Pray

Please pray for my good friends Tim and Teresa (Mama T) and family (daughters Calista, Andrea and son Aaron). Tim's mom passed away this morning.

There is much power in prayer and only the Lord can soothe their very broken hearts. Thank you.

PRAY PRAY PRAY

I posted a "button" over to the right yesterday, but just had the thought that many of you only tune into Bloglines and might not see it.

So, I figured I needed to make a post to bring your attention to this.

Please pray for baby Stellan!!!

You can go to the link above or click on the button to the right to read the full story on this sweet little baby, but here's the summarized version:

Stellan was diagnosed with SVT (a heart condition) while in the womb. His parents were told that he would not live. He was born completely healthy with no heart issues at all. Now, at 5 months old he has suddenly had to be admitted to PICU with very serious heart issues. He has been in and out of V-Tach (NOT GOOD) and they can not get his heart to slow down (it is beating at 200-300 bpm).

I will stop there. Just know that this baby is in a very, very serious condition. Please stop what you are doing right now and pray for him. I know that the Lord already knows the end of all this, but I also know that there is great power in prayer. How those two go together, I don't know... I just trust the Lord who does know.

Baby Burger

Please pray for JR and Ashlee tonight. She was scheduled to have a c-section on the 14th, but has gone into labor. She is delivering at the Indian Hospital in Claremore and they do not perform VBACs, so this is not good. I don't know yet whether they are going to try to stop her contractions and wait until morning or do the c-section tonight.

Also, JR is in Arkansas on a job. So, he is on his way now.

So, pray for safety for Ashlee and baby, wisdom for doctors, and safety for JR. Hopefully we will have a new little man soon!

Sickie

Layla wanted the baby to lay down with her. There wasn't much room, but Nan tried. Then Layla cried. She wasn't having a very good afternoon. I'll let April update on the specifics, but I will say that they won't be going home until at least tomorrow evening because Layla's fever was back at 3:00 this afternoon. Keep praying for this little sickie! She does not like hospital life (who does)...

Update on Layla

Layla will be staying at least another night in the hospital. They are currently waiting on results from the kidney ultrasound. April said that they have had a really hard time keeping the IV working and have had to repeatedly stick Layla. They have tried both arms and her foot without much success. I believe that they have it working at this time and we are just praying that it will continue to work so that they don't have to stick her anymore.

She was showing some improvement this morning after getting some fluids in her. She even accepted a piece of cheese from a nurse! :o) The IV ordeal is a definite setback, so just really pray for that situation. April had to go before she could finish updating me. So, when I hear more, I will update this post. Thanks for praying. I know they appreciate it very much!

Pray for Layla *Updated*

April left a message on my phone at about noon today. Layla has been diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and they are sending her to Tulsa to be admitted to the hospital for a day or two. She said that she would call me when she stopped by the house to pack. So, once I have more specifics, I will add that to this post.

Some specific things I can think of, besides healing, is that Layla does not sleep well in unfamiliar places. Also, Finn is pretty attached to his momma and doesn't like to be away from her. That could cause some difficulties...

*** I just returned from the hospital. Layla is really scared. She is terrified of the nurses and cries anytime you even try to talk to her. They were taking x-rays when I left and she is scheduled to have an ultrasound on her kidneys sometime tomorrow. Pray that they can get her to drink something (at this time they only have her hooked up to antibiotics). When we offered her juice, she cried and wouldn't take it and Layla LOVES her juice!

I do want to add a Praise. Finn has been such a good baby today and not fussy at all! This has made things much easier for April and Justin. ***

Prayer and Blog of Interest

Many of you may already be praying for the Rollingers, but for those who have not received the prayer request... Craig has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. On Ken Keane's last email he included a link to Craig and Nancy's blog. I thought I would share it with you all as I'm sure it will be most encouraging (as they always are)!

Baby Elliot Funeral Arrangments

Here is another message I just received through Facebook. The funeral arrangments are near the end.

