Another blog post about Haiti

Man, the blogosphere is littered with blogs about Haiti recently, and with good reason. This is a country that has been absolutely decimated by a natural disaster. I'll be honest, as soon as I heard about the terrible situation, saw the footage of mass graves, read the reports of orphans coming to the US for adoption, and the stories of looters getting killed by those just trying to protect what little they have, I to felt compelled to get on a plane and go down to help. Interestingly, me going at this time is just not practical. I do not have the skills to treat someone with even the simplest of injuries. I have never been to Haiti, so don't really know what to expect. But I still want to help......

What I can do is give to organizations like the Red Cross, One Vision International, Samaritans purse, and a slew of many others. These organizations have the ability, equipment, and personnel to get things done much more efficiently than I would. Let me just say that probably the most ingenious way of raising money is the one by the Red Cross, with text Haiti to 90999 campaign. This is a very quick and easy way to donate $10 to a really good cause. Also, I am quite certain that me going down would somehow hamper search and rescue efforts. The last thing that these organizations need is to have to stop what they are presently doing to rescue people getting themselves into trouble with very good intentions.

I ate dinner with a good friend of mine last week, who is a family physician. He is actually in Haiti right now with a group that is sponsored by One Vision International. In his own words, he told me how he had to turn the news off, because it was "killing him that he wasn't doing anything." He likened it to driving past a car wreck on the interstate, and just slowing down and looking. It was eating him alive inside. When he initially contacted the group that he is with, the airport in Porte Prince was stilled closed. The group was actually considering dropping the doctors by parachute into Haiti! Think about that a minute: There are international groups that were trying so hard to get help to Haiti that they were looking at parachuting in doctors there. I think that says a lot for the compassion, ingenuity, and resources that these groups have. Fortunately, the airports began to open in the country as well as in the Dominican Republic.

I guess my point in all this is that we should do our part where we can make the most impact. I can give some money presently to organizations that have the resources to use the money appropriately. My friend can go to Haiti now, because he has the skills and training to help those that are hurting. Don't get me wrong: I truly feel I will be in Haiti in the future. There will come a time when the rebuilding phase of Haiti will come. When that time comes, I am almost certain that I will go down to help out where I can.

* Praises

I also wanted to do a list that focused on praises for the year, although I am not going to force a perfect ten, just see what I get...

• My dad has prancreatitis - a strange praise, I know, but considering for a few months we thought it was cancer and I was quite thankful for the alternative diagnosis. I was thankful that Christmas with my family was much like the years before rather than the one I had visualized when we thought our time was short.
• Judah got a new job - although mentioned in the summary list, it belongs here as well. Having dad at home is a great blessing.
• My niece is no longer allergic to eggs - although told she could grow out of it when first discovered, the allergy caused some added stress to my sister that I am thankful no longer exists. Although when I learned how they test for being completely 'cured' I was a bit surprised. (Apparently the final test was to feed her some eggs in the doctors office and then stare at her and wait for her to blow up like a balloon and stop breathing - what does that test look like on a medical bill? $0.99 for eggs, $299 for professional watching services?)
• My step-father had successful neck surgery that greatly reduced some pain he had. immediate relief does not always come and I am thankful he had a season with less pain.
• Another year of visits with my grandmother. Although some of her health issues make visits more challenging I am thankful for the time. I am thankful for the pictures at Thanksgiving with all her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Grandparents are the icing on the cake of life.
• I am thankful for the relative good health and well being of my children and husband. Other than common illnesses we have had a relatively uneventful year. Judah's father had fairly serious kidney issues and Judah was tested for that particular birth defect in December, thankfully showing no defect. But he was told to drink less coffee and more water (that last part would probably not register as a praise on his list).

Not bad for one year. God is good-all the time.

* So Long to 2009

Today I am finding this blog fairly entertaining because I can now look back at this time last year and be reminded of those moments in time, and simultaneously proud that I am getting my year in review post done three weeks earlier this year :) Next year when I am running behind again I will not like the blog so much because it will remind me that I am behind. But that will be the 2011 Michelle's problem.

