Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Chrissie Update

Thank you all for praying for our precious Chrissie.  She is doing fine.  We won't know about her test results until after April 1.  Her case goes back to conference with her pulmonary medical team of specialists on April 1 for further review, and we'll be notified after that as to whether or not she needs to have the stent replaced prior to her open-heart surgery April 19.  If she needs to have the stent replaced, that will occur April 7.  We, of course, would prefer that Chrissie not have to have the stent replaced simply because it's another hospital procedure, and with each hospital visit, Chrissie becomes increasingly anxious and distressed.  But our God is mighty to save, so whatever His will is, we trust wholeheartedly.

The test Chrissie had yesterday was a CT Angiogram of the heart, which she had done November, 2009, but the test had to be repeated because Chrissie's cardiologist noticed (upon review of an x-ray of Chrissie's chest during her "Metapneumovirus" hospitalization) that her heart stent was fractured.  The CTA will give Dr. Porisch a better look at the stent with much more precise and accurate imaging of the stent.

Chrissie is one observant little girl.  She now knows the roads that lead to the hospital.  Yesterday, she knew that we were heading there to get some good photos of her heart, so she wasn't all that stressed about it...until we entered the parking lot of the hospital.  Then she began to cry and worry about "boo-boo's" (IV's).  Daddy was able to calm her down, and we assured her that she wouldn't get any boo-boo's until after she was asleep.  This was reassuring for Chrissie.  We went to the radiology lab to wait for admitting, and the staff there remembered Chrissie from her November visit!  I was amazed at this because out of the number of patients they see daily, after 4 months and hundreds of patients, they immediately remembered our sweet Chrissie.  Everyone was asking about her, and she entertained waiting families as she talked and talked and talked in English.   She "checked her email" on Daddy's phone, which cracked everyone up.  She is such a little lady, and no one realizes that she's only been in Texas for 5 months!  No one realizes she's from Serbia (she seems to look just like her adoptive mommy! :-), and no one realizes that she shouldn't be alive with her severe congenital heart defects.  Even without realizing any of those things, Chrissie manages to have everyone fall IN LOVE with her after just one or two minutes in her presence!  What a ham!  We adore her!

So, that is Chrissie PRE-procedure!  Sweet, lovely, charming, funny, full of joy and making everyone laugh and smile and dishing out large helpings of that giddy feeling that one gets around such a delightful child.  Chrissie was such a BIG girl going into her procedure.  She wanted to ride in the hospital bed instead of having us carry her.  We walked alongside her.  The staff took us into the radiology lab with the CTA equipment where Chrissie would be put to sleep during her procedure.  I held Chrissie in my lap in a bear hold hug while the anesthesiologist placed the mask over her face, and Chrissie fought like a bear to get out of that hold!  It took about 5 people to hold her down, and I could see her daddy holding back tears as he watched his baby girl fight the very thing that is intended to save her life.  It took Chrissie a lot longer to fall asleep...about 15 counts instead of the normal 3-5 counts.  She did NOT want to let herself go, even though she kept asking us when she could "take her nap", just moments prior to the mask being placed on her face.  We said our goodbyes to our little sleeping beauty, and made our way to the waiting room. 

We had been told the procedure would take only a few minutes, and from our prior CTA experience with Chrissie, we expected to be back with her in recovery after only being separated for about 20 minutes total.  Well, that wasn't the case yesterday.  We were separated for over an hour, which brought some worry to Matt and I.  We had just been told that the procedure itself would take less than 10 minutes, so after an hour of waiting to hear something, we were getting anxious.  Finally, we heard the cries (SCREAMS) of our precious darling, and we felt a sigh of relief.  (We were down the hallway from the recovery room and could hear her wailing, but it was a welcomed sound to our worried minds.) 

We went to be by Chrissie's side as she struggled to recover from anesthesia.  We were told it took a lot longer than expected because they couldn't get an IV.  (This is always a problem; Chrissie's hands are covered in scars from her 10 months of IV's in Belgrade.)  So sad.  Once they finally got an IV going, it blanched, and they had to do another one in the other hand.  I don't know how many tries they made in total, but thank the Lord, Chrissie was asleep during that process!  Nevertheless, Chrissie was SCREAMING MAD.  As every other child (about 20 total) peacefully sipped from apple juice or licked their popsicles, our daughter acted possessed!!!  If she hadn't been so cotton-mouthed, I'm sure she would have been foaming at the mouth!!!  Oh.my.word.  WOW!  She kicked, screamed, flailed, wailed, hit, thrashed, banged and fought like it ws her last fight for about 30 minutes.  She tried to break down the bed rails, rip out her 2 IV's, and "kill" the oxygen mask (which wasn't even on her face, just next to her because her oxygen sats were low with all of her fit-throwing).  At one point, Chrissie screamed at the top of her lungs, "I WANT TO GO HHHHHOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"  I couldn't help but chuckle.  The poor children in the other beds must have felt like they were witnessing a reality show of The Exorcist! 

