Surgery went well

I am thankful to report that Lonia's surgery went well, all things considered. It took six hours to complete it. I was able to be with her in ICU Friday evening. I spent most of the day with her yesterday, holding her and comforting her. She took some liquids and a couple spoons of jello and a cracker. She will be moved to the regular floor today. She has a catheter so the urine doesn't burn and irritate the new opening. She will still have to have it for a couple weeks after she comes home while it is healing. Something new for me to learn to take care of. We will go visit her after church this afternoon. The girls will get to go see her since she will be out of ICU. They are really excited to see her. Everybody misses her little smiling face and antics, blowing kisses and batting her eyes at us. She has become a big part of our family.

Ashley will be starting to school on Tuesday at Capital Christian School. She is in the fourth grade. Her teacher will be Mrs. Holt. She is very excited but a little apprehensive too. Please pray for her to be brave in this endeavor and that she would make new friends quickly.

News from Wilckly in Haiti reports that they received a lot of rain but no damage in our area. We praise God for His protection. Wilckly continues several projects at this time. He is building a wall, preparing for school to open at Cariess, Legend and Cupois. These are the three schools we are responsible for. Cariess closed with 185 students and we have no idea how many to expect this year. Legend had 35. We have rented a place for them to continue school this year. We had 29 pre-school/kinder. students at Cupois where Lonia is from. Please pray for us as we open all of these schools. We will pay a total of 15 teachers and staff for those schools this year. Since I wasn't able to be out raising support we were not able to buy all the needed material for uniforms yet. Wilckly will be buying books this week for the schools and the uniforms will have to come later.

Christine Stevens (Crash) arrived in Haiti two weeks ago and she is doing well. She is learning Creole. She will be helping with the administration of the mission and the schools. She will be busy doing this while learning the language and culture. She is a recent graduate of Hannibal LaGrange College in Hannibal, Missouri. Please keep her in your prayers that she would remain in good health and strong and courageous to meet all the challenges of Haiti. Go Crash!

Wilckly is handicapped right now as the truck has been broke down for over a month. Remember it is our "all-purpose" vehicle. We pick people up at the airport, haul gravel, rock, dirt, cement and other materials, it is an ambulance, a hearse and a bus. The repairs are very costly but not as costly as buying a new vehicle which we can't do right now. It will cost around $3,500.00 for parts and labor to get her back in running condition. We have had a $1,000.00 donated for this so far. If you can help in any way please send funds immediately to Fred and mark it Dorce' truck in the memo. This is URGENT. Thanks in advance.

Dee

Oops!

Sorry I haven't kept you very well informed that's just how it is. I wanted to tell you all to check the High Hill Haiti blog which is a link at the bottom of our page. Tammy Wood has done an excellent job of filling in the pieces. If you don't find anything on mine please check the link as she will help keep you updated.

Tomorrow is the big day. Friday, August 29th is Lonia's surgery. It will take from 6 to 8 HOURS!!! Please be praying for Lonia and for Dr. Gates. We appreciate it all, your prayers and support. Keep it up!!!
Dee

I'm so glad I'm a part of the FAMILY OF GOD...........................................

Tammy and Dave Wood visiting us. They came to Haiti with a group from High Hill, Missouri the week before we found Lonia. Returning from our trip I immediately emailed them letting them know of the circumstances of Lonia. I asked for their prayers and HELP for this little one who would die soon without it. Amazingly, in a few days time I got a phone call from Dave. They had found someone who could make bringing her to the States for surgery a reality.

Tammy works at a dentist office. She was sharing this with a patient, Joe Tebo, who happened to be a pilot. She thought he might have some insight on where to start. God had put the right people in the right place at the right time. This would continue to be the case as the whole story of Lonia has been carefully orchestrated by her creator. It is a privilege to be a part of all of this. Thank you all for being part of it, praying for it and being so genuinely concerned. It has been amazing, to one by one, meet those who would make it all possible.

I can think of no higher calling than to serve the King of Kings. My prayer is to continue to put God first and not worry about all the unknowns, such as, when will we finish all of these surgeries, when will we come back to Iowa, when will my baby be born, when will my husband get to come, when will we return to Haiti, just to mention a few. He already knows the answer to all of those questions and is completely able to get me through each one. A great lesson from Haiti, EVERYTHING TAKES LONGER THAN IT TAKES, and you can not make it go faster. The sooner you accept that fact the greater chance you have of remaining sane. Then you have to just "let go and let God" because it is way beyond anything you can do or even dream of.

