PRAY for a MIRACLE

Poutchino has less than 2 months left here...in Jacksonville Florida with the Brickell family and i have been meaning to write a blog for the last 2 weeks, but every time i sit down to write...i literally do NOT have the words to express the feelings going on inside... or even put into words how much i want a miracle to happen.

Poutchino was the main reason i extended my Haiti stay in January and ended up being there for the earthquake...he was the boy i ran inside to the top floor of a hospital to retrieve after the earthquake struck...he was the one i took care of and held for 24 hours straight while we were stuck in the hospital parking lot...he was the one that i had spent days, weeks and months doing physical therapy with years before...he was the little boy that stole my heart with out words...he was the one i prayed he would walk or at least stand on his own one day...he was the boy i hoped could make more noises and sounds...he was the boy i told everyone about... he was the boy that always NO MATTER what, made joy fill my heart....the boy i never really knew would get to where he is today...

today...in America...standing on his own, walking on his own, making more sounds...he has said two words... who has grown 8 inches in less than a year...who has gained 12 lbs in less than a year...who is going to school...who is comprehending...who is playing with toys and recognizing things he didn't before.... HE IS A MIRACLE.... still bringing JOY!

GOD did ALL this...but not without SO many praying and believing in what God had planned for him...hope, life, a future... Nancy who has done a better job than i can imagine anyone doing while he has been stateside continues to amaze me...i feel the bond between us and our love for poutchino is so deep now as we have watched him grow and continue to walk the days out in faith to see Gods plan unfold...

but somehow this less than 45 days...less than 2 months is starting to really creep up...and fighting doubt and heartbreak sets in.... i have realized i have done a horrible job at helping Nancy and the Brickells in promoting and spreading the word about his great need to find a family... i have been selfish in a since..."i get to see poutchi....i get to visit...i get to see his progress...i get to be part of the Brickells with poutchi"....but the thing is i should have been helping and working to bring a home and permanent family to him a long time ago and now i feel disappointed in myself and despair at times....

but like Nancy said it is past... focus on what we can do now...so i don't get down i remember how much GOD LOVES POUTCHINO and all the MIRACLES He has done already for this little man... and i remember who my GOD IS....a GOOD God...with plans not to harm, but to prosper and give hope and a future...so please join with me and spread the word of his story...pray for ANOTHER miracle.... and if you have a lead or any questions please let me know so Nancy and all involved can move forward to help him....

I know that going back to Haiti is not horrible as he will go to a place that loves him...but the thing is... he greatly needs more one on one attention than he can get there...and he also desperately needs the access to the resources available here...

PLEASE PRAY WITH US.... with a desperate and faith filled heart i write this today....

precious

i saw this with Junior a few days ago on the internet and seriously can't get over how cute it is!!!! what a beautiful thing for a father and daughter to share.... i believe its so important in our world today filled with movies, tv, wii, etc. to have these intimate moments of singin...dancing....playing cards...playing outside...things that connected us deeply together...plus i have to give props to this father...being a single daddy....not too many of them out there...and from the looks of it, hes doin a great job lovin on her...may blessings abound in their family.....

WAKA WAKA

So i know this song came out a long time ago around the world cup...but goodness i am really lovin on it right now. i took an african dance class twice and its one of the hardest things you can imagine. i know a girl who did dance her whole life, traveled all over, living in europe and other places, specifically spain...but she always said..."if you can dance african you can dance ANYTHING" i believe this is true....

so as i play this song...seriously on repeat... junior and i dance around the house....trying to dance african...the only reason i can keep up with him is because of my two classes i think...

but its beautiful as we laugh and embrace that we really are all african in some way or another... whether our heritage can be linked back to it or not...we are all connected and their story is our story...WE'RE ALL AFRICA!

news happening in Haiti

The last 3 days in Haiti have been a bit stressful, not that much of the journey this past year hasn't, but this past Sunday in Haiti former dictator "Baby Doc" returned to Haiti after 25 years in exile. It caused a lot of termoile for the people of Haiti as his supporters (more than likely people involved in his gangs and distruction) came out and uncertainy in the political arena grew...

click here to read a news article on the situation

click here to read a Much Ministries post on the situation

Then today...2 days after "Baby Docs" arrival and added protesting of the chances of even Aristede returning as well...Haitian authorities arrested Duvalier at his hotel. Praise God for this desicion.

click here to read a news article on the arrest

click here to read a MM post on the arrest

keep the situation in your prayers!!!

MUCH you tube channel!

