A Day in the Life

Dear Beloved Friends and Family,

Many of you have asked me at different times what a day typical day looks like for us. Therefore, I wrote this in February, having picked a random day.

2:00am Awoke and sensed a need to pray but instead of actually getting up, I scrunch up into a kneeling-under-the-covers position because it is cold. This is never a good idea because I end up sleeping in this very uncomfortable position instead of praying as I had planned.

5:15am Awoke again with a very stiff neck from the above. This time I get up, go downstairs, and praise and pray without falling asleep, thanks be to God. The reading for the day is John 17…. Jesus’ prayer for his disciples to be one as He and the Father are One.

6:30am The children are all scurrying around the house getting themselves ready for school. I am continually amazed by how independent they are. This works well since I am not exactly a morning Mom. I get a cup of coffee and make sure I hug each one of their necks.

7:30am Elvia and I head out to the Villa where she will supervise our local schoolteacher who now has 10 children in four different grades under her care. I am going to lead the staff in a Bible study and see what needs they might have.

8:40am Traffic is thick so it’s taken twice as long to get to the agricultural school where I buy flowers and shrubs for our first “informed” attempt at landscaping. Dorothy Washington, her daughter Addie, and her sister-in-law Christine (a landscape architect) were all here last week to help us learn about decorating with plants. I have just enough knowledge now to be dangerous. I’m thinking it would be good to invite Ely and some of the children in on this since I am perhaps a bit too far on the wild side when it comes to plants. My idea of a healing garden is a jungle…..I love the idea of things growing up walls and hanging overhead. I’m not sure that the majority of those living in the Villa share my ideas in this area!

10:00am On the way up to the Villa, we somehow miss getting onto the cement tracks at a very important juncture in the road, and the truck becomes stuck in two very deep ruts. We try to rock it out. No dice.

10:15am We walk the rest of the way up to the Villa which I am happy to do since I love hiking, even if it involves managing packages and odd items needed at the Villa. Elvia is not so keen on this outdoor experience but she doesn’t complain since she was the one to get the truck stuck.

10:30am The children are all in school so we miss the wonderful way that they all come running out to hug our necks, waists, or legs….depending on how tall they are! Ely and Hae Young are happy to see us even though they don’t come running. Photo at top: being greeted by the children at Jericho Villa.

11:00am Hae and I share coffee and she fills me in on the newest child’s adaptation. Her name is Jasmine and she was motherless due to a tragic suicide. I am not unacquainted with that pain and make a mental note to try to spend some time with her. I am thankful that she is no longer without a mother here at the Villa. Photo: Jamine (left) and Susana on family visiting day.

1:00pm Lunch is served. Its meatball soup made with boiled green bananas and corn flour. Never had this before but it’s delicious and even better with Kim Chee that Hae Young brings to the table.

2:00pm We gather for the staff Bible study. The study is called “Experiencing God” and I have taught this many times. I love this course because the Holy Spirit speaks to me afresh each time I teach it. I am excited to see what God will speak to us as we study His Word together. There are six of us: Ely and Dwight, Rosa, Patty, Hae Young, and me. We talk a bit about the importance of being united in Him.

3:30pm Dwight wants to meet to go over some of the plans for making the Villa self-sustaining. We need to focus on getting the apartments ready for more children. We are growing rapidly…..every week it seems that God sends us a child who is in great need of a loving family. We are trusting that God will provide what we need as we step out in faith to minister to these wounded children.

4:00pm The office calls to tell me that a woman from the streets wants us to take her 18-month-old daughter. The staff have quickly fallen in love with this little girl who has already spent half her life on the streets with her mentally unstable Mom.

5:00pm We are back on the road to Tegucigalpa. This time I drive to give Elvia a rest. During the healing adventure (which we call “the situation”), I couldn’t drive so everyone else drove me around like a princess. Princess days are over which we are ALL happy about!

6:30pm Helen and Susana come running to hug me as I walk in the door. I love these two little girls…they are two peas in a pod. It seems like we have known Helen her whole life and yet she has only been with us for a little over a month. Funny how God knits our hearts together so fast.

7:30pm Marlyn goes to the supermarket with Helen and Susana in tow. I am thinking to myself that I just might possibly have a few moments alone, since the boys are at Elvia’s house. A moment alone is a rarity for me. I am imagining making something yummy (think chocolate) when the doorbell rings. A neighbor needs a listening ear. The chocolaty something is forgotten.Photo: Susana, Isabella, and Helen (right).

8:50pm We all help put things away that the girls have brought home from the supermarket. Helen turns to me in the midst of it all and says, “Thank you, Mom, for letting me help.” I cannot even imagine what Helen has been through to make her so thankful for being a part of what so many of us take for granted. Thank You, Jesus, for bringing Helen to us. Thank You for showing us how an attitude of gratitude warms Your heart.

