Moving Week

 Well this is the last week to be out of the house my parents have been renting. We still aren't sure of the truth of who owns it...,but no matter what we will be out. We still have no leads to a new residence.

My mom and I are flying to Iowa so she can spend time with baby Joel before his next surgery. Please pray as he has a heart Cath on June 10, and surgery will be scheduled soon after. We are still praying for some miracles of healing in his heart, but no matter what the bands put on to decrease oxygen to the lungs and spread it through the body will have to be taken off  pray for God to protect Joel and guide the doctors hands, and pray for peace for my sister and her family.

This week is Memorial Day, and I think about my uncle who gave his life in Vietnam to save his fellow soldiers.  I think of the millions who have sacrificed their lives, the lives of their family members, the childhood years of their children, the early years of their marriages, their wealth and lands... Since this nation began. As I watch the current government try to steal away our rights, vote away our rights, give power over our lives to a killing machine, remove the power of our money, remove the will power to work and provide for families... I pray that God will cause Americans to rise up one more time and throw tyranny to the winds. 

Jesus is coming soon, and I see time slipping by that should be used to reach others for Christ. Instead, the time is being used to bash ministries who are giving the true Gospel, it is being used to remove the truths of God's Word and give people a false sense of security in a "Christian" rock and roll culture, and so much more that is displeasing to God. My prayer is that revival will take place in the hearts of those who claim to be Christians. You can't revive something that is dead. A result of revival is souls saved, but revival is for the saved to return to the truth of God's Word, surrender to God's will...

Quick update

 Update 1- Baby Joel will have a heart cath either June 1 or June 10. Within a couple weeks of this test, his doctors will set a surgery date. Please pray that God will allow this surgery to go as well as the first with no complications. He will have several things done during this surgery.

Update 2- My parents housing situation is still a mystery as far as who owns the property and where they will move. The church is considering how they will be able to help. Please pray that God will give clear direction for my parents.

Home

 I finally made it home last Saturday. Due to the mask mandates still being in place, I had a cousin get me from Indiana, and I spent two days with her. Then my uncle came from NY and picked me up. My parents met me in NY. It was a tiring trip, but I'm glad I'm home.

We are in the process of trying to find a home. The house we were living in is in limbo, and we don't even know who owns it anymore. Please pray that if it is God's will, the house, my parents are getting paperwork done for, will remain available and at a price range my parents can afford and a good percentage rate. The housing market here is outrageous. Gas is now $4.21. Since my parents moved into this house three years ago, their power bill has jumped four times. Please pray that some of these costs change for the better.

I am still working out whether I will be able to travel for missions helps soon. One judge has ruled the mandates illegal, and another rules they are legal. Please pray that the Supreme Court will keep them illegal and make it impossible for anything like this to happen again. 

Please pray as I get involved in our church ministries again. There are several needs that we have. We need a youth pastor. We need a building which doesn't cost so much to maintain and with enough space for our kids ministry to be able to continue even during the winter. We have 20 regular kids attending, and we have 4 more lines up for Sunday. We also need a larger bus. Right now it takes 4 trips on a 12 passenger van to get the adults and kids. Please pray that our people will get a vision to bring in more people. We had a lot of visitors on Easter Sunday.

Please continue to pray for my sister's baby Joel. He is doing well overall, but his next heart surgery will be coming in a couple of months. Please pray for my sister Janna and her family as they continually battle health issues. Pray for sister Jacqueline with health issues and her husband Phil who was burned by gas spraying on him. Pray for my sister Joy and her family and my brother Josh's family in unspoken ways. Pray for my brother Justin as he continues to work with horses. He has had several injuries lately. I don't usually list out all my siblings, but they all seem to have a lot of needs right now.  

Heading Slowly Home

 I left my sister's house last Friday. Baby Joel is doing very well. Although there has been a little growth to his left ventricle in his heart, the doctors do not think he will have enough growth to function properly. He is expected to have surgery sometime this summer to repair this as well as few other issues in the heart. 

I am staying with my sister in Indiana for a few weeks. Please pray that the FTMM will be lifted so I can fly home instead of needing to drive with various family... It took two years, but finally the states and Congress are taking a stand against the unConstituional procedures the president allowed the CDC to implement. Please pray for those fighting these battles.

Continue to pray for Ukraine. I am in touch with missionaries who are taking in refugees, and the stories they have to tell are sad. Pray for those in Russia who have been warned to leave that God will give them peace in their decisions of whether to stay or go.

Please pray that I can begin planning trips to the places I had promised to be in the summer of 2020. Pray also for my parents as their housing situation is about to change again. Pray for their health.

Praise and Prayers

Another month gone, I didn't even realize it. Caring for six kids can definitely keep a person's mind busy. It is hard to believe that in a week, I will be heading home to Maine, and it is harder to believe that I have been in Iowa for almost four months. 