Today i set Much Ministries up with a youtube channel...

i have to admit if it wasn't for Mollie Anna Taylor it probably wouldn't of happened... i really am confused a lot when it comes to technology things, but it helps to have youth around that do!!!

in fact my good friend Sarah Beth & her husband Jon know of my lack of skills when it comes to working with technology...

a story to help you understand....

Jon who is WAY fluent in the technology, computer language had done something funky with his TV and some computer towers...i asked him about it and literally about a minute into him explaining what he had done... my right eye started twitching...and it wouldn't stop...i had to tell him it was too much my brain couldn't handle it...so we joke that i have a techno twitch...too much techy talk, etc... my eyes might twitch...

the thing that makes it even more ironic and funny is that i am the one that is updating our website, working with people to help it improve, setting up things like you tube and doing all of our facebook PR & updating as well....

i ask myself how this happened often when i am praying not to hit whatever computer i may be working on... its quite funny...

all that to say...check out our new youtube channel and subscribe... click HERE

revisiting old posts

i was reading my dear friend sarah beth's blog and she had linked her postings from a year ago...it was really good for my soul to read some of them because i had never read them before....

i don't know if anyone will read mine to recap the things that went on in me during the aftermath of the earthquake.... but if you do, maybe God will use it in some sort of way to encourage, help, aid in the healing process or anything...

1/15/10

1/16/10

1/18/10

1/20/10

1/20/10

1/22/10

1/27/10

1/29/10

2/3/10

May God receive ALL the Glory.

Blessings.

staying positive

A positive article...CLICK HERE

i believe this is the year for progress....promises to come through...more people to invest....more rubble to be removed...more businesses to appear...and more secure homes to be lived in...

GROWTH & PROGRESS

LIFE & HOPE

PEACE & GOOD THINGS FROM ABOVE!!!!

remembering Haiti

today marks the year anniversary of the 2010 earthquake...it is 3:23pm...just an hour and a 1/2 until the exact minute that the ground shook all around and beneath me. i am emotional today....

i have been on the verge of tears all day.

i have missed the people i was with, especially my sister in ways i can't express.

i have been thankful to be alive.

i have been broken and sad.

i have remembered things i would rather have not.

i rejoiced in the miracles that have come out of it.

i have been silent.

i have felt honor.

i have felt humility.

i have declared restoration.

i have fasted.

i have prayed.

i have praised.

i have HOPE for HAITI!

i am alive, as well as so many that i love, some still are living in that nation...but over 200,000 died, over a million became homeless and the emotional and physical scars for some are permanent not just Haitians, but multitudes around the world.

however, our GOD IS BIG... and so MUCH goodness has come from it all...

my sister, along with so many, have their adoptive children with them NOW!

I have a nephew and he is healthy!

More people are involved in Haiti!

Miracles of people surviving that shouldn't of are alive TODAY!

New perspectives on life!

A deeper understanding of unity!

A deeper understanding of connectedness!

God's Kingdom growing!

i know this list goes on.... even when we can't quite set our eyes on it.

And YOU....who supported me through all of it...prayed when you didn't know if my sister, Dorothy or Poutchino were alive.... YOU...who sent money and helped cover my bills to stay in Haiti long enough to escort my nephew to my sister and to see Junior... WOW...You have no idea what you have done for me...it is BIG...KINGDOM BIG!!!!

there is an old African proverb that says... "I AM BECAUSE WE ARE."

this rains true over all of us...over Haiti...we cannot exist without the other...God created us to be communal and to take care of one another. thank you for taking care of me...for being JESUS with skin on....

lets continue to be His hands and feet...lets declare 2011 the year that rubble is removed, buildings and HOMES are rebuilt, that corruption ends and restoration flourishes....

that HAITI WILL RISE and be the PEARL of the islands it has always been.

Ayiti...m' renmen ou ANPIL....

remembering January 12, 2010

Can you believe that Wednesday, will be a year since the earthquake shook Haiti, January 12, 201o? It’s actually been a whole year, 12 months… and still our friends in Haiti are struggling to deal with the aftermath of that tragic day…

I feel like I can close my eyes and be there…all over again…remembering the feeling of the car shaking, Sr. Jesula falling in shock, me running to find Poutchino, the 24 hours confined to a hospital parking lot, all the emotions and heartbreak that was seen, the cries, screams, and prayers of all the people around us… and the days that followed…I think they will always be so vivid in my memory.

I have no doubt it is this way for millions of people, not only Haitians, but people all across the globe. I want us to look back over this year and remember those that lost their lives and are still dealing with the trauma and effects of that fateful day.

