She's....

….a closet full of skirts…..

 

And a bit of a glamorous girly girl….

 

She’s a good mommy to her baby doll….

 

And to her kitty too…..

 

She knows how to let loose with her girlfriends….

 

And how to hold her own among the boys.

(oops - I stopped recording too soon - you've got to see the pin!)


She’s the same cheesy movie again and again….

 

And she has the greatest, gut-wrenching giggle ever made…

 

AND TODAY SHE IS………

 

And OH do we LOVE her so! Happy 4th Birthday to our Jayla Joy!!!!!!!!!!

♥

A Passionate Burden

If you listen, God will show you something that makes your heart ache on behalf of His. He will bless you with a burden.

If you're like most normal people, you're probably wondering, "Why in the world would I want a burden?" Most of us feel good when we avoid burdens—after all, isn't life hard enough? Why ask God for more trials, trauma, and tears? It's normal to want to avoid pain, human even. But God didn't put us here on earth just to feel good and enjoy ourselves. He doesn't give us our lives so we can master techniques in avoiding pain.

He puts us here to make an eternal difference.

He puts us here to show everyone around us how much He loves them.

He puts us here to be His hands and feet, His body, and His heart.

[excerpt from article posted on Catalyst]

The Boy with the Bone through His Arm: UPDATE

Below is an update written by Jake on one of the situations we encountered on our recent March trip to Ghana. You can read the original post about this young man here.

Each day as I awake I long to be with the people of Asikuma. Each day my thoughts are consumed with the lives of the people 6,000 miles away from where I call home. There is so much need in this place and every time I set foot in Ghana it seems like God uses me in some incredible ways.

Each time that I pick up my Bible and read the letters Paul wrote to the churches and people of the places God had called him to, he expresses a longing to be with them and desire to see just what God is doing in the places he has been. Since God brought me to Asikuma it has made the words of Paul come alive in my life and since my last trip that longing to be in Africa seems so much greater. It is greater because of the lives that God has thrown into my path.

My two daughters are still waiting on their court date which seems like it will never come. There are two other girls that God has wrapped my heart around - I so much desire to see Adjoa run from me with a giggle and squeal and Yaa melt in my arms. There is the baby in the bush that is now being cared for by Kofi Oppong and CompAfriCare. I know this little boy is doing well but my mind swirls around his mother who is in so much need that she was willing to let her son die in the bush because she simply has no means to care for him. I wonder each day how she is doing. I wonder if God’s Word is entering her heart or does she just need someone to bring the Word to her on this day or that day. Last, but not least there is a little boy not more than 12 years old who came to us on our last visit with a broken arm that was so severe I had never seen anything like it.

 

This little boy had a compound fracture of his forearm with the bone sticking out about six inches and it appeared as sharp as knife. When I asked the little boy how long his arm had been like that he said a little over a year. As I looked more closely at his arm you could see the infection and gangrene setting in. Everyone around him seemed like this was really not that big of deal. When I looked into his eyes I could see his pain and I could see him crying out for someone to help. On that day I decided to make it my mission to help this little boy but I soon learned the realities of hospital care in Africa.

I asked Ken (the individual assisting us in the community) what it would take to get him to the hospital for the doctors to see him and why he had not been there already. Please note that we do have a medical clinic in Asikuma that God called us to build, but they turned him away because they do not specialize in bone care and do not have the appropriate doctors to care for an injury like this. He was told he would have to go to a hospital nearly 70 miles away in a town called Koforidua as they have a specialist from India that can perform the surgery and care for the boy.

Obviously I had an urgency to get him to the hospital and immediately whipped out 100 cedi (equivalent to about $75.00) for the taxi fare to get him to the hospital and for a doctor to see him. In my simple American way of thinking I assumed the doctors would see him and rush him into surgery as this infection could take his life. Actually I got to see the reality of the world we live in.

