Josh's arrival to the orphanage

I got a few more phone calls from Josh today. The first one was very brief, I could tell he was on the road. It sounded like a bumpy rough ride. He had to go suddenly and told me he'd call later. He called just a little later and told me about how bad the roads were. He said most of it was from the civil war in Liberia in the beginning of this century. He told me he was about 10 minutes from the orphanage and he'd call later tonight.

He called shortly after his arrival to the orphanage and told me about his grand arrival. He said the kids ran out to greet him about 1/2 a mile away and ran behind the vehicle the rest of the way. They sang songs and danced. One of the songs they sang was, "Welcome Visitor." It sounded like an amazing moment. He told me he met the 3 kids we sponsor and how exciting a day it was for them. Nohn, the girl we sponsor carries around the picture we sent her several months ago. Josh said he had been greeted by the most beautiful children on earth! He doesn't have his luggage yet, he'll find out tomorrow night if he'll get it soon. He has one change of clothes and bought some stuff more clothes today. He doesn't have any bug spray or medicine or any of the tools. Please pray they find and deliver his luggage soon, for the children's sake!

Then he called not very much later and when I said hello I heard a bunch of children saying, "Hello Brooke." It was breath-taking. Josh told me the kids wanted to talk to me, he passed the phone around and I got to talk to Nohn first. She sounds as beautiful as she looks. I also got to talk to Luogon, one of the two boys we sponsor. It was so neat to be able to talk to them, I can't imagine how awesome it was to meet them! I got to talk to a couple more kids, we were basically just saying hello and they would introduce themselves. Then Josh said, who else wants to talk to Brooke and I heard a dozen voices say "ME!" So, Josh put me on speaker phone and I said hello and they all said hello Brooke. I started laughing, it was so beautiful. They all laughed at me laughing. It was a neat moment. I told them I wanted to be there and meet them and that I prayed for them often, then they all told me goodbye.

Josh called once more tonight and he was free to talk for a few more minutes. He told me the food was really good and that he can't even come up with words to describe the events of the day. He told me the kids were amazing, they just want to come and sit in his lap and be loved! How I would love to just sit around and love those kids all day! He said that they have bugs and lizards different than here. The bugs are like lightening bugs, but don't fly, they just crawl around on the ground. He said, "it looks like there is glitter allover the ground." He seems to be doing so well.

Please continue to pray for him and his continued safety. Pray that he gets the tools needed to do the projects arrive soon or that God will provide another way!

Josh is safe in Liberia

Josh is safe in Liberia! I've talked to him twice, very briefly, since he made it. The first time was this afternoon around 4:30. As soon as I heard his voice, I started crying. I've done so well today, I guess I was just worried about him not being safe. When I heard his voice I was so happy, I just lost it. Josh said they lost his luggage, but hopefully they'll find it soon. He has an extra pair of clothes in his carry-on, so hopefully he'll be okay. I'm sure it had to do with his numerous connecting flights. He sounded so good, he said he'd slept well and that was about it.

The second phone call was around 7:30. This time we talked a little longer, about 4 or 5 minutes and I only teared up. He sounded so good again. He said he already had so much to tell me. He said the culture there was so different. I asked him if he'd eaten and he said he had rice with some stew/soup, and African bananas. He said it was really good. He's staying in Monrovia tonight with Pastor Emmanuel and his wife, they have given Josh their room. Even though he doesn't have his luggage with all the tools and supplies he was planning on using to build the picnic tables, he is heading to the orphanage and school in Camp Four tomorrow. Hopefully they'll find his luggage soon and get it to him without too much trouble.

Please continue to remember him in your prayers, pray for his continued safety, that the luggage will be found and delivered soon, and that God will be glorified! I'll update later when I have more info.

Early Morning Phone Call

This morning at 4:45am I was awakened from a deep sleep by my phone ringing. I didn't recognize the number, but answered it immediately. It was none other than my dear husband! He called me from Brussels to tell me he had landed safely and was waiting to connect to his final flight to Monrovia, Africa. I think it was like 10:45am where he was. He said he had gotten some sleep and sounded really good! He was so excited to be in Europe again. He said he wants to take me there very soon! He was texting me before the flight to Brussels left and said he was on a big plane, there were 9 seats across. He had his own touchscreen TV and remote. He also told me he could hear several different languages, including French. He sounded so excited. Well, I'll post when I hear from him again. I think he is supposed to land in Liberia around 3 or 4 pm our time, but I don't know if he will be able to call or not. Please continue to send up your prayers for him.

Leaving for Liberia

Today I depart for Liberia. This morning I have been a basketcase. It really hit me this morning how much i'm gonna miss Brooke while I'm away. We're an inseperable pair; we do everything together. This morning we both cried & cried. I know...I'm a softy when it come to my wife.

