Pray for Malachi

I hate that lately our lives seem like such an emergency. I know it must be draining for you as it is very draining for us.

After returning home from Cody's medical fiasco we enjoyed 2 weeks of getting back into a routinue. However during this time I seemed to be aquiring some odd symptoms. After recovering from Malaria I started having numbness in my forearms. It was on and off. I was also very light headed, forgetful and had a hard time focusing on things. We talked to a doctor who said I should just rest. After several days (more like a week) of resting, I was tired of doing nothing and wanted to get on with my life. In some ways I seemed to be improving. Some days were better than others. After a couple days my numbness and tingling seemed to be getting worse, and we were really praying about what to do. Traveling to Kampala, staying there, and getting around is not a cheap or an easy matter. Not to mention we were just here.

Malachi's sickness was also not improving so we decided that we should make the journey south so we could both see doctors. After several blood tests things are not looking good for Malachi and doctors are advising us to travel to better health facilities for extensive testing and to find out more answers. It is looking rather serious (don't want to post possibilities on the world wide web), put we are still hoping for the best. We are asking for your prayers. Pray that God would give us wisdom on what to do and where to travel, who should travel and financial provisions. Pray for healing.

We know that God loves Malachi more than we do, and we are continuing to walk by faith.

Michaela

The Tragic Fairy Tale

Once upon a time in a oh so far, and extremely arid land lived a woman. For the sake of this fairy tale we will call her Lucy. Lucy lived a rough life. From the time she was little, life was a struggle. She was a product of her environment, and her lifestyle. Lucy started having children when she was still just a child herself. She has 5 little bumpkins, with no prince charming. Her greatest enemy is a potion that many in her land struggled with. This potion has control over her life, and has caused considerable pain.

One day while Lucy was sitting outside her house a tortoise slowly hobbled by. The tortoise saw on her face that life was hard and she needed hope. He stopped to talk with her because he wanted to help and share with her where the source of hope was found. This tortoise happened to talk because after all, tortoises talk in fairy tales.
“Good day,” he said. She lifted her down trodden head and nodded.
The tortoise continued, “It looks like life has been rough for you.”
Lucy quietly replied, “Life has been hard for me and a lot of it has been because of the choices I have made for myself.”

The tortoise stated, “Our consequences can be difficult based on the choices we make.” Although the tortoise had grown up in a different land he too had lived through consequences of his previous sinful life.
Lucy began to look down at the dirt again and picked up a stick and started drawing in the dirt, no longer acknowledging the tortoise. She was hoping he would leave and stay all at the same time. After an awkward silence the tortoise began to speak again.
“I know someone who can help.”
Lucy had her doubts, but was somewhat hopeful and for some reason had begun to trust in the tortoise in their short time together.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yep, but you have to leave your home so we can go to find the Great King.”

“I don’t want anything to do with men.”

“Don’t worry, this one is different.” He is very trustworthy. I was weary to meet him at first too, but trust me he will be able to help straighten out your life and offer you comfort and hope in the gravest of circumstances. I am one of his servants and delight in following after him and the prince, who was wrongly accused and killed. The prince did not stay in the kingdom like most princes do. He became like a servant helping people. He healed the sick, helped the poor, and went everywhere teaching people how to live life and to serve the king.”

Lucy’s curiosity drew her in. “Really? Wow, that doesn’t sound like any kingdom I have ever heard of.”

“What do you say? Follow me to this King?”

“Why not, I need a new life, and there is nothing for me here.”

So Lucy and her 5 children followed the tortoise. With ambition, and optimism filling their eyes they were on their new journey. The tortoise was nervous about the voyage, for he knew it was long, but he kept his hope high as the Prince and King had told him to do.

As the days went by the journey seemed like it would be easier than the tortoise thought. Lucy had obeyed all the rules the tortoise had set for her. There was also a special bounce to her step. It seemed to her like it would be a worry free excursion.

