mkmorts

Cambodia - it's not over until it's over

2011-04-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

I thought today was going to be a day to unwind but apparently His work is never done. :) Ministry is still happening within the team, healing is still happening for those around us. This is a special place, a land of healing. It's like with all the pain that the Cambodian's have experienced with the genocide God has decided to land here with his healing presence. It's a very special place.

Today we hit the market and did a little shopping. I have a few souvineers to bring home as a huge thank for those that contrubited to my trip. You can't even imagine what you have participated in. Your contribution to my trip was life changing for many. So rest assured you have stored up yourselves treasures in heaven.

At the market we ran into an addict from Austrailia. He was a very convincing liar. Made sure to find out first we were not from Austrailia and then proceeded to tell us how he had lost his passport, been to the embassy which was closed since it was a holiday in Austrailia and thank God he had run into us because he only spoke English and needed money. His eyes were pinned, his teeth rotted from drugs. Pretty obvious he needed drug money.

A beggar with a small child, missing a hand. I hate to believe it, but the question had to be asked in a place like this, was that child missing his hand at birth or was that child maimed so the beggar could make a living.

We went to a medical hospital today. It was another heart wrenching experience. The conditions horrific. The patients beyond words. Sorrow is the only appropriate response. One man hit by a car and dragged behind it. The result, most of his skin on the front side gone, and literally his privates ripped apart. His wife lifted up his robe to show us, I don't think he appreciated it. One man waiting to have his broken leg set, it was compound fracture. 3 men who were burn victims, one wrapped from head to two and two eyes I will never forget hopelessly peering out, the only thing I could see of him. Unspeakable. Aids patients, ICU patients, just out of surgery patients. We were shielded from nothing. We are so fortunate to have what we have. We are so selfish to not help in whatever way God calls us to help. The hospital was unairconditioned and mostly outdoors. The patients had cots with thin matresses. The only real medical equipment I saw was outdated at best. The place was a pit. And people come and literally move in, bringing their own cooking supplies and belongings. One man, a neurology patient, head wrapped, reached out and asked us to come closer. So I stopped, gently laid my hand on his head and prayed over him. I hope God answers my prayer. How can you walk away unchanged by that experience. I don't know. The only appropriate response is to have a good cry and allow the Holy Spirit to comfort you.

And not that i am trying to depress you, but I guess it is only a way to process...I forgot to tell you about the sweetest girl at the women's center. I only heard her story after we left. She is nearly blind and has a hearing aid but almost deaf. Why? She was born normal. But one night she was raped and the man then threw her off the balcony, only to go down, collect her and do it all over again. It left her damaged. When we first arrived she was a bit skiddish around us. By the time we left I could'hardly pry her off of me. What joy, what joy is this to love a woman so abused. To remind her that she is loved and to receive more from her than you could ever give back. Because everyone here has a strength in which they carry themselves, a grace that is unexplainable. At least the ones that know Jesus. The others are weighted down. It's a stark contrast.

After the hospital we walked down to the river and had dinner at a Spanish restaurant. Tapas! The river is where 4 rivers meet, there is a temple set up and people were burning incense and worshipping idols. As I walked into the area, I felt the spiritual stronghold, like a weight of bricks landed on me. I have never felt anything like it before. So I just prayed and praised until the weight lifted and then there was peace. And a vision of his people standing in that very place, worshipping Him.

Tomorrow I board a plane and come home, but I will never be the same. It's like i have been in a dream and I am waking up. Everything around me will be the same, work, house, kids, but I am not the same. And I don't want to be. But I do want my husband and kids! So here I come!!!

Cambodia - can't keep track of the days anymore

2011-04-10T05:14:00.000-07:00

The youth camp ended up as expected being a powerful time for the kids. Many gave their hearts to Jesus and you could just watch the healing take place. Not only did the kids receive healing but God has really met me hear too. Physically I have hardly even thought about my back, but more than that, I have this deep peace, a knowing that God has healed and changed me in a way that has no words to describe. There was a pastor here from Hawaii, a mentor of Pastor Charlie's and another women from his church. They have a prophetic prayer ministry and spent some time praying over me. It was really a thing only God can do. I have had some dreams, I have heard God's voice on some things in my life and as they prayed over me the things God had already told me, they prayed for me. I didn't tell them a thing and God spoke to me clearly thru them bringing healing, understanding, and wholeness. If you have ever experienced God in this way, you know, you know that no words can ever express, do justice the way God touched a my heart. And not only that, but I experienced his gifts in my life in a supernatural way as he has answered my prayers and birthed a new ministry in my life of bringing healing to others.

You know i am not much for dancing...I guess the Cambodians have brought it out in me...they sure know how to party. :) That's been one of my favorite parts of this trip...I think I got my groove on. Robin, that's for you...I thought you'd want to know. :)

This morning we had a baptism service. We took the entire camp to the beach and all the staff (probably 15 of us) lined up in the water and baptised person after person. It was really something to be a part of. To think all these young people commissioned to go back into their homes, changed forever.

What a journey. I love this place. It's fantastic...but I don't have time or words to write the rest now. We just got to the hotel and a line is forming for the computer...so I will try to sneak on a bit later and get you all updated on the many stories later tonight.

I am sooooooo homesick for my kids. I love you Mike, Jake, Ben and Josh. Can't wait to be home to hug and hold you all.

Cambodia - Day 6 and 7 - Youth Camp

2011-04-08T07:22:00.000-07:00

I missed a day of writing but that's ok as we simply traveled from one city to the next for our next project. The only interesting thing of the day was a stop for lunch where for some reason someone ordered the "bug soup". It was the nastiest looking stuff. Literally had ants and winged mango flies in it. About the size of a small bee. Reports from those brave enough to try it said "Uh, it's an acquired taste." Translation, gross. Someone said it actually tasted like urine. I felt no need to try it.

We are at the beach in Sihanoukville in a hotel with 250 youth that have traveled from all over the country to come participate in the youth camp. It was a crazy, hot, long day yesterday as we traveled and then checked in all the kids. It was chaotic to say the least and our team was a bit on edge last night and this morning. When we got here, the hotel left a little to be desired, some of the rooms not being adequate for sleeping in (at least to our standards). And on top of that, Setan got a call that an extra couple hundred kids were coming on the bus hoping to be able to stay at the camp even though they had not paid or registered. We would need to weed thru and only let the ones registered into the camp. There was sure to be heart braking tears as we turned away kids that shouldn't be there. Each kid had to bring a preregistration paper with a picture of themselves. Everyone that came had to pay $20. That's a lot of money for them. Anyway, as people arrived we had two lines of defense with registration. The Cambodian leaders had to ensure each child had actually registered and take their payment and then we had to get them room assignments and colored bands for teams/games later.

It's not quite like in the states, kids don't really know how to make a line and stay in line and we can't talk to them without a translator and well, you know it worked itself out. But after the first round of kids was checked in we had a little chapel time and made smores (that was interesting to explain to the kids who had never seen marshmallows). Then we got report that 2 of the buses coming had broken down and the kids were stranded. So later that night another hundred or so kids arrived. I got a bit of heat exhaustion and had to go to bed early so left the hard work to the others and passed out in my room. I think I was still processing the stories of the ladies at the women's center. I was lightheaded and nauseated. Nothing a good night's rest didn't fix. But there was also a bit of a spiritual oppression felt by everyone (whether they realized it or not) to kick off the camp so this morning I really had to pray. And God's mercies are new every morning so we cleared the pathway for a great day today.

Randa got pretty seriously sick last night as well. Fortunately we had a nurse on the team that recognized what was wrong with her and was able to get the right medications. God took care of all the details. She has been resting all day and hopefully will be up and around tomorrow a little bit.

Events of the day...chapels, games, small groups, swimming, more swimming at the beach, more chapel time, more small groups, more games. The kids looked exhausted, I am exhausted. So until tomorrow...more of the same.

Cambodia Day 5

2011-04-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

I'm sleeping with the little lizards in my hotel room tonight. This morning when I woke up I heard some chirping in my room. I thought maybe it was birds outside but as I opened my eyes and gained awareness I realize the sound was not coming from outside. I looked up and just above my head there hangs a picture. Behind the picture hanging over my head lives a family of lizards. There are two of them. They are scampering about my walls and chirping. I couldn't go back to sleep. Well, tonight they are still here so I went down to the lobby and told the man working that "I have lizards in my room. Two of them". He said "the lights don't work?" because I was pointing to the wall, where a lizard was sitting next to the light. I said "no, there is a lizard in my room. Two of them". He said, "oh, this is good." Me, "huh?" Him, "Yes, this is good they eat bugs for you." Me, "Oh." And then it dawned on me, he is not going to do anything about this. He is assuring me it is good to have lizards in my room with me so I am bug free. So, tonight I am again sleeping with the lizards. However, last night I did not know it and tonight I do. So I took the picture off my wall above my head and they scampered away and have settled behind the big curtain on the other side of my room. I feel better about them not being above my head while I am sleeping but I am pretty sure I will purposely toss and turn to keep them from climbing on me while I sleep and their chirping will be an assuring sound as long as it is across the room from me, and not too close.

Another good day at the women's center. We didn't go until after breakfast today so we slept in a little bit (I was still up at 6am). When we arrived everyone was waiting for us to do some teaching. We continued reading the story of Joseph and talked more about what we can learn about God and about his life from his story. The girls are all eager to learn. Today we asked how many of them have asked Jesus into their lives. Everytime I ask if they want to pray for something they all raise their hands. So when Randa asked this, they all raised their hands. And I am pretty sure they all have. If we can work it out, I would like to stay the rest of the week here and teach them more. They all need a little more spiritual food. Basics like how to study the bible, how to listen to God, things like that. Many cannot read though, so I want to stay and teach them more about how to read and study the bible together. Randa would like to stay with me to interpret but she is not sure she can because the camp we are running next week, Setan has said he needs her there to help interpret. So if we can find an interpretor I will probably stay the week here and keep teaching and just fit into the girls normal schedule. I think that would be great. If not, tomorrow we will leave.

Randa paid me a huge compliment today. When we were talking about staying or going she said she wanted me to teach at the youth conference to. And I said that Monte was in charge of it so I wasn't sure that I would. She said but I really like your teaching, I want you to teach and I interpret for you. What could I say but Thank You. But I was very humbled by it. I love to teach, there is nothing more I love to do then teach new believers. I thank God for the words he has given me to share this week.

We found out another woman's story today. Well, to call her a woman is probably a bit premature. She is young, a young teenager. She came to the women's center not to long ago. She was sold by her family and was raped and ended up pregnant. She ran away and Randa is not sure where her baby was born but she eneded up back with her grandmother. Her grandmother, I believe it was, took her baby and tried to sell the baby, but she chased after the baby and was able to get her back. Then she had no where to go. And someone told her about the "Jesus Place" That is what the people here call the women's center. So someone gave her a ride to the women's center and dropped her and the baby off. The staff found her outside crying and holding her little Anna. They called Randa right away and asked if they could bring her into the home. Randa agreed she should stay there so she is now here. Her little girl is 1 year now. Such a sweet mom and child. I have a picture of her so when I get home I will add pictures to my blog.