9:10pm Susana and I read from the wonderful Children’s Bible called The Jesus Storybook Bible published by Zonderkids that she just loves. My dear friend Helen Davis gave it to me when I was in the middle of “the situation” and it blessed me so. Now it is blessing my children.

9:30pm Juan Carlos says, “Mom, can you help me with my homework?” I say, “Sure, honey, what subject is it?” “Math,” he says. Panic strikes my heart. Juanca does not seek my help often so I really want to be able to help him and Math hasn’t been my strong subject since I had a Math teacher in 10th grade who I rubbed the wrong way. It’s only 7th grade Math but I start to pray fervently and silently, “Oh God, let it be something I remember and can explain to this sweet child of mine.” God answers that prayer. It all comes back quickly and I let out a sigh of relief. Photo: Noe (left back) and Juanca (far right) with their buddies at Jericho

10:00pm The little ones are in bed but Juan Carlos, Marlyn and I find Noe writing something on Facebook. We discover that he is writing someone we all know so we decide to help him wish Laura Tyler a Happy Birthday. Noe is good-natured about his Facebook time suddenly becoming a family event and we all end up laughing together.

10:30pm I am in bed but unable to sleep. I get up to write this hoping that it might be of interest to those of you who so faithfully pray for us, that it might encourage you to keep us in prayer. As I think over the events of the day, I continue to be so filled with gratitude not only for the gift of being alive but also for the privilege of being in this place at this time for His glory.

Isabella, 18months

Bringing Helen Home

I guess you could call me a seasoned missionary which is why what happened on Wednesday of this week took me totally by surprise. I have seen many, many children who are living lives that are beyond my imagination and I don’t mean in a good sense. After awhile you become less affected by the horrors which is not exactly a good thing … it’s just the way one survives. Elvia peeked around the door and said I would not believe what had just happened. I could tell she was emotional about something and I thought perhaps she had just smashed up one of our vehicles. I was not even close. She told me that while she was at INHFA (a governmental holding tank for abused and abandoned children) getting some paperwork for a couple of our children, one of the placement officers asked her if we had room for a 10 year old child named Helen. Her mother had addiction problems including prostitution and Helen had been in INHFA for almost a year, waiting to be placed in a center. When Elvia asked why they hadn’t placed her, the officer said there was no room in any of the orphanages. No room in the inn, so to speak. Elvia asked the placement officer if she could bring Helen to my office so that I could meet her. It only took one look at Helen for the tears to start flowing down my cheeks. I can’t really explain it fully ... it was like two strong emotions came colliding together in my heart and then came rushing through my tear ducts. The first was an overwhelming sadness. Whatever had happened to Helen in her days at INHFA must have caused her much pain. Her face was covered in it. The other emotion was pure joy that God had sent Helen to us. I hugged Helen in my weepy state and she also began to cry. It was a reunion of sorts. A mother who has never actually given physical birth to anyone welcoming home a lost child whose mother abandoned her emotionally and physically a long, long ago. We are all so thrilled to welcome Helen into our home and into our hearts and into Jesus, the One who gives her a future and a hope that does not disappoint.

Friday also brought more unexpected blessings. Our dear missionary friend Evelyn Klinger had stored her possessions out at the Villa while she was on furlough and due to some unexpected changes in her life, she needed to come back and deal with those stored goods. While she was with us, she told us of two little boys she had met through another missionary friend who were practically living on the streets. “Could we take them in at the Villa?” she asked. Frankly there is no way that I can tell you that these two little boys fit into our main mission statement … to reach out to prostitutes and their children. Their Mom was a police officer who was killed in the line of duty and their Dad was a deceased gang member. Their grandmother was their only caretaker and she was barely able to do that. They were begging on the streets and (we would learn later) doing many other things too heartbreaking to speak of to earn money for their daily bread. Daniel was 8 and his brother Noe was 7. Perhaps they didn’t fit into our main mission but it certainly seemed that they fit into God’s main mission of rescuing the lost and brokenhearted. We agreed to a meeting with the boys and their grandmamma so that we could pray about how to help. The whole meeting challenged our Jericho House staff. The boys were like wild little monkeys, running to and fro, stuffing anything they could get their hands on into their dirty pants pockets. They were small and smelly and reckless and so in need of love. The grandmother agreed that she could not control them and that they spent most of their days on the streets but she did not want to give them up. I discovered why pretty quickly. Noe kept asking me for money and food. It occurred to me that she needed the money they brought in daily. So we prayed like this: “Lord, if you want us to have Daniel and Noe, please change the grandmother’s heart and open the doors at the court so that we can get custody.” God totally moved. On Friday morning the grandmother brought both boys to us and gave her permission for us to raise them. Elvia took them all to the court to get legal custody. The judge initially told her it would take some time since they wanted to do a home study to see if everyone was telling the truth. It was lunchtime and both boys exhibited the same behavior in the court setting as they had at Jericho and when one of them started to try and climb up one of the windows, the judge said in desperation, “Ok, just take them!” So, we did!

