Jesus Christ is Everything!

Jonthan's Dentist Appointment (and Other Things)

Yesterday we took Jonathan to the dentist and got some answers. I don't know if they were the answers we wanted but at least we have a plan. First thing is the dentist was very nice and very thorough. He said that the infection in his gums actually started from his throat infection and not the other way around like we were thinking. It will take about another 7-10 days for his gums to be back to normal. In the mean time, he is to take it easy for the next three days, meaning no basketball, soccer or anything rough like that. He is to take Ensure drinks (which he doesn't like) to get some calories in him. The dentist was concerned with him being a teenager and eating so little (so were we). About ten minutes before he eats or brushes his teeth, we are to mix equal parts of Benadryl and Peptobismol and he swishes it around in his mouth and spits it out. This helps with the pain of his gums and he says it really works. He needs to be on a bland diet for a few more days and continue taking the anti-inflammatory that the doctor prescribed for us for three more day. We are also to keep his plate, cup, silverware, etc. separate from the rest of ours and wash it with soap and bleach. We are not sure if this is to keep him from getting anything else from us because his resistance is low or to be sure he doesn't pass anything on to us. We go back to see him in two weeks to check on everything. So, there you have it, the update on Jonathan.

Our new bird, Tweeter, is doing well. Erin is teaching him to fly back to his cage when she let's him go. She is really enjoying him and although she misses her bunny, Cheddar, she likes having Tweeter. Jonathan is enjoying him also and enjoys it when Tweeter will allow him to hold him.

A Day of Trials, A Day of Victory

Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Last night showed some promise for Jonathan. After so many days of being in pain and not wanting to go anywhere, he wanted to go to Costco and get a soft frozen yogurt. Once we got there, he decided he would try a piece of pizza also. Cutting the pizza into very small bite size pieces, he was able to eat the whole thing except the crust. This was such a praise after several days of hardly eating anything because his mouth and throat hurt so bad. Things were looking up.

This morning though, began a day of trials beginning with Jonathan feeling horrible again and not being able to eat. Then, to top it off, Erin's bunny (Cheddar) died this morning in her hands. We believe Cheddar had been sick since we got him but he was showing progress and seemed to be getting better until this morning. So, I sat with her and tried to comfort her. Jim talked to her on the phone and told her we could see about getting a bird which was another animal she wanted. Well, if anyone knows Erin, they know that she wanted to go right away to get the bird. So, Jim came home and he took the Cheddar away and Erin and I went the a pet store with a friend to picked out a parakeet whose name is now Tweeter. He is a very calm bird and is already allowing her to hold him and take care of him. The thing about this story that is amazing is what happened this afternoon when our Spanish tutor, Juan, came over. Erin told him about Cheddar and made a comment that when something bad happens, sometimes something good can come out of it like the fact that she got a bird. He immediately grabbed on to what she was saying and repeated it saying he would have to remember that. So, we went through our lesson and at the end, Juan asked if I would pray for him. You see, his girlfriend, whom he wanted to marry, broke up with him and he was very hurt by this. He knows we are Christians and so I was able to pray for him. I then invited him to church and he said he would come. Please pray that nothing stands in the way of this. Later on this evening, I was able to share with Erin how God used Cheddar to open a door to minister to Juan. Then tonight when she was praying, she thanked God that he used Cheddar in that way. What a precious moment.

Well, Jonathan continued to get worse as the day went on. He only ate a small bowl of yogurt to day and an even smaller bowl of Sorbet. He said his mouth now has sores on his tongue and on the roof of his mouth. Throughout the day, James 5:14 kept coming to mind which says, "Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up." I decided I needed to act on this and called around to some of our friends to see who could come and pray for Jonathan with us. We had two people come and pray over Jonathan with us and more (who couldn't come) praying from their homes. I had really felt that this was a spiritual attack and so had Jim. You know if Satan can't get to the parents, then why not get to the children of the parents. Jonathan hadn't even spoke more than a dozen words today because it hurt too much to talk. One of the things Kate mentioned after she had prayed for Jonathan was that she was seeing this as a spiritual attack. She prayed that God would remove any fear that Jonathan had over the situation. She was seeing the same thing as I was. God is so cool!

After Kate and Marty left, Jonathan began talking. In fact he talked to his friend on the phone for about five minutes. That was more than he had talked all day and he continued to talk after that point. He then sat down with Jim and ate some grapes and within two hours after we prayed for him, he was brave enough to try to remove the tooth that was coming out and causing all the problems. Now the tooth is out and the adult tooth underneath can come up as normal.

Praise the Lord! What a boost of faith for both kids today. What Satan meant for destruction, God turned around and use for building more faith in them. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We know God is using us here and Satan does not like it. Thank you for all the prayers that have been lifted so far. God is good, all the time!

Pictures from Today

We had an awesome day today at the home. It was our day off but there was a team here and they were doing all kinds of fun things with the kids. Erin wanted to go and be part of it so we did. Here are pictures from today's activities.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Update on Jonathan #2

We are seeing improvement in Jonathan's health. Yea! He has had his second shot of penicillin and it seems that as the infection is going away, so is the swelling. As the swelling diminishes, Jonathan is telling us his cracked tooth is loose. It wasn't even loose in the States when the dentist saw it. We wonder if is was slightly swollen then or if there was already a slight infection not seen yet on x-rays. We are hopeful that as more swelling goes down, the tooth will come out on it's own and we will only need to go to the dentist to be sure all of it is out. We are grateful that Jonathan is feeling better. We are also grateful that the other members of our family are remaining healthy.

We have been very busy with a short term mission team that is here from Wisconsin. Juana, the person who usually helps the groups once they are here, is in Oaxaca with another team as a translator. So, Jim has been doing everything for this group. They are an awesome group and have made our job easy. It is great for Jim to go through the whole process of seeing a team through their entire visit. The team that is here has four or five people that speak Spanish and that is awesome. It means we don't have to come up with translators for them and their time with the kids runs much smoother.

Jim and Erin are at the youth home right now and I will be going over as soon as I am finished writing. I needed to stay home and bake brownies for the group that is here. We have what is called the Angel Program here where someone blesses the team by dropping off words of encouragement and sometimes treats, like brownies. The teams do not know who is dropping things off each day because it is just signed, "From your daily angel." We have gotten wonderful responses about it from the teams. Even though the teams come here to bless us, we want them to be blessed also.

Well, that's all for now. I will try to get some pictures up again soon. Thank you to all of you who are praying for us. We are so grateful!