We played some fun games, laughed with the girls, made more jewelry, Karen shared her testimony (powerful), and we made evangelism bracelets. We also ate lunch with the girls today. We bought some fruit from the market. They have this fruit I have never seen before, in English Randa said they call them druken eyeballs. Because they look very much like eyeballs!!! They have a brown skin around them and a black round seed in the middle much like a pupil of an eye. The flesh is a clear jelly like substance that is sweet. So you pull off the brown skin and you have this clear jelly, like the white of your eye with black seed inside. Looks just like an eyeball. I told the girls thru gestures that I thought these looked like eyeballs and that gave them all a very good laugh. I guess they never thought of it but we really had a great chuckle over it. I tried to get them to take a picture of me with one over each eye but they didn't get it so it's just me holding them up to the eyes and them all giving bewildered looks or thumbs up. Ha, ha.

Tomorrow if we have time, I will wash the girls feet before we leave. If I get to stay I will probably save it until the day I leave. Although it is nice to have some help with that while Beth and Karen are here! There are 32 people here total. This idea kept coming to mind over and over again so I have concluded that the Holy Spirit wants me to do it. Or if nothing else the Holy Spirit wanted me to be reminded that the messenger is not more important than the students. And it is true, these women have such courage, such faith, such tenacity. I can't even imagine having survived what these women have been thru.

I am not used to the way of showing respect around here. Today there was a girl swinging on a wooden swing they have here. I pointed, asking if I could sit by her. Of course she said yes so I plopped down and started swinging us again. Then she discretely got up and moved to another place. I said to Randa, there was a girl sitting her, and now she is gone. Randa told me this is how they show me respect. That I am a teacher and to honor me they gave me a place to sit on my own. Well, I just wanted to sit next to the girl. So now I am a little conscience that if I sit next to someone I am displacing them. So I am trying not to sit down next to people so they don't have to leave! To funny. I want to sit together and they want to respect me. But nevertheless I felt honored, as was intended.

I am missing my husband and boys. :(

We have been eating at the restaurant at the hotel. There is a nice young man who is waiting on us. I keep tipping him, which is not customary here. But I just wanted to bless him. Today he commented that we are so happy and friendly so we took opportunity to tell him a bit about Jesus. But he didn't understand English well enough for us to get the point across, so instead we gave him one of the evangelism bracelets. We had sheets with the verses and meaning of the bracelet which were translated into Khmer. We told him we would be back for breakfast one last time and he can read it and tomorrow if he has questions he can ask us. So I am praying for him tonight. He says his sister is a Christian and teaches at a school but he works and goes to school and does not have time to go to church. And he says (and Randa said this as well) the bible translated into Khmer is not easy to understand. There are not all the helps and aids that we have to understand the bible. But he at least told us he wants to know more about Jesus, who he said was a great man. I told him, not just a great man, but God. He said no, if he thinks of him as God he doesn't feel like he can relate because he is too high of position, so he likes to think of Jesus as the man. I thought that was an interesting viewpoint. Cambodia has great respect for authority as they are a nation with a kingdom and with a pecking order for sure. Anyway, maybe tomorrow he will want to know more. You can join me in praying for him.

Last thing, Randa came today and asked us to pray for the "Joy Daycare", the place we visited the first day where they bring the children who live at the dump to teach. Recently they moved locations because the house they were renting was too expensive and they had to find a new place they could afford. Well, they didn't inform the government officials they were moving, which they usually would do. So apparently that is a problem. Usually Randa always gets permissions before doing something like this but they had to be out of the old place so quickly this step was missed in the process. Today the police came to the daycare and were investigating or something. Randa is worried they will make them shut down the center. This is a serious possiblity. I can't imagine living in fear of the government being free to do what they please. So we prayed for that and for the staff to have wisdom. Randa was very upset, wondering what would they do with all these children if that happens. So please join us in praying they will find favor with the government. Normally they have very good relations so I prayed those good relations would now be fruitful in preventing any adverse action.

Well, the lizards and I need to get to sleep so enough for today. I will update you again tomorrow if I can.

Cambodia Day 4

2011-04-04T06:51:00.000-07:00

I am laying alone in my hotel room all to myself enjoying a little down time tonight. It was a long day! Things start bright and early around here. We were up by 5:30 am so that I could teach the devotional time at 6am. I am teaching on the story of Joseph so before I began I asked if any of the girls had heard the story before. I was shocked to learn that not one of them had ever heard the story. Oh Lord, I now why you needed to send us here! Seriously, these girls have never heard anything from the Bible. About half of them do not read or write so they cannot learn it on their own. By the time the leave the center they will learn, hopefully. But the girls just teach eachother, it's not like there is a teacher coming in to teach them all the time. How I would love to come and teach them the bible for a few months!

I thought after that I would take a shower, but no, as we walked back from the women's devotional time the staff was meeting and Randa said, "you want to speak to them too?" So I did. And then the day just got away from us!

Food is a little scarce around here. I didn't want to pack any extras in my suitcase so I only have a couple Lara bars to hold me over. This morning, Randa kept saying she didn't know anywhere safe to have us eat. I thought we would be eating with the girls everyday but she doesn't want us to eat the food they prepare in case it might make us sick. But she didn't tell us this before we left so we didn't bring any groceries to make our own stuff. And they don't have enough to cook for us anyway! So by 8:30am we had been up for 3 hours and still had not eaten!!! Time to head to the market to get something to eat. The market was a memory never to be forgotten!!!

Rows and rows of vendors lined up like a maze. We decided while buying for ourselves we would also buy food for ladies at the women's center. They eat fish and rice pretty much everyday. Fruits and veggies are scarce, they only eat them occassionally. So we asked Randa and she said we should get them asian pears and apples because they don't ever eat those. They have so much good produce! I would have taken them the wonderfully fresh mangos but I guess they eat those all the time because Randa planted a mango tree at the center. Anyway, we also got each woman a chicken thigh to eat. So we had to buy 32 chicken thighs to have enough for the staff and all. There are more than 15 women here now, a few children and a couple boys that Randa had no where else to house them and her big heart would not let her turn them away. So all in all there are 32 here. Well, getting chicken here in Cambodia is not like getting it in the state. You see, they slaughter the chicken in the morning. It's FRESH! So as we made our way deeper into the market the produce changed to the meat section. Whew, the smell! And the flies, the heat, and raw meat hanging everywhere, lined up in baskets. Talk about unsanitary!!! Women sitting with a piece of wood and a big butcher knife. Dead, plucked chickens with head, feet and all laying on the tables. When we asked for chicken thighs they grabbed the dead chickens laying on the table, laid them on the wooden blocks, whacked thru the bones and all and stuck them in a plastic bag to take home. No washing hands, no refrigeration, nothing. Just salmonella waiting to happen!!! No wonder we can't eat the local food unless it is cooked. And if the chicken wasn't bad enough you turn around and there is big chunks of red meat hanging from strings everywhere, fish with head, tail and all salted and dried so it lasts longer strewn across tables and so much more. Really, I can't wait to show you pictures. I am so happy to have had the experience but it was an experience for sure!!!

We also bought carrots, cucumbers, mangos, watermelon, and fresh baked bread. Some for us and some for the women. Randa bought us some treats from vendors she knew were safe. A banana inside sticky sweet rice all wrapped into a leaf of some sort, and some cooked bananas that were very interesting. We also stopped to get iced coffees. Yes, we can have iced lattes here but have to remember to ask for good ice.

After the market we came back and began teaching the women how to make jewelry. They were really into it and had a wonderful time. They caught on very quickly and made some amazingly creative and beautiful necklaces and bracelets. But the supplies we brought are going to run out quickly so we tried to talk to the women about becoming business women, that they can go to the market and sell their jewelry so they can make money and buy more supplies. In this way, they can have a way to make some income. While Beth and Karen taught jewelry, I helped the ladies in the kitchen. The kitchen is outdoors under a canopy of sorts. It's a great big kitchen, I actually would love to have their set up. I sat on the ground and chopped green beans, cut on the bias as they did it. I wasn't as good and fast as their method but got the job done, nevertheless. Then we cut all the apples and asian pears and put them on platters for the girls to enjoy. All the while, I taught them the english words for things. So the cook had a journal and I wrote the English words in them and she wrote the Khmer equivalent. I attempted to also learn a few of their words but for every one of our syllables it seems there are 3-5 in their language and honestly I can't understand the sounds very well. I keep wanting to speak Spanish to the girls. I find myself saying something in Spanish every once in a while.

After lunch we put together gift bags and had another teaching session. Beth gave her powerful testimony which led to us following up with sharing a bit about the need to forgive. I asked the girls if there was someone on their life they needed and wanted to forgive and every hand shot up. So we prayed. It's amazing how open and eager they are to do what is right. You can see in their faces they are listening intently and they just need to be taught what to do and they will do it. I was so impressed. Then we had the girls play a game where we drew numbers. Each number had a question they had to answer and we got to know some of their stories. We asked very personal questions and I was so pleased they were open to answering them. Questions like tell us how you came to be here, what was your family like before you came here, what do you want God to do in your life, when was a time you were afraid or when was a time you were happy. It was sweet to get to know them more and after they answered we gave them a gift. Also, as they answered questions I got to encourage them and pray over them as appropriate.

There is one woman here that Randa told us more about and I am so amazed. She is the life of the party, a strong woman with a lot of personality. It is clear that she is a leader. But she has been in the home multiple times, each time she leaves she has fallen prey once again to being manipulated back into prostitution. Ronda told us that last time she left she was working and some people convinced her to move with them to somewhere else for a job that would make more money. She believed them and they ended up kidnapping her and she was not able to get free for 3 years. Because she had become a Christian she refused to sleep with men. So they beat her. Her body is scarred from it. This is the woman I told you that learned massage. Because she refused to sleep with the men, even after beatings they taught her to massage instead. Eventually she got free again, I am not sure how and she is back in the center. She has begged Randa to let her stay and Randa said if someone can sponsor her at $40/month then she could employ her at the women's center and keep her around so she does not fall prey again to the same things. When she answered her question "what do you want to do when you leave this place" she said only to have a trade that she can do to keep her from falling back into her old life. Big sigh, our lives are so blessed. You can't even imagine the tragedy these people live with every day. Every one of them have had incredible pain and yet they are so joyful, so beautiful.

