Youth Group Mystery Dinner

Mystery Dinner night with the kids last night... Great fun, food and awesome group of kids.. Around the World was a theme of sorts, so all food, food names, music and activities were based on that. Lots of laughter too!

We had fun you guys! Up next.... Fear Factor Night!

I'm tired. Its only 9:22 and I'm tired. Dave is tired. We get tired a bit earlier than usual these days. SIGH. Its the New Year.. Its 2009 and I can hardly believe it. We are in 2009. Maybe that makes me tired. Actually, maybe its the neighbors fascination and obsession with karaoke (sp?) and high decibel Asian music that has me tired. We all sorta feel like we've had our house transported to the middle of a discotheque the past week with all the wild parties that have gone on around us. Serious parties. House vibrating, feel it in your chest parties. Maybe that's why I'm tired. Except, I'm also pulling gray hair outta my head. Frustratingly enough, its also in one spot... unfortunately its the top of my head. Hard to hide that bit. So, either I keep snipping away at the 7 that stubbornly (and quickly) push their way back up, and consequently allow for beautiful brown hairs to get snipped also.... OR, I end up Cruella Divilish with a wild gray streak down the middle of my head. Yuck to both. I do not want the streak or a bald spot. I'm just way too young for this. Of course the tired, AND the graying should just slap me into reality that I'm getting old and need to get a grip quickly.
Nah, I better demand youth eh? Raising 6 kids, and in the crazy order they are in demand I stay young. Poor Olivia will only know a momma with gray tho. That's seriously depressing. I suppose I should be more concerned with being the spiritually minded momma tho instead of the vain one. :) Guess I should hide this blog.

The Car...

So... this trip to Udon got more interesting with time... here, we released our van to some guy and left! While we understood he had been a friends mechanic, the reality was our friend only knew him a couple weeks.
We didnt hear from this guy for over a week... he never answered his cell phone, home phone or business phone.. you can imagine our fear and assumptions! David and I both thought, 'our car is SO in Malaysia by now being sold for parts'. We would both die laughing because, of course it would happen to us. What a great (future) story. :)
In the end, we were finally able to get ahold of this guy who apparently had a major trial going on in his own home with his marriage (he is a Believer we were told)... he was finally able to let us know that the van needed a complete new engine rebuilt and that he couldnt find any parts or service the car in Thailand because they dont have this car. Argh!
So... now its been two weeks and our car is supposed to be traveling back here via a Lao mechanic who will take care of the car here.
In all of this we see Gods goodness as this past week not one, not two, but Three cars were available to us to use while folks leave on Christmas leave! :) Whew! He knows everything doesnt He!
Its like this!~ Jen