Wyclef Jean’s organization is encouraging people to take a moment of silence at 4:53pm, Orphan’s Matchbox, a blog, is having a virtual prayer gathering, the US Department of State will be giving a debriefing, some people will fast, some will pray, HAAFA is organizing a walk in Riverside Jacksonville to commemorate the anniversary…all sorts of people, families, communities, organizations and even governments will take time out of their day to commemorate this event in our world history…

Junior & I will be attending the walk in Jacksonville...but i encourage you to take part in some way.... tomorrow is not just an ordinary day...it is a day where over 2oo,000 people lost their lives, millions became homeless and amputee became a common word....but here is the thing...our GOD IS BIG....so He can transform all of it to bring glory beauty and honor to His name and all involved....

lets remember, commemorate, PRAY and speak life into this nation, the beauty that is there ready to rise from the rubble still there...

lets rejoice in the small things that have happened for good, the miracles going on everyday...and declare that 2011 be the year of growth, prosperity and GREAT GREAT things in the nation of Haiti.

MESI JEZI

Bondye...Ou ka fe tout bagay.

CHANGE

Every time i go home i learn something new...

visiting a place you call home, yet no longer live there...always causes one (or at least me) to have so serious reflection time....

this time i learned that i am really disconnected....

in reality i haven't lived in Kansas City for practically 3 years now. See i left KCMO for Haiti in January 2008 and when i returned my heart was still in Haiti...so i struggled from November to February to get by and try not to miss Haiti too much...

then i moved to Georgia and what was suppose to be 6 months has turned into 23 months. God has been dealing with me on my attachment to KCMO since i left...

see i LOVE this city. it has a special place in my heart...yes it is not NYC or anything spectacular, but i saw so much beauty, community and potential there... i grew into my own there... i struggled there... i made friends for life there....learned there...and i DREAMED....

however, i have let go of it in so many ways...i just for some reason didn't think it would let go of me...sounds awkward...but who said lulu's or succotash (2 of my favorite restaurants) could move locations without notifying me ...but apparently things, people and places are constantly changing.

i recently wrote a quote on a previous post that came to mind several times while i was home in KC.... "change is part of life....we either change or we die...it's a choice."

i think i want to be wise by choosing to accept the change, embrace it, learn from it, and be content in the seasons that come. its all for Good...my Father says His plans are not to harm but to give hope and a future in Jer. 29, so this i hold on to....

i am thankful for the things that will always keep me connected there, my family and my closest of friends....but the city i lived in will no doubt change and maybe one day God will bring me back to embrace it all over again in a new fresh way...

until than i welcome the seasons that are here now and will come to pass.... and if i never return to dwell there...i know its beauty, its community, its potential and the ways that it has shaped me. thank you KC...but more importantly thank you for the people that make that place what it is to me.... you know who you are.

LOVE LOVE LOVE....

Prayer Request

A quick message from Emory...the missionary MUCH partners with in Jubilee Haiti. Please keep them in your prayers...Mary his wife is sick...

Hope each of you are enjoying the new year. We need your prayers during this time. Mary has cholera. She is being treated in a cholera treatment center here. They gave her 8 units of fluids today and she is taking plenty of oral hydration which seems to be giving her some strength but she continues to have diarrhea. Please pray for this to stop and healing. We love you and thank you for your prayers.

With love in Christ

Emory and Mary

a month

that is how long i think it has been since i have wrote on here... i am sure it seems like forever... it does to me...

anyway lots has happened as it always does... "change is part of life we either change or we die...its a choice." heard this in a film yesterday and its true...

therefore, i have been going with the flow of life choosing to walk in the choices of change and NOT die....bc i think that would be a bummer, i'm still not even 30 yet, ya know...

lets see...where to begin...

Junior and i will have our 6th month anniversary this month and i truly can't believe it...it has gone so fast...so excited for all the seasons to come... its beautiful and teaches me daily about God and myself...always learning...its a wonderful thing to have someone to come home to...i am blessed.

what else....

Junior & i drove 18 hours home to kansas city for christmas and new years... it was a long drive, but we stopped in Nashville TN and spend time with my "brother" Caleb and his wife it was lovely!!! Junior fell in love with their dog dozer...

Nashville is the perfect stop bc its right in the middle 9 hours from Waynesville and 9 hours from Stilwell where my parents live...so its great. drive to Nashville...stay the night, then drive to kc...its perfect. 2 days of travel, but lovely to see friends.

We got to kc and were able to be there for almost 10 days.....it was wonderful.

it was a great trip...definitely miss all my loved ones there and places dear to my heart...

a great Christmas...my first Christmas married.... i couldn't be more happy!!!