One thing I have enjoyed so much is hearing Randa's story. Her and Setan have an amazing, amazing testimony. Randa survived the killing fields, not many people did. She hasn't told us any details about that, mostly talks about after she survived. She said it is still to painful to talk of and so her and Setan wrote a book and they pretty much just ask you to read the book if you want to know more. I can't wait to read it. Even after the war was over, when they came back to Cambodia they were imprisoned and accused of being CIA spies from the US. Randa laughed and told them no, CIA stands for Christians in Action and that yes, they were CIA's, but not spies. Her spunk and lack of fear is incredible. I guess when you have looked death in the face as they both have it takes away the sting. Her faith is so simple and childlike, yet so strong and unshakeable. She is truly and amazing servant, gentle, humble, and with compassion the likes of which I have never seen before. Words can't describe the richness she has taught me about life in 2 short days. Anyway, she was sharing how the whole situation has opened up the gospel in Cambodia. Before Pol Pot took power, evangelism was not allowed at all. Thru the genocide, only 300 Christians survived in the entire nation. But now, God has granted Setan and Randa good relations with the King, and government officials and they have given them their blessing for them to evangelize. They have actually not allowed it for many other organizations, but Transformasia they do allow. They do because they see that they are helping people and having such a huge impact for the good. So out of the death and tragedy of so many people, it is like God used this to propel his message forward and multiply the harvest. It is amazing how God can take the worst of life and use it for His good. If you want to read their book, you can get it on Amazon. Setan gave our team an electronic copy but I found it just by searching for Setan Lee on Amazon. The book is called "Miracles in the Forgotten Land and Beyond", I would highly suggest it.

After all that, we came back to sleep at our hotel. We had dinner at the hotel. Phad Thai, fried rice and cashew chicken, the real deal...very yummy! Beth, Karen and I got to visit and debrief about our experience so far. Both of them are great additions to the team. Karen laughs easy, loves kids and is so much fun. Same with Beth. They balance out my over serious nature which is nice. It's been easy to have a good time with them.

Well, I better get to bed because I know the day will start over again very early!!! I will let you know tomorrow what adventure awaits us next.

Cambodia Day 3- Women's Center

2011-04-03T06:04:00.000-07:00

Good fortune, I have internet while here at the women's center. Ronda is with us and she brought her computer complete with a wireless card. Yeah for modern technology!

We got up this morning and the rest of the team left the hotel on a 5 hour trek to their destinations. But I stayed with Ronda, Setan's wife, and Beth and Karen. We atteneded the transformasia church this morning. It was a great service. Then off on our adventure to the women's center.

It was an hour drive so we took our time and Ronda talked and showed us the sites along the way. The countryside is beautiful in its own way and I am happy to be out of the big city. We were in Phnom Penh and now are in Kampong Chanang which means pots by the water.

It was a nice drive and we took our time. We stopped at a 40 acre plot of land which Ronda and Setan bought 8 years ago with dreams to put a medical hospital and university on. There are some locals living and taking care of the land. They have planted a crop of cashew trees. When we arrived, the parents were no where to be found but their two kids were in the hut alone. So strange to me. We walked out to the middle of the property (ok, so maybe not the middle, it is hot) and prayed over the land. It was a great feeling to be part of something bigger than yourself. To know that every prayer offered up brings the land closer to having the dream fulfilled.

Along the way we got brave and stopped at two places to eat. One we bought fresh corn on the cob. 10 ears for $1.50. Then we found some fried sweet potatoes and bananas and bought some to try. Yummy. Since these are all cooked food and places Ronda said were ok to eat we went ahead and indulged. Plus we had so much good fresh fruit today. Mangoes, asian pears, and some new fruits I have never seen or heard of before. All good stuff.

We had a little extra time so got to see the market, just drove thru. Ronda took us to see the floating houses. Yes, floating houses. It's the dry season here but when it rains the entire countryside is covered in water. So they have a river that floods and all the houses are up on stilts. I don't mean 5-10 ft up on stilts, I mean 20-30 ft in the air because the water gets that high. So you are driving on this road and all the buildings look ground level but when you look behind, they are all propped up into the air from the backside. And they build floating houses that just are all over the river. People live in them and have canoes to get where they want to go. Ronda says that they are not anchored so someday your house would be over here and the next day it might be way over there. It was really an amazing site.

Finally we arrived at the Women's center. It is highly secretive what happens here. Setan said that any women's center that advertises what they do is not doing anything at all. The industry is dangerous and like the mafia, these people mean business. So this women's center is way out of town and the neighbors don't even know where these women came from. They are just a tradeschool as far as they know. I didn't realize they kept a low profile. Ronda said they bought this land for very cheap because it was supposedly haunted by ghost. So Ronda was happy to buy it, they bought it cheap and prayed all the spirits away. Now it is peaceful and beautiful. They know the authority that comes with being a child of God, authority over any spirit of the enemies.

The women are beautiful! As usual, it was a bit ackward at first. You don't know their names, the faces look very similar at first and the language is impossible for me so the names are difficult to understand. But we prayed God would break thru the ackwardness fast and he answered that prayer. We had a total blast playing all sorts of games with the girls. First we broke out frisbees and hacky sacks. Then they should us tug of war and jump roping. They have a funny tradition that the winners sing a song and the losers have to dance to the song. HILARIOUS!!!! I found it quite fun to join in the little dance and they certainly had a good laugh at me. My moves were not so graceful, as you can imagine. :) Then we taught them a game where you have to suck beans up with a straw and carry them (no hands) to the other end of the field. It was a relay race. It was a bit chaotic to teach as they didn't understand at first you were supposed to go one by one. But they caught on pretty quick after that. Then they showed us a version of duck duck goose. You get a scarf that is like a whip and one person runs around the circle. When you are handed the scarf, the person next you has to run and you chase after them whipping them on the behind. Very funny again. Finally we ended with teaching them a game called SNORT. I thought this game would be internationally safe since it is just a snorting noice you make and the person you make it to can't laugh or smile to stay in the game. But come to find out, Cambodians can't make a snorting noise. So it ended up being pretty funny as they tried.

I literally has so much fun!!!

After that I got to braid the girls hair, it was a quick line up when I did the first braid! Then we had an amazing dinner and a massage! Yes, a massage. So nice. One of the girls, named Mom (but not pronounced like we would, a little different) unfortunately was taught massage while she was in prositution. Sad to know that is how she learned it, but she was so eager to give back to us.

The Holy Spirit has brought to mind a couple of times that we are to wash these women's feet before we leave. I am so looking forward to the power of that time coming up. Tomorrow I am teaching at 6am!!! That is their devotional time. I wanted to do it after breakfast but somehow it ended up being so early. It will be a long day.

I am content knowing I am here in God's will doing the best work that ever there was. Just caring and loving for people. Pray these women, many of who have not made a commitment, will understand God's love for them this week. They need healing, they need grace, they need the power of his love in their lives.

Cambodia Day 2 - Wow

2011-04-02T07:24:00.000-07:00

It was an emotional day today as we headed out early for a tour of S21 the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and then on to the killing fields of Cambodia. The sites were horrific to say the least. Nothing can really prepare you for the experience, but I found it all the more rich as Setan, who lived thru the genocide, was our tour guide. We were also very fortunate to meet one of the only 7 men who survived the turtore at S21. He just happened to be there today.

Imagine a school where children laughed, played and learned, their futures bright as only the best and brightest of students were sent to this school. And this was the school hand picked by Pol Pot to become the torture chambers. As we drove in, you could feel the atmosphere change, a heaviness that surrounds the place. Room by room we entered, Setan showing us the tools used to torture, the conditions of the people that were slaughtered here. Hammers, hoes, electric chairs, whips, gallows. You name it, it was used. Pol Pot valued bullets more than human life so never used bullets to kill people because they could not be resued. Can you imagine? The tile floors are stained dark under the beds where the victims blood spilled and was never cleaned up. Pictures of each prisoner were posted on the wall, exactly as they were found once the prison was shut down. Pictures exactly as they were found meant some were missing feet, bone exposed, some had their skulls showing thru where their faces had been so marred, all were contorted, chained to wire beds. Hundreds of men, women and children slaughtered in the most unimaginable ways. Some of the most heart wrenching...women having their nipples cut off and scorpions placed on what was left of their breasts to sting them, mother's having babies ripped from their hands and made to watch as they grabbed the babies legs and swung them head first into a tree, blood and brains gushing out. If not this, a baby thrown high into the air only to be caught by the bayonette of the soldiers gun, speared thru. Men dunked into tanks and suffocated. Men made to deficate in boxes and then forced to eat it. Chained together with metal handcuffs which, according to Setan inflicted pain with every movement. Absolutely mind boggling atrocities were committed to 3 million Cambodian men, women, and children. At S21 they took pictures of every victim. As you looked at each picture you could see the hopelessness in their eyes. Some filled with anger and hatred, some with dispair, some with pain, some with a quiet courage. But only 7 would survive.

It made Hitler look humane.

Then off to the killing fields where we again were forunate to meet the single survivor of this mass grave. He gave us a tour, recounting to us the tragedies that he witnessed. Women raped, mothers and babies slaughtered. He showed us the tree they used to kill the babies. Men being executed with the sharp yet ragged edges of palm tree leaves...painful and slow to kill. There was a monument built where they have placed the skulls and bones of the victims but even with that momument as we walked, under the dirt you could see bones still yet to be dug up. Teeth, clothing, jawbones, other bones loitered as far as your eye could see. Really an indescribable picture.

It's hard to comprehend.

And this is the history of the people we come to serve. A tough, emotional journey to partake in today, but nonetheless neccessary to understand the pain of the Cambodians.

Anything else we did seems unimportant in light of the above. But we did also enjoy a quick trip to the market and a dinner at another nice restaurant.

Tomorrow I will be going to church with Randa, Setan's wife, and the other 2 women who will go with me to the Women's Center. We will then head to the Women's Center to minister to the 15 ladies who are recently taken out of human trafficking. The rest of the team will be headed to Siem Reap to see one of the 7 wonders of the world, the temple here in Cambodia before they head to their final destinations. The 3 of us going to the Women's Center opted not to go site seeing one more day because we would miss a day and a half with the women, cutting our time with them too short to accomplish what we want to.

My back is holding out fantastic. I had a little rough afternoon but my new tricks from Dr Wisman have helped tremendously and I am feeling better than I have in a long time. Still believing as I return to the US I will be completely healed.

Off to bed! I was up at 5:30 this morning by virtue of not having a working clock in my room. I missed out on an hour of sleep because of it! Definately not repeating that tonight!!!

I will probably not be able to journal the next few days as I head to the Women's center so until then!

Kelsey

Cambodia Day 1 - safe and sound

2011-04-01T05:57:00.000-07:00

Greetings everyone from Cambodia! We arrived this morning, Friday, about 11:30am Cambodian time. I am completely lost as to what day it is over there as compared to here. I am exhausted but just wanted to let everyone know I am safe and sound.

We are staying in a very nice hotel tonight and tomorrow night. After arriving at the airport, we checked into the hotel and 45 minutes later were off for our first stop.

