Lesotho, Africa

Ken would be saying, Tomorrow is the big day for God, victims of human trafficking, but not him.  He starts his journey tomorrow morning.  I am excited to see this HUGE leap of faith on his part. 

God is working really hard on us.  The only reason He is having to work so hard on us, is because we are so human!  We still have not grasped the total concept that God is going to take care of us no matter where we are in life.  We still haven't let go of our own doubts totally and completely so that God can work in our lives as He wills. 

I am sure that this walk will be a huge soul searching mission for both Ken and I.  Although I will not be making the journey, I will still be making the mental journey with Ken.  I will be having to put my faith in God that Ken will make it to Houston safely.  I will have to put my faith in God that we will be able to touch many people and get the word out that human slavery is a problem that needs everyone's attention. 

Pray, pray, pray that we will do everything for the glory of God.  Let us not get caught up in anything that even remotely looks like we are putting any emphasis on us! 

For several weeks, maybe even months, Ken has been dreaming of a walk.  He has dreamed of walking to Houston as an awareness campaign for human trafficking.  He has dreamed of this on many occassions and feels that God has called him to make this trip.  I feel that if God has called him, then he should go.  These dreams have been very specific about his journey and that he is to walk on faith, not depending on sleeping in hotels or such, but depending on those he meets to help him with his journey. 

I know that Ken's dreams have haunted him, because he has so much to do here.  He wants to be obedient to God, yet he also wants to make sure things are taken care of here while he is gone.  My thought, just go.  If God is with him, then who could be against him. 

My goal is to get him prepared for his walk this weekend and then send him on his way.  I believe God will do the rest.  Please join us in prayers as he walks to gain awareness of the horrible issue of human trafficking. 

For the past few weeks, Ken and I have had many things happen in our lives.  Before we went to Haiti, Ken's mom went into the hospital.  So, during our trip and after, Ken worried about his mom and his sister constantly.  I know he put them in God's hands, but he also felt responsible for them too.  Also, we have been without a computer for many weeks now, so this is the first time I have been able to update our blog.  Therefore, I am dedicating this blog to Ken and why his is such an awesome person.

First, I have to say, because Ken and I have such different approaches to life and such different personalities, I never really knew how deeply he cared about people till I saw him crying in Haiti.  I don't want to embarrass him, but he kept telling me how he wanted to stay and that if he could just stay for a couple of more weeks, he could help these people.  He talked about how he interviewed some of the children and some of the adults there and that their answers just totally blew his mind.  He went on this trip with a calloused heart and came back a totally different person. 

I love Ken because he goes to work every day and deals with a boss that treats him like trash at times, yet he doesn't let that stop him from treating others with respect.  He works in the heat all day, and during these days, he takes many calls about his mom, who is still in long term skilled nursing, his sister whom we had to place in an assisted living center and the apartment complex that we do security at.  He also has calls from others who need advise, just want to talk, or have questions that only he can answer.  Unfortunately, I know I am one of the many that call him while he works. 

He has found a really great place for his sister and mom to live.  After finding out that his mom was not capable of taking care of his sister who is severly disabled with cerebral palsy, Ken took it upon himself to make sure they were taken care of.  He talked to many people, including social workers, dhs caseworkers, doctors and others, to decided how to handle the situation.  He had some hard decisions to make and knew that whatever his decisions were, his sister would probably be very angry with him and that his mom would be upset too, but he knew for their own sakes, the decisions of placing them in a living center were the only viable ones he could make.

He has taken off work on several occassions to go to the hospital, living center or run do other things for his sister and mom.  He is absolutely exhausted, yet he puts them first, because he does not want them to ever think that he doesn't care.  This weekend, he started passing a kidney stone.  However, his first concern was to Sherri, who was in the hospital.  I watched him nearly fall to the ground dealing with the pain, while he was trying to get answers from nurses and doctors about Sherri's health.  Then, after spending almost all day at the hospital or running over to check on his mom, we finally went home.  Ken was totally wiped out from pain, exhaustion and stress, but he wanted to just spend a little time with me, so we went home instead of to get him help.  After several hours, we went to the hospital to check on his situation. 

