On our way home..Feb 20 700pm

I have a huge post all written but I can't get wifi to work on my computer! We are at an internet cafe in Tai Pei. Our plane leaves for LA in 2 hours and we will be on our way home. We are tired and my stomach isn't to happy with me, but our hearts are full and our bellys are full of noodles!

Thanks for praying and we will see you all soon. Kisses to the kids and we can't wait to see you soon.

xoxo
L

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZOE

6 years old!!!!!!! Cant believe my girl is 6. We love you so much peanut. Have a great day today. See you soon. Love Dad

Part 2, Feb 18

Feb 18…1030pm

The afternoon was much better today….guess heat exhaustion will make you question just about anything…including your own salvation!

The afternoon today was one of the best days yet. Five…yes five, Cambodian TV stations came to the hospital to do a story on the team members who were part of the cath lab team. We were all snickering as we held a press conference that was longer than the pre game interviews that Josh McDaniels is a part of. Josh and 3 other members of our team and the Cambodian Dr were all a part of the interview. They were talking about pacemakers and ablations. One of our team members, a lab tech, is a huge man…6’ 3” and about 250 pounds. He is bald and loud…loud in a very endearing way. He has made us laugh so much and today was no different. The tv anchor asked him what one of the complications could be from having a pacemaker in place. With a straight face he said, “Well, if they fall out of their tuc-tuc that would be bad for the pacemaker.” (a tuc-tuc is a little motorbike that is pulling a cart like a carriage that people sit in..nearly impossible to fall out of!) The three of us who were standing in the back of the room, were laughing so hard we were crying. The Cambodian Dr who was interpreting said exactly what our team member said, and all of their eyes got so big! I thought I was going to start snorting I was laughing so hard! Just what we all needed.

They were interviewing the head of the Cardiology Department here…an older man who survived Pol Pot and has an amazing story. He is very respected and everyone is usually very silent around him. We started to smell smoke in the room while Dr. Kree was talking and looking around we see the x-ray box was on fire! The box is right behind him and he is still talking to the tv crew. One of the nurses stood up, interrupted and told him there was a fire! Just another moment to giggle!

I have been on my feet for nearly 12 hours in the heat and humidity….we used my legs to teach the students about “pitting edema”. You could write your name in the swelling on my shins and maybe still see it in the morning! Yuck…but so worth it to see the smiles in their eyes as the poked on the white girls legs. I’m sure they will be talking about me for a while.

At the hospital the families sleep on the sidewalks and in the alleys at the hospital. There are 6 patients to a room and no room for family to stay with them. If a patient has open heart surgery, there are no visitors allowed in the ICU and the patient stays there for 48 hours. Only when the pt is moved to a room is the family allowed to visit. Today, I passed the same 4 women 50 times as I raced up and down the sidewalk. I smiled at them each time and by the time evening came they come and stood by me and we tried to talk to eachother. I kept talking and so did they. I had no idea what they said, and they had no idea what I was talking about! I did figure out that the woman’s daughter had open heart surgery today that was provided by our team…at very little cost. The woman was about to sell her whole rice field so her daughter could have the surgery and then she found out she was chosen to have surgery provided by our team. I began to cry when I found out the story….the women who had been so stoic all day began to weep as well. I held them, prayed for them out loud and wept with them. I held 2 women in my arms…Roark is just as tall as they were. I asked Jesus to hold them…one of the women was a Buddhist nun. I asked Jesus to make himself real to them and to give them hope. I stood with them for almost 2 hours. Saying nothing for most of the time…only smiling, crying and praying. I will never forget their faces. What a gift they were to me….I so hope they knew how loved they were in those moments and I will never forget their faces.

What a sweet day we had! I know Josh had an amazing day as well, but the dinner he had last night has attacked his stomach for most of the day. He is not feeling well at all and we are praying he is much better in the morning. Please pray he is better soon and able to function tomorrow. We can so feel your prayers and are so thankful for all of you!

Off to sleep now….morning comes very quickly!

Love you all,
L

R,O,Z&L-

3 more sleeps and we will be home! So much to tell you. We are praying for you and love you so much. Tomorrow we will go to another market and see some more little kids. You would love to play with them…they drink their pop out of plastic bags with a straw! I wonder if you could do that? We will try when we get home.
Xoxo
Mam

1st Cardiac Ablation in Cambodia!

Pictures!

Pictures will only load one at a time!!

Here is a sweet little boy at a market in a village about an hour outside of Phnom Penh. Beautiful faces...

Thursday February 18

It’s noon here and the day is going by so fast! Yesterday was another full day for Josh in the cath lab. They had 3 procedures and did end up having to re-do the little 12 year old girls ablation. They were successful the 2nd time and the sweet girl wrote a note for us and is so thankful she is feeling much better.

We went to the Russian Market today…a huge, hot indoor market where you can buy just about anything! Crazy! We had a Cambodian boy follow us around for most of the time we were there. We started talking to him and found out he goes to the church our friends are the pastors of, here in Cambodia. God was so good to us as we talked with this sweet boy. Pray for Raa and ask God to protect him and encourage his sweet heart.