At that moment, I told Chrissie, "Young lady, THIS is exactly why you're alive!  You are a fighter!  Fight girl, fight!  We're on your side.  We want you to win.  God loves you and He made you with this fighting spirit.  That is why you're in our arms today.  You go, girl!"  (Of course Chrissie couldn't hear a word I said through all of her wailing!)  But, I was thrilled to see such a fight from such a tiny, frail girl who was acting like she had been training for years for this moment.  I would have given her a gold medal, for sure! And, you know, I guess she HAS been training for this for years.  She's not about to willingly let someone "hurt" her, and that's a very good thing.  We are proud of our Bruiser Brody Princess!  (Wrestling fans of the 80's, you know what I mean!)

After 30 minutes of this wrestling match, with more drama than World Wrestling Entertainment, a sweet nurse who wasn't even Chrissie's nurse, brought her a necklace and a pinwheel in an effort to calm her down and prove to her that not ALL nurses give boo-boo's...some give prizes!!!  Chrissie accepted the gifts, but not very lovingly!  Chrissie's nurse worked hard to get her discharged, but we explained to Chrissie that if she wanted to go home (which she continually declared to every floor of Methodist Children's Hospital), she would need to stop crying and get in control.  After she heard that and processed it, she calmed herself down and forcefully proclaimed that she would now be going home.  The nurse didn't even offer her apple juice or a popsicle, she just removed both IV's and sent us on our  merry way.  :-)

And once Chrissie got into the car and saw the hospital going in the opposite direction as our car, she was back to her delightful, charming self, just like that!  She wanted to eat and sing and hold Mommy's hand.  She also wanted to make sure she would get to attend her big brother's baseball game that evening.  We made it home just in time to get Sawyer to his game, and Chrissie lovingly cheered him on from the backstop.  "Go Bucky, Go!  Get it, Bucky!  Way to go, Buck!  I love you, Sawyer!" 

Now, that's our precious angel! 

Thank you, God, for saving her life and giving Chrissie that fighting spirit.
We are forever grateful and forever blessed.




Monday, March 29, 2010

Pray for Chrissie's Procedure

Chrissie will have a CTA of her heart, under anesthesia, at Methodist Hospital in SA today at 1:45PM.  We all know how Chrissie feels about hospitals, bless her heart!  She will have an IV (what he calls a "boo-boo"), but I'm hoping they'll be able to wait until she's asleep to give it to her like they did last time she had this test.  The test is outpatient, but Chrissie is normally a total wreck when it comes to any type of hospital visit, outpatient or not, plus she just falls apart with anesthesia, so please pray for her!  I don't know what to expect from her at this hospital visit because of her last traumatic, lengthy hospitalization for her metapneumovirus.  I have no doubt she'll remember that experience the moment she sees the hospital sign!  Please also pray that Chrissie wouldn't be begging for food since she cannot eat for 8 hours prior to the procedure, and the procedure isn't until 1:45PM.  Matt plans to get Chrissie up at 5AM and feed her a good breakfast, then hopefully she'll go back to sleep for a few hours. :-)

Today Chrissie told Sawyer with fear in her voice, "Chrissie no boo-boos today."  (She wanted confirmation that nothing hurtful was going to happen to her today.)  Sawyer replied with much empathy and reassurance,"Noooooooooooo, Chrissie NO boo-boos today.  Chrissie boo-boos tomorrow!"  AGGGHHHH!  Not exactly what Chrissie wanted to hear!

Here are a few pics from Parker's rodeo this weekend. Isn't Chrissie the cutest thing ever?!?

Daddy and  his beautiful girls at Parker's rodeo.

Chrissie and Daddy at the rodeo.

Chrissie lovin' on her "Parkey" at the rodeo!

Chrissie excited about chocolate cake at the awards banquet for the Texas Wrangler Junior High Division rodeo.