It was confirmed, he has a 3mm kidney stone that he was trying to pass.  The doctor told him the hard part was over and that he should not have as much pain, now that the stone was in the bladder.  it was obvious to me that Ken would not have liked giving birth.  They gave him two shots of some pain killer and sent him home on a muscle relaxer and percacet.  He was also sent home with a bottle and a strainer and told to catch the little stone and take it to his doctor. 

Well, that brings us to today.  My husband, one of my heros, has spent all day carrying around a bag with his urine catcher and strainer while he took care of situations with his sister and his mom again.  By the time we went home, he was ready to just give up.  His statement to me was this..."Why do I keep trying to make things better for them when they don't care."  He keeps seeing his sister's stubborness to have things her way or no way and his mom's lack of effort to try to take care of herselt and it frustrates him.  I told him that he did it because despite all that he has to deal with, he still loves them and wants the best for them, no matter what. 

I could write a thousand more reasons I love my husband so much, but I am sure most would get bored reading them all, so I will just say this...  I am not sure what I did to deserve such a great person in my life.  I only hope that when I fall short as a wife, he will treat me with grace and love and know that I do love him even when I am being stubborn. 

Please pray that his stone passes quickly and without pain. 

Ken and I will be leaving for Haiti in nine days.  We are excited, curious, a little stressed, trying to figure out what we need to take and a little overwhelmed with how hot it will be. 

Ken works in the heat everyday, so he seems to have the heat thing under control.  However, I guess I am not prepared.  I have ben walking in the mornings, but it seems to get really hot by nine, so I get really heated.  I still have eight days to get out there and really work up a sweat and get my body used to being in the heat.  I just want to make sure that I am prepared, so I don't let anyone else down. 

My goal, by the time we leave, is to be walking at least five miles.  I know that is a lofty goal because it is twice as far as I am walking now, so I must push myself each day to walk a little further. 

Prayers for a safe trip are appreciated! 

I know this has nothing to do with our trip to Lesotho, but in a way it does, so I am sharing.  Ken's mom has been in the hospital for well over two weeks now.  We have been working with the health care workers to find good solutions to getting Betty back on her feet.  Unfortunately, the doctor and others think that Betty is in need of long term care. 

With this being the case, that means, Ken's sister, Sherri will also need long term solutions for her care too.  For those of you who do not know, Sherri has CP and needs someone to be her hands for her, except for when it comes to her computer.  So, we checked into a home that Ken has shredded documents for and thought was a nice place.  When we got there and started talking to the intake lady, she stated that her boss had just told her that they could open up two more bed spaces for individuals with medicare/medicaid.  This meant that we could get both Sherri and Betty into the same place.  This also meant that Betty could do her rehab there as well. 

We know this is a God thing, because of all the things that fell into place about it.  We feel that God's hand is guiding us through this process and that all will work out for the best. 

Best of all, when we told the lady about our situation and that we would be moving, she began crying.  She told us that she was very touched by the work we will be doing.  We told her, it wasn't us, but God.  Before we left, she hugged us both and said she would do everything she could to get Betty and Sherri accepted into their home. 
Prayers please! 

As another Monday rolls around, I look back on the past few weeks and say..  Wow!  That was a hard few weeks.  We had our car break down, not once, but twice since we got it about a month ago.  We have driven the car less than two weeks out of the four we have had it.  Oh well, we couldn't forsee that we would have problems and God has been faithful to take care of us and our car, so we are not sweating that.  We do have a rental for now, but are hopeful that our car will be fixed today or tomorrow. 
Ken and I are both so very thankful to the love and prayers we receive daily.  Our lives are better because of your love and concern.  We can't imagine our lives without you all. 
My title today was, so much adversity, so little time to deal with it.  The reason I am writing about the adversity is because I want you to know that we are standing on God's promise to take care of us and to provide, even in times of great problems.  When we have people come against us, or say things to discourage us, we simply hand it over to God.  He is our sustainer. 
Be of good courage and know that God can and will supply your every need.