"Just wanted to give a quick note to let all of you know about Elliot's last day. He went into surgery around 1:00 to simply repair the sutures that were stretching his esophagus. They wanted to actually repair the esoph. if it was long enough. As they were manuevering around the esoph. there was alot of scar tissue. Some of the scar tissue formed on the aorta in what appeared to be a scab. As the doctor proceeded to remove it the aorta ruptered and Elliot began to severly bleed. They got the hole stitched up and he was beginning to look stable and they brought him upstairs to the NICU. As he was being situated he began to bleed again. They did emergency surgery right there in NICU, but the bleeding was just too much. He fought so hard to stay with us, but ultimately it was the Lord's will to call him home. As I was with Elliot these past few months, I would hold him, and I always thought he was looking at something beyond me. He was always looking over me to something I could obviously not see. He would smile and even chuckle, and I couldn't get him to turn his head to look at me. I now take comfort in the fact that he was looking at our Lord. I believe Elliot could see Him, and I couldn't. And I believe the Lord was calling Elliot home long before Monday, January 21st. I take comfort in the fact in knowing that this was the Lord's will for little Elliot. With all that being said we are having the funeral in Wichita, Ks. on Saturday, January 26th at 10:00 at Northside Bible Chapel in Kechi, Ks. He will be buried in Wichita next to my grandmother. We are also having a memorial service here in Birmingham, AL. at 6:00 pm.on Thursday, January 24th at Hope Bible Chapel."

Baby Elliot

Shawna has been posting updates regarding Elliot Hughes, so I know many of you have been praying for him. I just received this message from the Facebook group "Pray for Elliot Hughes":

"Just to let everybody know thankyou so much for your prayers, The Lord's Will be done. Elliot died tonight Januray 21st around 6:50-7:00 Please pray for Josh, Angie and the family. He is with our Lord right now without pain and suffering praise the Lord. Thankyou so much for everything all of you have done for our family. We love you all." Tim Horn

Let us all be diligent to be before the Lord on Josh and Angie's behalf.

Edit
This message came through late last night:
"Wanted to thank everyone for there dilligent prayers for our precious son as they were answered tonight as Elliot went to be in the arms of our Lord at 6:30 pm. While we are grieving deeply for the loss of our son we have a peace. A peace in knowing that Elliot is in heaven with our Lord and is in no more pain. We held him tonight for the first tiime since he was born without any tubes or wires coming from his body. He had such a peaceful face. We are planning on having a funeral here in Birmingham and a memorial service in Wichita where hopefully he will also be buried. We will let everyone know of our future plans. Thanks again for all you prayers and love, Josh and Angie"

At Home With The Lord

John Chesney has entered into that place of eternal peace! He was ready to be with his Lord and Savior and we rejoice for him that he is finally there.

Do pray for his wife Helen. She is suffering from dementia and struggles with understanding things. John so wanted to be able to let Helen go Home first, but apparently that isn't how the Lord wanted it. So, do pray for comfort and peace for her. She is ready to go Home too!

Most of you know the Chesney family (Chesney, Nienhuis, Hostetter, and Andersons), so pray for them as well. Even when you know that your loved one is in the presence of the Lord, there is still grieving. Thankfully there is One Who offers all comfort and cares for their broken hearts.

Pray For Us!

Tulsa is a lovely sheet of ice and littered with every type of tree imaginable. Oh, and very dark because pretty much the entire town is without power! The governor has declared a state of emergency. The shelters are all full... Our news stations have reported that PSO (the electric company) estimates that most people will be without power until early next week! Yikes!!! The last specific date we heard was that they were shooting for the 18th. That's a long time to be without heat... Fortunately for us, my Mom is one of the VERY few places blessed with electricity. More rain/ice is forecasted, so this could change. For now we are very thankful for her warm apartment!

I tried to capture the magnitude of tree damage, but failed miserably. Actually, these pictures were taken at about 10:30 this morning and the amount of limbs in our yard increased about 15 times by 3:00. We no longer had a drive way and our street was almost completely blocked by limbs hanging to the ground!

Imagine 15 times this and even that may be an understatement... Sadly, I am not exaggerating.

Doesn't our Japanese Maple just look sad?!

On a happy note... look how cute! :o)

Pray for Melissa Schiete

I just wanted to post this for those of you who know Melissa Schiete, so that you can be praying for her while she is in Africa.