I am discovering this is the land of, ‘come back tomorrow and we will tell you’. I have waited by an office the past few days to get permission to be with a nurse in L&D and it has not happened. Each day has been the same answer and I am sad. I did get to tour the maternity unit yesterday and the women are amazing. If there are more then 8 in labor, the labor in the open lobby and lay quietly on a bench with a family member holding their IV. There are very few monitors and I saw a woman being carried down 3 flights of stairs for a c-section. The women make no sounds and have the most beautiful eyes. I went into the room where the women get to go when they are ready to deliver. 4 metal tables, 2 nurses and maybe 1 family member with each woman. I walked into the room as they were cleaning up 2 women who had delivered an hour before. No IVs in, no offer for pain meds and a sweet black haired baby at their mama’s breast. So beautiful…I silently prayed for these babies and asked God to walk with them and for them to know the hope and healing He can give them.

While I am sad I was not able to be in L&D I know God has spoken things to my heart and Josh has a new sparkle in his eyes. This trip has been life changing for him and I know he will have a lot to share. The Dr they have been working with is a precious man I am praying he will come to know Jesus one day. He will be in Denver in May for a conference and I hope we are able to see him again.

This afternoon we will go back to the hospital and do another ablation. Josh has been very busy in the lab! Tomorrow is our last full day here and we will do a bit of sight seeing and soak in all the beautiful people. I am so in love with their sweet faces and amazing hearts. They are a broken people with no hope…but we know that Jesus can fill them and there are many who are coming to know the hope He offers.

The medical needs here are staggering, but the group we are with is really making a difference. The full impact we will not know until eternity. We are so thankful we were able to be here with this team as well as make friends with people we will never forget.

Thank you so much for praying for us....we know many are holding up our arms. We are tired and a bit crabby at times, but are soaking in all that God has for us. I don't want to miss anything.

R,O,Z &L,

We love you and were so happy to hear your voices this morning! We went on a crazy bike ride today...a motorcycle pulling a little carriage. 5 of us sat in the cart, called a Tuc-tuc! The traffic is crazy and reminds us of watching you play Frogger or Mario on the Wii. You have to dodge the motorbikes and the cars. There are no stop lights and no crosswalks. You just start walking! The picture is a man on a motor bike moving his mattress! He almost bumped into our ride. Hope this makes you smile. We love you! We are praying for you and can't wait to squeeze you so tight!!

xoxox
Mama

Tuesday Feb 16

Wow...we are in our room a little sooner tonight! 9pm!

Another amazing day today...I only had 1 moment of crying and then felt better. ;) It is all so amazing here. I was able to be with the 11 year old girl during the ablation and was able to pray for her as well. The procedure went very well and we even went to several villages with the local Dr. after the procedure. What an experience....so many beautiful people. We saw a huge Buddhist temple and were even able to go inside and listen to the monks pray and feel my heart ache as I listened to their empty words. They were chanting over a man who felt like he had done wrong, and needed more luck in life. My heart was crying for him to know the only one who could give him hope. His eyes were so sad....

The drive through the villages was crazy and fun all at the same time. A herd of the skinniest cows I have ever seen were running through the streets causing motorbikes to swerve and cars to honk their horns so loud. I closed my eyes several times and prayed to stay alive as we drove. ;) We stopped at several little homes to buy mango and pineapple. The children were so beautiful, so precious. They all shouted out, "Hello" in the sweetest voices. I wanted to scoop them all up. We took some amazing pictures..I will post once we are back in the land of fast internet!

We got a call on the way back into the city that the little girl we operated on this morning, was now back in the same heart rhythm that we thought was fixed earlier in the day. The ride home was very quiet as we all tried to figure out what was the next step for her. I looked into her eyes just hours before and told her it was "all gone". She was so happy. Please pray for a miracle tonight...we do not have any more pediatric equipment to use for her tomorrow. They can use an adult version, but it may not be as effective. Pray she is healed and that she doesn't need another ablation.

God is teaching us so much...none of this is about us. This is all for Him....everything we do should be for Him and not for our own comforts. We have been given so much and there is much that is required from us. The cry of my heart is to remain uncomfortable and be ruined for the ordinary. God is so near...we are so honored to be a part of what He is doing with these wounded people. He longs to bring them comfort and hope.

My head is literally spinning now...hmm so is the room! Must be time for bed. I know there will be more stories tomorrow. As you start your Tuesday and we end ours, I am praying for thankful and full hearts for all of us.

Love you,
J&L

R,O,Z,& L,

We are so proud of you and know God is hearing you pray for us. We can't wait to tell you more amazing stories and kiss your sweet faces. You would be proud of mama today...I ate some crazy things today! I ate tiny shrimp from a roadside stand, frog legs and a bite of tiny fried frogs! We have pictures. You would love the kids here...they run around in bear feet and love to smile. Keep praying for us and know how much we love you. xox