Merci(e)s in Togo

“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 h...

"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 ...

"I need Thee, O I need Thee; Every hour I need Thee! O bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee  - Annie S. Hawks, "I Need Thee Every Hour" " Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6    Let me ask you a question: What is the definition of a "good day?" A relaxing one with few worries? A day free of children complaining, or at least one with less complaining than normal? A day where you have a skip in your step and a happy ditty in your head without really knowing why? With the last couple weeks being a bit bizarre, I have found myself asking the same question. What characterizes a “good day?" In a place where your schedule for the day can change in seconds, and it takes a while to accomplish tasks, I have since left the word “productive” far behind from being part of my "good day" definition. The health of my...

 "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor." - 1 Corinthians 3:6-8      If you were to come on a walk with me near my house, you'd likely see puddles on the road from the recent pluie (rain). You'd observe goats scrambling, donkey's braying, cows parading by, and plants poking their heads out of the soil in the fields. The air can often be humid, the mosquitos abundant, and the mornings cooler after an overnight shower. Conversations at work can center on how planting rice is different than sowing seed for corn. My friends educated me on the fact that both general and selective herbicides exist, which blew my mind!  How do they do that, single out the pesky weeds and leave the crops alive?! (As you can tell, I am not a gardener or farmer at all, so pardon my naiveite...