Adventures in Udon Thani

This past Monday I took Bethann and two of the Cama staff to Udon Thani so we could all visit the dr. and do some holiday shopping. I started out as always praying for safety over our journey and we took off. The border, thankfully, was not busy which I was extremely grateful for because I figured it would give us more 'play' time in Udon. I was in and out of the Dr. in10 minutes, while Sodachan had to wait a bit. As we didnt know how long she would be, Bethann and I decided we better run some errands the other gals wouldnt care about. We had said we would be back in an hour, but realized when we got back to the hospital, it had been 2. oops! Somphou and Sodachan were gone. Not only that, I had forgotten to pay my bill. Massive embarrassement. These poor Thai people thought the falang (foreigner) had gotten tricky seeing the dr. and not cared to pay. As if! So, I nonchalantly paid as if Id planned to return after shopping anyway.... haha and we sat around wondering where the girls were. The receptionist helped us use our Thai phone card to get ahold of the gals who protested ' we were Done and have money.. must shop!' They didnt want to wait around for us and who could blame them. AFter picking them up we decided to head to Nong Khai to get shopping done there as its close to the border and it was getting late. Not 15 min. out of town the gears started sounding funny and we started smelling burning rubber. Hmmm. I tried to slow down and as I downshifted the pedal wouldnt let me accelerate anymore. The gears quite working and the steering wheel started to freeze. We were on a MAJOR freeway going fast... thankfully, there was a turn I could pull into. Forgetting I was in Thailand where we drive on the Left hand side, I turned into the wrong lane (the right) going in and the guard of the premises freaked out... There was a truckload of Thai all laughing at the falang. The steering wheel was now comletely locked up and the car died. I couldnt turn it back on at all and as we sat there, smoke started rising up from the front. Right at this moment my Knight in Shining Armor called me (for the first time that day) and we explained what happened. He had our friend Verdun call a Chr. mechanic in Udon and we worked out a plan to get home. Somphou and Sodachan were life savers explaining why we needed to sit there waiting for someone to get us. I would have been in tears if alone. (i think!) After a while the mechanic came, and stuck a pole under our car and his little truck. He was going to take us to a gas station where Dave would come meet us and take us home. However, he asked us to sit in my van while he towed us. I was cracking up. I dont think so! I knew the wheel was locked and that we could easily (or so I thought...) come undone from the little pole connecting our cars. In the end, his buddy took to our car and the four of us crammed in his little truck. He had to stop the truck at one point and go tell his buddy to quit swirving so much (apparently the wheel was better)... when he came back he said his friend had never driven a car with the wheel on the left side and didnt know how to stay in the lane. We were cracking up. He dropped us off on the side of the busy road and we took all our purchases and dashed across to the other side to wait for David. By that time it was quite late and while we did not get done what was on all of our lists, we did have a great bonding experience with S & S. The Very bad part is, its Fri. and our only car is Still in Thailand probably needing a whole new engine. Sigh. I am grateful that throughout the whole of the experience, I was not angry or frustrated.. just weirded out that it had to happen and yet, learning to live by the phrase 'its like that'. What do you do? And, WHERE is AAA when you need them!? :)

Yes, we are CRAMMED inside this mans little truck. He must have thought we were totally nuts.

Christmas Day... by Isaak Reid Kruse

As I sit on the rugged ground I watch out the window,
And see the sky and clouds which drop flakes of snow
The lights shine on the tree we all know,
It shows the happiness of Christmas, which I wait for in the cold.
As snow men are built with snow fights being made
Surley the anger and shouts of humans shall fade.
The fire beside me pops and cracks
And above it are stockings, that will be filled in heaps and packs
And so with all the joy of Christmas with fun
It was all for the sake of Christ's Holy Son.

Refreshing the Song in My Heart..... & Isaak

Psalm 40 1-4

I waited patiently for the Lord;

He inclined to me and heard my cry

He drew me up from the pit of destruction,

out of the miry bog

and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.

HE put a New Song in my mouth,

a song of Praise to Our God.

Many will see and fear,

and put their trust in the Lord.

Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust,

who does not turn to the proud

to those who go astray after a Lie!

I love that its Thanksgiving season. I love that Thanksgiving is at the end of the year, probably because its just a convenient time to reflect on all thats been. I was not reflecting on this verse until now, but am grateful Father brought it before me. I will tell you why below. In spending time with the boys of late, we have been discussing the economic crisis that is slowly overtaking the world. Some places are feeling it a little more than others. We recognize that while we feel it a bit here and there, it could get worse as supporters struggle and work to survive where they are. I was reminding the boys that King David had written how in his lifetime, he had never seen the Righteous Ones of God forsaken. We ask for our 'Daily Bread', not give us this day 'the cool stuff we need and want'. The boys were very receptive to this and acknowledged that God has indeed taken care of our provisions as we have had need of them and that they would walk through the holiday season expectant of God to be faithful, not Santa.

As I took the next day or two reflecting on how God has been so good and kind, I saw clearly that there is a definate path He wants us on and He graciously goes before us to see us through. (including economic crisis) Of course we 'know' this, but do we 'see' that road as such? Can we visualize the events and circumstances that he orquestrates so perfectly?

Its been a WILD year for us here in Just this.. God has moved, we have followed, BUT NOT always understanding....it is sometimes pouting and arguing... Then later, understanding. I hate that I do that.

Yesterday (Monday), I took Isaak to Udon Thani to have some bruises on his body checked out. He had been bruising quite easily and although its normal for boys, there were some that were huge with knots in them, in odd places, and he couldnt remember HOW he had gotten them. The not remembering bothered me. I hunted on line and figured it was one of two or three possibilities and got myself mentally prepared. I really did know it was NotLeukemia (plus, what are the chances!) but I will say I had this just 'sick' sort of feeling in my gut. I was a bit shaky and talking myself through all sorts of scenarios.