June 16th, 2007
Dear Family and Friends,

It certainly has been a busy and fruitful time this past week in Chitokoloki, Zambia. I do apologize for how long it took for this e-mail – the main reason is because internet connection/signal is very low and it always seems to drop when I'm ready to send an e-mail! So, e-mail may not be the best way for me to connect to people…sorry everyone!
Anne Marie and I arrived safely at Chit last Friday, June 8th. We got settled in quite fast as the missionaries here are very hospitable and helpful with things. Tanis Walker is "housing" us, and the accommodations are much better than I ever would have thought. The Lord has blessed us with a roof over our head, (mosquito nets!), and basic provisions. Tanis' house is situated right on the Zambezi river…the view is absolutely beautiful in the early mornings and late evenings.
I hardly know where to begin writing when it comes to the town, the people, and everything in between! Words can hardly suffice to describe what I've already seen. Friday was filled with a birth, my first time to see a live birth. It was a grueling time, as we almost lost the baby at the end. But the Lord allowed the little one to cry out with a first breath…truly amazing. Saturday was filled with getting to know the village some more. Anne Marie did rounds with Tanis (who is a nurse) while I visited some of the men in the men's ward…of course I didn't know any of the language except "muna handi" which is a simple greeting in Lunda. But their faces just light up once visitors come in – especially one little boy who had a gorgeous face but was very weak with a sickness that no one could diagnose. It was a blessing getting to know him and his father, who spoke broken English; *sigh* but that little boy died Monday night after a long day of fighting a high fever and trying to breathe. It reminded me of how our lives are but a vapor – how are we spending our lives? Sold out for Him? Hmmm…death and life tend to make one think a lot about eternal things. And the people here are surrounded by it 24/7…"I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live" Deut. 30:19 May we constrained to tell other of the light of The Gospel…Jesus Christ, who is the Hope for all the Nations.
The meeting on Sunday was very neat! The speaking and hymn singing was all in Lunda and/or Lavale…it was my first time to be in a meeting that spoke a different language. It was always nice when they translated things for us : )
The generator is about ready to go out, so I must wrap up this short e-mail...
Be praying for the ministry that I am working on here in Chit. They need a permanent preschool/kindergarten teacher of English at the mission. Although I'm not permanent, I will be doing "camps" for the time I am here with about 50-60 kids. Last week, it started out with only 12, the next day there were about 35 and the day after that there were around 50...hahaha. They keep multiplying! : ) The kids are very obedient and it's helpful having Lillian with me, she is doing the translating for me whenever the kids do not understand. This whole opportunity has been a learning process, but I'm so thankful that the Lord has given me the opportunity to share with these young children. Not only how to speak English, but after their "school lesson" they all sit around me and we read a Bible story and I've been trying to give an overly simple gospel message every time. Perhaps the kids don't understand it all, but repetition is the key. And some of them are very attentive...just pray that the Lord would work in their hearts. That would see that they do not need to fear, but that the Lord will be their Father.
I must go now! It frustrates me that I cannot talk to each of you in person or write back to each of your e-mails...but know that Anne Marie and I have been receiving them. You have all been so encouraging...thank you for your prayers.

In His (Nzambia's) Hands,
Melissa S.

June 23, 2007

Hi,
We spoke with Melissa today and she has malaria. Thankfully, she is on a compound with doctors, nurses and medical care. She is being treated and they tell her she should be better in 48 hours. She laughed as she told us she has only been bit 4 times while she has been there and one of those pesky mosquitos happened to be a malaria carrier! So, she has a good attitude. She is tired and would appreciate prayer that she can get the needed rest. She says she will probably cancel her classes on Monday and maybe Tuesday so she can rest. Everyone there is very encouraging and wanting her to take care of herself. Pass this along to whoever for prayer and encouragement for her. She wants to be out there working hard and she doesn't like to sit still!!
Thanks,
Kristy Schiete

Anniversary

Today is my Dad and Mom's Anniversary.

i don't even know what to say... just please pray for my Mom today!

PRAY - Edited

i'm hoping that some of you will see this tonight! joel miller was in a bad car accident this evening. he is at st. francis hospital in critical condition. he has head and face trauma and is still unconscious at this time. we are going up there now and will post when we have new information.

New Info:
joel is still considered to be in critical condition. he was in a truck with 2 other young guys. they rolled several times and joel was ejected from the vehicle. the other two guys are okay.
joel suffered several skull fractures, his face on one side is basically crushed, his lower and upper mandible are crushed, and he could possibly have a broken neck (not necessarily the type that would cause paralysis). they ran CAT scans, but as of 11:45pm still did not have results. brandon said that he will post a more detailed description of joel's condition sometime tomorrow. so, keep an eye on his blog for updates.

