss sleeping through the night and I will grow tired of vomiting. But after learning the fact that without a miracle, the chances of us getting pregnant on our own are extremely slim, I view pregnancy and motherhood a little differently. I am learning how much of a blessing it really is and how it is a privilege. Getting pregnant at all is not a guarantee for us, no matter how we go about it. As a woman, to be told that I might never have the experience of feeling life grow inside of me is extremely difficult to take in. As a Christian I absolutely believe in the sovereignty of God and I believe He works miracles everyday and I believe He could touch my body right now and heal me of everything. God also made me a woman. And as a woman, carrying a child is one of the most natural things we ever get to do on this earth. And it is something I have dreamed about all of my life. I have to face reality that I may never be able to carry a child. I may never be able to experience that positive pregnancy test. I may never get to experience feeling those kicks and stretches in the middle of the night. I may never get to hold my newborn baby in my arms.
Please, for the sake of the millions of women in my shoes, think twice before you post something negative about your children or pregnancy. Know that we would do anything in our power to experience what you are experiencing-good and the bad, because at the end of the day I would have my dream job-being Mom.
I know that there are other ways of becoming Mom. We still plan to pursue adoption whether we get pregnant or not. And when that day comes that we do get to adopt a little one into our family, it will be one of the happiest days of our lives. And when those tough days come, and I know they will, I will remember what a blessing and privilege it is to be chosen by God to mother this child.
For anyone reading this that is facing an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy, please carefully consider adoption as an option. I am only one of millions of women who would be ecstatic if we were chosen as adoptive parents. Your child is a blessing and a gift.
So, those are my thoughts. I hope I didn't offend anyone. And I'm not one of those extreme people who think you can't express any opinion on social media. All I'm asking is that you choose your words wisely and be thankful for what you have.
For past few months or so, Josh and I have been going through fertility testing. After 4 years of trying to get pregnant unsuccessfully, we decided to pursue further testing. As it turns out, I need to have surgery to remove some things that are in all likelihood preventing us from getting pregnant. Through blood tests and other tests we also found out that both of us have somewhat minor issues that could be preventing pregnancy.
With that in mind, I hope you can understand a little more about why I wanted to write what I am writing.
I can't tell you how many times I read Facebook status updates that almost make motherhood sound like a curse instead of a blessing. I read about parents who think it's crazy or even stupid for a couple to want two or more children. I read about parents offering to give their child away for awhile until they start behaving better. I read about pregnant women who can't wait to get their baby out of their belly. Women who complain about experiencing morning sickness and can't wait until the pregnancy is over. I could go on and on.
Please understand that I totally get the fact that parenthood is not easy and some days you just want a quiet day and sometimes you just need a break. And I agree 100%. And I know that every parent who has posted statuses like the above love their kids and would do anything for them. I just don't think they know how their words can hurt women like me.
I would love to be able to say that my child is cranky because it would mean I would have a child. I would be okay with sleepless nights if that meant I could cradle my newborn baby. I would throw up a thousand times a day from morning sickness with joy in my heart because I knew I was pregnant. I would smile as I watch the scale slowly rise as it would mean I had a life growing inside me.
Some of you may be thinking "That's all well and good but just wait until it happens and you will understand what I'm saying." Please believe me, I do understand. I know that any child I have will not be perfect and there will be days when I am trying to figure out how to get some time to myself and I will miss sleeping through the night and I will grow tired of vomiting. But after learning the fact that without a miracle, the chances of us getting pregnant on our own are extremely slim, I view pregnancy and motherhood a little differently. I am learning how much of a blessing it really is and how it is a privilege. Getting pregnant at all is not a guarantee for us, no matter how we go about it. As a woman, to be told that I might never have the experience of feeling life grow inside of me is extremely difficult to take in. As a Christian I absolutely believe in the sovereignty of God and I believe He works miracles everyday and I believe He could touch my body right now and heal me of everything. God also made me a woman. And as a woman, carrying a child is one of the most natural things we ever get to do on this earth. And it is something I have dreamed about all of my life. I have to face reality that I may never be able to carry a child. I may never be able to experience that positive pregnancy test. I may never get to experience feeling those kicks and stretches in the middle of the night. I may never get to hold my newborn baby in my arms.
Please, for the sake of the millions of women in my shoes, think twice before you post something negative about your children or pregnancy. Know that we would do anything in our power to experience what you are experiencing-good and the bad, because at the end of the day I would have my dream job-being Mom.
I know that there are other ways of becoming Mom. We still plan to pursue adoption whether we get pregnant or not. And when that day comes that we do get to adopt a little one into our family, it will be one of the happiest days of our lives. And when those tough days come, and I know they will, I will remember what a blessing and privilege it is to be chosen by God to mother this child.
For anyone reading this that is facing an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy, please carefully consider adoption as an option. I am only one of millions of women who would be ecstatic if we were chosen as adoptive parents. Your child is a blessing and a gift.