The boy returned to Asikuma with X-rays of the break and some antibiotics and that was because the only surgeon who can care for an injury like this was not at the hospital. He travels throughout the country from hospital to hospital as there are not enough surgeons who can operate on bone related injuries. My other assumption knowing how Africa works is that the individuals with the most money get seen first which is less than 10% of the country. The villagers who live on less than $2.00/day in most cases never really have a realistic opportunity for medical care and certainly no opportunity for a complicated surgery like this one. As I was leaving Asikuma in March I was told that the hospital would call him back to schedule a surgery. I thought this seemed a little odd but I just kind of went with it.

Well over the last two months there has been no progress in getting this boys’ arm fixed. I have been checking in about every 2 or 3 days to see if we have any news. Finally last week I was to the point of absolute frustration and was going to reach out to anyone I knew.

During my December/January trip I met a missionary who was returning from 15 years on the missions field and was actually a doctor that had helped established a hospital in Ghana . We had a great conversation on the plane and he gave me his email and I saved it on my notepad via my I-phone. I have not ever put anything into my notepad and to this date it is still the only thing in my notepad. This individual is now practicing medicine in South Bend, Indiana. I decided what the heck and I would just send him an email explaining the situation and the need we had to care for this boy. In my mind I doubted that this individual would even remember me, but I guess that God put us on the plane together for a reason.

Cameron,

I know you may not remember me, but my name is Jake Sullivan and I met you and your family on a plane trip home from Ghana in early January. I wanted to reach out to you as we need your help. In the community that we are doing our work in called Asikuma we met a young boy that has a compound fracture of his forearm. We came to find out that this has been the case for the past year and obviously infection is setting in and the boy is suffering. The individual that has been working for us in Asikuma apparently cannot find a doctor who can fix this boy’s arm. I thought I would reach out to you to see if you knew of a place we can take this boy to have the appropriate surgery to fix his arm. If you could direct me to the right people I would truly be grateful.

Thanks,
Jake Sullivan

P.S. I pray that God is blessing your ministry and your impact in South Bend, Indiana.

To my delight, less than 24 hours later I received an email back…..

Hi Jake,

I remember our conversation on the plane last January. Hope you are doing well. It sounds like the boy has an osteomyelitis after the fracture. He will need significant care, likely a surgery to clean out infection, weeks of antibiotics, etc. There is a reputable orthopedic center in Koforidua at St. Joseph’s hospital. That would be my recommendation. There may be other options at either Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra or Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi. Hope you are able to help him.

Blessings,
Cameron Gongwer

After receiving this email from Cameron I thought I would take the information and Google St. Joseph’s Hospital, hoping and praying that the hospital would have a website. Let’s just say it is not the greatest website, but it had just enough information and even provided me an email to contact them. Again I did not think I would ever hear a response back but to my delight I was wrong again. The head surgeon as well as the director of the hospital emailed me back immediately.

To St. Josephs Hospital:

Hi guys! My name is Jake Sullivan and I am from the United States of America. I have been to Ghana 13 times over the past three and half years and love the country. To make a long story short we are doing a lot of work in a community called Asikuma. We have had the opportunity to open up a small medical clinic for the community, construct a computer center at the school and some other awesome things that God has chosen to do through our organization. During my recent work in Asikuma in March I met a young boy roughly 12 years who has a compound fracture of his forearm. He needs immediate treatment and up to this point we have not been able to find anyone to help. The other day I met a missionary doctor that has been working in Ghana and he suggested I contact you guys to help. Please contact me as soon as possible and we can get the boy down to the hospital whenever you can set up an appointment.

Thanks,
Jake Sullivan

Dear Jake,

Kindly make available patient's contact number. I will make contact with one of the main orthopaedic trauma surgeons. Dr Abdul Rahman would certainly like to establish the level of injury at least by telephone and a local doctor near Anomabu has to write an official referral if possible if National Health policies in Ghana is to be applied. We know that the policy does not cover implant surgery and the hospital charges will apply.