Richard Cline-Urgent Prayer Request

pray for richard cline. he is kimberly moffitt's father. they do not expect him to live through the night. kimberly and the family were able to make it to iowa to see him (praise the Lord) and he is somewhat coherent. they have shared the gospel with him many times (3 times just recently) and he has never been responsive to it. yesterday when kimberly arrived at the hospital, she once again shared the gospel with him. she then asked if he had trusted the Lord as his Savior and he somehow responded with a simple "yes". praise the Lord! pray for this man that he truly has accepted the Lord as his Savior; pray for him as he knows he is about to die; pray for kimberly, kevin, kendall, and kurt as they are about to lose their dad.

one last thing. mr cline has been living with a woman by the name of rose for many years. she is also not a believer and this is the first time kimberly and her family have met this woman. the planning of the funeral is going to be very difficult because of this wierd situation. please pray for them as they try to work through all the details with a family that they do not know (who really aren't even family)! pray for them as they are only allowed to go in two at a time to see her dad and rose's family is all there wanting to see him too. it is a very difficult situation.

Prayer and Praise

first prayer request: tomorrow is the court date for Mr. Rodriguez (the man who caused the car accident involving my Dad) at 1:30pm. please just pray for our family that the Lord will continue to help us not be bitter against this man. there are some that are really struggling with this more than others. it is a difficult thing. we trust in the sovereignty of God that He appointed that day for my Dad to leave this earth, but still feel like there should be justice for the man who's recklessness caused this. it's really a battle between the old and new man! we must take each unforgiving thought captive and confess it to the Lord. anyway, we will not be attending the hearing, but several friends will be there. pray for protection for them from anger and bitterness as well. it will be hard for them to listen to whatever testimony is presented...

second prayer request: my brother JR is in branson on a job. this is a marina that he and Dad spent many, many hours, days and months working on. now he is there alone and has been put in the same hotel room that he and Dad shared each time they were there. the grief is almost too much for him and he has asked for much prayer. he is not sure he can handle this job with all the memories and emotions it is bringing up. he does need the work though. it is a very difficult thing for him (obviously).

okay, now for the praise! today my Mom visited the social security office and the Lord provided more abundantly than we could have imagined. JC and my Mom will each receive the maximum benefit amount per month! PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS PROVISION! i know that my Dad worked very hard and earned them the right to have this benefit, but it was the Lord that made it happen. the social security office is extremely difficult to deal with and most people have to fight a very lengthy battle to even get a small portion, but Mom had no difficulty whatsoever. it was a blessing just to not even have to hassel with them, but to get the maximum amount... i was just blown away!

this is obviously not the only issue in which the Lord has proved His graciousness. it would take me forever to list all the things He has done for us since 12/30/06. sometimes i feel so overwhelmed with grief. other times i feel so overwhelmed with all the Lord is doing in our lives. i guess i'm pretty much always overwhelmed with something! :o)

PRAY

grace was induced this morning at 6:00 am. i will post more info as soon as she has the baby!

Grace and Elisa

pray for grace. she has been put on bed rest due to high blood pressure. fortunately she has less than a week to go! she is scheduled for induction on tuesday, december 12. pray for her that she won't stress out because she can't get up and do anything. pray for her that she will be able to rest. most of all pray for a safe and quick delivery on tuesday! she is already dialated to 2 cm, so hopefully things will go quickly for her. we can't wait to meet little elisa! (i will try to post pictures as soon as i can.)

Prayer Request

pray for little layla. april and justin had to take her to the ER in cleveland this morning. they found out she has pneumonia. she doesn't have to stay in the hospital, but is still a sick little baby. i don't know anything more than that right now.

Study at TU

Anne Moffitt is living on campus at the university of tulsa. she has such a heart for the lost and has been such a testimony so far on campus. within the first two weeks she had gone to every door in her doormatory and given all the girls a gift and invitation to come to a weekly Bible study. i say all this not to "brag" about her, but just to share what an encouragement she is to me!

the Bible study is held on monday evenings from 8:00 - 9:00. Kimberly Moffitt is leading the study. up until this past monday no one has come and they have just spent the time in prayer for the girls in her dorm. i was invited to join them this monday and we had been praying specifically for one girl to come. the Lord blessed doubly because she came and brought a friend! the lesson was on the two roads from Matthew 7. the idea is to stay very basic and start from the very beginning. next week she will talk about who God is starting in Genesis. anyway, the girls said they wanted to come back and mentioned another girl that they want to bring with them. the girls names are Amy and Kathryn. Kathryn says she believes in God, but doesn't know why. Amy seems to be very knowledgable in the Scriptures and wants to bring her roommate who is not saved. praise the Lord for these two girls coming out to the study! pray for Kathryn that she would continue to come and would see her need for a Savior and accept that gift! pray for Anne as she is very shy, but wants to be bold on campus.