So, those are my thoughts. I hope I didn't offend anyone. And I'm not one of those extreme people who think you can't express any opinion on social media. All I'm asking is that you choose your words wisely and be thankful for what you have.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
The Big 3-1
In less than a month I will be turning 31. To be honest, I had been dreading this day for a few reasons. I thought it would have been easier than turning 30, but I was dreading this birthday as much as I was dreading turning 30 last year. But then I remembered what a friend of mine in South Africa said to me when I turned 29. She said that we should celebrate each year because it was a year that God has given us and we were able to experience so many things in that one year. To dread my birthday the way I was, began to feel that I was dishonoring God by almost rejecting his gift to me of another year of life.
So, in light of this revelation, I began to think about everything I've been able to experience and do between my last birthday and this birthday.
The first thing I thought of when reflecting back to last year was that I got to spend my 30th birthday in Germany with my wonderful husband. He bought me a beautiful bouquet of roses and took me to dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant. We then returned to the place we were staying and our team threw me a mini surprise party, full of cards, a cake and gifts. I was completely surprised!
After our trip to Germany, we returned to the UK and began working on different projects to be used throughout Europe. In September, I was able to fly back to the States to be with my sister as she gave birth to our nephew, Bentley. At the end of September I returned to the UK where we continued to work on our projects.
In November we spent 2 weeks in Albania distributing the brand new Albanian Teen Book of Hope. We finished off our time there with 2 back to back concerts with a UK band called Lifecolour. It was amazing and thousands of Albanian teenagers were able to hear and read about the love God has for them.
In December we spent 3 weeks at home with our families, which was such a blessing. We cherish and treasure the times we get to spend with them. We flew back to the UK in early January so we could continue to work on our on-going projects. A few weeks after returning to the UK, we went to Italy where we spent 12 days. Part of our time there was spent filming a short film series for Italian youth and part of our time was spent attending a conference about reaching youth in our communities.
After being in Italy we returned to the UK and continued to fine tune our projects and meet with people regarding future projects. March 2nd was our 5 year anniversary, and we were able to spend a weekend in London to celebrate. It was a great few days where we got to put work on hold and just enjoy being together. Later in March, I was able to fly home for 5 days to attend my step-brother's wedding. It was a wonderful few days and a beautiful wedding.
Just a few weeks after returning to the UK from the States, Josh and I left for Albania where we spent the next 2 weeks. The first week we were there, were spent preparing for a team called The Conquerors to come from the States. The second week we were there, the Conquerors were with us and they held meetings with university students and men in prisons and half way houses. The Conquerors do feats of strength and share their testimonies at every presentation they do. They were also invited on a live television show, where they were given a full hour to share their stories of how Jesus changed their lives. What an amazing trip!
On our way back to the UK, we spent two days in Rome and loved every minute of it. Italy has become one of our most favorite places in the world. The food is amazing, the scenery is beautiful and the people were so nice. The day after we returned to England from Albania/Italy we traveled by train to Scotland to visit my mom for the weekend. It was a relaxing weekend and we were able to visit Stirling Castle.
Just a few days after returning to England from Scotland Josh and I officially moved back to the States. It was a bittersweet move for us, but we knew that we were in the center of God's will and that gave us great peace, and gives us great peace today. Before my birthday next month, we will have had our first meeting with an adoption agency. Words cannot express how excited we are! We have been waiting for this day for almost a year. We know that God's timing is perfect and we can't wait to see what he does in the coming days.
So this year, instead of dreading turning another year older, I will choose to rejoice and be thankful for the abundant blessings we have received over the past year; I will be thankful for the experiences I've had, the places I've seen and the people I've met. And I will look ahead with eager anticipation of all that the Lord has for us in the next 12 months.
So, in light of this revelation, I began to think about everything I've been able to experience and do between my last birthday and this birthday.
After our trip to Germany, we returned to the UK and began working on different projects to be used throughout Europe. In September, I was able to fly back to the States to be with my sister as she gave birth to our nephew, Bentley. At the end of September I returned to the UK where we continued to work on our projects.
In November we spent 2 weeks in Albania distributing the brand new Albanian Teen Book of Hope. We finished off our time there with 2 back to back concerts with a UK band called Lifecolour. It was amazing and thousands of Albanian teenagers were able to hear and read about the love God has for them.
In December we spent 3 weeks at home with our families, which was such a blessing. We cherish and treasure the times we get to spend with them. We flew back to the UK in early January so we could continue to work on our on-going projects. A few weeks after returning to the UK, we went to Italy where we spent 12 days. Part of our time there was spent filming a short film series for Italian youth and part of our time was spent attending a conference about reaching youth in our communities.
After being in Italy we returned to the UK and continued to fine tune our projects and meet with people regarding future projects. March 2nd was our 5 year anniversary, and we were able to spend a weekend in London to celebrate. It was a great few days where we got to put work on hold and just enjoy being together. Later in March, I was able to fly home for 5 days to attend my step-brother's wedding. It was a wonderful few days and a beautiful wedding.