Before my list a quick comment on the college dinner last night. For some reason we put off taking down the Christmas decorations until yesterday when it occurred to us that all the college kids would not fit in our dining room with the tree up. So as the kids arrived they were greeted with the task of putting away decorations in order to have space to eat. They may not have taken to the task so well had they not realized that in order to get food they had to clean up. I did not put any of my ornaments away, since I was in the kitchen. Several times I peeked in the dining room to see several young adults standing around a table trying to find the ornament to their hallmark box. Best quote from a somewhat frustrated ornament hunter" 'My Second Christmas' where are you?!?" What a box of memories I will have next year when none of my stuff is where I would have put it, but that is a problem for the December 2010 Michelle. On to the list...

• Judah got a new job that does not require him to travel to China and simultaneously did not require us to move. So half way into 2009 we said so long to China. He still made enough trips in the first half of the year to miss a lot of ballgames. I am looking forward to more equally sharing baseball practices with him this year.
• In response to Judah's new job, and our realization that we may be here in Knoxville for quite some time, we decided to put our house up for sale. Much has been boxed up and moved out. We have redone the floors in the downstairs and the ceiling downstairs has been painted. Since we had already painted every wall, the house is fairly nice looking if I do say so myself. Unfortunately this realization came in the fall, after the normal selling season. We have more hope for the upcoming spring. Maybe next year's list will include the sale and purchase of another new home.
• Our son played a lot of baseball this year. Spring ball , followed by the ALL STAR team, of which he was very proud. ( I admit that I had mixed feelings, due to the honor of making the team required more practice and a few games) We apparently enjoyed that season so much we signed up for fall ball. This is where we learned that in fall ball they don't keep score and no one wins. That was a strange season. This year we move up in age bracket and the rules change a bit so I am interested to see how much we will like it.
• I began teaching a 'gymnastics' class at the preschool in our church building. This has made Tuesdays quite different in our home. The kids at the preschool are adorable and I get to use my gross motor development skills. The bonus is that my daughter gets to sit in a class on that day. She LOVES her class and her teachers, who are really amazing in my opinion. They call the bathroom the 'loo' and everyone sits on their 'coolio' in circle time. Sounds unusual at times but is perfect for keeping the attention of four year olds.
• Academically our son is now reading long chapter books and is quite taken with reading. Awesome! (He is reading the magic tree house books and had finished the first 14, he will only read them in order, whose son is that? :) )Our daughter is able to recognize all her letters and is working on sounds and writing now. As a quasi-home-schooler I am proud of their learning. It makes me feel like I am not slacking.
• I returned to Africa for the second year and felt much more prepared for the children I went to see and work with. I was able to spend a portion of everyday with them and continue to be amazed at God's love for His creation and the people in His kingdom around the world. I have already told myself that I will be taking this year off, so my son will see his mother on his spring break every now and then.
• With several other families in our church we began a change in our children's ministry. Judah and I host the Sunday morning time called 'KidZone' where parents and children come together to learn more about God's word. We have talked more about this on the blog so I won't go into detail. I can see how much more of the lessons my children retain and apply in their lives. Overall it has been awesome. We will be finishing our first year in just a few weeks and looking forward to another.
• Around the same time that we began a change in our children's ministry Judah was also named the 'college minster.' I am so proud of the college students in our group. Long ago we started with a core group (founding members according to some) of six students. Now through another graduating class and several friends we have a group of sixteen. God is moving in their lives and it is an honor to be a part of it.
• As a result of the college ministry we began some consistent acts of service in partnership with an urban church. It is good for our young adults to see how they are needed in the 'big picture.' It has also been a great way to teach our own children, small though they are, that the world extends outside their home and that God wants us to show love and service to others. And it is pretty good for me too. We come home on those days and I know I did not waste my time. How many other days do I feel like I squandered God's gift of time- more than I want to think about.
• As always there are a ton of other things that happen during the year that really make up life such as texting, Thursdays, bookclubs, keeping my nieces for a week over the summer (see appropriate post), scrapbooking (although not as much this year), family visits and a trip to the beach with everyone, friends (even those in Arkansas not mentioned in the last years post but remembered for this one), my son riding his bike in the street (So Big!), college and senior dinners, grandma's house (and pool), two turtles (who sadly are no longer with us), and on and on and on ...

2010 looks to be starting off alright, although terribly cold. Cold without any good snow, wasted temperature in my opinion. If it is going to be less than 32 for several days we should get some flakes that stick. We will probably get moisture a day after the temperature rises to 45.

Wishing you all a blessed year, can't wait to compare this years list to next...