That afternoon found us on our way to the Villa in the van with Helen, Daniel and Noe. Elvia sat in the back to try and keep the boys calm. I’ll never forget seeing Noe melt into complete peace as Elvia cradled him in her arms and sang a song over him. I could just make out his little hand gently holding onto the clip in her hair as I caught a glimpse of them in the rear view mirror. At the Villa, Ely and Dwight were the epitome of the word welcome. They embraced all three children and led them to the dining area where a special tort awaited them. It had been prepared by Ely and our Jericho children. Each child took turns sharing words of welcome and shared their testimonies about how God had touched them. One little one shared how he had been locked in a room by his mother. He remembered exactly what his grandmother had brought him to eat when she opened the door two days later. He completed the story by sharing how he now slept with Jesus and was no longer afraid. Ely and Dwight spent the weekend praying for deliverance for these three new family members. God used Ely to help them divulge the many atrocities that had been committed against them so that healing could begin. We thank God for the way He is using Ely and Dwight to deliver these treasures of God and to help them grow into strong citizens of the Kingdom. It is truly a work of the Holy Spirit.

And there is more but I think that’s enough for now. I can barely keep up with all that God is speaking and teaching me right now. It’s like trying to catch all the seeds from a dried dandelion after someone blows it into the wind. Please do keep Helen (now part of the JM family in my household) and Noe and Daniel (part of the JM family at the Villa) in your prayers.

I love each of you!                                         Helen and Susannah new best friends

Betsy

 
 
 
 

Happy New Year 2009

Happy New Year to you all!

What a blessing to know that each year, each day, each hour, each moment, we can begin afresh in Jesus. That comforts me….even if I had a bad morning, or a bad day or a bad week or even a bad year…..I can begin again in Him with a fresh slate, sins forgiven. We can begin again. He truly makes all things new.

We prayed in the New Year with the same plan we used last year (Hermano Roque, a general in the Honduran military, would lead us in prayer for several hours). Last year there were four of us, including Roque, and we prayed for three hours. This year 17 people showed up including my little Susana who begged me to be a part of it [see photo above]. We prayed for 5 hours! To be very honest, I really was lagging in the latter part of the prayer time … everything in me wanted to bolt for home (think warm bed) but I have learned that God most often reserves the best wine for last and so I asked God for strength to stay the course. And sure enough, there was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that was totally worth the wait. We danced and laughed and heard from God in a powerful way. These are some of the things God spoke to our hearts.

We sense His specific mandate to Jericho to continue to reach out to those trapped in prostitution but to focus specifically on their children (the second generation) this year. He told us this would be a year of much harvest, both in the spiritual and physical realm. We also need to move forward with making the Jericho Villa self-sustainable and the Lord once again sent Christopher Miller (back right in photo) from St. Mark’s in Geneva, Illinois on Dec. 31st to help us make a master plan for the placement of buildings, reservoirs, crops, and animal pens. The Lord spoke to me personally and challenged me to share about His miracle healing in my life in whatever way possible. I think this means traveling to visit many of you and getting the “healing adventure” written down on paper!

Chris stayed out at the Villa with the precious children God has placed in our care. I was able to join them for most of Chris’s visit and do the hiking required to make decisions for the master plan. As we were working on the master plan, it became evident that we also needed the help of a landscape architect. I went home one evening during Chris’s visit to find an e-mail from my dear friend Dorothy Washington asking if I still needed the help of her sister-in-law who is a landscape architect! We had talked about that possibility over a year ago and she was wondering if we still needed help! God’s timing is so perfect. She and Christine will be coming in February, God willing. We are so thankful for God’s provision! Chris also drew the sketches for the chapel that will be built on a bluff that has an amazing view of God’s workmanship. We praise God for the way that He has given us an architect with such a heart to serve Him. Chris comes and works tirelessly, sharing our dreams for and the burdens of caring for these young lives being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And finally I wanted to share with you about the lastest test results! Elvia and I went to the lab to see how my liver enzymes were doing. The lab technicians have been following this miracle with great interest and when they took my blood this time, both of them were touched by the Holy Spirit and decided to accept Christ into their lives! In the afternoon we picked up the lab results. The total bilirubin, for the first time in over 10 months, was NORMAL! You may remember how it went down by halves … 20 then 9 then 4.5 then 2.2 and now it is under 1! Praise God who keeps His promises! Please continue to pray for total healing as my feet are still quite painful to walk on and there is still a bulge where no bulge should be.