Along the way they would stop to rest and eat. Lucy had nothing so the tortoise always graciously shared what he had, for the King had given him everything anyway. After eating the tortoise would sit beside the cozy warm and bright fire where he would then take out his book the King had written. Lucy had seen him open this book each night. Once he was finished reading he seemed refreshed and ready to tackle the next leg of the journey. After several weeks of this Lucy asked with curiosity, “What is that book you read?”
“This is a letter that the King and Prince wrote together about how to live your life. It teaches me how to serve them better and how to live my life. An instruction book if you will.”
“Will you teach me about the book?”

“I would love to.”

And so as they continued on their journey they would stop at night to eat and rest for the night. During these times of respite the tortoise continued to get out his book and read it to Lucy and her children. They enjoyed the book very much and Lucy started to find hope and healing from her addictive and destructive lifestyle.

After about a month of their travels, Lucy started to desire her potion again. The kind that made her do crazy things.
Lucy asked, “Can you help me to fight the urge?”
“I will show you different instructions in my book, and you can ask the King himself to help you. He is very good at helping people with addictions but it might take quite some time. You have to be patient and listen to ALL the book says to be released from the draw of the potion. You must also listen to me and stay right behind me. There are people ahead in the forest where the road splits who love this potion and it has ruined their lives. All day long they drink it. They can not even think straight anymore because they live their lives for the potion. They even steal things in order to get money for this potion.”

Lucy bent her head for she didn’t want the tortoise to see the shame on her face. She too had stolen from people in order to get money for the potion. Her shame swelled even greater thinking about how she had neglected her children. Now memories came like a dam that suddenly broken. She remembered being under the potion and how she treated her children and what she had done. It was haunting really. She then remembered how she had been many days, maybe even months without the potion. How clear she could think. How her children were happy again. How proud she was. Lucy kept putting one foot in front of the other.

That night Lucy lay awake in the stillness of the night with her thoughts as loud as the marketplace in the morning. She was fighting back urges, and old lifestyles that led to destruction. She liked following the tortoise and liked the friendship they had created. She enjoyed listening to his book. After wrestling with her thoughts and emotions she finally fell asleep.

The next day after taking a short break, the tortoise explained to Lucy that soon the road would get harder. They would get to a road where there were two paths, and after the crossroads there would be many mountains. He reassured her that it was worth it and the end it would be the grandest feeling and experience she had ever known.
Wrestling again with her thoughts she followed behind him.

They soon came to the crossroads the tortoise had talked about. The tortoise started to pick up his pace for he knew he was slow, and also knew that he wanted to get by the unrestrained forest before her temptations for the potion overcame her. His hope was that if he could just get her past the forest the rest of the journey would seem effortless.

After they stepped foot into the forest the tortoise could smell the potion, and what happened next will change the course of the whole story; not allowing it to end in “They lived happily ever after,” as most fairy tales do. A woman came from behind a tree with sly eyes and greeted Lucy and asked her if she wanted to sit and have some potion with her. Lucy looked at the tortoise, then at her children. The tortoise said something out loud, which sounded like he was talking to the King but Lucy couldn’t quite hear it because of her thoughts. The tortoise quickly ran over to Lucy and pulled her by the arm.
“I won’t let you do this. You have come so far," he announced.

“But we still have a long way to go. You said so yourself.”

“It will be a lot of hard work, but remember I told you it would be worth it. Please don’t give up now. You have also come so far. You need a new life, and your kids deserve a better mom.”

“You are right,” And with that Lucy looked up the road and started walking. The tortoise decided he should hold hands with her continuing to give her support for he knew there were many more potion lovers in the forest trying to lure people into their slavery of misery.

They had traveled very far through the forest and it was everything Lucy could do to put one foot in front of the other. The tortoise looked back at her children and they had more than fear in their eyes.

Right before the last tree, out popped two very handsome men, each holding potion in their hands.

She could no longer resist the temptation. She ran over to the men and grabbed the potion, swallowing it down quickly. With every gulp her children felt the pain hit hard, knowing that things were going to go back to the way they were. The men convinced Lucy to go into the woods for more potion, and she accepted despite the pleas from the tortoise and the pain stricken eyes, and scared silence of her children. The tortoise decided he would wait for her hoping that in the morning she would have a change of heart with repentance, but when the morning came nothing, and no one came out of the forest. The tortoise opened his book, and tried to give comfort to the children, and himself. They waited several days, until finally Lucy came stumbling out of the woods. She looked haggard, as those who have been drinking the potion for days naturally do. The tortoise told her it was time to continue the journey. Lucy looked down as she had done before in shame and said in a small voice. “I am not going with you.”