One of Chrissie's favorite spots..."Parkey's" shoulders!  Plus, she loves his cowboy hat!

Our Lil' Texas Cowgirl!

Chrissie saw some boys making a mud pit, and she begged to join them!  Quite un-Chrissie-like behavior as she never wants her hands dirty!
Parker qualified for Jr. High state finals in 3 competitions:  Team Roping, Breakaway Roping, and Chute Dogging.  Way to go, Parker!

Texas Wildflowers (including our state flower, the bluebonnet) on the drive home from the rodeo.  BEAUTIFUL!  If anyone lives near Gonzales, Texas, it's well worth the drive out there to see the wildflowers.  Most gorgeous wildflowers I've ever seen!


Sunday, March 21, 2010

Do You Want Your Kids to be Happy or Holy?

http://itsalmostnaptime.blogspot.com/2010/02/i-dont-want-my-children-to-be-happy.html

Please read this post, then leave me a comment to let me know your answer.


Thursday, March 18, 2010

Chrissie's Medical Agenda

Well, "the plan" (dare I type those words?!?) for Chrissie is beginning to come together, atleast I think so!  God continues to teach me the amazingly difficult virtue of patience, and He continues to remind me that I have NO control, but He has absolute control.  I trust Him.  Wholeheartedly.  While we've already done the first 3 steps in the following agenda, we must repeat them due to certain complications, such as a fractured stent that was recently discovered under chest x-ray during Chrissie's recent respiratory distress hospitalization.

Here's the agenda (yeah, that word sounds better...connotation of "agenda" for me includes adjustments as necessary!):
  • March 29, 1:45PM, CT scan of chest to view fractured stent (will be done under anesthesia in the hospital, most likely outpatient)
  • April 1, Chrissie's case will go back to conference with the pulmonary medical team (which includes her cardiologist and cardiac surgeon)
  • April 7, Heart Catheterization procedure (overnight stay in hospital) IF it is determined by the results of the CT scan that the current fractured stent must be removed and replaced via balloon cath procedure
  • April 19, Open-Heart Surgery
Grateful for our Jehovah Rapha (Healing God) who is the best Commander in Chief, our One and Only.

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."  Psalm 147:3


 

Monday, March 15, 2010

Gotta Share!

I read this blog post the other day that this guy, Randy Bohlender, gave to a "stranger" who was inquiring about his multi-racial, big adoptive family.  If you're a rebel at heart (or wanna live vicariously through one), you'll appreciate Randy's blog.  If you have a heart for the orphan and "get it", you'll appreciate this post.  If you think all of us big crazy adoptive families are simply insane, you definitely don't want to read this post! :-)

Here's Randy's post that tickled my heart:
:
Once in a while, fervently believing that children are an inheritance from the Lord gets me in trouble.


A few weeks ago, a stranger glanced at our tribe and raised an eyebrow. This only happens when we leave the house. In this case, though, I was in a conversation with the stranger, which opened the door to the question.

“Are these all yours?”

“Yes,” I replied. “They’re all ours…”. Knowing what he really meant, I went on. “Some of them were adopted.”

A look of relief rested on his face for a minute, then he began to reminisce. “After our two were grown, my wife talked about adoption for a while. My wife said ‘we have the room and the time – why not?’….so I bought her a dog and she quit asking.” He was obviously relieved that he was able to replace her desire to adopt with a boutique pooch that could be put in a kennel and had a shorter life expectancy than a human being.

It was at this point that I was reminded that Kelsey is essentially a much nicer person than I am….because she would have said nothing. She may have thought something, but she wouldn’t have acted on it. Again, we are not the same person.

“A dog?” I said with a smile, “That’s awesome!”

“Yeah, she really likes it.”

“That’s great! And the best part, is when you’re old and in a nursing home, that dog will come visit you!”

Dead silence ensued.

I have a pretty high toleration for awkward, especially in the cases when I’m causing it. I can let it hang there for all eternity, and in this case, the awkwardness was palpable.

Eventually, he responded with “Uh….yeah. I see your point.”

In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have said it…the guy didn’t realize that to me, it felt like he was drawing a correlation between my children and his flea-bitten ankle biter. Likewise, he probably didn’t know that his words were reflective of our culture, where children are a hobby or accessory rather than an extension of ourselves.

In a world that hard wires peoples’ happiness index to a bank account and a lot of free time, children are a drain of resources. They are costly at the beginning, and then get more expensive as it goes on. They don’t contribute much to the Gross Family Product, unless the family is interested in producing more than goods and services…like character or the future.