Another lesson is that laughter truly is the best medicine and healing to the bones. Praise God for technology with which Wilckly and I can talk fairly cheaply every evening. A great way to encourage one another and share a few laughs to keep us focused on the tasks at hand.

Kelsey, Dee, Denne, Lonia, Chris and Chris's daughter Georgia. They came all the way from Palmyra, Missouri, near Hannibal. They have come to Haiti the last two years with a group of girls from Hannibal LaGrange College. This group of girls were with us when Lonia was presented to us for the first time. We had made our long and first overwhelming trip to a place in the mountains called Cupois, pronounced Koo-pwa. I brought Lonia out for them to see, bottoms up. It was rather unexpected to say the least since none of us had ever seen anything like it. I said, "Denne, I need you to get some pictures of this because we need to get help for this little girl." I can't even explain to you, how much this is a total "God thing"!!! It still amazes me to review it all and to see how we just tried to hang on for the ride and God did the rest! I sincerely hope you get to meet Lonia. Her stamina and endurance are testimony alone and an inspiration to continue doing whatever is necessary, day by day, to get her where she needs to be.

Okay so I am a slacker. I am sorry for not keeping you better informed. The time has been flying by since we came to Iowa. We have lots of visitors who have been a great encouragement to us. They brought laughter with them to share with us and help us keep going. They also brought things like diapers, wipes, clothes, blankets, shoes and anything we might need for Lonia. Thank you all so much for this outpouring, we are definitely blessed.

Yes, it is amazing but Lonia is already driving!!! Everyone is immediately surprised at how tiny she is. They say she looks much bigger and older in her pictures. She is very strong and very strong willed. She can also, just as quickly bring a smile to any one's face with her flirtatious smile and batting eyes. She also blows kisses that melt every one's heart. She eats everything in sight all day long. She seems to be gaining weight which is what we want. It is evident by the newly found rolls on her little scrawny legs. August 29th, surgery, Sacramento.....Here we come!

I am improving at changing colostomy bags to the point she is sometimes satisfied while I do it instead of screaming the whole time. Kelsey and my nephew, Micah, get very concerned that I am hurting her when she is screaming like that. They always want to help her escape from me at that point.

I'll save you Lonia. That's debatable. Who is helping who here? Lonia has a way of winning everyone's affection. This is true for our dear friends Charlie and Teresa Bowen of Maryville, Missouri as well. I can't tell you or them how much I appreciate them. They have come and taken Lonia for a few hours and even kept her over night. Sometimes I like to pretend I am super woman but even she needs a rest. It has only been two and a half years since they first came to Haiti and were hooked. We have a saying in Haiti, "Haiti, love it or leave it!"

Thanks to all. Keep praying.

Dee

We had a great time celebrating Lonia's birthday. Alex, Caleb, Micah, Ashley, Kelsey and Haven all celebrated with Lonia. Lonia was happy about the whole party. She knew what to do when we put the cake in front of her. She grabbed the candle and stuck it in her mouth. Then I grabbed the candle from her before we ended up with an obstructed intestine complete with birthday candle. I know Dr. Gates would have me put away for good if I let that happen.

She really enjoyed her very own little cake. It was such a thrill to celebrate her first birthday. This is such a big milestone in this little girl's life. She is a crawling miracle several times over. Even when I find myself telling and retelling her story I find it more powerful every time. I also see something that many people may never see. I see God's grace and sovereign power in action to preserve the life of this little girl for something that we can't begin to imagine. It is a very humbling experience to "let go and let God!"

We were glad to have Charlie and Teresa Bownen, Brandie and Haven with us. We were thankful my sister let us invade her home to have the party. Grandma Reta was there too. Lonia may not remember her birthday as something special but all of us will.

More pictures soon. Our date is approaching. Aug.26th will arrive sooner than we think. It is coming quickly and will soon be time to fly back to Sacramento. Please be praying for success in her remaining surgeries. may God bless you each and every one.

Dee

Lonia continues to grow and improve each day. I am going to have her weighed today so we can see what progress she is making. Eating is pretty much her favorite thing to do. We are glad about that. She is still small enough though that we have to tie her into the high chair so she doesn't slip through the cracks.

I want to thank my friend Denne who figured out my very menial problem that wasn't allowing me to post pictures to the blog. Hopefully later on today I can get the pictures downloaded of her birthday and all of the visitors we have had recently.

wishing you a blessed day in the Lord,

Dee

This is Lonia speaking English!