The tortoise fought the tears of disappointment and replied, “So this is the life you would rather have? What about your kids?” They stood looking at each other several moments, and the silence cut deep into the heart of the tortoise knowing there was nothing else he could do. Breaking the quietness the tortoise stated, “Alright then, I can not force you to go. I deeply care about you and your children so I guess the only thing I can do is to love you like the prince of my kingdom loves, and listen to his advice in his book. I will continue to visit you where ever you are. I am always here for you, but I will continue the rest of the journey on my own. Know that this road to the kingdom remains and you are always welcome to follow it.” With that the tortoise turned to leave. His legs felt heavy and part of him wanted to just curl up in his shell for several days, but he knew he had more people to help and more people to take to the kingdom. He also thought he heard the King whisper, “I know how you feel,” and with that the tortoise felt sorrow, thankfulness and comfort all at the same time.

And so this is the part of fairy tales where there is a miraculous change and the problem gets solved, but not in this story. At least not yet.
The End


For school we have been writing Fairy Tales in light of learning about Grimm’s Fairy Tales. I was inspired to write a fairy tale (I know it is more of a Tragic Fairy Tale) to express some thoughts.

Lucia is no longer living with us and it is better for everyone. We no longer were able to help her, but the relationship started to change in that we were enabling her addictions. While we were gone she really spiraled out of control. I would ask that you continue to pray for her and her children. When I visit her she tells me things I want to hear but her actions are not yet different.

The Long Awaited Update on Cody

It has been a looonnnnggg time since I blogged last, and so I apologize. I didn't renew our internet and was just checking my email and such from Cody's phone, but was not able to do excessive amounts of typing. I had intentions of updating my blog when we returned home but on the way home from Kampala I started not feeling well. Malaria. Here is the long awaited long story short from last blog post. Cody was in the hospital for several days. Once they released him they wanted us to stay "south" so that he could continue to recover at a close distance and also so they could do some testing a week from his release date to ensure that everything was back to "normal." The Williams, Misty, and the rest of our crew (our boys), met us in Jinja, as that is in our opinion the best place for recuperating. Cody was having weird symptoms, but doctors assured us it would just take time and they would dissipate.

After a week Cody returned to the hospital to discover that is renal function was satisfactory, and his blood levels were mostly normal. His liver levels were still a little off (no one ever informed us before they were abnormal but apparently they were....explaining his yellowish color). All this meant we were free to go home. I was very ready at that point, or rather several days before, to be home back to a routine and such.

He now is mostly feeling good. He has frequent headaches, but they seem to be becoming fewer. We are all trying to just rest and take it easy for a while.

A lot of people are wondering how we are doing? Honestly.....extremely well considering the circumstances. Many times I was surprised at myself and the fact that I wasn't falling apart, particulary in my sleep deprived state. Everyone was praying for us and encouraging us enormously during the whole thing. Living here has made me stronger in God, and tougher :) Uganda is also becoming more and more like home for us. We have made some great friends and of course have built preeminent community with Williams. There were some times of sheer frustration (particularly with the ATMS in Kampala), but they seemed to be few compared to the blessings. We also knew before we came to Uganda life would be hard and that we would make sacrifices. Did I think I would go through so many health issues? No, but God has been good. We really have nothing to complain about compared to Paul's missionary journey in the New Testament. It is just part of following Jesus and living in the area we do.

I was able to capture some different "kodak moments" from Cody's phone so here are a few good ones.

Our Emergency Flight with MAF (Mission Avaition Fellowship). The airstrip was a nice dirt strip. Our pilot was amazing! When we were standing and waiting for the plane, from a distance I could hear the plane coming to get us and then when I saw it, joy and relief filled my heart! Janaya, Eliana, Cody and I are very grateful that MAF was so prompt and easy to work with.