Packed my bags in just enough time to leave. One bag was 50lbs exactly...WOW! The other one was 65 pounds, so I had to pay $50 extra for it. Checkin at the airport in Charlotte went smoothly; it's probably the first time I got through metal detectors on the first try! This was the place where I saw Brooke for the last time (more tears).

I made it to the gate, only to board the plane, pull out from the gate, then pull back up to the gate and deboard. It seems there is a problem with the de-icer, so as it is now, my 12:25pm flight will be a 2pm flight (best-case). That's okay though...better safe than sorry.

UPDATE: Plane was broke, so now I am on a new flight (US AIR) to Chicago, on a packed plane, in a middle seat, but I'm getting there!

Baby Update

Wednesday we had another doctor appt. and our big ultrasound. Its the one to determine that all the organs are developing properly and the plus is you can sometimes find out the sex...IF you want to. Well, Josh and I may be a little old-fashioned, but we want to wait until the delivery to find out. We think it will be so exciting to hear the words, "Its a Boy" or "Its a Girl!" So, we went in to our ultrasound and told them, we didn't want to know. Everything looked absolutely great! We saw all four chambers of the heart. She said all the other organs looked good as well. We didn't look went she checked out the legs. It was very tempting though! She said she could tell what it was, but didn't tell us. She didn't even write it on the chart, so the doctors can't slip up and accidently tell us later. At the time of the ultrasound, I was 18 weeks 1 day pregnant, but Thumper measured 19 weeks 1 day. There is a 10 day margin of error, but I'd rather be bigger than smaller. The average weight of an 18 week baby is 5 oz and Thumper was 9oz. The doctor said not to worry, we weren't on our way to a 10 pound baby! That was a relief! The heart rate was 151 and strong, which is great too.

Josh and I both really enjoyed seeing Thumper, he/she was moving allover the place. First on the back, then flipped to the belly. The ultrasound tech said, he/she is just dancing allover the place! I can handle a dancer! Either way, we decided, Thumper has Daddy's energy. I will try to scan and post the pics soon. We got a really cute one of the sweet baby feet! Its my favorite!

Josh leaves in 2 days for Liberia, please pray that he can get packed and prepared for his trip. Please continue to pray for both of us during this time. Pray that he has a safe and productive trip and that I'm not too emotional without him. God had blessed us with a wonderful marriage and friendship and that makes for a difficult separation when we are apart. We both know that it will make our marriage stronger and we are at peace with Josh going and me staying, but it is still bittersweet. We'll keep you posted on his status.

Best Wife | Awesome Family

I just have to take a moment and brag to you about my wife Brooke. As many of you know, she had planned to spend time alongside me in Liberia on this trip, but due to the pregnancy she was unable to go. We are best friends, so being away from each other for even a week would have been difficult (we've only spend 3 days apart at one time since being married); 3 weeks is a lifetime.

It is going to be difficult on us, especially for my 19-week pregnant wife. Brooke has been very strong though.

All the supplies!

On Thursday, she found my packing list among my pile of paperwork, and she went to Wal-Mart and purchased EVERY single thing on the list. It's important to know though that this wasn't my personal packing list...it was one of those "you might need these things" kind of list. Needless to say, my wonderful bride purchased $300 worth of supplies for me! I have flashlights, batteries, medication, canned tuna (for protein), camping knives, etc. It looks like I'm going to backpack the Appalachian Trail. I guess when you are embarking on a 3-week trip to 3rd-world Africa living in the bush, it is a lot like backpacking! What a wonderful surprise....my packing is now 80% done! Look at ALL the stuff Brooke got for my trip!

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An additional surprise: Last night Brooke, along with her dad and stepmom, planned and hosted little going-away cookout for me with family and friends.

There were even cowboys and cowgirls at my farewell cookout!

What a neat time! We had all sorts of good food, but the best part was when my father-in-law Rick gathered the family around for a time of prayer and commissioning. It is a practice within the Christian community to "commission" someone before they leave to do mission work. Rick setup the moment by talking about his experience in missions, then he and the entire group gathered around me, layed hands on me, and prayed for my time in Africa. It was exactly what I needed. Up to this point, I haven't perceived many folks interested that I'm traveling to a country with no power grid to live in an orphanage in the Liberian wilderness for 3 weeks to serve the orphans and the community. Last night though, there was a lot of conversation, questions and answers, and the beautiful time of prayer. I feel much more prepared to travel now. HUGE thank you to the Richardsons, Crockers, and Giambrones for making the evening special for me.

Love,
josh

My time is running out...

Last minute preparations are now underway for my departure to Liberia, just 5 days away now. As tends to happen with everything else I do in life, I have over-committed myself, and am now forced to now scratch some things off my "to-do" list.