Betsy

Merry Christmas

Dear Beloved Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas from all of us at Jericho! I pray that you will sense His presence and love in a unique way this Christmas! He is so Awesome! The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Him!

This is how He met the hopes of one of our little girls this Christmas (see photo above). Leslie is 12 years old and like all the children in Honduras, she was hoping to receive a new outfit (dress in her case) to wear on Christmas eve. This is tradition here……and even the poorest families make the greatest effort to buy a new outfit for each of their children so that they can wear it for the first time on Christmas eve. Leslie’s Mom is trapped in the vicious cycle of alcohol, drugs, and prostitution and she does not know her Dad, so there was not much hope in receiving a new dress from them. Leslie is now part of the Jericho Family and lives at the Villa. We have tried to teach our children to go to their Heavenly Father for their needs so when Leslie asked one of our staff members about her need for a new dress for Christmas, she told her to pray about it. Her response was, “Really Miss, do you think that the dress will just fall from heaven tomorrow morning?” You can imagine Leslie’s surprise the next morning when another staff member, who knew nothing about this request, showed up with three dresses for Leslie, Vanessa, and Genesis. Perhaps in the larger scheme of things, having a princess dress to wear on Christmas eve isn’t that important, but Jesus is teaching these little ones about trusting Him. Nothing escapes Him. He truly is a Loving Father.

Which brings me to our Christmas outreach this year. The children did a special drama for their families (many of whom are in involved in prostitution, drugs etc.) and then handed out apples and grapes (a big treat here). It was wonderful to see how God is using the children to reach their relatives. In the photos: Ana and Juan Carlos take part in the makeshift Christmas pageant (above) / Leslie and her brother Ariel talk with their Mom who initially would not come to the scene since she was hung-over (below). God’s love through her children won out, and she ended up listening to the Christmas story and receiving the presents that her children had lovingly made for her. I continue to be truly thankful for your love and support which enables us to be here to reach out to those whose hopes and fears can only be met in Him. Have a blessed Christmas and remember that He loves you tremendously and wants you to trust Him fully.

With much love in our dear Savior,
Betsy

P.S.. I forgot to tell you that the itching totally disappeared when I went to NYC. Thank you for praying!

Believe

Believe... that’s what we saw on all the Macy’s bags while we hiked up and down the NYC streets. Elvia right away asked me what it meant. We quickly discovered that it was about believing in Santa Claus based on the movie “Miracle on 34th Street” which was part of their marketing strategy. We wanted to buy something (which we didn’t, due to missionary economics) just to get the bag because for us it meant something else….the whole journey to New York City had been one of believing God for healing against all odds. God had come through in shining colors and Elvia and I were in NYC from Dec. 3-11 at the Lord’s urging to share about His power to heal.

The days were quickly filled with visits from beloved friends and family(too many to mention here) from near (NYC and Fairhaven, NJ) and far (Houston, Philly, and New Haven, CT). And of course, we visited the hospital. It was such a blessing to be able to witness to His handiwork just by showing up! Here are just some of the gifts God bestowed upon us.

Visiting Dr. Ruben Niesvizky who did not use the word “miracle” but said that this definitely was a lesson to the medical community. His secretary, Patty, was very excited and thanked God with us for this miracle healing.

My dear friend Helen Davis came from Philly for the day and we went skating at the ice rink at the Rockefeller Center. She and I love skating and I was thrilled to be out on the ice, even if I was a bit slower……and fell down at the start!

Miriam, Elvia’s sister, flew in from Houston to spend a day with us. She works for Continental airlines and had helped us in various ways during my illness, including taking care of me in her home on one occasion!

My cousin Kevin and his wife Robin and their pastor were such a blessing to us during the time we were on this healing adventure. We can laugh now about that night Kevin showed up when I was in the emergency room hanging onto life by a thread and trying to evangelize him at the same time! They took us out to a great restaurant and then we took the ferry to stay with them in Fair haven, NJ the second to last night of our visit.

God graciously allowed us to have lunch with Maria Elia. I shared a room with her Mother when I was hospitalized and you may remember the story of how God allowed me to pray with her during the final hours of her Mom’s life. What a blessing it was to get to know her a little better and to encourage her in her walk with Jesus.

There were so many more blessings, including the kind hospitality of my friend Tim and his wife Andrea and their son Matt who once again graciously allowed us to stay in their apartment in the city. Our first night back, Tim was at the hotel for a meeting so he came to see us and he was so excited to see the changes that God had wrought that he practically jumped up and down. He had definitely seen me at my worst so he rejoiced with us over this miracle of healing.

My sister Mindy’s friend Tanya and her husband sent us tickets to the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. You can imagine our surprise when the usher led us to the third row. Only in church do I ever get that close to the front! We especially enjoyed the manger scene at the end with live camels and donkeys and the singing of “Joy to the World”!