The views from the plane were phenomenal. We could see the Karamajong Manyattas and they looked amazing from the air. We made it to Kampala in one and half hours compared to our drive of 12 hours. It was sooooooo nice!! (And less bumpy)

Cody started to regain strength, was able to sit up on his own and have a conversation. I was so happy I had to take a picture. He is drinking vanilla milk after not eating for 8 days. Yummy! And it was cold! Even better.

Eliana in the Trauma room at the hospital. I think if she could talk she would say, "I'm tired of all of this!"

She is better after having a warm bath in the hospital room!

With Much Gratefulness,
Michaela

He Is Getting Better

I know many of you are following and praying along with us so here is the latest. Cody is progressively doing better. His kidneys are slowly healing, so he is starting to feel better. He was able to get out of bed and walk around a little. There is still some pain in different areas that are unexplained but we hope with time they will diminish or we will find out what is causing it.

The team is coming down from Kotido to be here with us. I am really excited! I really miss the boys. Misty has been AMAZING in taking on the responsibilities (and craziness) for us back home.

I know I have said this before but it is worth saying again. Thank you for all your support. The emails, the FB postings, etc. It has been really encouraging to me. It is hard to have to be in a medical emergency in another country but everyone's help and support has made it easier. I really have an amazing family in Christ.

Cody's Progress

Just wanted to inform everyone that Cody is getting better! Hooray! This morning he woke up and was alert and talking. He was even able to eat a little. He is still very weak and goes through bouts of extreme weakness but comparatively it is much better. He still has a fever on and off so they are trying to find out where that is coming from. He is also having some pain in certain areas and his blood pressure is really low so they are still investigating that as well. Thanks again for all your prayers and support! I will continue to post updates.
Michaela

What's going on with Cody

Sigh....what a long day. Actually what a long week. More like 9 days. I will try to inform you as best as I can in my sleep deprived state. Last Wednesday Cody started to feel sick, but his malaria test came back negative. Cody still suspected it was malaria because his symptoms were similar to when he had it before. He decided to take some natural remedies to see if that helped and he thought it was. He would feel okay for a while and then would be feeling sick again. Saturday morning he woke up feeling pretty good so we thought it was all over. We suspected that maybe it was the flu as it had gone around our house. Sunday he took a turn for the worst, and I took him again to get malaria tested. It was plus III which means nothing to most of you, but it basically means the malaria parasites were numerous in his blood. He was also testing positive for typhoid. We were able to get him on meds and fluids right away. After a day and half things were not getting better and in fact he was really miserable and was not doing well. Couldn't keep anything down. Things didn't get progressively better so I decided that we would take him to the nearest hospital about 2 hours away. Once there they did some more testing to find out a whole lot of nothing. For me it was hard to see him in the state he was in. He was very confused, slept all day, and was in a lot of pain. One night he was having hallucinations. It was physically and emotionally demanding for me because here you take care of the patient and provide food for yourself. I was up with him all night making sure he didn't pull out his IV or fall out of his bed. I would also have to unhook him from his IV so he could use the bathroom, or vomit. I got 2 hours of sleep and 4 the night before. Again after finding nothing wrong, my heart ached. Really? After the doctor told me there was nothing abnormal I decided I wanted to take him off the quinine treatment, as it is really harsh and many of his symptoms sounded like a severe reaction to the drug. (i.e. chest pain, loss of hearing, deliruim, vomiting, diarrhea etc). When malaria is so severe doctors think that quinine is the best. I am not so sure for Cody. By this morning (Thursday) he was not vomiting, and I did get more sleep, but his fever returned, bring alarm to me. Why a fever? They were also giving him antibiotic for the typhoid so he shouldn't be having fever (not to mention the test for typhoid was not negative). At that point I decided that I wanted to take him to Kampala for further testing and to be at a more advanced facility. When morning broke, I started making arrangements to getting him to Kampala as quickly as I could. I knew driving was not an option. I called MAF (mission aviation fellowship) for an emergency flight and they were there within 3 hours. It was amazing. The emotion I felt when I saw the plane land on the dirt strip was indescribable. For Cody it felt like the longest plane ride but it was only 1 and a half hours seeming minute compared to the 12 hour drive. Once at the hospital in Kampala more tests revealed nothing was wrong (malaria and typhoid were both gone), but I knew otherwise. This is not my husband. He has been sick for 9 days. Hasn't eaten anything in 7. Hasn't had a legitimate conversation with me since Saturday. Why is his hand numb? Why is he swelling so? Why the fever? Why does he sleep all day? They ran more tests. The newest results are that he is having kidney problems similar to kidney failure. This is due to malaria and then the drugs on top of that. The doctors do not think it is severe enough to put him on dialysis but they are keeping an eye on it so that if it were to get worse they can take appropriate actions.

