Some very special ladies at my church home are having a fellowship party this Sunday (instead of a typical shower) and in lieu of gifts I have requested that donations be made to Gospel for Asia’s Medical Ministry.
To learn more about this ministry, you can click on the View Photoshow.
To make a donation, you can call them and let them know you wish to make a donation in Faith Kathryn Tredway’s honor/memory. They will give you further instructions.
Bill and I have sponsored two native missionaries, one male and one female, for almost 2 years. We also sponsor a little girl in their Bridge of Hope centers where she not only learns about Jesus and His love for them, she is able to learn to read and write, something unheard of for Dalits (“Untouchables”), plus she also gets a good meal each school day and receives an annual medical checkup. We were thrilled to hear they were starting this medical outreach out of the BofH centers and the local churches that have been planted by their native missionaries. The debate on health care is on the national stage now and despite an imperfect system, we still have in this country the best medical care anywhere. We tend to take that for granted until we read about the stories of the lives of those touched by this ministry. So for those who have been walking along with us on this journey and want to do something tangible, this would be the way that would give us the most joy. If you feel led to, you can send a donation in celebration of Faith Kathryn Tredway to this organization to be used for their Medical Ministry.
This morning I was heartbroken to read this story about a family in North Korea. I am glad that a major news network reported on this heartbreaking situation.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,534728,00.html
The North Korean prison camps are inhumane and to think that 3 generations of a family were thrown into one because of the actions of the Mom is unimaginable. This unfortunately is the standard practice in North Korea. Please pray for this family, especially the 3 children who will no doubt wonder if the God that their Mom loved so much, and was willing to die for, has forgotten them. Reading about this situation made be thankful that though there are going to be tears of sadness and tears of anger in the coming weeks for us, I am so blessed to be in a free country where I can proclaim the name of Jesus without repercussions, that I am in a beautiful, safe and comfortable home with a loving husband that models what being a servant leader is all about, with two beautiful and healthy children in addition to the legions of family and friends who have stood by us.
This morning has not been easy. Hope “allowed” me to sleep in and Bill had to come in at 1045am to wake me up. I think I got almost 10 hours of sleep, which is a good thing, but sometimes makes me drag for a couple of hours before I really wake up. But this morning was different. As I was lying in bed looking at the clock it hit me that in 3 weeks, just 21 days, that would probably be the time that Faith will enter our world and would be separated from me, her life sustainer. I did allow for some tears as Bill held me in his arms and I told him what was going through my mind. He agreed that it seems to be sneaking up on us. I received confirmation this morning that the outfit I bought for Faith has been shipped and should arrive next week. I’m calling the pediatrician this afternoon to schedule the OB consultation where we will discuss the birth plan for Faith. We’ve also been given a strong recommendation for a local funeral home to handle the cremation and possibly the memorial service.
We feel like we’ve been walking on a treadmill with someone else controlling the speed. For a long while it has seemed like it was progressing at a snail’s pace. Now, without warning, the speed has been increased and I know that soon I won’t be able to keep up the pace. I am clinging to the promise that He will sustain me and even carry me through that time. Psalm 23, an oft quoted psalm in sermons and movies, says that when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we should fear no evil. A few weeks ago it hit me that the valleys will happen, but it does not say we will have to stay there, trapped and imprisoned forever. We will be there for a time, but then we will step out of the valley. I heard Third Day’s “Light at the End of the Tunnel” this morning and was reminded that this valley won’t last forever and that there will be a time of joy again without tears. How anyone without that faith and hope can get through a trial like this is just unfathomable. I am so thankful that He will not let us go through this alone.