For this guy, the ache of his wife’s heart was satiated by the addition of Bowser, and so maybe good was done. Perhaps people who ache at that level should have their needs satisfied the easiest way possible…but for those of you who cannot be satisfied by a Bichon Frise, who dream bigger than the second home or the Mercedes Benz, consider investing in children – yours or the children of others.

I’m not of the opinion that every family should adopt multiple children – or adopt at all, for that matter. That’s a heavy yoke to put on people…and I don’t think you need to take children in to your home to make a difference. Our lives are made doable by a host of people who come alongside to help out when we need it. Our children are their inheritance too.

Weight it out, friends. Invest heavily in what will outlive you. In the end, you will live out your days with no regrets.



Zippity-Do-Da

Zippity ay...my, oh my, what a wonderful day!

God gave me an entire day to spend with my oldest son, Parker (age 13), just the two of us.  We both needed it.  It's been over a year since just the two of us left the house together to just hang out.  (We have snippets here and there together in our home, just the two of us, but we used to have regular dates for the two of us, and it had been over a year since Parker and I had a "date"!) 

We ate brunch at Cracker Barrel, then drove around antique hunting.  Parker LOVES to go antiquing with me, and we never buy nice antiques...just "junk" at garage sale prices, which we both enjoy.  However, we only found one shop open today, and it didn't have anything we needed.  We spent several hours just driving around, talking and enjoying catching up without any interruptions. 

The best part of our date was the adventure of Wimberley Ziplines!  We spent two hours soaring through the skies overlooking the beautiful Wimberley Hill Country!  We hiked up "mountains" and latched our harnessed bodies to a variety of cables, some that stretch 900 feet across the sky!  WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE!  It was so much fun!

If you're familar with Dr. Gary Chapman's 5 Love Language teachings, you'll understand how important it is to show love in the recipient's love language.  (There are 5 love languages...go to the link above and take the quiz to discover your love language.)  Parker NEEDS quality time to fee loved.  He had gotten spurts of one on one time with me over the past year, but I can only imagine how dry Parker's love tank must have been after more than a year of not one single "date" with Mom.  So grateful God gave us this special time together today to refill his tank and touch my heart.  I love my son.  I'm so proud of him.  Parker, forgive me for not "forcing" you to go on dates with me over the past year.  I should have required them.  Thanks for hanging out with me today.  I love you!

I love all of my kids, and I'm so blessed to be their mom.  God, help me to show each of my children how much I love them by showing them in THEIR love language.

I encourage you to discover your loved ones' love languages and ask God to help you show love in each recipient's language.

I only had my phone camera, but here we are waiting to zip across the sky!

Parker's next!

Parker getting hooked up to the cable.

WHHHHEEEEEEEEEEE!

Halfway across line #2 (of 8!).  FUN!

Comin' in for landing!


Thursday, March 11, 2010

It's Official


On this beautiful sunny Thursday in Texas, we attended family court in San Antonio, to readopt our two internationally adopted daughters and legally change their names.  We also changed the middle name of our biological daughter, Mattie.

Congratulations to our beautiful Texan girls:
Madelaine Grace Patterson (Mattie)
Christyn Joy Patterson (Chrissie)
Mery Elizabeth Patterson (Meribeth)

Why did we do this?  Our internationally adopted daughters became US Citizens the moment they stepped foot on US soil and their foreign adoption is recognized by the US, so there's no requirement for us to readopt.  However, we want our daughters to have US birth certificates (Texas at that...WOOHOO!), and that will allow us to have easy access to their birth certificates should the need ever arise.  We also wanted our internationally adopted daughters' names to be legally changed to the names we gave them when they became forever members of our family.  So, we went to family court and now everyone is OFFICIAL!  YEEHAW!

“Mery Elizabeth”: Beloved wished for child; chosen by God.


When we adopted Meribeth, we had no intention of changing her name, but God showed us why it was important for us to give her a new name as she became a forever member of our family. God reminded us of many Biblical heroes who were given new names at significant times in their lives, and their new names reflected who they were in Christ as they were a new creation in Him. We held a beautiful bilingual name-changing ceremony for Meribeth after she had been in our family for about three months, when Meribeth was really struggling with how she fit into our family. God totally chose Meribeth’s name, and I LOVE it, and I LOVE the meaning and significance of both names together, which is why we call her “Meribeth”, the combination of Mery Elizabeth. While Meribeth didn’t care for her new name at the time it was given, she told me just yesterday how much she LOVES her new name and how happy she is to be Mery Elizabeth, our beloved Meribeth.