Baby Joel is doing very well. He has grown so much in the last few weeks, he is getting to be much more sociable and tries to talk quite a bit. He has learned to reach for his toys, hands, hair and anything else he takes a fancy to. His next appointment is on March 31, so please pray everything still looks good, and please pray that his heart has grown so he doesn't have to have  all the extensive surgeries. Pray for my sister as she continues to care for him and his six siblings.

Please pray for my parents as their housing situation is a little crazy right now. More than likely, they will be having to move again in the next few months. Continue to pray for their health, and for an unspoken request.

Continue to pray for my ministry. It has of course been on hold while I cared for my mom and now my sister's family, but countries are opening up now, and I may be able to begin traveling again soon. I am hoping to help those I had lined up in England and Europe, so please pray since I will possibly be helping Ukrainian refugees.

Please pray for Ukraine and Russia. While our media, including conservative news, are spinning their various tales, missionaries in both countries are sharing what is truly happening. Pray that the Gospel can be given to the people. Pray for those who are leaving the countries. The US has warned Americans to leave Russia.

Wars and rumors of wars: I am not worried about the future since I know that this is just one more sign that Jesus is coming soon.

Miracles

 I apologize for not having posted in over a month. I have been caring for my 6 nieces and nephews while my sister and her husband stayed at the hospital with baby 7 after his heart surgery. We prayed for miracles with all the complications baby Joel was born with.

The first miracle was that his first surgery was not the typical first surgery for the heart defect he has. He stayed in the hospital a month simply to make sure the surgery had gone well, and so he could get strong enough to stay home and not need to be readmitted for any reason.

The second miracle is that the surgery, which was expected to be very difficult due to veins that run in abnormal directions around the heart, was actually textbook according to the doctor.

The third miracle was that his mom's milk is so far enough to sustain his weight without needing any formula. The formulas they used to fortify his milk while he was in the hospital did not sit well in his tummy. Thankfully, mommy's milk seems to be working well. 

 The miracle we are praying for now is that the heart will grow and the typical first surgery will not be needed. He is still expected to have surgery at 6 months old, but we are praying that God will allow the heart to grow and remove the need for any future surgeries.

My parents returned home after they knew the baby had come through the surgery and was doing well. My mom has been dealing with stress related heart issues, so prayers for her would be much appreciated. my dad has been running the kids program for our church, so please pray that we can get someone to come in and be a help in that area. Thankfully, we have a faithful lady who plays accordian, and she has been doing the music while I have been away.

Things are moving in the judicial world in regards to the continued mandates for air and public transportation travel. The first win for some to fly who cannot mask has happened for a 4 year old boy who was being denied a mask exemption by numerous airlines which caused him to have trouble getting to medical appointments in Boston. Please pray that God will use this case as well as several others in the courts to cause Congress to step in and say enough is enough in regards to the unnecessary measures.

The Canada truck convoy sparked a worldwide convoy protest on top of the continued protest marches around the world. People who have survived communism and socialism in Europe... are standing up against all the mandates. Some countries have already ended the mandates because of these protests. Please pray that God will continue to open doors for me to travel again.

I know that God brought me home and kept me home in order for me to care for my mom and now my sister's family. Although it has not been easy, I continue to wait to see what God will have me to do for the future.

My plans when I return home are to spend time with some of our kids who made professions of faith just before and during the Christmas season. I want to talk with them in depth about baptism and make sure they fully understand what it means to be baptized.

A New Year, A New Nephew!

 Because of Christmas, New Year's and the expected birth of my nephew, I decided to wait to do an update.

My parents and I traveled to Iowa for Christmas this year to be with my sister Julie and her family. Christmas was a fun time spent with my nieces and nephews and my sister and her husband. We played games, made cookies, watched movies, and just enjoyed each other's company. Julie was expecting baby number seven, and he was having some complications in the womb. The doctors thought he would come before Christmas, but he decided to wait. On January 6, Julie went to an ultrasound appointment, and the baby seemed to be in distress. The plan was, if the baby wasn't born by the 10th, then labor would be induced. With the signs of distress, the doctors decided to induce that night. Joel Jirah was born around 11:15-11:30 weighing 8lbs. 14oz. he came out face up and screaming which was a good sign. Julie was able to hold him for a short time before he was moved to NICU. The doctors are keeping him still due to the heart issues he has. He will require surgery in the near future. Please pray for Julie and Andy and baby Joel.

The New Year was spent indoors due to an ice storm. The weather has remained cold since, and we did get a bit of snow, but the temps have been so cold, that the kids could only play outside for a short time. We had nights of heavy winds and extremely low temps the last couple of days. Hopefully we can get a bit warmed up before the snow melts away.

With the issues my new nephew has, he will probably be in the hospital for awhile even without surgery, so I will remain in Iowa for a few weeks or so to help with the other six kids. Please pray for my parents as they will head home in a few days. Pray especially for my mom as she is still struggling with her own heart issues, and I will not be at home to help her.

Please continue to pray that countries and airlines end their mandates. I heard that England is relaxing a bit, which means I may be able to complete my scheduled trip there if the aairlines relax some of their measures.