The three months spent there initially were so intense. I didn’t realize until much later that I didn’t laugh much during those days. It was so good of God to allow us to create new memories in NYC that were full of laughter and joy. People felt much freer to tell me how scary I looked now that I am through that phase of healing which made for great laughter!

I continue to be so thankful to God for this amazing miracle that all of you participated in. Thank you so much for standing in the gap for me. Please continue to pray that I will be a faithful witness to the amazing power of God available to those who Believe.

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” -Hebrews 11:6

“For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.’ ” -Romans 10:10-11

With so much love in Jesus,
Betsy

What We Are Most Thankful For

Dear Beloved in Christ,

Happy Thanksgiving! All kinds of memories come flooding back as I think of thanksgivings in the past….apple cider and pumpkin pie, my Uncle Norman’s corny jokes that he and my Dad got such a kick out of, playing touch football with my cousins, washing tons of dishes, turkey sandwiches with gobs of mayonnaise, more dishes, the smell of burning leaves, holding my grandma’s hand to pray and playing with her veins that protruded from her thin skin. I don’t remember when the tradition of sharing what we were most thankful for started……but we do that each year now here in Honduras. I wanted to share with you that for which I am most thankful…………having passed through the valley of the shadow of death, not alone, but with my dearest Friend who never ever let me down. He used His body (the Body of Christ) here on earth to show me His love in a way that I have never before experienced and He manifested His healing power which has totally stretched my faith. I am so thankful for Him and for all of you.

Next week Elvia and I are flying to New York City to visit the doctors and caretakers who were such a blessing to us. I want to witness to them of God’s amazing power. I think there is at least one doctor who will be quite amazed by the fact that I am even alive! Please pray that we will be faithful witnesses to Jesus and His miraculous ways.

On the last blog I made a boo boo in reporting the lab results. I reported the same results from the previous lab tests instead of the current one. Since that time, I had more blood work done and each time the results are better. Total bilirubin is down from 9 to 4.5 and the most recent lab results show 2.6 as the total. Normal is below 1.1 so this is exciting news. I can do more now, without getting exhausted, and I continue to sleep through the night which is a huge blessing. The whites of my eyes are actually white these days instead of that lovely shade of mustard that I had been sporting around. And the belly….well, it’s still got a bit of a bump to it but it is definitely concealable.

May the Lord bless you and yours richly as you stop to thank Him for His goodness and mercy.

In His amazing love,
Betsy

A Blessed Thanksgiving

Dear Beloved Family and Friends,

This is just a quick (ok, not really so quick) note to let you all know how God is answering your prayers!

Last week I was able to attend a half-day conference at Pastor Francis’ church. He asked me to share my testimony of God’s healing power to encourage his leaders. I had a marvelous time there receiving so much more than I gave. The Holy Spirit touched people visibly as we thanked Him for His miraculous power. This Sunday I will share again at our church during the sermon time. Please pray for God to anoint this message so that those who hear it will be encouraged to trust Jesus in times of suffering. We are praying that many will come to Christ as a result of this wonder that He has performed.

I wanted to let you know that the lab results were good. The total bilirubin is down from 20 to 9 in just one month. Normal is under 1 so there is a way to go but daily I can see that the whites of my eyes are really more white than that lovely shade of mustard that I has been present for so long.

I cannot thank God enough for hearing our prayers for rest. For the past seven nights, I have slept well and it has been such a blessing to let go of worrying about whether sleep will come or not. Thank you so so much for praying for this! Please pray for God to eradicate the all over itching and the burning and pain in my feet.

We had an amazing week out at the Villa with a small team (Terry, Bill, Kathie, and Meredith) from St. Luke’s Hilton Head Island. We laughed so much as we shared life together….truly that was medicine for all of our souls. They played with the children, planted banana trees, baked yummy things, helped prepare meals, knitted prayer shawls, but most importantly just blessed us with their love and laughter. Thank you, dear Jesus, for the body of Christ.

We will celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow out at the Villa since Hae Young is going to Korea on Monday for two months to visit family and friends and we wanted her to be a part of the celebration. We have so much to be thankful for…..in the midst of so much instability, we have a Rock to stand upon who is More than enough!

I am thankful for each of you….please know that. You came through with God’s love for me when I needed it most and I will never forget that…ever. Have a blessed Thanksgiving.

He loves you and we do too!
Betsy and the JM gang

Ariel Found ... Ariel Found

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

Answered prayer brings such joy and tonight I want to share with you the answers to the prayers of two of our little girls, Leslie (12, top) and Susana (7, bottom).

They were kneeling beside the bed and their eyes were squinted in deep concentration as they prayed. For about a month each night they had been praying a similar prayer: “Please Jesus, save and protect my brother Ariel who lives on the streets.” Both girls started life with an absentee father and a mother trapped in prostitution. As Providence would have it, both girls ended up in the Jericho Family. And last but not least, both had a brother named Ariel lost in all the ways one can be lost. As I heard them pray, I never imagined how seriously God was taking in their heartfelt prayers.