I have been very busy with Graybrooke projects, which is a great thing!
In the past month, Graybrooke constructeded a 200 square foot deck nine feet off the ground (at the highest point), and have started work on a bathroom project in Huntersville. It is looking like the bathroom project will have a 3-week lapse, because we are behind schedule on it. Because of the timing of my trip, I have also had to turn down a $17,000 project because I will be gone, and the homeowner couldn't wait for me to return. I pray Graybrooke will still be busy with projects when I return.

I completed my classwork for my contractors exam a few weeks ago, but since I haven't had any time to study for the big exam, I had to also put that off until I return from Liberia. With my bad memory, I hope I'm able to remember all that I need to for the exam, now over a month away.

Some of you remember that when I was leaving for France when I was in college, I packed my bags the morning of departure. I am hoping (planning) that I don't do that again this time. There are way too many odd items that I need to acquire that I need to take with me to Liberia (manual tools, bolts & hardware, money belt, etc.). I also have to prepare to preach a few of times while in the country....and I haven't preached in years!

Lots of things going on.
Trying to determine what HAS to happen, and what can WAIT until my return.

- josh

Prayer for Charlie

In just one week, I will be in Liberia joining up with Charlie Godfrey, the American high school student already in Liberia (Charlie has been in Liberia since February). Even though there is no power or electricity at the orphanage, Charlie can use a cell phone because there is a tower located high on a mountain in the vicinity, and the signal reaches. For the past few weeks or so, we have received phone updates from Charlie about everything that is going on, and what I need to bring with me.

Yesterday Charlie phoned home with some not-so-great news. Charlie was left alone to teach the Liberian Children and some of the older students got into a fight. The youth who were fighting were around 17 years old, right around Charlie's age. I can only imagine that it shook Charlie up...there was probably not much he could do to stop it.

I will be there in just a week to join Charlie and offer him some help. I've always enjoyed working with somewhat challenging students (some of you remember our times at Sutton Park Community Day Camp*), but this will certainly be a new challenge for me.

Pray for the children at the orphanage. West Africa is a hurting land with a history of violence. Many children have been orphaned because of the 2nd civil war that occurred in Liberia (2001-2003); many children witnessed their own parents being killed before their own eyes. They have a lot of hurt and stored-up emotions. Please pray that their hearts would be softened, that the peace and forgiveness of Jesus will flow over them, and that Charlie will be equipped with everything he needs to tackle another day.

Peace,
Josh


*The Sutton Park Community Day Camp was a camp started by Shad Hicks in the lower-income community in Monroe known as Sutton Park. The camp used to last for two weeks at the church Shad was the pastor of. Unfortunately, the congregation never shared Shad's vision to reach-out to the community that surrounded their church, and so eventually Shad moved on and the church did not continue the day camp. At it's peak, however, a hundred or more youth (up to 18 years old) would come to the day camp from the surrounding area, to learn about Jesus, play some games, but mostly just to have someone adorn them with attention. Times were sometimes (always) challenging with the teens who were not used to supervision of any type, but the rewards were great!

Great Week

We've had a very busy week! Its been a lot of fun too. Monday we went and ate dinner at my Mom's with my Grandpa & Marge. Josh and I spent Monday night there and had a great day with them on Tuesday. I love watching Josh and my grandpa talk...they get along so well. They talk about how stuff works and building things all the time...its funny. Tuesday night we decided they needed the experience of La Unica, our favorite Mexican restaurant. I was a little nervous, as they are used to Tex-mex, a different kind of Mexican food in Texas. They seemed to enjoy it though! After dinner, we came to our house and visited for awhile. It was neat seeing them in our environment. We really enjoyed it and didn't want it to end. While they were in town they Lavished Thumper with tons of presents!! It was almost like a mini baby shower!

Wednesday mom and I met up to go pick up her friend from the airport. We stopped at Baby's R Us on the way and spent about an hour there! Then we picked her friend up and went and ate at Carraba's! Yum! It was so good. From there we went our separate ways, but not before Nancy, mom's friend could give Thumper a gift. She's a long time Longhorn and gave us 2 cute little onesies and two pacifiers. My favorite paci says, "I'm new." I think its too cute!

Yesterday was a day I had been waiting for. We had a dentist appointment, and while, I love our dentist, that isn't why I was so excited. Our dentist is near Concord Mills, so we went to Build-A-Bear. I wanted to build something for Thumper. We built a rabbit, named Thumper and really had a good time. We only bought a $2 pacifier, so it didn't cost much at all! We both enjoyed it and loved bringing Thumber home to meet Asher...he kept kissing the bunny...it was adorable! Last night we had dinner with my cousin, Keenan and his girlfriend, at La Unica, YES again! I love that place! We all had fun.