First we went to the "dump daycare" where about 70 kids are picked up from the dumps of Cambodia, brought to this daycare, bathed, fed, and cared for. Monday thru Friday this happens. The children literally live in the dump, sleep there and eat what they can find in the wasteland. Terrible. Setan and his wife Randa had on their heart to begin to care for as many of these children as they can. So they started the dump daycare. When they first brought the children in, they had to spend quite a bit of money to get them all medical care. Many were sick or had disease like ring worm, lice and such. Now all the children brought to the daycare are healthy. Each morning they are picked up by a van, they have only one van and must take two trips to load all 70+ kids and bring them to the daycare. They smell so badly from living and sleeping in the dumps that they are bathed immediately upon arriving and they are given a new set of clothes. The day is spent teaching them preschool aged content as all the children are preschool aged or younger. The efforts cost about $3000 monthly which an orgination in Canada ha been funding. But in 3 months the Canada orginization will have to reevaluate if they will continue to fund this effort or not so they are trusting God to provide a renewal of commitment or a new commitment from someone else that God calls to provide for them. Such beautiful kids!

Many of the children do have families that live in the dump with them, but it is so poverty stricken they cannot do anything for their own children to make a better life. Setan said that many of the children's parents wonder why they would do sucha thing, to care for their children as they do. He said it gives them an opportunity to share the love of Christ and many give their hearts to Jesus.

The town itself, to me, seems much like what Uganda was. Lots of street vendors in the city, trash lining the streets, poverty evident everywhere you look. It's hot here too!

After the daycare we went to Setan and Randa's home/office where they run transformasia from. Then off to dinner at a nice restaurant for fried rice, pork spring rolls, chicken cashew, and beef skewers. Great food, a special treat for our first night here.

Tomorrow we are going to the killing fields and a museum so we can get a feel for the tragedies this country has faced. I hear it is an emotional time. Then on Sunday my team will head to the Women's center. Randa, Setan's wife, will be my translator for speaking, connecting with the girls. I am so looking forward to that! For those that don't know, I am leading the team that goes to the women's center. We will be teaching them a new trade of jewelry making, sharing our personal testimonies with them and I will be teaching from the story of Joseph in the bible. We will also have opportunity to pray a blessing over each girl. There are 15 girls, ages 15-20 years old and all have recently been taken from human trafficking. I am praying God will bring healing to their lives thru our time spent with them.

You are all wondering how my back is holding out, I am sure. So far, so good. I haven't had any major issues and am believing for complete healing to manifest physically while I am here. So please pray to that end as well for me.

While I am at the Women's center I will not have internet access as far as I know so check in again tomorrow for details and then it will be a few days before I can give an update. Next time, I will see what I can do about getting a few pictures posted as well.

Blessings!
Kelsey

Mission: Kampala, Uganda 2009

2009-11-26T22:12:00.001-08:00

Ah…you know a mission trip is successful when you leave and the church you ministered in has to add 300 chairs to their next Sunday service and still has people standing. You know you are blessed to have seen the hand of God move when a woman saved at the conference brings back her friends, they line up outside of the Pastor's office, drop off their drug paraphernalia and one by one give their hearts to Christ. You know God is still mighty to save when a witch doctor gives her heart to Christ while you are evangelizing in the ghetto and comes to the church the next day with an expression of pure joy. You know God cares when you see an orphanage of 1100 children blessed to have new supplies and in the process of building a new wing of the school.

Yes, it’s true. How can I better describe the time we had in Uganda. From churches, to prisons, to orphanages, to the ghetto we were blessed to see hundreds (no kidding, around 500) women, men and children give their lives to Christ in a first time commitment. It was a trip beyond expectations in every aspect. Even our fun time, the after mission safari, was blessed beyond expectations. Who sees 5 lions (3 lionesses and 2 cubs), 2 leopards (well, I personally missed the leopards), and an abundance of every other animal on safari? Even the tour guide said he had never seen so many animals in his years of guiding. It was like they were called out from God to say, “thank you for a work well done”. And to what do I attribute the honor of having been a part of this miracle? Grace, simply God’s abundant grace.

To those who donated financially to my trip…you truly have participated in God’s work. To those who prayed for my trip, you called open the heavens in a holy war and prayed in a complete and final victory for the Kingdom. You should know that your participation resulted in a trip with amazing fruit. The pastor of the church we ministered in said in 26 years he has never seen the hand of God move like while we were there and he had never seen the amount of fruit from any other team he has had come. What is that? Grace, simply God’s abundant grace. There is no reason why, no “me” or “us”, just Him. He loves, He cares, He moves, He heals, He sets free, He blesses, He calls home His children, He is YAHWEH. Hallelujah...I am blessed to be a part.

Below I have pasted a few of my emails to the family from my time in Uganda for you to read and hopefully for you to get a taste of what I experienced on my journey.

Uganda Report: First Day

I awoke this morning before 6am to the voices of children singing praises to the Lord. There is a school right outside my window next to the guest house. It is not the orphanage we are going to. The unmistakable chants of praises were everything I imagined Africa to be! Beautiful voices, rhythmic chanting and hand and feet beating out the song. It was all in English and at one point I recognized songs from my childhood like I have joy down in my heart.

The sun is rising and I am sitting on the balcony of the guest house overlooking the city of Kampala. Birds chirping and the sky turning golden orange over the horizon and the last twinkling lights from the city below are fading away. I wonder what grace, what favor will arrive today with the sun for the people of Uganda. The rooster is calling out the goodness of God's day!

Earlier, before the children singing I heard the chants of the prayers to Allah. The sound darker, more monotone, purposed. As if the enemy has to work overtime, he has to rise earlier to try and cast his shadow. As if he can get a head start on God! Ha! The thought is absurd. But nevertheless the contrast of the two sets of singing is reflective of the pursuit being had for the hearts of the people of Uganda.

Uganda Report: Getting Started

We went to our first church service this morning. Broke into 4 teams and went to 4 different local churches. We have one bus so the driver dropped us off church by church and came back and got us after a while. The roads here off the main highway are dirt and have huge holes and ruts so we have taken to humming the Indiana Jones theme song on the way back to our guest house. The road to the guest house is thin and steep. The last section is next to a large drop off and it still scares me to think about how close we are to the edge every time. When it rains the dirt loosens up and the bus has to get going fast enough to get up the hill. We slip and slide but the driver is very skilled and we cheer and clap every time we make it to the top. Really, it is an adventure. (Pictured below is the bus. Next to that is Pastor Tony and Joanne Ramos with Pastor Michael and Evah Mugerwa).

The church I went to was under 100 people. At least 50 of those were children. I was amazed, they all sat quietly thru the entire service which lasted a long time in my opinion. There were not many men. Mostly women and children. The kids stare and smile at us. Mzungo is what they call white people. It really is amazing to see all the children here. Kids as small as Jake carrying their baby siblings around. No sign of adults or parents in most places. Just kids everywhere. I try to imagine my Jake, Ben and Josh left on the streets by themselves and I can't fathom it. Pastor Joanne once asked one of the Ugandan people about it. She said don't you worry that someone will take a child? The answer was, "who would want them?" She said, “what if they get hurt?” The response was, “well they would only do that once, wouldn't they?" So that sums up the reason that the children are all taking care of each other. So hard to imagine that being my kids life.

The highlight of our service was after worship when the pastor introduced the visitors. He said "and now our guests are going to come and sing a song from their country". Well, we were not at all prepared to do that! The lady in charge of our group (Judy) apparently sings worse then me! The look on her face was priceless!!! I thought I had heard the pastor incorrectly the first time but, no, they were serious. So Judy walks over to me and says "do you sing?" With a panicked look I said no. She asked the next gal, do you sing? No. The fourth person she said “go up there and sing a song.” Fortunately he sings so he led a rousing rendition of "hallelujah, anyhow" which I had never heard before. They were all looking at us like we should be singing too. Well, needless to say we have not stopped laughing about it since we got home.

It rains at random here. Last night there was the most amazing thunder storm. I have never heard such loud thunder in my life. And it rains buckets in a flash and then just stops. Most people couldn't sleep thru the storm so everyone was up in the middle of the night. I stuck it out in bed with earplugs and overall slept great. My first good night of sleep since we got here.

The house mom here at the house we are staying in, Esther, is the image of Aunt Jemimah. You just want to hug her! She is an incredible cook. We had classic pot roast dinner for lunch today. The first day we arrived there was homemade banana and zucchini bread. First breakfast? Yup, big ol’ wonderful cinnamon rolls. No losing weight on this trip!!!

Uganda Report: Introduction to the Orphanage

Yesterday I went to the orphanage for the first time. I would liken it to an ant hill where the ants are scurrying around the hillside. Everywhere you look on the hilly terrain there is a child scurrying here and there. They all have uniforms and honestly I am glad the girls wear skirts because they shave their heads so they mostly look to me like boys. The orphanage is 22 acres. There are over 1100 children 3-19 years of age. They have a school there so there is primary and secondary school and high school. This week the high schoolers were taking their exam to graduate.

We visited every class one by one. When we walked in the children stand and recite in unison to us. They each have a class motto like "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. There is no way to describe the overwhelming feeling that is when you walk into that classroom and the children honor you with such respect and eagerness. Most classes have over 100 kids in them. Their goal is to add enough buildings to get the class size down to 50 in a class. The children just want to be noticed. They smile and wave and reach their hands out to touch you. They are like children at Christmas time but times 100. There is nothing I have seen that compares to their unadulterated joy to see us.

It was lunch time when we went. We were taken to the "kitchen". It is just a building with 4 huge pots. I could stand in them and they would probably come to my chest. That is how big. 2 were filled with what looked like cream of wheat. It is actually corn meal based "slop". The other 2 are filled with beans cooking in water. They eat this same thing for EVERY meal. Except on Saturday and Sunday they get eggs. They have 2000 chicken to have enough eggs for 2 days a week for that many children. I guess they also sell the eggs for profit during the week which is why the children only get eggs 2 days.

I got to speak to the dorm moms at the orphanage. The dorm moms do all the laundry, change the children's bed, and discipline and otherwise are the caring adult in the life of 50 or so children. I encouraged them from one mom's heart to another that being a mother, although a tireless job is the greatest job in the kingdom. It was wonderful to bless them with and make them feel honored and worthy. They are the overlooked! They give their lives for these children and no one even knows. I wrote what I said down. It will be a special memory for me.

Last night I spoke at the women's conference. I was one of the 2 main speakers (lady in the picture was my interpreter). There were over 700 women there!!! I didn't realize that there were going to be so many. I thought it was only like 200 hundred (boy am I bad at estimating!). But I asked and they set up 700 chairs. Tonight they had to add more chairs. I talked about viewing life from God's perspective instead of our own. It was an incredible experience to speak like that. It is really my first time to speak at a conference and not just teach or share with a small crowd. I felt confident. I have always desired to speak like that and was relieved that my first experience was great. Well, I will never be as good as my husband but for me it was confirmation that I am not crazy to think of speaking to large crowds like that. Of course I know I am a rookie but I can always hear in my head how I would speak with passion and purpose and I have never had the opportunity to do it. Having an interpreter was really actually nice because you had to wait for her to interpret and you sort of get into a rhythm and have a bit of time to collect your thoughts before you give the next phrase, sentence or thought. 61 ladies received Jesus for the first time last night and 54 tonight. Praise God!!! They have everyone come up and then take them to the back and get their names and phone numbers so they can follow up with them (if they have a phone). In this way they know that the count is accurate. Really, it is an honor to be a part of something so big. So divine. I can't describe how surreal it is to think that God has allowed me to be a little piece of the puzzle.

