One thing I brought back

No, this post is not about the illness I brought back with me. I'll spare you those details! :)


I always knew our trip to Iraq would be a positive experience for me. We went to visit our best friends in the whole world-- how could it not be great? And we went with a great group of people from our home church that we were going to get to share this opportunity with. I knew we would all grow closer together during this time. And boy was it great! So great, I wasn't ready to leave on Sunday morning.

But there were some things I didn't anticipate bringing back with me.

In the past, when I would read the PLC blog about kids they were sending or kids who had been to surgery, I would quickly send up a short prayer or praise and go on with my day. But since our trip, on which I got to meet, face-to-face, many of these sweet, precious children and young adults, my outlook, connection, and prayers have changed.

I am connected to the children and their families and to PLC. I have a connection there now that I could have never gained without GOING THERE.

With this new set of four kids going to surgery in Turkey, I have almost obsessively checked the PLC blog and each child's individual twitter feed to find out updates. I have spent more than a minute praying for the children and their families. I have had my stomach turned upside-down and felt tears roll down my cheeks asking the LORD to heal them and bring their families into knowledge and belief of the Truth of Jesus Christ, so that they may have eternal hope.

I know this is the reason JR and I were able to go on this trip. I was not ready to come home, and I will certainly jump at the chance to go again-- to be with my best friends in a place where I have seen God perform miracles and know He will continue to do so.

Thank you Lord for making this connection in my heart.

Baby Daryan

On Monday afternoon, Leigh, Jess, Awara (Kurdish translator/all around great guy, employed by PLC), and I went to a very small house across town. When we walked in, there was a TINY baby in a bouncy seat in the corner. Jess told us on our way over there that he was small for 3 months, but I couldn't believe he was that old when we saw him!

The visit started off with a conversation about passports, because Daryan and his mom are supposed to be going with the next group for surgery to Turkey. The pediatric cardiologist here said his heart condition is the worst he has ever seen. A few minutes into the visit, I noticed that his feet were kind of blue.

Soon it was time for Daryan to eat. We watched his mom feed him with hardly any success. Then his grandmother tried. Not much luck. He cried and cried and cried and had formula all over his face. To make a long story short, Leigh came to the rescue :) She figured out that the nipple on the bottle was too long for his small mouth so he was having a hard time swallowing. She asked if she could try. She got him to eat a little more and then we told his mom that we wanted to buy a different bottle for him that would help him eat better.

That night we went back to their house with a new bottle from the bazaar. I can't explain how amazing it was to watch this little bitty baby eat better than he has eaten in his whole life. It was amazing. And it was all because of a different bottle.

And then I got to hold the baby :)