Last Saturday Elvia and Candy (a Jericho teacher) and Candy’s husband went to visit the neighborhood where we have been reaching out for the past several months. As Candy and her husband sang and shared with the women and children, Elvia became aware of a young boy (9 yrs) who had a high fever and was obviously very dehydrated. She said a quick prayer and scooped him up ignoring the visible head lice and pants covered in dirt and feces and transported him in the busito to the local teaching hospital. She knew that he was Leslie’s younger brother Ariel, because he had come to Jericho before to visit Leslie. Two days, two long nights, and many bags of IV fluid later, he was finally diagnosed as having encephalitis. God had used Elvia’s compassion and quick action to save his life.

Elvia stayed with him (Marlyn helped too) and while they were with him in the emergency room, another boy named Ariel (14 yrs) was admitted due to wounds from a drug related fight. Marlyn was the first to notice the resemblance to Susana and her brother Juan Carlos, though it wasn’t easy since he had been stabbed in the side and had sustained blows to the head that grotesquely deformed both sides of his face. Miraculously he had no broken bones and the stab wound had not touched any vital organs. Elvia related that his appearance was repulsive and while she wanted to ignore him, the Holy Spirit began to speak to her of how much He loved this lost child. She began to feel God’s divine love for him and went to speak to him of Christ’s love. As she spoke tenderly to him, he began to sob and asked Jesus to forgive him. The Holy Spirit had totally prepared his heart and he willingly asked Jesus to come into his life. Elvia discovered that his parents had “given” him to his uncle and aunt when he was quite small and so he didn’t really know his siblings. But he knew their names ... Susana, Juan Carlos, and Miguelito and that they were a part of something called Jericho Ministries. You could have knocked Elvia and Marlyn over with a feather when he shared that bit of information! What were the odds of the brothers Ariel arriving at the same hospital at the same time, both in such tremendous need? We all knew that the only explanation was God’s answer to the prayers of two little girls who at a young age are learning to believe God for the impossible. Thank you, dear Father God, for Your salvation and protection.

Susana’s brother was released from the hospital and before he left he expressed what seemed to be a sincere desire to leave the streets to go back to live with his Aunt and Uncle. Please pray for him. Leslie’s brother (above) is still in the hospital receiving treatment for his encephalitis and JM staff members are taking turns staying with him. We are praying now about his mother’s request for us to have him live at the Villa.

Again I want to thank you for praying for me during this time of waiting upon the Lord for full restoration. I had blood drawn early this morning to check the liver enzymes so I will write soon to let you know those results. I can’t sleep much at night so often I try to work when everyone else is fast asleep. We are seeing God move in a major way out at the Villa, so I’ll share that report in the next blog along with the lab results.

With love and thanksgiving for each of your lives,
Betsy

Our Heritage

Dear Partners in Prayer,

So many people have asked about the children so I wanted to spend a little space on them. It will probably remind you of those Christmas letters we all write and send to each other about our children!

Noé: He (left, in photo above) turned 17 in August and his main passion in life is praise music; whether it’s playing it on his acoustic guitar, listening to it on his iPod or belting it out in the car, he is perpetually singing God’s praises. I don’t know if his sweet nature is a direct result of this time invested in praising Jesus, but I thank God for Noe’s even disposition and steadiness. He’s been a great help to me in this time of recuperation. He assists with cooking (you have to try his amazing omelets), laundry, and keeping the younger ones in order. Who would have ever thought that this little munchkin (photo at left) would turn out to be such a psalmist for the Lord!

Juan Carlos (a.k.a. Juanca): Now officially a teenager (13 yrs) Juanca has sprouted up so fast that I can barely keep him in shoes and clothes. His favorite thing is to hang out with Noé and so (not surprisingly) he too has a penchant for playing God’s praises. Juanca’s sudden growth has caused a gawky gangliness that tends to make him a bit clumsy. I have tried to reassure him (and myself at the same time) that once the rest of his body catches up with his arms, he should be OK. During his September break, Juanca, Noé, and their friend Eduardo went to the Villa and spent several days chopping grass with a machete and moving earth from one place to another. I was blessed by Juanca’s diligence. (In picture at top, from left are Noé, Juanca, Kevin, and Eduardo with Korean team member Gee who donated a bass guitar this summer to the Jericho band.)