Just a few weeks after returning to the UK from the States, Josh and I left for Albania where we spent the next 2 weeks. The first week we were there, were spent preparing for a team called The Conquerors to come from the States. The second week we were there, the Conquerors were with us and they held meetings with university students and men in prisons and half way houses. The Conquerors do feats of strength and share their testimonies at every presentation they do. They were also invited on a live television show, where they were given a full hour to share their stories of how Jesus changed their lives. What an amazing trip!On our way back to the UK, we spent two days in Rome and loved every minute of it. Italy has become one of our most favorite places in the world. The food is amazing, the scenery is beautiful and the people were so nice. The day after we returned to England from Albania/Italy we traveled by train to Scotland to visit my mom for the weekend. It was a relaxing weekend and we were able to visit Stirling Castle.
So this year, instead of dreading turning another year older, I will choose to rejoice and be thankful for the abundant blessings we have received over the past year; I will be thankful for the experiences I've had, the places I've seen and the people I've met. And I will look ahead with eager anticipation of all that the Lord has for us in the next 12 months.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Italy Trip 2012
If you have already read our newsletter, you know that we recently spent 12 days in Italy. It was an amazing time that we spent with friends and ministry partners as we created programs to reach the youth of Italy with Christ's love. I want to tell you a brief story that we learned while we were there.
One of the projects that we were helping to develop is called La Mia Storia (My Story). La Mia Storia is a program that aims to address issues that Italian youth face every day. This program isn't designed to sugar coat or give a lot of "fluff" when trying to help the youth. The program uses very real and personal testimonies of people that have gone through some pretty tough things in their life, and how God helped them through those times. Our team recorded several testimonies that will be shown on the La Mia Storia website (www.lamiastoria.tv). These testimonies came from people who were selling and addicted to drugs, a young single mother and her struggles with deciding what to do with the pregnancy; we even had the opportunity to record the testimony of the secretary of Italian Senate. These are just a few.
To accompany this program, OneHope designed a Book of Hope specifically for Italy, and it is called La Mia Storia. Our ministry partners in Italy distributed over 50,000 of these books in just a few days. They were allowed into the schools and talked with the kids about the hope that Christ offers.
In one of these schools was a 14 year old girl. The day the team spoke at her school and she received the Book of Hope, she sent an email to our ministry partners, using the email given on the book. She said that she was 14 years old and that she and her brother live with their grandparents, but that their grandparents didn't want them there-they are a burden to them. She felt alone, like she had no one to go to. She said that her family made her crazy. She had already tried to kill herself twice and was about to try for a third time when she received the Book of Hope. She decided to reach out to someone as a last attempt to find hope. Our partners in Italy scheduled a time to meet with her at her school and to talk to her about the hope she can have in Christ.
God is so amazing, and we rejoice that his message of love is reaching those who feel they have no hope left. Unfortunately, this story of this 14 year old with no hope is all too common. Please continue to pray not only for the youth of Italy, but for the youth in your community. They deal with things every day that some of us can't even imagine.
As we look ahead to the next few months, we are excited for what's to come. In March, Kelly is going back to St. Louis for a few days to attend her brother's wedding. In April we will head back to Albania to help lead a team that will be heading there, and we will also head back to Italy for a conference.
This will be a busy few months for us but we are excited about what God will do during our time here. As always, thank you so much for your prayers-we feel them and we need them everyday.
God bless!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Summer is almost gone and fall is almost here! In England we have already felt the temperature dropping and the days getting shorter (our hearts go out to our family and friends in the midwest who have had a really HOT summer!).
The Creative Lab has been working hard on several projects. The primary project we are working on is Albania. We are almost finished with the Book of Hope for Albanian Teens and are in the middle of working on a book for parents. We can't wait to see the final product as the team has worked so hard for so long!
We have also begun working on a series of short videos for Germany. These videos, when put together will make one video 30 minutes long. But we have it broken down into five 6 minute videos that will be able to be downloaded as apps on smart phones. The idea is to have an edgy, relevant video series that German teens can show their friends. We are also doing something similar for Italy.
We are hoping to begin research in Hungary in the next few months and are praying for open doors and ministry partners to work with there.
We are still very much loving our time here and we are so thankful for all of our supporters who have prayed us here and have given financially for us to be here. We love you all and know that there are no words to express just how grateful we really are.
Until next time!
Josh and Kelly
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Time in Germany
The Creative Lab is officially under way! Our first project is under way in Germany. We are here and have met with local pastors and church leaders to discuss new ministry ideas for German youth.
Our Creative Lab is made up of 5 young people: Adam-he is from the States, Giovanni-from Italy, Grace-From the UK, Faith-from the UK, and Darbi, who is with us just for the summer, is from the States. Each of these individuals are creative in different ways, and are excited to use those gifts and talents to spread the Word of God to all the children and youth throughout Europe.
Josh and I had the amazing privilidge to go to Italy 2 weeks ago to meet with local Italian pastors and church leaders. We discussed future ministry opportunities and are excited to begin the process of designing new programs.
2011 is flying by, and yet is still filled with incredible opportunities for our team to bring the Gospel to the youth and children of different European nations.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)