mail

We just got a check in the mail from OATH ministries for Mercy! $300. What a blessing. What was more touching was the note hand written by Cindy, who has adopted from Haiti like us.

Here's what she wrote:

We shared Mercy's picture at our OATH event. Although funds were low this time, some families made decisions to adopt and others to sponsor children. We trust that this small amount is encouraging to you. We'd love to do more. May you bring Mercy home soon. We're thankful for your hearts.

Pray for us on Friday the 11th (or any day is great!!)

Please join in prayer for our adoption...

good friends have created an adoption prayer chain to pray to families in the adoption process. Our day is December 11th. Samuel's file is still in Haiti although his adoption is final. We are waiting to exit MOI.

Please especially pray for Mercy, for paperwork to come together, for no hangups and for things to process quickly. For her health and seizure condition, and for her heart to be prepared. Also pray that God will provide the remaining finances for travel and other fees. So far He has been faithful!!

Since we have asked for prayer for Mercy her seizures have been a lot less and she is doing so much better. The doctor in the US was able to suggest a medication for her that was able to be located in Uganda. Praise God!

Sizes

Shoe size is 30 (12)
she is 113 cm long (44.48 inches)
she is 18 kg (39.68 lbs.)

She is wearing size 110 now but might be a size bigger to. (5)


Mercy is talking on a fake phone with daddy all day now.
Maybe you can call once?

from a visitor

It’s so good to hear from you. It was such a pleasure to meet Mercy, she is a very sweet girl and I can only imagine the joy she will bring to your life. In response to your questions about Mercy, I can only give you some limited insight since I spent a total of twenty minutes or so with Mercy. I actually came to know Mercy because her case was mentioned to me because my mentor at Yale is a world-renowned epilepsy surgeon and there was some suggestion that she might need a good epilepsy surgeon. I spoke with - who mentioned that Mercy was having seizures often, but that since changing her medication regimen she had been seizure free for several weeks and was doing well. She had seen a neurosurgeon in Kampala, but it was not at all clear what his diagnosis was. Throughout my brief time with her Mercy was extremely warm and open, in fact she jumped into my arms when I said hi to her. She was very energetic and was running around the entire time I was with her. Mercy just seems so loving and open.

I’m sorry that I can’t give you any medical information of real value, but it was difficult to get make any sort of meaningful assessment given the limited time and resources. I am hoping that Mercy’s condition remains stable and that she will get first rate care once she is here in the US. I am glad to hear that you have a neurosurgeon close by that you have a good relationship with who can take care of Mercy. I have attached the several pictures I took of her, I hope you enjoy them. Please keep in touch and let me know how Mercy is doing, and do not hesitate to e-mail me with questions anytime.

All the best,
E.

encouragement

Some encouraging words from friends:

The Lord has prepared you for such a time as this and equipped you to care for His precious creation, and you are an encouragment to us. In a time where children seem so disposable at every age (I see this when I am subbing, esp. in middle and high school grades) it's so wonderful to see you guys "step up" and "step out" in faith. The Lord knows He can entrust this little one to you.

Oh Christmas tree...

Did you see the t-shirt J. is wearing?

Christmas festivities are in full force here, and it's beginning to feel a lot like it! Things started off with a bang with gift shopping after Thanksgiving. Now we are experiencing VERY cold weather, which the news calls "Arctic Freeze". We are not used to this. We got our tree on Friday night at a nearby tree farm. It ended with cold, hungry and upset kiddos. The older two argued over who got to cut down the tree. Thankfully we live about 5 minutes away and we got home quickly. We ate and decorated. I left off many of my fragile ornaments this year and we have a baby gate wrapped around the finished project!

C. and K. got to stay after school today to make handmade ornaments and decorate the school's tree. They had a great time. C.'s music class will be performing in a few days.

On Saturday we will be going to a holiday party hosted by the local Spina Bifida Association. While we don't have a child with SB, there is not a support group nearby for children born with encephaloceles. Thankfully the SBA was gracious enough to let us join their group since S. does have a neuro-tube defect and hydrocephalus. I hear the holiday parties are wonderful and I am looking forward to it!

L. ready to cut down the perfect tree.

K. helped pick out the tree and keep an eye on the boys.

E. was cold but always has a smile for the camera!

S. liked to point at the trees and say "tee!"

Sorry, no pictures of the decorated tree yet, my camera's battery died.

A letter from the Epilepsy Foundation

I felt this was interesting and worth sharing...about the possible struggles we may deal with when Mercy comes home:

We’re ending 2009 with a bang thanks to more than 1,000 epilepsy advocates. In the last three weeks, advocates have sent 3,693 email messages to President Obama and members of Congress about the need to find a cure, protect access to care and end discrimination.

That’s a great start, but we can (and must) do better! First, we have to increase the volume of communications we generate about epilepsy. Each Representative in Congress receives approximately 10,000 email messages a week. To get noticed, we need to generate a lot more than 3,693 messages over a three-week period.

Second, we need to personally connect with Representative in Congress. That means sharing your personal story about living with epilepsy. Emails are easy to send, but easy to ignore. A handwritten letter or face-to-face meeting is hard to forget. The more personal your make your communication, the more effective you will be as an advocate.

How can you get more engaged? In 2010, the Epilepsy Foundation is planning two advocacy initiatives in which you can play an important role. Below is a brief description:

(1) Letter for a Cure – In early 2010, the Foundation will ask all Representatives in Congress to sign a letter. The letter will ask for a significant increase in funding for epilepsy research at the National Institutes of Health. Each year NIH spends $30 billion of medical research, but just ½ of 1% is spent on epilepsy. By signing this letter, your Representative can show his/her support for a cure and better treatments for epilepsy. You can convince him/her to sign it.

(2) Year of Service – The Foundation is also planning a series of activities you can take to raise awareness and support for epilepsy in your community. The Year of Service will be launched at our Kids Speak Up! event in April, but anyone can participate. It will involve speaking with others in your community about epilepsy, meeting with elected officials and candidates, and rallying public support for our cause.

We will be in touch with more details about each of these activities. In the meantime, it’s not too late to add your voice to the debate. Please take a moment and email your Congressman, Senators and President Obama about epilepsy. It makes a difference and takes just a moment of your time. You can take action by visiting our online action center at http://capwiz.com/efa/issues/.

Of course, please contact me if I can be of any assistance to you. While I receive hundreds of responses to every message I send, I do my best to personally reply to every one of them. Many thanks for your ongoing support of the Foundation.

Joe

Joseph LaMountain

Director of Grassroots Advocacy

Epilepsy Foundation

Landover, MD

jlamountain@efa.org