Susana banana: Susana is 7yrs old and she is my little shadow (on the right). She is at that stage of life where she thinks her Mom can do no wrong so I try to take advantage of that to teach her as much about Jesus’ love as possible. She reads to me every night from her Bible Story book which is in English. Do not ask me how she does that…..I do not know. Somehow she innately knows how to pronounce the words even though she hasn’t been taught to read in English. It’s definitely a gift. She has a strong character and loves to tell others what to do (smile!) so we are working on that little issue with her. She’s definitely got leadership in her future. She says she wants to be a missionary doctor when she grows up!

Miguelito: The Mig (above, left) turned 6 this week and he is a very funny child and makes us laugh often. Because of emotional wounding as a toddler, he has a hard time communicating but he doesn’t let that steal his joy. The doctor has assured us that he should outgrow his communication difficulties so in the meantime we enjoy the new words he makes up. This year he moved out to the Villa with Hae Young since she is his Uhm-ma (Korean for Mom). We miss Mig and Hae Young but they come back on the weekendswith Leslie, Vanessa, and Genesis, the three young girls she is caring for at the rehab center. We’re 10 on the weekends, filling up the dining room table not to mention the whole house, which is how I like it best. (See last photo of Genesis, Vanessa, and Leslie playing “red light, green light” with me.)

Marlyn: ( better known to us as Marlynchka or just Lynchka) Marlyn is finishing her last year of University and will graduate with a teaching degree in July 2009. She is specializing in TESOL: Teaching English as a Second Language. A gifted teacher, Marlyn spends her days at Jericho House where she is part of the teaching staff. In the afternoons she goes off to college and then at night she studies and helps take care of the family, including her recuperating Mama Bets. Marlyn is still praying about going to India after she graduates to share the love of Jesus. Once I read that we should send our very best to the mission field. That’s what we will be doing when Lynchka goes.

Maricela (18yrs) and Lety (13yrs): Unfortunately I don’t have any recent photos of Mari and Lety but missionary Suzy McCall (whom they live with) assures me that after some troubled waters, they are both now doing well. Lety (my fellow lover of ballet) came and spent some time with me when I returned from New York. She is a great little nurse. She was on summer break but is now back at International School where she is completing 6th grade. Mari is the receptionist at LAMB Institute ( a missionary training school that Suzy founded) and she is finishing High School with a bilingual online program in the evenings. Both girls are just a joy to be with!

I’m doing a Beth Moore study this month called “Stepping Up” and it has been such a balm to my soul. It’s a study of the Psalms of Ascent and this week’s Psalm was 127. Verse three states,” Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord, children a reward.” Whether spiritual, adopted, or biological, children are certainly a wonderful reward! I praise God that while I was away from home receiving medical treatment, He took amazing care of my children through the Body of Christ. Your prayers for them made a huge difference!

Thank you so much for praying for me and for mine.

With love in Jesus,
Betsy

Palabras

Dear beloved friends,

It’s been a wild week, full of surprises and blessings so I wanted to share them with you!

On Monday of this week Elvia came early in the morning with small vials from the lab and drew blood so that we could find out how the liver enzymes were as well as the complete blood count. She returned late in the afternoon with the amazing news that the bilirubin level had dropped from 20 to 9 in just three weeks. The normal is < 1 but this is definitely a sign that things are headed in the right direction. I was also quite excited because the protein and albumin levels were totally normal which means that the danger of water seeping into the tissues (edema) is no longer an issue which translates into I can more or less dispense with the low salt diet! I ate rice and beans and tortilla chips to celebrate!

Speaking of celebrating, Tuesday was my 51st Birthday and God just spoiled me all day long. The staff had a luncheon for me that a friend of mine named Ellie cooked and the low salt dishes and cake she made were amazing. She explained that God had given her the recipes because she had never made low salt meals before and so she asked God to help her! I teased her about making a book entitled “Recipes from Heaven”! Members of the staff showered me with some of my favorite things: a bar of dark chocolate with almonds, a magazine called Casa y Campo from Spain, a white blouse, practical undergarments to fit my ever decreasing middle, bright cut flowers (Gerbera Daisies), homemade cards and then they shared Palabras (encouraging words). That was the best part because as each person spoke, it became clear that there was an overwhelming theme…..we were all just grateful that God had allowed me to live to see 51 and beyond. They all shared how Jesus had used this health adventure to change their initial unbelief and shock into a strong conviction that God would do what He had promised: heal me completely. We all concurred that this was preparation for all of us for the next phase of the ministry. By the time everyone had shared we were singing praise songs to thank God for His amazing grace!

In the evening, we had more cake at church after the Tuesday service and some of the church members prayed over me confirming once again what God had already been writing on my heart; that the fire I had gone through had brought me to a new level of faith that God would use to heal others.