This morning I went to the ghetto and we went door to door inviting people to the conference, offering to pray for people and asking people if they know Jesus. Of course a team from the local church goes with us. It was again an incredible experience. I had many people ask me to pray for them. One lady came running out of her home, wanting prayer. She brought her child out who was obviously sick. She wanted me to pray for healing. It was just a baby. A couple women that were pregnant wanted me to pray a blessing on their womb. Many wanted prayer for their business. It was a strange feeling to be the one that people wanted to pray for them. You know, I am nothing special. But I bring the hope of Jesus and they have so little hope. The streets are dirty, the poverty is great, and there is sickness everywhere here. If you didn't have Jesus it would be a miserable life. But I really felt the power of God as I prayed for these people. I really understood a sense of knowing that it is just out of my hands. All I can do is call upon the hand of God to move and have faith that God will do just that. I guess I will never know if they were healed, if their life was changed, if it really made a difference until we see Jesus. But if I can be the person in someone’s story that says I met Jesus because this Mzungo (white person) came into my village and prayed for me then I guess that is the ultimate honor in life.

The people here are so friendly. Everywhere we go the kids run behind the bus and wave and yell Mzungo. They are just walking along and if you wave their face lights up and their bright white teeth flash into a big smile. Ah, if only I could put into words the experience. I hope I gave you just a taste!!!

Uganda Report: The Delivery

What a wonderful time we are having here! The women's conference continues to go strong each day with 700-800 women. Every night we ask the women to raise their hand if it is the first night they have attended and it seems like every night half the audience raises their hands. We are literally seeing 100's of people come to Christ. Last night it was around 50 women that came forward to pray for a first time commitment to Christ and again tonight it was over that amount. I don't know how many will be fertile soil that the seed is implanted and grows but it is wonderful to see the response to God's work and I really believe this is a well-run church that is doing a fantastic job of reaching the community. The pastor and his wife really are so wise and so full of God. I have the utmost respect for what I see them doing. Also, I spoke again tonight at the conference. What a joy.

We went to the orphanage again yesterday. I am happy to announce that we have a new brother! We are sponsoring a beautiful little boy by the name of Godwin. He is 6 years old and wants to be a pilot first and then a Mzungo (white man!). Ha! I got to hug on him and hold him and that is the greatest way to sponsor a child! I will also get to send him gifts and things with Pastor Joanne when he comes. Very cool. I think it will be special to show my boys his picture and pray for him. Maybe it will take the rest of the family a bit of time to warm up to him. :)

While at the orphanage they brought in 300 new mattresses and sheets and plastic covers. All 1100+ children came out and circled around to watch the delivery. If you have seen the show where they build a new house and the big truck is in front of the house and they yell "Move that truck" I would liken it to this. This huge truck drove in and the children went crazy yelling and cheering. Singing and shouting. An all out riot almost broke out when they opened the truck door as the kids all wanted to help get the mattresses out. They stacked them all on the ground in front of the buildings and it was like the wall of china. Huge. No words can describe the excitement in the air. I captured it on camera so hopefully that will do it justice. They played drums, clapped hands, and sang praises to the Lord. Wow.

We went again into the ghetto today to tell people about the women's conference and to pray and evangelize. I had the most humbling experience in my life. Two older African women...you know, the ones you see pictures of. They were old, haggard and bent over. They were wearing traditional Ugandan clothing. When we reached their home they invited (or more like dragged me) into their home. They spoke quickly Ugandan so I couldn't understand what the wanted. They directed me to sit on the couch. Then they rolled out a mat, kneeled on it in front of me and bent over. They directed me to place my hands on their heads and give them a prayer of blessing. What could I do but bless them! I liken it to someone washing your feet, it was humbling. After I prayed I couldn't help but squeeze and kiss them. They were so precious. It felt like going into ancient days and like I was a prophet or something. The respect they gave me was humbling. (PS- no, I wouldn’t be caught dead in that outfit, complete with tennis shoes, in the states!)

Something a little lighter...they have special music every night that is wonderful! Women come up and sing and dance. The tradition here is that to bless the women that are signing people will come up, do a little dance and stuff money into their hands. It is a bit strange to think of that happening in America! Can you imagine every time you do a special song in church people giving you money? But it is pretty fun! Some of our girls go up dancing and participate in the tradition. Not me. :)

Uganda Report: Last Day of the Women’s Conference

Ah, finally a day of rest! Today was just shopping and relaxing which was super nice as we have been working hard all week. Sunday we break up and go to different churches again to share, paint kid’s faces, hand out candy and worship with the local churches. I am going to a church that is deep in the heart of the country. Apparently it is a couple hour drive and one team member actually saw a man on the side of the road with a jaguar on his shoulders and spear in hand last time she went to this church. So although they say that is unusual I am still looking forward to the adventure. the Pastors at the church I am going to used to the associate pastors at the church we have been doing the conference at all week. It was a church plant. They have a school with about 200 students. I have no idea how small or big the church will be.

Last night at the women's conference it was a party atmosphere. There were probably around 1100 women. They had traditional dancers, singing, and a "Miss St Gates" beauty pageant. Yes, I did say a pageant. Honestly, it was hilarious! Apparently earlier in the year they had narrowed the contestants down to 5 so we watched them come out in changes of clothes, answer questions, and do talent competitions. It took forever. The winner got mauled at the end and overall we Mzungo ladies were just sitting there kind of in awe of the whole thing. But it definitely attracted the masses. Something to be said about that! OK, we all loved it. :)

The other day when we were going through the ghetto one of the teams met a witch doctor and led her to the Lord! She came to church the next night and it was exciting to actually see her come. There are a lot of people that practice witchcraft here. This woman has some orphans in her care. One changed life that will lead to many more!

Uganda Report: Safari

Last but not least the safari pictures. First, the mode of transportation…yes, that is the bus! A couple of mattresses for comfort, a fearless driver, and a crazy bunch of team members. Yes, I opted to ride in the Range Rover. But I am sure I missed a bit of the adventure not riding on the top of the van.

The coveted lioness and her cubs! We were so fortunate to watch them frolic and play just a stone’s throw away from the vehicles. Prior to this we saw a lioness in the grass by herself and at the end of the trip a lioness just walked right next to our car on the side of the road. I got a video of that one. Cool!

And more animals…

And more animals…

And beautiful scenary…

Uganda Report: Almost Home
I am reflecting on the week and wanted to tell you how incredible this whole experience has been. There is no way to describe it, no way to tell you how blessed I am to have been a part of this trip, and no way to describe how much I am looking forward to coming again...whether it be here or somewhere else.

You know, we really experienced a legitimate revival here. The church had 324 NEW people return to the Sunday service that received Christ for the first time from our week here. They had given everyone that had been saved a piece of paper to write their names on and to bring back on Sunday when and if they came back. 324 people returned with their cards in hand. Incredible. The pastor here said that in his 26 years of ministry he has never experienced the hand of God like this in his church. And, truly, he has watched God do a lot. He is not only the pastor of this church but him and his wife are the founders of the Destiny Orphanage which started with an empty piece of land and 11 children and is now 1100 children, a school, and so much more. The problem the church has now is that they no longer have enough space or seating for the congregation! What a wonderful problem to have!

Today Pastor Evah (the pastor's wife) was going to come to the children's prison with our team but when Pastor Joanne called her to meet up with us she could not come. Do you want to know why? Let me tell you!!! One of the woman that was saved this week was the ring leader of a group of other ladies who all smoke pot and do drugs. After being saved she told the ladies that she smoked with what had happened and witnessed to them. She then brought them to the church and Pastor Evah literally had them all lined up outside of her office and was leading them to Christ one by one. They all had brought their drug paraphernalia and committed their lives to Christ. They are planning tomorrow to have a burning party to get rid of all the drugs that were surrendered. So this is just a glimpse at the domino effect that is the week will continue to have as we head away and the changed lives of those we leave behind begin to make a difference here. Who am I, Lord, that you allowed me to see such wonder!

In addition to the 324 that came to that church we also had probably another couple hundred respond to altar calls for first time commitment from the other places we visited. Children's prisons, adult prisons, other churches in the areas, people we met as we traveled door to door in the ghettos.

Tonight we visited the man that owns the guest home we are staying in and heard his story of how God brought him thru wars of Uganda for 30 years to Bible school in Seattle, WA and back to Uganda to start a church. He now has planted over 200 churches. They do 11 crusades every year (one a month) traveling to villages all over the country and surrounding countries to take the gospel to people who have never heard it. His story was incredible. He told us about incredible miracles God has provided for him to establish what they have now. He pastors a church, runs a bible school, and owns this guest house that we stayed in this week for missionaries. I actually hope some day I get to go on a crusade with him.

My heart is full. The memories wonderful. The hand of God indescribable. Thanks to each one of you for making this happen for me. For the people here in Uganda. Really, know that your investment into the kingdom has reaped a great harvest for the King. Thanks for being obedient to investing financially and in other ways so that I could be a part of this.

Uganda Report: Additional Tidbits

This is at the children’s prison. I didn’t go but they told me that when the children first arrive they strip them down and lock them in a cell to “break them”. A dozen or more kids all locked in together with horrible conditions, even just defecating on the floor. Lice and other sicknesses are rampant. It’s sad. The picture on the right is our group sharing with the children in the prison. One of the gals on our team was a nurse and she treated many open wounds and did what she could to help. She poured hydrogen peroxide on an open wound of one child and it foamed and foamed. Indication of serious dirty conditions.

My roomies…from left to right..”Mama” Judy, me, Erin, and Savannah.

Just some beautiful faces…moms with babies.

2009-04-10T09:56:00.001-07:00

Some know, some do not that Josh fractured his arm this last Saturday. I finally took some pictures. Jake and Josh were wrestling and Josh's arm got pinned underneath him in a strange position. We weren't sure what happened but Mike picked Josh up from the floor and knew immediately something wasn't right. I didn't see it. It was bedtime so after he calmed down we put him to bed until we decided if we were going to take him to the ER or not. We decided not to since he fell asleep just fine and the Bellevue ER said they would not take x-rays of babies that little so we would have had to go to Childen's in Seattle. But he didn't roll over all night and woke up several times crying. I had talked to a nurse and she thought it was a Nursemaid elbow which is nothing serious and a common problem for children under 6. So Sunday morning I took him in to our normal Dr office. I arrived as the doors opened and they got me right in. The Dr also thought it was a Nursemaide elbow so she tried to pop it back into place. She tried 4 times! Josh soon learned to cry when she even came close and wouldn't take his eyes off of her. He was so mad at her! She didn't feel it pop back into place so decided I should take him to Children's Orthopedic on Monday.

So Monday I got an appointment. Josh had been favoring his arm now for almost 2 days! He was his usual busy self but cried when he fell or moved his arm. I couldn't even put him in his carseat without complaint. Yet, he still wanted to climb up stairs and go down slides. What a trooper!!! The Dr at Children's took an x-ray and knew immediately it was a fracture. So they put a cast on him. He cried when they took the x-rays but when they put the cast on he was patient and talkative. I think he sensed this was going to help him. He is such a smart boy! He has not slowed down a bit. Kids are amazing that way!!!