Thank you.
P. Ofori-Atta President. Motec Life – UK

Later I received another email sent from St. Josephs to schedule appointment and surgery:

See 9am on 30th May. I will leave Koforidua at 12mid day. Eventually will be back to Koforidia for surgeries 11th to 14th June.

Thanks.
Ofori-Atta

So, to my delight we got an appointment scheduled at 9:00am on the 30th of May with the head surgeons and then they will schedule a surgery for mid-June between the 11th-14th. Now it is in God’s hands to see that the appointment goes as planned and that we will have enough resources to care for this boy as hospital fees will apply for his surgery.

Each day when I wake up I wonder how many of these stories exist in Africa. I wonder how many of these stories are in Asikuma alone. I just pray that God continues to use me as his hands and feet here on this earth and I will continue to long to be with the people in a land 6,000 miles away from where God has me now!

Now that I have seen, I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
Now that I have held you in my own arms, I cannot let go till you are...

I am on a plane across a distant sea
But I carry you in me
and the dust on, the dust on, the dust on my feet
Ghana (replaced Rwanda).

-Lyrics from 'Albertine' by Brooke Fraser-

Gift Giver

Justice is our gift giver. :) If you’ve ever read the book ‘The Five Love Languages’ you will know that one way people feel love is by receiving gifts. Well, we’ve learned that one way Justice shows his love is by giving gifts.

Justice has had a good chunk of money saved up from the past few months – Jake’s parents always send the kids money for their piggy banks on holidays like Valentines and Easter. Plus he had won a few dollars here and there at the gym with shooting contests that the kids sometimes do for fun in between practices. Then there are the random dollars that he’s gotten on the tournament trips – like he’s talked the high school boys into paying him a dollar if he stands on their back to crack their backs. :) So, he’s been saving up this money, and the last I knew he had his eye on a butterfly habitat/house that they are selling at Target right now. Justice is really into catching butterflies and he wants to be able to keep them and observe them. He had been deciding if he wanted to spend his money on that, or keep saving. Last week at school the book fair was in town – we saw the slip of paper come home but it was forgotten about under the pile on the counter. A few days later at the end of last week Justice came home with surprise gifts for JJ and Jayla – posters that he had gotten for them at the book fair – using his own money! :)

 

He hadn’t even asked Jake or I for any money for the fair…..and I think that is what makes these gifts feel even more special. For JJ and Jayla to see that their big brother would use his own money, on gifts that he didn’t have to get them is pretty cool. But the better part was seeing Justice’s smiling face after JJ and Jayla were so happy and chattering about their surprise posters (and Jayla showed her poster to everybody who walked in our front door over the next few days)! I know Justice loves the feeling of giving.

Then Friday rolled around and Justice brought out those wrapped presents for Jayla and I. Once Jake told me that he hadn’t taken him shopping I knew he must have somehow gotten us something during school hours, and again with all his own money since Jake hadn’t given him any and he hadn’t asked Jake for any! I tried to get information out of Justice but he just smiled and wouldn’t dish his secret! A little while later I recalled that the school was also having their ‘elephant sale’ this past week. Last year it was more like a garage sale, where everyone brought items to sell and money to purchase things. But this year they had new items on the sale. The only thing I couldn’t figure out was how he got the gifts wrapped so nicely – we didn’t have the polka dot wrapping paper at our house.