“Christyn Joy”: One who holds Christ in her heart; pleasure, joyful in the Lord, being wished a happy life.

When we adopted Chrissie, we knew without a doubt that God wanted us to give her a name chosen by her new forever family, just as He had shown us with Meribeth. God told us to give Chrissie the name “Christyn”, and we thought her middle name would be “Grace”, but God had reserved that name for another daughter in our family! After we got to know Chrissie, it was evident that God wanted her middle name to be “Joy”. Chrissie bubbles with joy. She brings joy to all she meets. She is joyful in all circumstances (unless it’s a hospital! LOL), and the name fits and describes our joyful Chrissie just perfectly!  (Side note: Chrissie pronounces her name as "Christyn Jewelry", which is just precious and makes us all giggle, as "jewelry" could easily describe our princess, too!)



“Madelaine Grace”: Devout follower of Christ (derived from Mary Magdalene); God’s grace, favor, blessing.

For our biological daughter, Mattie, God laid it on our hearts to also give Mattie a new middle name since her original middle name had no significance as to who she is today. "Madelaine" (pronounced mad-a-LAYne) has significance because that is "Matt" and "Lorraine" crossed together, and it also is a derivative of Mary Magdalene, who is, of course, a devout follower of Christ. However, Mattie really deserved a significant middle name, one that reflects who she is in Christ. From the time that Mattie was very young, she has always had a heart of grace. She amazes me with the grace that she so freely grants to all she encounters. She has gracefully accepted and unconditionally loved her two new sisters, even when she suffered verbal and emotional abuse as her hurting older sister joined our family. She always responded with amazing grace. Mattie truly exhibits and extends grace in all she does, to all she meets, so for her 12th birthday, we surprised Mattie with a name change at a significant time in her life that gives significant meaning about who she is in Christ: She is our beautiful Madelaine Grace!



Tattle Tales

Tattle tales from a day in the life of Chrissie as we grocery shopped today (Chrissie brought her baby doll in with us, who sat so patiently beside Chrissie as we shopped!):

Chrissie to her baby doll:  "Good job, Baby.  You patient, Baby.  Super!"

shop, shop, shop...3 minutes later...

Chrissie to Mommy:  "Mommy, Baby no say, 'Thank you.'"

Mommy to Chrissie:  "Oh my, Baby must learn how to use good manners while shopping!"

Chrissie to Mommy:  "I teach her.  Baby learn NOW."

Chrissie to Baby:  "Baby, we say THANK YOU.  You no use good manners, Baby.  Now say THANK YOU, Baby.  Good job, Baby!"

shop, shop, shop...3 minutes later...

Chrissie to Mommy:  "Mommy, Baby no say, 'You're welcome!'"

Mommy to Chrissie:  "Oh my, Baby must learn good manners.  Please teach her how it's polite to say, 'You're welcome'!"

Chrissie to Baby:  "Baby, you no nice manners.  You say YOU'RE WELCOME, Baby.  Be nice, Baby.  Good job, Baby.  You nice, Baby."

shop, shop, shop...3 minutes later...

Chrissie to Mommy:  "Mommy, Baby no say, 'Please'".

Mommy to Chrissie:  "Oh my, you'll need to teach Baby how to say please so she can learn good manners.  Your baby is being so patient as we shop.  Please tell her thank you for shopping so patiently, and make sure you teach her how to say, 'Please'".

Chrissie to Baby:  "Baby, you time out.  You no nice.  You no say please.  You learn, Baby.  Now you learn, Baby.  Good job, Baby.  You patient, Baby.  You say PLEASE.  Good job, Baby.  Mmmmwwwaaaa (big kiss for Baby)!"

shop, shop, shop...3 minutes later...

Chrissie to Mommy:  "Mom, Baby FARTED!!!"  (loudly, where other people around us giggle)

Mommy to Baby (choking back hysterical laughing):  "Oh my, Baby!"

shop, shop, shop...3 minutes later...

Chrissie to Mommy:  "Mommy, baby no say, 'Excuse me' when Baby farted!"

Mommy to Chrissie (no longer able to hold back hysterics, but spoken in a very quiet tone):  "Oh my, Baby must learn that we say, 'Excuse me' when we toot."