Oh, and yes. Mike did write on his cast "You rock! Love Dad".

Gone Fishing!

2009-04-10T09:38:00.001-07:00

After a monthly trip to Richland we had some friends that wanted to take us fishing. So one wet, cold, windy Saturday we packed into the car to go home to Seattle and made a small detour to stop and fish. Ok, so it was a 4hr detour...2hrs the opposite direction of Seattle to get there and a loooooong 2 hrs back! Not my ideal with 3 small kiddos. We drove 7 hours that day just to catch some fish. Oh, the dedication! But that being said we will have good memories left once the details fade and we can just look at the pictures. :) It doesn't even look like it is raining in the pictures, does it? Well, let me tell you, it was!

Josh learning the ropes from Dad and Jake, already a pro!

I can still hear Jake saying "Ben, just pick it up. It's ok, just a little slimy but it won't hurt you." Ben tried but it flopped and he jumped back and had enough of that. He was content to just reel them in.

Jake on the other hand...well he just needs a few lessons on how to hold a fish in pictures to make it look bigger then it is. This here will not do! But the smile is priceless.

Happy 3rd B-Day Ben!

2009-04-10T09:08:00.000-07:00

Ben keeps up with his brother Jake so well sometimes I forget that he is only 2. But his 3rd b-day has come and gone! What a blessed family we have!

Grandma Joan and Granpa Bob came to visit. Here she is reading Dr Seuss to the boys. Not sure why Jake's finger is in his nose. :) Oh well.

Ben got his very own Diego fishing pole from Nancy! What a great gift. By far the winner. Jake and Ben have been casting off the back porch catching all sorts of gigantic "fish". They have such good imaginations.

Josh paticularly liked Ben's new Diego underwear. What a ham! He just loved the attention.

And what b-day party is complete without cupcakes? Mom made cream cheese frosting, yum! Well, yum to me and Mike but the kids didn't think so. They all complained. Won't do that again!

Happy 1st Birthday Josh!!!

2009-01-10T13:41:00.000-08:00

This series of photos pretty much tells the whole story. Yup, this is pretty much how it went down.

"Hey, isn't this cool! They're making me a cake for my first b-day. I am so excited!"

"Hmm, that looks interesting. She shouldn't have put it so close. Well, since she did I should just check it out."

"They left, now is my chance. Mmmm, that is goooood."

"Uh-oh, I am going to get caught red-handed AGAIN!" The first time it was a sandwich I swiped off my dad's plate from the counter. Then it was the M&M's from the potty training jar on the back of the toilet. Yup, you should've seen that mess. Boy, was my mom mad. I had a couple of handfuls of M&M's in my hand and a goey mess all over the floor and my pjs. How did I get those M&M's? Well, Ben had just gone potty and I pretty much tackled him while he was getting his treat out of the jar. He locked the bathroom door after I spilled them and we just went for it. Good to have a co-conspirator. Anyway, my mom will post some pics of that below too."

"What mom? Me? No, you're not thinking I ate some frosting are you? Can't you see the surprise on my face? What, I have a ring of frosting around my face?"

"Ah, mom! I am so cute though!!! How can you be upset?"

Blowing out candles...

"Mmm, I remember this. Same stuff that was in the jar on the counter. Looks good!"

"Yup, pretty good b-day! PS, my M&M pictures are next."

I'm walking...and I'm not even 1!

2008-12-18T17:47:00.000-08:00

Winter Wonderland...Pre-Christmas Fun!

2008-12-18T17:21:00.000-08:00

It snowed today! We have close to a foot already...sledding was soooo much fun.

Our Christmas tree was a little expensive for our liking but we missed the Ikea $10 special this year so we forced the family to get Santa pics at the tree farm this year instead of at the mall. Saved us $20 or so and made us feel like the Christmas tree was not quite as expensive. Oh, us Mortimers! We are so frugal...

This is the tree we took home!

You would think this was on the way home from picking the Christmas tree but, no, it was on the way there. We went at naptime. Isn't he precious!

THANKS GRANDMA JOAN FOR THE CHRISTMAS PJ'S.

WE LOVE YOU!!!

Jesus Loves Me, Yes He Does...

2008-11-12T21:23:00.002-08:00

Don't mind Benja picking his nose. He just got done crying so I guess it was bothering him.

Precious Songs of Praise! By Jake Mortimer

2008-11-12T20:11:00.000-08:00

Jake is constantly singing praises to the Lord. He has a real gift for remembering any song but he also likes to make them up. They are all original...you'll never hear this one again! I know because I tried to get it on video twice and although the songs I recorded were similar, they were not exactly the same. No two alike! I am hopeful that he will continue to develop a musical gifting from Mike's side of the family so I can live vicariously thru him as I am not even a tiny bit musically inclined! Although I am hopeful that one of my rewards in heaven will be a new and amazing singing voice. I can't imaging how God has put up with my singing thus far so I am sure He would prefer to replace my voice in heaven then listen to it as is for eternity! :)

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-20T22:47:00.001-07:00

Josh had blueberries and blackberries for lunch. His hands and face were purple all over. The picture doesn't do it justice.

Mortimer Family Vacation- Seaside, OR (August)

2008-10-20T21:57:00.001-07:00

We took our first "just us" family vacation to Seaside, OR this year. Vacationing with 3 kids under 4yrs is a bit challenging but we enjoyed ourselves anyway. At least the accomodations were nice so when we were waiting for napping kids it was comfortable. Mike grew up in Tillamook so we took the kids there one day to see all the sights. Here they are at the Octopus tree. It wasn't as cool as I remembered it. I had only seen it once before. I was in high school and went to meet Mike's family for the first time in Tillamook. Of course Mike took me to all the touristy spots. Things are so much more impressive when you are young and in love!

We met a nice couple from New York or Boston (I can't remember) that took our picture.

Driving by Tillamook HS we couldn't resist taking a picture of the lawn mowers that some kids had driven to school and parked in the parking lot. Classic Tillamook!

We went to the cheese factory and didn't meet any nice couples to take our pictures so Mike set the camera up on a fence post across the street and set the timer. We have an hilarious set of pictures showing various states of us chasing the boys to try to get them into a picture. It is classic!

And when it was all said and done we were so small in the pics that you couldn't even see us. Oh well, it made a great memory.

Daddy time on the beach.

Looking for seashells...who would think you'd find a crab buried in the sand on the shoreline? Huh, go figure.

The boys went crazy at the arcades. They didn't know the difference between games when money was put in and games when no money was put in so we had a lot of cheap entertainment. We would just stop by the arcade and let them go at it for an hour or so while we watched.

They loved the Carousel!

I think this might have been the first time I put Josh in a swing. He loved it!

A hermit crab crawling on Jake's hands at the Aquarium...if you can call what they have at Seaside and aquarium. Definately not worth the money!

Say cheese!

The first day we were at the beach we ran from the waves. Jake thought it was fun but check out Ben's face. He played along but I think he was a bit freaked out.

Dad tried to show off and make a big sand castle but it was a flop so he ended up shaping a cowboy boot out of the sand. A cowboy boot? Yup. Should've taken a picture of that!

Mortimer written in the sand.

On the way home we stopped in Portland at Malibu Speedway. Jake barely passed the height requirements to ride in the "nascars".

But after one lap around he was a bit sick. He stuck it out for one more but I went a little too fast the second time around and I felt so sorry for him. He got whipped around and his helmet fell over his face. He was so excited to ride those cars and in the end he walked away sick as a dog and crying. He tried to tough it out but it was a bit much. Ok, parental reminder that some fun things just need to wait.

Parsons' Family Vacation- Cascade, ID (July)

2008-10-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

On our way to Cascade we stopped over in Tri-Cities and hung out at the "River House" while Mike worked (he is developing a master-planned community on the river, gorgeous place to live!). It is HOT in Richland so we broke out the pool.

Josh singing away.

I dared to let Jake hold (tightly) Josh while I snapped a few quick photos. Phew, it all worked out. Just the other day, I was running the bath water for the boys and giving them haircuts. While I cut Jake's hair Ben and Josh were playing in the running water. Next thing I know I hear a funny sound and turn around to see Josh had fallen into the tub, pjs and all. Yikes! If I hadn't of been there he would have drown. I quickly pulled him out of the water and he was soaked and covered in bubbles...sreaming. We had a close call so we try to be pretty careful around water. Josh loves it...but maybe a bit too much.

Mike played softball with his brother and afterwards took the boys onto the big field to catch some pop flies and field a few grounders. Fun, fun.

The moon is always huge and beautiful at the "river house". Jake and Ben love looking at it. We don't get to see the moon too much in Issaquah. The clouds are too often and the trees around our house too tall.

Finally, here we are in Cascade. These photos are out of order but why not start with a little ice cream?!

Big bite.

Cousin Maddy

Cousin Norah. She looks like a teenager here but she is only 5.

Gone fishing...

Learning the ropes...how to hook up a worm.

Nothing better then the great outdoor latrine.

We hiked to a little lake and back up. It wasn't a big hike but my boys did great on the way there and not so great on the way back.

Isn't Jake precious.

Norah and Josh.

Grandpa Bob and Josh.

The whole Parsons clan.

Aunt Brooke reading the kids a story before naptime.

The best part of vacation...ATV's. The boys call them monster trucks.

Snuggle Time...does it get better than this?

2008-10-20T20:54:00.001-07:00

Benton County Fair

2008-10-20T20:30:00.000-07:00

Jake has been asking if he is old enough to ride the bus so he was super excited to find out that we had to take the bus to the fair. No seatbelts/carseats...complete freedom. The boys loved it!

Mike had to see the pigs. He raised a 1st place pig in St Maries, ID when he was in elementary school so he is a sucker for them. His mom took him to the grocery store to show him his prize pig butchered and now for sell the week after!

Roller coasters...

Airplanes...

Carousels...

and cotton candy! The complete fair experience. What more could you ask for?

4th of July 2008

2008-08-31T22:49:00.001-07:00

This post marks the one year anniversary of my blog! The first posting I made was 4th of July 2007. The postings are getting few and far between but eventually I get you all caught up!

We went to the Snoqualamie Community 4th of July party this year. Here we are on the train looking like cage animals.

What could be better then cotton candy?! Here is a fine display of how one should eat cotton candy.

Jake wanted to ride the ponies and was so excited right up until the point of mounting up. But dad made him stick with it. Jake screamed all the way around the (shortened) loop. Afterwards he talked about how next time he wasn't going to cry and how brave he was to stay on the horse even though it was scary. Mike is so good at pushing Jake to do things he is nervous about. I would have just yanked him off the horse and save myself the heartache of listening to him cry!

Fortunately I had Ben. Ben couldn't figure out what Jake was crying about. He just cowboyed up and rode like a champ!