Wonderful Neighbors

Well, to sum things up, we've been so busy lately. Josh is making last minute preparations for his trip. Graybrooke business is doing so well, Josh can hardly keep up, which is such a blessing! I am doing my best to get to work and complete my school assignments on time. I haven't been feeling good at all and if I do feel okay, I haven't done much house work. My goals have been to try to keep the dishes done and to do the laundry every week. Needless to say, the house has been neglected in a big way. Well, Easter Sunday, Josh went to go visit family in Kernersville and I had to work. I called my friend/neighbor, Denise, to check on a friend of hers who was in the hospital. She asked how I was and I spilled my guts. I told her I was overwhelmed, I had a 5 page paper due Wednesday, my grandpa was in town from Texas and my house was a wreck. I was worried about getting the house clean and paper done before Grandpa and Marge come to visit. She asked what she could do to help, and I replied nothing. Well, that was that...or so I thought. I came home and Josh was still visiting family. I just sat in the car, I didn't want to come inside. I didn't know where to begin when I came home. Then I finally mustered up enough courage to come inside and didn't recognize my house! The floors were swept, the two bags of trash were gone, the junk was off the table and sat neatly on the floor, they had dusted, made the bed, and vacuumed to name a few things. I just spun around in circles looking at what had been done. I was kind of embarrassed to think they saw my house at the worst ever. Here are some pictures. I'm glad I don't have any before pictures, but just imagine dishes and junk everywhere! Josh and I are so thankful and grateful for such wonderful friends who help out without being asked. Something that may seem simple, like cleaning the house, was such a huge blessing to us. I finished my paper, and we spent some great time with my family and they got to see our house...clean...thanks to the Giambrones!

FAQ 2 - Why Do You Ask Us For Money? Shouldn't You Spend Your Own Money For The Trip?

This is a question that has been asked, both directly & indirectly, since we've been raising support for the Liberia Mission trip. Since there are many different people getting our newsletters and following our blog, some who belong to the Christian faith and others who do not, I will attempt to answer this honest question respectfully and to the best of my ability. If there is somewhere in the post when I am not clear, or there is a part that you take issue with, please bring it to my attention so I may correct the oversight.

As a Christian, we have only one identity: Christ. Jesus set the example as He drew no boundaries between Himself and those to whom He chose to minister.⁽¹⁾

I liked the wording from that source, so I kept it in it's entirety. Basically, Jesus is the example for those who are of the Christian faith. When in doubt, look and see how Christ handled things. Christ told his disciples (those who followed Him) that they were to go into "the uttermost parts of the world."⁽²⁾
Without making this too long-winded, I'll summarize to say that those who follow Christ are to be involved in missions.

But how many of us can realistically take 2 weeks, or a month, or a year or more off of work and do missional work? Not all of us can. I know it has even become difficult for me to get away from work, and I own my own company! However, in Corinthians, the body of believers that are called Christianity are described as having different roles, just as a body has different parts that has specific roles.⁽³⁾ Even though we are supposed to be involved with missions, not all of us will actively serve; but we can all still be a part of missions by partnering with others who are willing to sacrifice on the mission field. Many of us will do this by coming alongside those who do physically serve, making their stint financially possible. Many will also be partners of encouragement & prayer to the individual. In most cases it's not easy for missionaries to leave the life of comfort & stability, and leave family behind; encouragement from friends can make all the difference in the world. There are other ways to partner too, like donating tools, equipment, buying food/clothes, etc.

There are some folks who can outright afford to fund their own mission trip in it's entirety. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, but it does take away the ability to have others individuals serve through the said individual, since there can be no partnership (at least, financially). There is something humbling that happens when people are forced to rely on God and others to supply their financial means. For me personally, it has been an eye-opening experience. Generally, those who are wealthy make little or no contribution; those who struggle from bill-to-bill generally make the greatest contributions. Sounds crazy huh? But it's been true for us.

Being dependent on contributions from someone with little-to-no income is a humbling thing, and it puts a new burden of responsibility on those serving (in a good way). I have shed tears for the contributions that have been made towards this trip. It also gives an opportunity for G-d to show up and give confirmation to the trip; if there are no funds, it's probably a good sign that G-d is saying to "wait".

If you are someone who still questions giving to a cause like this, then please find somewhere else to contribute. We are all at different places in this journey, and some are simply not on the journey at all. That's okay. I just ask that you be sensitive to how your heart is being led, then be obedient.

For those who do contribute in some form, thank you for the bottom of my heart. You'll probably never know how much it means to me personally, that you would entrust me to serve on your behalf. I pray that every moment I am serving on your/our behalf is time well spent.

Even if you don't agree with giving to missions and/or missionaries, at least maybe you now understand why people do ask.




References:
(1) http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:ByCakIV0CZMJ:www.cedarrockbaptist.com/sermons/060910%2520The%2520Biblical%2520Mandate%2520for%2520Missions.pdf+missions+biblical+mandate&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
(2) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%201:8;&version=51;
(3) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2012:12-31;&version=51;