Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day!

We (Sally and I) are truly blessed. We have both grown up in loving families that have strived to honor God in words and actions. We have grown up knowing that our mothers loved us unconditionally, cared for us, and sacrificed many things for our good. Even though it is totally inadequate, we want to say 'thank you' to Mom Jessup and Mom Pepper!
You have inspired us, loved us, blessed us, protected us, prayed for us, and most of all, set a great example for us of a loving parent. We can say without a doubt that much of who we are today is because of you and your love for God. And you continue to bless us by loving our kids and showing them what it means to be a godly woman.

I (Larry) want to tell all of you how proud I am of Sally. There's a lot of reasons, but today particularly, I praise God for the amazing way that she has raised our three kids. She is an amazing mother to them, following in the example of hers and my mom (and other godly mothers you can read about in the Bible) through loving, caring, helping, listening, teaching, and praying daily for the kids. She has set for them a great example of a godly mother, much like the description in the 31st chapter of the book of Proverbs. I love you Sally!

We are very proud of our kids, and I know that much of who they are today and who they are becoming is because of what Sally has done over the past 23 years.

I want to close with these thoughts. I have been blessed to have a godly mother, a godly mother-in-law, and a godly mother of my children. It is something that should never be taken for granted. We are realizing just how many kids here in Lesotho have not had the privilege we have had to have loving mothers. The last estimate I heard was that of 250,000 orphans! Kids that desperately need a godly mother to care for them and love them. This past week as we left a mountain clinic the pilot pointed out a village that was discovered to be totally void of adults as they had all died of HIV/AIDS (or had left). A village full of orphans that were trying to take care of each other. When the Lesotho government realized it they did garner up significant support to help these kids. My point is that there are likely other villages heading towards that same state. Progress is being made in treating HIV/AIDS but many are still dying (4/hr). Join us in praying for these kids. Pray that the hearts of many people will be opened to find ways to love these kids. I don't know the answer to this challenge, but I do know that the Scriptures tell us that God is the Father to the Fatherless and cares for orphans. Pray that these kids will experience God's mercy, forgiveness, and grace today.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Home from the Hospital...

Praise be to the living and all powerful God! Sally and I wanted to share some good news on an answer to prayer. Today we saw the infant and the 4 year old toddler go back home to their mountain village. They were flown back by the same MAF pilot.

If you recall from our last blog (4/25), we had told you about the infant with severe pneumonia, gasping for every breath, whom I was certain wouldn't survive, and the toddler with sudden onset paralysis. We flew them to the airstrip in Maseru and took them by ambulance to be admitted to Queen II National Hospital pediatrics ward. We are so thankful for the care that was given to them (thanks Dr. Raj and team) and for the answered prayers for their recovery. After 4 days on oxygen and antibiotics the infant was able to go off oxygen and breath normally. She was cared for by her elderly grandmother the whole two weeks. The little boy gradually regained strength in his legs and hands and was able to stand by today. We are praying that he will recover the rest of his leg function in the coming days and weeks.

I shared with the grandmother and the aunt how there were people in the USA praying asking God to help these kids recover. Their faces lit up with a smile when they heard that. Tonight they are back in the mountains, and I am certain they have some stories to tell. I hope to see them next month when we make our visit to the health clinic at Matekane Village.

And another good thing, I finally got my official letter from the Ministry of Health appointing me as Medical Director for LFDS. Sally and I worked this afternoon arranging my office over at the hanger to make it more efficient as I serve both as doctor and administrator. Pray that I will have wisdom in all my decisions and really reflect the love of Christ to all our staff and patients.

If you would, continue to pray for the MAF team (pilots and mechanics) as they keep the aircraft in tiptop shape and fly safe. Some have said it is one of the most challenging areas to fly in, yet they do a fantastic job. And thank God for his loving provision of healing for these two kids. God bless you and stick with us as we continue to pray to see God's kingdom advance in Lesotho.

Khotso, Pula, Nala (Peace, Rain, and Prosperity).