June- Trip to Boise

2008-08-31T22:33:00.001-07:00

Ben, Norah, Jake and Jonah. These are the Parsons cousins in Boise. We had a great time visiting and playing with them on our trip in June.

Josh meets Ma Jennie (great-grandma) for the first time.

Jake learned how to jump on the tramp on this trip. He was out there for hours and LOVED it. He is growing up soooo fast! I remember not too long ago he was scared of the trampoline. Ben wouldn't get on it. :)

Grandpa Bob relaxing with Josh.

Josh with his cousin Micah. Hard to tell from this picture but Micah makes Josh look like a serious lightweight. These baby cousins are about as opposite they come! Josh is small, Micah is a serious chunk. Josh is smiley, Micah is super serious. And the list goes on...

Playing a little baseball at the cousin's house. Ben in a "wife beater", nonetheless. I love this pic!

Mortimer Family Update

2008-08-31T22:14:00.000-07:00

Hard at work.

Say cheese!

Josh's first ride in the double stroller. We don't get out walking like we used to!

Potty training. Jake is, Ben isn't. They still like to try together.

Sleeping after a successful day at Goodwill with dad. They found a good deal on some ATV packs to sell on ebay. There were so many the car was loaded up and Jake even had to hold one in his lap.

Happy Birthday Dad! and More...

2008-05-13T21:48:00.000-07:00

Hello! Aren't I cute? Welcome to the latest Mortimer blog. Please take time to view the cute video of my big brothers singing Happy Birthday to dad. My mom isn't taking very many pictures of me, but here are a few so enjoy!

How fun! I can now let you all see videos of the boys instead of just pictures. This was the birthday serenade the big boys gave dad on his special day. I know you will enjoy it as much as Mike did. Precious, precious. Oh, and this was totally Jake and Ben's idea. They insisted on doing it in the family room and with the instruments. Mom really had nothing to do with making them do this.

Ben loves Lightening McQueen. He wanted a photo shoot with his car.

Kisses for mom!

Did you get that kiss on camera?

Mom is already putting me in the walker. I love it but haven't figured out how to get around yet. I will very soon!

Josh- 3 Months

2008-04-02T22:29:00.001-07:00

Josh was dedicated Sunday March 30th. We didn't get any great pictures of the actual dedication, but afterwards we did get this family photo outside. Wow! Our family of 5.

Lounging with Uncle Scot.

Photo shoot with mom.

Easter Sunday...matching shirts and all!

Just out of the bathtub.

Josh was laying on the couch when Jake got up from his nap. Jake is snuggler so he got a blanket and covered Josh up. Then he cuddled in behind him. Brothers are so special!

Grandpa Bob reading the boys a book before naptime.

Pretty boy!

Kisses.

Trying to sit up like a big boy...not yet Josh, not yet.

Bathtime is so much fun with all the boys.

Ben's 2nd B-Day

2008-04-02T22:19:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Ben is already 2 years old! We got to celebrate his birthday twice since Grandma and Grandpa didn't come to visit until the end of the month. Not bad...two cakes, two songs, and two sets of presents for turning two!

Ben was very careful with the wrapping paper. Guess he didn't want to tear it.

This is Ben's version of thumbs up. Sharo made Ben this beautiful pineapple upside down cake for his first birthday party.

A piano and mic for Ben. The perfect gift for this budding young musician. He now sings Jesus Loves Me into the mic.

Cupcakes...mmmmm.

Gramps, Uncle Scot, Dad, and Great Uncle Dave are here celebrating Ben's birthday.

Josh- Two Months

2008-04-02T21:58:00.001-07:00

At his 2 month checkup Josh was 97 percentile for weight and off the charts for height. Eat up little Josh, you are growing fast!

Josh laying on his play mat for the first time. He loves to bat his arms at the toys hanging from the mat.

Can you guess what they are doing? Yup, you got it! They are feeding their dinosaurs milk from their tummies like mom does Josh. They are still a bit confused and think milk comes from my belly button. I haven't bothered to correct them!

Big smile for the camera.

Jake and Ben are tucking Josh into sleep on Ben's bed.

Aren't I cute!

I know, its not Josh but I couldn't resist. Don't my boys have great buns!

Josh- One Month

2008-04-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

How sweet is this! Josh couldn't resist a nap hanging over the edge of his boppy.

Sleeping...

Sleeping some more...

And still sleeping.

"Blah, don't take my picture. I would rather be sleeping."

The cousins meet Josh...Lydia and Sam...

Tirzah

and Liz

"I love my new brother!"

Say cheese.

Proud big brother giving Josh his first bottle.

Josh had way too much hair for my liking so he got a haircut right away.

Isn't he handsome!

Introducing Joshua Alan Mortimer!!!

2008-02-25T17:12:00.000-08:00

We were blessed to add Josh to the family in January. He was born on the 7th, 5 minutes ahead of his due date of January 8th. Josh was 9lbs 9oz and 22 3/4 in long. A big baby! Here are some pics from the hospital.

Proud daddy!

Proud and exhausted Mom! Although, if you can call labor easy...this one was pretty easy.

Bugga welcoming Josh into the world.

Jake and Ben came to see their new brother Josh at the hospital and to bring him home with them. They brought dinner too. They were so excited for Josh to come out of mom's tummy.

Gramps taking a turn at holding Josh for the first time.

Home from the hospital. Jake and Ben are so proud!

Christmas!

2008-01-23T19:49:00.000-08:00

This was the first Christmas that the boys (well at least Jake) have been able to understand a bit of what Christmas is all about. Since they both know what a birthday means (cake, ice cream, and presents!) they were able to make the connection that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and because God gave us the best gift of all, Jesus, we give presents on Christmas to celebrate His birthday. What an exciting time! Here are some pictures of our Christmas season. Hope you enjoy!

Gramps, Bugga, and our family kicked off the holiday fun by heading downtown to hear the drumcore. What a fun experience! The boys were enamored with the "toy soldiers" playing drums and enjoyed the fake snow.

We also hit up the Botanical Gardens to see all the Christmas lights. It was tough to get a good picture of this in the dark. Below is our family at the gardens.

What is Christmas without a little snow?

Ben and Jake picked out our tree this year. The Ikea special!

And they helped decorate too!

Ben was tough to get a normal facial expression out of. I wish I could put all the pictures of him on the blog. It was one funny face after another!

Here it is! The completed tree. Nothing too special but I figure there will be plenty of years to come where we can fancy it up a bit.

Christmas morning Bugga and Gramps came over for Coffee Cake, eggs, and stockings.

Our big pile of presents...despite the fact that we tried not to have too many. Mike and I didn't have to get the boys anything and still look at the big pile!

The boys got "wifebeaters" in their stockings like dad wears. Aren't they cute in their new undershirts!? They had a great time opening presents. We opened all day long because they enjoyed playing with each toy before moving to the next present to open. That's the way it should be!

Here is mom helping put together a new toy.

What Christmas dinner would be complete without a handful of olives?

And after all was said and done, the boys and mom relaxed on the couch and watched a movie. Life couldn't be better then this!

Happy Halloween!

2007-11-02T14:08:00.000-07:00

For us, Halloween started with a trip to the Pumpkin Patch. Jake and Ben took a little while to warm up to the baby calves, but once they did they thought it was great to pet them.

Here they are, scouting out the pumpkins.

Bingo, Jake found the one he wanted!

And Ben too, but he couldn't figure out how to lift it.

Jake carried his pumpkin all the way to the wagon, grunting and groaning the whole way. Funny thing is...he often tells me his backpack is too heavy for him when he doesn't want to carry it. Now I know better! Ben and Nancy watched in awe.

After a hard day of pumpkin searching we checked out the scarecrows.

A few days later. The boys couldn't wait for dad to get home from work to make faces in the pumpkins.

I was so surprised, Jake and Ben just got right into it! They pulled out the slimy insides and seeds with a little help from dad. Isn't being the picture taker a great job? My hands didn't havev to get messy at all!

Notice most of the rest of the pics we took are dad and Jake. Ben wasn't overly enthralled with the process. It was not entertanining enough. But Jake was fascinated.

The finished products! Dad's is on the right and Mom's is on the left.

Now to try on costumes. Thanks to a friend who loaned us these great suits.

This is the only smile we got from Ben while wearing the suit. In fact, the actual night of Halloween when we were getting ready to go to the church Harvest Party I asked Ben if he was ready to put on the dog suit and he just started to cry. Needless to say, it wasn't worth the battle so I put him in a Halloween t-shirt instead and he coycotted being a dog.

Jake on the other hand loved it and wanted to try it on too.

Here is Ben's new custome. Here we are at the party where every time we got to the front of the line the boys would cry and back out. It was a bit overwhelming. Ben finally found a corner to sulk in. Poor kid!

When we got home and picked up the mail we found packages from Grandma and Grandpa Parsons. What a treat!

Both boys got homemade PJ's, a card, and stickers.

Jake is saying "thanks Grandma Joan".

And off to bed they go wearing their new PJ's. What a fun week!

What Does Mike Do?

2007-10-12T23:58:00.000-07:00

I get asked this question all the time so I thought I would take a moment to brag about one aspect of his work. Here are some pics of the house his company built in one of their master-planned communities in Richland, WA. It is a beautiful property overlooking the river. The house won many awards in the Tri-Cities parade of homes, including Best Overall and the People's Choice award. Development isn't the only thing his company does, but it is a big part of it.

Our First Family Vacation

2007-10-12T22:41:00.000-07:00

Over labor day week we went to Coeur d'Alene with my sister and her family. It was a crazy time with 4 kids under 3yrs of age. It was definately a learning experience...how to vacation with kids. We had a good time but came home exhausted! With all these pics you would think we captured everything but we actually forgot our camera so we were at the mercy of my sister to take shots for us. Since we didn't hang out together every day we missed many great pics. How sad!

Uncle RJ and cousin Maddy, Mike and Ben watching the boats. Below are some pics of the favorite activity of the kids...beach time!

Maddy, Jake and Ben checking out the view from our deck.

One day we took a bike ride along the lake. Here we are stopped for lunch.

Apparently the ride was exhausting for Ben! He fell asleep and slumped over on Jake's chest. Jake was such a good big brother. I asked him if he could let Ben sleep there and Jake said yes and rested his chin on Ben's head. After awhile though, Jake started asking me to take Ben.

A family paddle boat ride.

Morning cartoons. Maddy is a sight in the morning isn't she?

Mike was pretty popular when he introduced the kids to pop rocks. Jake would just put them in his mouth and hold it open while they popped. Ben shoveled them in!

Waiting for the St Marie's parade to start.

Harvesting candy at the parade. It was quite the frenzy once the kids caught on that candy would be thrown from pretty much every float, truck, or motorbike that went by. And with their cute smiles and waves, wouldn't you throw them candy?

Jake going down the big slide at the St Maries playground.

On the way out of town we stopped to see Mike's childhood friend. He has fond memories of raising his gold prize pig on her farm. She was a strict "old" woman back then...Mike learned many a life lesson on her farm.

Mike touring St Maries and reliving his elementary years around town.

It's about time!!!