We saw Dr. Kittisak. He was the Dr. who diagnosed Hudson now 5 years ago with ALL. He listened to me describe the bruising and said 'Your family struggles with things like this yes?'. I said, 'Well, I know it isnt Leuk, but I do think its potentially ITP or hemophilia and I would like to have some lab work done'. He said hemophilia was hereditary which I was grateful to learn and we crossed that off our list.

Lab was back in a couple hours and did clarify that Isaak has ITP. Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura. Basically, he has antibodies in his blood that are killing his platlets. It is idiopathic because the reason for its showing up and a cure are unknown. While it cures itself in time, there are treatments to help it along. It will go away anywhere from weeks to a year. Our biggest cautions need to be the next 2 weeks while he is on steroids to kill the antibodies that are blocking the platlets. While the antibodies will be dying, so will his immune system which leaves room for potential infection and sickness. With all the wild things going on around here including huge bouts of dengue and such, we have to pay attention. Also, no head trauma as internal brain bleeding is the most dangerous (yet, very rare) factor.

Ok, so dejavu DID hit.. in FULL force. Same Dr, same hospital, same lab, even more blood disorders and same steroid usage... but, WHY? If it is cureable, practically on its own, why even go through this? Why would G let something like this filter through? I mean, its not like we are beyond needing to deal with faith and walk through fear again, but the same Type of thing seems odd.. why not a new lesson or different issue altogether. :)

In a weird sense, it brought me back to Thankfulness... back to recognizing he plots our way carefully and over the past many years has Soundly put a New song in our mouth....

He HAS heard my cry, he Has lifted me up from the miry clay (again and again), he HAS made each step secure and set us upon a Rock... we DO trust in the Lord and refuse to believe a lie.

In all of this, I rejoice in the past... in all our good Father has done for us. I take ahold of this new challenge in gratefulness for its simplicity first of all, and then uphold it as a reminder of Yes!!! I Still believe, I still Sing a song of Praise to my Redeemer and Healer and Banner.

Pray with us that Isaak specifically, would receive whatever this looks like, with a Song in his mouth. We again proclaim, 'God is good, all the time, all the time, God is good!'

Happy Thanksgiving my friends.

Jen

Heading into Fall

'Olivia Longstocking' :) hehe

Isaak paintballing Jacksons team

Truly, its me! Nathaniel in green

breakfast as a familyyummy br/fast!!

Miss Olivia enjoying bubbles

saying goodbye AGAIN...

the boys with great friends



Gorgeous Gabe

OK, Sooooo, its isn't fall in Laos, BUT, it was a bit cooler in Thailand when we were there a couple weeks ago, and it IS fall in the USA, so we are thinking of you all there and of the beautiful amazingly colored trees that make fall so gorgeous! Here are some recent pics of the kids during our CAMA field forum that we just got back from. The guys had a delightful time reconnecting with their great friends who left last year. I went paint balling with the teens and Isaak and his friend on my birthday which was heart pounding fun.....

My dad comes to visit in about 10 days or so and we can hardly wait! He has been in the Philippines for the past 3 weeks doing some teaching for his org. and will pop by here to see us for a week.. I can hardly wait. Olivia is chomping at the bit because she knows he is bringing her some 'ballet gurb' (ballet shoes!) :) We hope she can see past her new shoes to appreciate the amazing poppa she has. Its been over 2 1/2 years since he has seen her, so you can imagine all of our excitement! :)

Also, my adorable nephew Levi Drake just married the cutest girl imaginable last weekend... it was horrible to not be a part of the gorgeous ceremony, but we are so grateful for Facebook and other things that allow us to see fantastic photos and get details FAST! We remember serving in Peru 17 years ago when all there was was snail mail (ANYONE remember that?) and a good letter took 2 weeks. My how times have changed. Im so grateful! hehehe I hope I can get pics of them on here....

Lots of love to you, we miss you and think of you all constantly. Please write or post comments on here and let us know how you are! God is good. ALL the time. Be blessed today!

Jen