Chrissie to Baby (loudly...again):  "You fart, Baby.  Now say EXCUSE ME!  Good job, Baby."

Hope you're laughing as loudly as I was!  Chrissie so badly wants to "be the boss" of someone!  She's been so frustrated that she's not the boss of anyone in our home!!!  Chrissie has decided that since she can't boss her older siblings around (which she actually does boss them...quite well, in fact!), she has decided that she'll be the boss of Baby.  Chrissie repeats to herself (as a reminder) multiple times each day, "Chrissie boss of Baby.  Chrissie boss of Baby."

I think she's doing a great job of "bossing" Baby, don't you?!?



Friday, March 5, 2010

We're Kari's March Featured Family!

Many of you follow Kari's "My Crazy Adoption" blog, so you'll see our family over there this month as Kari's March Featured Family, but for those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about...go check it out!
http://mycrazyadoption.org/crazy-march-adoption-family-pattersons-miracles

We're blessed to have been chosen as the "My Crazy Adoption March Family", thanks Kari!

If you've been wanting to hear our family's adoption story in a nutshell, go read Kari's post where we're featured and you'll have it all figured out about us in a few minutes! :-)

Oh, and we now have 2 prayer buttons for Chrissie (a small one and a large one)...take your pick for your blog! (Go check them out on the right side of my blog.) Thanks, Brent Riggs, for making the smaller one for me!

If you visit my blog from Kari's post about us, please leave me a comment and let me know.  Thanks so much!

PS  Here's Kari's blog button, incase you want it for your blog:




Thursday, March 4, 2010

Chrissie Update...Our Spunky Monkey!

Chrissie had her hospital follow-up appointment with our pediatrician today, and she's doing GREAT.  Her lungs sounded good, her oxygen sats were at 75% (which is normal for her), she was fever-free and spunky as can be!  Praise God! 

Regarding Chrissie's open-heart surgery date, it is tentatively scheduled for March 31.  The alternative date is April 19.  I prefer April 19 so that Chrissie will get to experience her first Texas Easter and she'll also get to celebrate her brother's 10th b-day, plus her immune system will be stronger by then.  But, if her heart, lungs and pulmonary system as a whole aren't secure enough to hang in there until April 19, then, of course, March 31 will work just fine.

When Chrissie was in the hospital for her metapneumovirus/respiratory distress episode last week, the x-ray of her chest showed that her heart stent is fractured.  Not good.  Chrissie's cardiologist would like to do a CAT scan (under anesthesia, which means in the hospital...poor Chrissie) of her chest in order to better see how badly fractured the stent is and if it will hold that vessel open enough to get blood flow to her lung.  This will need to be done before her open-heart surgery.

Chrissie's cardiologist and cardiac surgeon are conferencing and determining the best plan for Chrissie at this point.  We're waiting to hear their recommendations.  In the meantime, Chrissie is getting spunkier and spunkier by the day, which we are so grateful for.  She's our little Spunky Monkey, adored by every member of our family, as well as by all those who meet this precious girl!!!  She is a blessing indeed, and what a spokesgirl she is for adoption advocacy!!!  On the fence about adoption...come meet our Spunky Monkey who will charm your socks off and leave you without a doubt that YES, you SHOULD adopt!!!


Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Haiti on my Heart

A 13-month-old Haitian boy who weighs 5 pounds.

God drew my heart toward Haiti just 3 days prior to the earthquake.  I didn't know why, but now I do.  I had NO clue how bad things are for Haitians.  I had NO clue of how bad things were PRIOR to the earthquake, much less what things are like now for Haitians.  This 13-month-old boy who weighs 5 pounds didn't get this way from the earthquake.  He was suffering of malnutrition far before the earthquake ever hit. 

I won't get into a sermon about Haiti here.  If God lays Haiti on your heart, He will open your eyes to the painful truth of life in Haiti. 

I would love for you to join me in prayer for the people of Haiti.  I've learned far more than my mind can handle about Haiti.  It is hard to live our comfortable American life knowing there are people all over the world suffering more than we can even begin to fathom.

Today Haiti is heavy on my heart...and it's been this way since January 12...and I'm afraid it's not going away anytime soon.

Please pray for Haiti!

Here are 2 painless ways to offer life-saving help and eternal hope to Haiti:
Give .30 cents to feed a Haitian a healthy meal along with the gospel!
Give a $5 Donation! to offer Eternal Hope to Haiti!

Help Haiti!


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