2007-10-12T17:13:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, it has been wa-a-ay too long since I updated the blog with our family news. From a family vacation to Coeur d'Alene to a parade at Salmon Days it has been an adventure. Hope you enjoy some of our recent and not so recent pics!

Grandma Joan and Grandpa Bob came to visit in September to watch the UW vs BSU football game. My brother, Jeff, and his family came as well. It is so fun now that Jake remembers my parents and looks forward to their visits. As I was uploading this picture today Jake was squealing over Grandma and Grandpa. He said "Look, there is our friend, Grandma Joan!" Everyone is our "friend". Here they are with the boys after Sunday morning church before heading home. We miss you!

Cousins Jonah and Norah were here to visit in September as well. Jake and Ben had a great time playing with them. They are enjoying rootbeer floats out on the deck after dinner in this picture. Nancy isn't used to having to share Jake so she tried to sit on the boys side. Norah's feelings were pretty hurt since no one wanted to sit by her but in the end we worked it out.

Uncle Steve is a real hit around our house. We have a picture of him playing ball on the fridge and the boys are always pointing at it and saying "there's Uncle Steve playing baseball!" It was so fun for them to have him around. You could just see the adoration in Jake's eyes! Ben was a little more hesitant but as you can see here, Steve slowly won him over.

I showed this picture to Jake and it has been the inspiration for much role playing. He pitches to Uncle Steve (me or whoever is willing to pretend to be Steve) over and over. Steve usually gets a hit and now a lot of times loses the bat too!

Just having a plain old good time! Here they are sitting on eachother's laps and yelling "cheese" for the camera.

singing..."Bob the Builder, can we fix it? Yes, we can!" Can you hear him?

Ben loves Jake's bed and is always climbing into it with him. Here they are at naptime snuggled in and ready for sleeping. Ok, so not really ready for naptime. Being in the same bed makes them too hiper! But posing for the camera, nevertheless.

With baby on the way, space being limited, and Ben being enamored with Jake's bed we decided it was time to bunk them! Ben is now in the bottom bunk and looks like a little spec in a sea of covers. He loves it though and is sleeping great. Jake is on the top bunk and everyday he tells me "I love my bed, I love my ladder!" This is their first night in the new beds. The next morning when we heard them chatting back and forth Mike shot out of bed like a cannon and rushed into their room. I am serious, I have NEVER seen Mike move so fast. I asked what they were doing in there and Mike said he had visions of Jake leaning over the top bunk to chat with Ben and falling out. Needless to say, I am sure I will never figure out how to get Mike out of bed that fast again! But the boys were fine and we haven't had any issues except keeping Ben off the ladder. He thinks he should be able to climb it like Jake but his legs just aren't long enough. We also moved all the toys out of the guest room and into the boys room so now they spend all their time in there. It is precious!

Getting ready for the next float to go by in the parade. Jake and Ben sport matching raincoats and hats that our beloved babysitter Gail made for them last year.

Yes, that is my child laying flat on a dirty, yucky stormwater grate in the middle of the street during the parade. He has taken to doing this with all grates because he likes the sound of his voice echoing when he yells down it. He also likes to throw things down it. Unfortunately the picture on the right is after cleaning Ben up. He was a mess. If you can see, he had dirt lining his mouth from actually pressing it against the grate. Oh, Benja, Benja! Always dirty, always getting hurt, always all boy!!!

Dad and the boys watching the parade.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame... and more!

2007-08-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

Abner Group, Mike's company, makes it to a Mariner's game yearly so we took the boys with us this time. Jake was very excited to watch a baseball game. Ben was clueless but he clapped when everyone else clapped and danced to the music. Here we are, boys paying close attention while Mike and I smile at the camera.

Jake was determined to catch a ball. I found this one of those heart breaking moments as a mother because he was so excited to "play" baseball and didn't understand that we were just watching. There was no way a foul ball was going to be hit where we were sitting but Jake had his glove out and ready anyway. Dad and Jake took a walk later to the lower levels so they could check out more of the action up close.

Ben and Dad goofing around at the game.

Earlier in the week, my dear friend Rachel came to visit. Jake loves babies and was enamored with baby Audrey. Rachel has 2 kids that are the same distance in age as our kids...16 months. Yes, we are both crazy but we love having them so close. Sam and Audrey are younger then my boys but we enjoy going on walks with them. They recently moved to Vancouver so we miss seeing them more.

Ben checking out baby Audrey as well. He doesn't quit know what gentle is like Jake does but he is learning by watching Jake how to be a little better in that department.

We also had a day visiting our friends Heather and Micah. I love this picture of them eating ice cream sandwiches in their backyard. Micah is a joy and loves to play with Ben (and Jake).

Finally, a favorite pasttime of the boys...to crawl into Jake's bed and read. Mike caught them on Sunday enjoying some time together and they both are saying "cheese". Can you tell?

A visit to MR JETSL in Richland

2007-08-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

Mike's company has property in Tri-Cities and since we have relatives over there we at times brave the drive over with him when he has business to do. This weekend we stayed in our "vacation home" at WillowPointe (a house in the subdivision Mike is building). This was the first time we didn't have to make Marc and Robin give up their bedroom and sleep on the couch so we could crash at their house. It made the experience much more enjoyable for everyone and we are looking foward to longer trips in the months to come. Here are some pics from our trip to see MR JETSL (Marc, Robin, Josiah, Elizabeth, Tirzah, Samuel, and Lydia).

Dad went fishing with Gramps and Uncle Marc on Saturday morning so the boys and I met his cousins at the park to hang out. Jake and Ben found their own fish to enjoy!

Jake loves his cousin Sam! The first thing he asked when we got to the park was "where's Sam?" Here they are sitting down and discussing the day.

Cousin Liz showing Ben around the playground. She took him up to the big slide and they rode down it together. She will be a great mother one day. Although, by the look on Ben's face at the bottom of the slide I am pretty sure once was enough for him!

Nobody ever takes my picture with the boys so this one is pretty special to me. Ben was exhausted after a late night and an early morning so he couldn't muster up a smile but he's still pretty cute!

Dad gave Jake and Ben both a ride on the zip swing.

Then Joe and Jake sat and watched the other kids get a ride. Jake is a lot like his cousin Joe when Joe was little. I think they will be great buds growing up. Don't they have the same look on their face? Joe's mouth is slightly smiling and Jake's is slightly frowning but other then that...

And back at the homestead...we can't forget cousin Tirzah who is a bundle of fun. The boys had lots of fun playing with her! In fact, Jake prayed for her about 10 times that night in his prayer so she must have made quite an impression. When they laugh...they could be twins. All the kids look like Mortimer's but Tirzah and Jake really look like Bugga so seeing them together was uncanny.

Another great reason for the visit? To celebrate Sam's 4th b-day and Gramps b-day. Here they are singing "to you" to eachother while the other kids drool over the cake.

Jake and Ben trying on the spiderman mask.

And last but not least...pics of Ben eating. I love the one on the right. He is having oatmeal for breakfast at one of those tall tables. The sun was bright since it was just coming up. The one on the left is post b-day cake.

Unfortunately, we didn't get any pics of Lydia. Next time, next time.

Lunch at Dad's Office, Ice Cream at Bugga's

2007-08-05T21:21:00.000-07:00

Ben loves basketball and always goes straight to Bugga's stash of balls when we get to Dad's office. Here he is posed and ready for a slam dunk.

Hot dogs for lunch at Dad's office in the conference room. I look at this picture and can see why people think the boys look so much alike. Ben sure doesn't look much like a baby anymore! Good thing we are having another one...these little guys are growing up way too fast for me.

Ahh, how sweet! Ben and Dad giving good-bye hugs.

" Mom, Mom, It's ice cream time!" That's the cry that echos thru the house whenever ice cream is pulled out of the freezer. Jake loves green ice cream. The boys are saying "cheese" for the camera!

This is Ben's first ice cream cone. He can't seem to figure out how to get that ice cream out of the cone. He figured out after awhile that you could eat it all. Don't you love his green goatee and the green trail down his chest?

A Few Random Pics

2007-07-25T21:21:00.000-07:00

Ben and Dad enjoying lounging on the couch after a Sunday afternoon nap. Is Mike getting a double chin? Mike, you need to get some working out in! Mom and the boys enjoying ice cream and a movie at Bugga's house.
Jake and Dad looking thru the tacklebox to find the perfect lure to catch that big bass!
This pic is a little older but it is just one of my favorites. Ben loves watermelon!

Another Trip to the Zoo- Seattle

2007-07-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

Another exciting day at the zoo for the Mortimer boys! We went with our friends Steve and Heather and their son Micah. It was a great time.

Micah was so sweet to care for Ben while we were walking around. He held his hand and showed him around. Ben was a willing participant.

Jake got to feed the birds. I thought he would be scared of them but he wasn't at all! Steve got several birds to sit on his stick which had bird seed attached to the end. He was going to let Jake hold the stick with the bird on it but Jake misunderstood and tried to grab the bird. Needless to say, the bird took off in a hurry and we all got a good laugh.

A Trip to the Ballard Locks

2007-07-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone- We had a rare morning today where both boys slept in until 9:30am! That has never happened before but we recently moved Jake and Ben into the same room so they are adjusting. It is so much fun to wake up in the morning to hear the boys chattering and belly laughing back and forth. I can leave them in there for almost an hour as they happily entertain eachother. It is great! After our trip to Boise where they both slept great on our crazy out of town schedule I knew I was ready to take the plunge and put them in the same room.

Anyway...all that to say, after we got up and around this morning we headed to the Ballard Locks to see the boats and fish. Jake is a little

camera shy this period of life so good pics are hard to get but enjoy what I have. After looking at boats and fish we ran across a sousa marching band (old folks so they weren't actually marching) and the boys danced and clapped their hands as we listened.

MK Morts go to Boise for the 4th

2007-07-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! The little boys and I went to Boise for the 4th of July week and had a great time with Grandpa Bob, Grandma Joan, and all our cousins and friends. Mike joined us for the weekend so I was glad for the extra hands on the flight home. Here are some pics. Unfortunately, I always forget to take more pics so we didn't get any of the boys with their cousins. Next time, next time...

First stop, the Boise Zoo with Grandma Joan. It was hot, hot, hot but the boys didn't seem to mind. Jake was enamored with the butterfly exhibit and told everyone how a butterfly landed on mom's arm.

The boys aren't too much into water sports but they did enjoy the kiddie portion of Cousin Geri's pool. Here are some pics of them trying on the goggles. Ben looked hilarious!

Jake got to go to the race track with Grandpa Bob and Dad. He loved it and came home talking about the fast cars and crashes. He also watched the original Herbie movie "The Love Bug" for the first time while in Boise. He hasn't stopped pretending that race cars are crashing and losing tires ever since. We went to the grocery store and had a car shopping cart. Jake kept having to get out and go get his lost tire to put back on. What a boy!

Well, I hope you enjoy my first attempt at blogging! More pics and stories to come as we have more adventures. The boys are growing up fast and doing new things everyday so I am sure there will be something to post soon!