How am I doing? I am relieved to have a diagnosis, but now I pray he gets better because the pattern so far has not been in our favor. God has been so good to us in this whole process and I am so thankful for all that he has done. Thankful that we were able to bring him to Kampala.

It has also been a true blessing to see the body of Christ come together to help us in this ordeal. The prayers, the support. Misty is staying back with the boys and I have Janaya and Eliana with me. The Williams have been helping in lots of ways. Family and friends back home doing everything they can. It reminds me of the church in Acts. Truly a blessing. I will also add that I am tired. Taking care of Cody has been draining as it is like taking care of a dementia patient, but being in Kampala should lower the burden.

Now we wait for him to get better. Thanks for everyone's prayers. They have really meant a lot to us. We feel really loved and supported. I will try to keep updating the blog so you know the progress.

Michaela

ONE YEAR!!!

Today marks our year anniversary for being in Uganda. Below you will find what Cody wrote for our newsletter.

Last year on October 6, we boarded the airplane in Denver, Colorado with 14 suitcases, 5 kids (with number 6 on the way), excitement, and fear. We were following God’s command for us to move our lives to Karamoja, Uganda. Our hearts were burdened for the desperate state of the Karimojong people. We knew there were risks when moving here. Those risks, though, could not keep us from obeying the voice of God. In Acts 21, the apostle Paul is warned against going to Jerusalem, but his response was a great encouragement to us. He said “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. . . Let the will of the Lord be done.” We did not know exactly what awaited, but knew that God would be glorified in our obedience to follow Him. Our journey differed from that of Paul because we did not come to Karamoja with the anticipation of death or imprisonment. We came here full of hope that God would speak bring the Karimojong to Himself. That they would become disciples of Jesus Christ and follow Him as he asks people to do in his word.

What We Have Learned
In our fist year, we have experienced much that has brought us great joy and also great pain. Our home sits in a community engulfed in a kind of poverty that is not present in the western world. People starve to death here. Babies are thrown aside by loving parents because they have no way to care for the child. In the midst of this all, the name of God must be glorified. We must treat Him as holy while living here.

The Torah
Our family, along with the Williams’ and Misty have read through the Torah in its entirety this year in house church. It has definitely been ordained by God for us. We started doing this because it was what Jesus did and all of Israel would do. It was in the Torah that people came to know God’s character, and in turn, Him. In the Torah, Moses struggles with a difficult people whom are sought after by God, but choose to prostitute themselves to other gods. Through Isaiah God says, “I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices.” We have seen how the human heart is rebellious, but God is showing us how he continues to pursue them. For us, righteousness is found in our obedience to God. This obedience is made possible through the blood of Jesus Christ, which reconciles a sinful world to a perfect God. But it is the obedience that God desires. Even Moses is found to be disobedient at times, but in humility returns to show the holiness of God through his life. Showing us this, God makes it clear that He is good and holy even if we don’t completely understand. He is God, after all.

Loving People
Through all we have experienced, the central theme here is that these people need to be loved. We have loved many babies and even brought them into our home to care for them. We have loved the alcoholic who was destroying their life. We have loved the terminally ill who was left in town to die. We have fed the hungry, given water to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger into our home, clothed the naked, visited those who are sick and in prison and we have loved them all. We have loved the unlovely. The thing they all need is God. We have loved an lost, loved and saved life, but are finally inadequate to make any lasting difference. Only God can save the soul and give them hope. We have therefore learned that our good deeds apart from obedience to God are as filthy rags. They will all pass away, but what God does will remain. MAY GOD REIGN IN KARAMOJA!