Well, that question got answered on Saturday at one of Justice’s basketball games. His teacher came to watch him play in the tournament and as we talked she brought up the gifts. She said he was so excited about buying the gifts at the elephant sale, but then became distressed about how he was going to get them wrapped. His teacher said that, “his heart was so genuine about it all that I told him I would take them home and wrap them and bring them back the next day for him.” So she did. And here are the perfect little gifts he picked out and bought for Jayla’s birthday all by himself and with his own money:

 

Stuffed animal puppy dogs and bears (really nice, brand new TY ones – one of which she took along in her bike basket for her first ride around the town), a coin purse, and a stocking cap. :) And here is the card he gave to her:

 

And you saw my Mother’s Day gift yesterday, but here is the card he gave me:

 

I thought it was SO SWEET that he took the time to give us cards (I don’t even normally give cards with gifts!) and I loved his little handwritten notes and add-ins on the inside! After we had opened our gifts I asked him where he had gotten the cards from. He said that at the elephant sale he had purchased a big box of different types of cards all for $1 – which explains why my Mother’s Day card was a birthday wish. :) Love it! Eventually I asked Justice if within all this shopping he had gotten anything for himself. And, yes, he had…..there was one little treasure that had caught his eye, and after putting everyone else’s gifts first, he had just enough money left for it…..

:)

A Full Weekend!

I had such a great Mother’s Day Weekend – one of my favorites by far! On Saturday I treated MY mommy to a pedicure, something we haven’t done together since high school I think! Jayla got in on the action too, and now all of our cute little toesies are ready for summer!

Jake’s Kingdom Hoops program hosted the tournament locally this weekend, so we went to Justice’s games. His team has had a few months break from tournaments, so he has really been working on his game during the off-time. It was so exciting and encouraging to see some major improvement in him and how much his skills are developing!

We also squeezed in Jayla’s birthday party this weekend since Jake will be traveling to a tournament next weekend which is when her actual birthday is. I am going to save those pictures and her birthday post until next weekend when the big day comes, but here’s a sneak peek from her party….

I know the best part for Jayla was that a TON of her little friends came. When everyone had to start leaving for the night she pulled me into her bedroom, tears filled her eyes and she said, “Why is everyone leaving mommy?” Oh. Break. My. Heart. I told her that everyone had to get home because there was school tomorrow, and all fun parties have to come to an end. “Well, will all these people come to my party next year too?” she asked. “Of course!” I told her. Jayla is my little social bee – she is perfectly content to be surrounded by friends and family (and lots of them!) - that’s all she needs and she is so happy!

On Friday after school I was getting ready in the bathroom when Justice got off the school bus. About 5 minutes later Jayla came busting in the bathroom and said, “Justice says the big rectangle and big square polka-dot boxes are for me, and the small square polka-dot box is for you.” I had no idea what she was talking about. I went out in the living room, and saw three perfectly wrapped presents, with cards nonetheless, sitting in a pile by Jayla’s other birthday presents. Two of the polka-dot gifts had Jayla’s name on them, and one had mine on it.

By this time Justice was off playing outside in the driveway, but I knew that he had just set these gifts out. I had also just set all of Jayla’s presents out that day, so I figured he had been keeping these gifts hidden as a surprise until it got closer to the party. Later that night I asked Jake if he had taken Justice shopping for our gifts earlier in the week. “No,” he said. When I explained the presents that he had set out that afternoon we both just looked at each other in mystery! How did Justice not only buy Jayla and I gifts and where from, but also how did he get them so perfectly wrapped and find greeting cards to put on them?! Well, there is definitely more to this story and it is a perfect fit for another post tomorrow! :) But, here is a glimpse of my sweet Mother’s Day gift from Justice – a little frame with sayings about mothers…

Seriously, how cute is that??!!! Gosh, I love his heart! Jake and the kids also got me a special curling iron for my hair that I have wanted for a loonnggg time!!!! I was SO EXCITED to get it! And to picture Jake standing at the curling iron kiosk in the mall, in an in-depth conversation with the sales-lady about which curling iron was the right one – PRICELESS!

It's always a special day when you get to be with family ~ 3 mothers and 4 generations of girls!  Happy Mother's Day 2012!

 

All weekend long I was thanking God for giving me such a perfect little family. All of my dreams to be a wife and mom have come true. I could not ask for more. ♥