And Wednesday, well Wednesday brought some amazing gifts as well. Elvia, Hae Young and I had been praying about trying to get custody of Indira’s older two girls (Ana 13 yrs and Lisle 11 yrs pictured on either side of their brother) because Indira once again was struggling with drugs and alcohol which caused her to be abusive to her daughters. Indira’s husband wanted us to take the girls because he knew he could not work and protect them at the same time. It was decided that one of the grandmother’s would take their two boys if we could take the girls. God opened all the doors when Elvia took the girls to testify. The judge gave complete custody of Ana and Lisle to me and the ministry. They will live with Elvia’s family during the week and then with our family on the weekends. It seems that God is having us focus on the next generation to help them have a future in Jesus.

Hee ju Lee, one of our Korean Food for the Hungry volunteers is returning to Korea tomorrow as her two year commitment is now finished. Hee ju is a gem and we will miss her dearly. Her quiet and gentle ways were a nice complement to some of the more boisterous members of our staff. She worked with the High School Students and managed our web page until there was a desperate need for staff at the Villa. She rose to the occasion and even ran the program out there at times when Hae Young was with me in New York. She loved working in the garden and seeing things grow. I have a picture of her written in my memory bank of her squatting down to remove weeds from around the vegetables, wearing her wide brimmed hat and a colorful apron. Above, we are pictured at Heeju’s leave taking.

Friday was tranquil day at the office. I spent the afternoon putting the finishing touches on the 2009 calendar and contacting the printer to make sure they could have it ready by mid-November so that we can send them Northward. Hee ju tinted the photos and the rest I did in the wee hours of the morning when I could not sleep.

Thank you for being on this journey with us through prayer. We continue to praise God for His amazing handiwork in our lives and in yours! Next blog will be an update on the children.

Love to you all in Jesus,
Betsy

Walking by Faith in His Healing

We had our big celebration at church to thank God for His healing touch. It was an amazing service. People who had been praying and believing God for a miracle all gathered for a night of praising and testimony. The banners were flung out, the children were all decked out in their best uniforms, and the Jericho staff wore matching outfits. Even the musicians were dressed alike. We belted out praise songs and danced (OK for me it was more like swaying) and celebrated God’s Faithfulness. I’m sure is seemed a bit odd to some of the folks when I got up to give thanks for God’s complete healing when I still looked about seven months pregnant! But our Pastor had paved the way by emphasizing that we walk by faith, not by sight. When God has spoken into a given situation, you can risk being thought foolish simply because you know God is going to come through. You may not know how or when, but there is an assurance that He will keep His Word. Noah, for example, took God at His word and built the ark even though there were no rain clouds in sight for weeks. So you can imagine the joy when (starting just two weeks ago) there was a noticeable change in the size of my abdomen. The bulge is now ½ the size it was before and continues to get smaller, thanks be to God on High!

Another area of evident change is my appetite. While in New York City, I could barely eat. Mealtime was torture as nothing tasted good to me and the food didn’t seem to fit well in my compressed stomach. Since being in Honduras, all that has changed. My appetite is huge now and Norma has made it her mission to make delicious low salt dishes for me daily. So while my abdomen decreases in size, my arms and legs are filling out so I’m starting to look less like a killdeer in a watermelon rind (translation: a big belly with spindly legs).

My main activity at this time (besides recuperation) has been to pray for the different aspects of the ministry, especially as challenges arise. The staff keeps me informed of what is going on and I have been so touched to see how Jesus has equipped the entire staff to step out in areas of gifting that they previously did not walk in. The outreaches to those trapped in prostitution continue but instead of going at night, we have been sharing the love of God in a barrio that is known for the prostitution that goes on there. The three Korean teams that came in August helped greatly in this as they did a medical brigade, Vacation Bible Schools, and a Beauty Day (facials, hair cuts, and makeovers) to bless the women and children.

From the minute I hit Honduran soil, everything in me wanted to go out to the Villa to see the progress of the work there and experience the anointing and peace of that place. The climb up the rocky road leading to the Villa loomed large and seemed unattainable at first. I began “training” with Elvia and/or my kids by walking the steepest areas of our neighborhood everyday.

Two weeks ago I walked up the mountain with Hae Young without any problems! We sat on the balcony and took in the sounds of the pines rustling and breathed in the peace and quiet of that beautiful place. The women’s homes are so close to being done and there are just a few glitches to work out at the rehab center at the Villa. Soon it will be filled with those so in need of freedom and forgiveness.

It has not been easy, this waiting upon Jesus to manifest His complete healing, but the verse that has encouraged my heart is found in Hebrews 10:35.

“Do not throw away your confident trust in the Lord. Remember the rewards it with bring you. Patient endurance is what you need now so that you can continue to do the will of God. Then you will receive all that God has promised.” (NLT)

Thank you all for your praying even when you didn’t exactly know what was going on. I am so blessed to belong to the family of God and to receive His grace and mercy and healing which is a direct result of your prayers. I pray Jesus will continue to reveal Himself to each of us as we seek His face.

With so much love in Jesus,
Betsy