Merci(e)s in Togo

  For  we are his workmanship,  created in Christ Jesus  for good works,  which God prepared beforehand,  that we should walk in them. - Ephesians 2:10 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up .  - Galatians 6:9    "Ummm...I think you need to come to the hospital now..." was my reply to AF, the friend from my last update who decided to keep her baby instead of aborting. She had called me at work one evening to tell me her water had broken earlier that day. Much to my dismay, her reply came..."it has stopped now! I will come tomorrow at 2pm." I tried to convince her that wasn't how having a baby worked, but she had already determined that she was spending the evening at home. I went to sleep that night praying for her and the baby's protection, and for wisdom for how to act the following morning. That next day involved more prayer, asking a friend for advice, and then a drive to pick up a laboring AF, he

“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. " – 2 Peter 3:9 “God, I don’t know what else to do. Please stop me if I am faithlessly running out in front of you." This was my prayer last Monday as I sailed up the road in search of AF, hoping she might come to her rendezvous at the hospital. This young lady had shown up at our hospital about 5 weeks beforehand, looking to talk with someone. This had led to a private conversation in which she shared her reality of an unwanted pregnancy and search for an abortion. The day after that private conversation included a meeting with my OB nurse practitioner and chaplain friends, in which we talked, prayed, and encouraged AF to keep her baby. In one meeting, this dear one went from begging on her knees for an abortion to assuring us that she had no plans to terminate her pregnancy. Praise the Lord! The difficult journey conti

     Picking up the breathless, pulseless newborn from his incubator in the pediatric ward where I had been assigned, I ran to the emergency bay, where our team started resuscitation efforts.  After minutes of CPR and prayer, the baby started gasping, his heart rate returning at the same time as his skin color shifted from blueish to pink. Throughout the day in the pediatric ICU, the baby had low blood sugars but kept breathing on his own. I went home wondering if he might pull through.      So many critical patient situations like this end with a crossing into eternity that one becomes accustomed to working hard for a patient's recovery but not getting one's hopes up for their survival.  It sounds rather dismal, but for me, at least, it helps me to continue nursing.       Yet, that evening, a part of me strongly hoped that maybe the little one's health would improve despite his current state.  I prayed that evening for him and decided to go pray with his family the next m

"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." - Ephesians 4:1-3 A smile crosses my face as I pop in my earbuds, queue up my workout playlist, and start at a fast-jogging pace along the red dirt road. Although my pace slows as I round the first bend to settle in for a steady trot for most of my run, my enthusiasm does not diminish in the least.  Blame it on my dad for passing it on to me, but I caught the runner's bug in high school and haven't seem to have recovered from it yet. I love a good run, especially the challenge of a sprint at the end.   The first season of life in Togo has felt like an energizing run, with a sprint in the middle of September through October in accompanying Ahad with Sekina to the states for his potential heart surgery.

  "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." - Psalm 19:1-4a.  " But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.- Ephesians 2:4-7 Little Man Ahad before he was intubated the second time, which is his current state. This photo is precious because in Togo he rarely smiled for pictures. Dear God, I know that you are good, but how in the world can this glorify You?? These were the beg

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” -Habakkuk‬ ‭3:17-18‬ ‭ESV‬‬ This will be a very focused update, but I wanted to share a prayer request for those who aren’t already aware. (Also, it is late and so I apologize for typos!) Little man here, Ahad, is now in Florida.  In the last update, I believe we were waiting for his passport. Well, I the span of about a week we obtained his passport, applied for and received his visa, and flew to the US. During the flight Ahad demonstrated his dislike of flying: he started having trouble breathing, turned a bit bluish, and his oxygen levels which are normally low, went even lower. The flight crew gave us an oxygen tank with the reminder that there was only so much oxygen for everyone for the flight in case of emer