The 15th (Selah Update)

Selah - still in need of prayers

The 15th of the month.... Good things and bad things have happened on that day. Things that have made an impact on me, and are close to my heart.

On the 15th of...

...July 2010, I met Logan while on a mission trip to Ukraine.

...December 2011, I found out the priest took Logan and he was no longer available for adoption.

...August 2012, the Clanton's life changed forever with Selah (and Sam)'s accident.

...September 2012, Lyla came home. (A little story about Lyla coming home on the 15th... shortly before I left for Spitz's and heard that the time frame Lyla was going to come home during included the 15th, I KNEW that's when it would be. God spoke to my heart, and told me thats when it would be. Because that day was special to me. I didn't tell anyone as I didn't want to seem like I was predicting the future or knew more about the time frame then Summer did.

As the time got closer for them to come home, they were coming home on Friday, the 14th. I was starting to doubt myself... did I not hear right? Was it really not from God and just something in my head? Then they scheduled the flights, and of course, they were coming in after midnight, as in they were coming in on Saturday, the 15th! And Lyla wouldn't be in her own HOME until 3 am on the 15th! God is always good and never breaks His promises! ♥)

Today is the 15th of October, but I'm not going to write about Logan or Lyla (although I love them so very much).

Tonight I'm going to update you on sweet Selah. Last two times I posted about Selah were right after the accident and she was doing ok.

She is making more and more responses as of late, which it very encouraging to hear! She has been "bantering" back and forth with Daddy, has been making her displeasure known and licking lemon flavored swabs! Baby steps in the RIGHT direction!!!

Today is 2 months since the accident. 2 months ago the course of a family's life was forever changed. They would never be the same and were shaken to the core by the fact they almost lost two children.

Selah is making progress, yes, but she still has a long way to go. Please keep praying for her, and also pray for her family as they continue to miss their sweet "Lala".

They are also trying to find a place for her back home in FL (they are in NY now) so they can move back home and get their house ready for Selah to move back in with them, but not having to much success so please pray for that as well.

Thank you for continuing to lift this sweet girl and her family up to the throne! Keep checking their blog for updates.

If you would like to see more pictures of Princess Selah and see part of the family's amazing story, please watch this video. I was honored to put it together for them, and as advice from others who have already watched it, have your tissues ready. :)

John Mark

Sweet baby boy has a FAMILY!!!!

Is he not the cutest little red head???

I hadn't posted about him yet, but since he is from the same baby orphanage I visited, and he was born while I was over there on my mission trip, I fell in love with him!

And now he has a FAMILY!!!!

PRAISE GOD!!!!

Looking Back Part 15: The Stand and The End

This is the final part of the Looking Back series - Part 15, previous parts are Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, and Part 14.

One of my FAVORITE worship songs ever is The Stand. Hit play on the video below and listen to it while you read the rest of this post.



I'll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the one who gave it all
I'll stand
My soul Lord to you surrendered
All I am is yours


So what could I say?
And what could I do?
But offer this heart, Oh God
Completely to you


I'll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the one who gave it all
I'll stand
My soul Lord to you surrendered
All I am is yours

We sang this song and those words all. the. time. on the trip. Tim knew how to play the simple chords on the guitar, and we often sang it worshiping. Singing, humming, and speaking in tongues is how we worshiped during that song.

I know different people have different opinions about speaking in tongues and I'm not here to start a debate, but it was a huge part of our trip and I can't do a series about my trip without mentioning it. While I have not recieved the gift of speaking in tongues (yet, I still might), many others on the trip had, and I loved listening to this amazing way to sing praises back to God, and feeling His presence fill the room. It's really indescribable.

Every time we would sing that song, I felt God's presense so heavily that it often moved me to tears. And this song still gets me every time I hear it. I absolutely love it. Thank you God for revealing yourself when we sing praises to you.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

So this is the end of my trip series! I hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for reading!!!

Looking Back Part 14: Max

This is Part 14 of the Looking Back series, previous parts are Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, and Part 13.


So I want to tell you a little more about Max before I finish up this series.

Victor and Max

Max is a native to Ukraine, and grew up in a broken home. When he was young her met an orphan girl, and He realized that what everyone had always told him was true, she wasn't any different then him, except she didn't have a family. So his ministry, True Hope Ukraine started, and it has grown and grown. Here is a video I made about him before he came to our church the first time to introduce him:

Max has an absolutely remarkable anointing of the Holy Spirit. It's a.m.a.z.i.n.g. (Yes, I know, like everything else on this trip, but this trip was truly amazing! ;)) I don't remember where we were or where coming back from, but we didn't have a bus and a driver like we did to go out to the institution, and we needed to get back to the apartment. A city bus came along, but it was WAY over-packed already and there was no way 15 more of us would be able to squeeze on. We considered a taxi, and Max was about to call one, when we noticed two guys sitting on a bench with an empty bus parked on the street in front of them.

Max walks over and started talking to them. One of the guys is the bus driver, so Max asked him if we could rent his bus and have him take us back. He can't make those decisions because this is one of the buses that is a city bus and on a schedule, BUT, the main bus manager guy is sitting right next to him on the bench!! He says sure that's fine, so we had the whole bus all to our selves, and we paid 2 grivna less than we would have if we crowded on to a packed city bus! If you've ever been in Ukraine, you know how amazing that is! :)

Max is absolutely hilarious, and here are a few funny stories he told when he was here in the States this past time, that I have to share. I guess you kinda have to hear Max say it for it to have it's full effect, but hopefully you get a kick out of them! :)

- Shortly after he arrived back in the states, Max went to Wal-m*rt. This lady greets him at the door and says "Hi, how are you today?" He says back to her, "Well, I'm a little jet-lagged still and very tired..." And he goes on to tell her all about his flight and starts to tell her about his ministry when he sees the annoyed look on her face. Then he says, "In my country, when you say 'How are you?', you really mean it!"

- On a flight in northern Canada, Max was sitting next to a lady who was dressed like a prostitute. He had told her a little about his ministry when they first said hi to each other, and then out of the blue Max says "You aren't from around here are you? You are dressed different from everyone else." She says thank you, and the next words out Max's mouth were " You know, I also minister to prostitutes." LOL no joke! Max said it's sounds really rude now, but he didn't think of it being rude when he said it. You would think she would have slapped him or something, but instead she puts down her book, and says "Tell me more!". By the end of the flight she accepted Christ as her savior, and Max has been in contact with her since! Gotta love Max! :)

I have many more Max stories and you could talk to him all day and not get bored, but they don't have the same effect when I tell them, and I can only make a post so long.


Here is Max's new ministry video:


And here is the link for his website - TRUE HOPE UKRAINE


Max is an amazing man of God, and I hope you all will have the chance to meet him someday!

Looking Back Part 13: To Kiev and Beyond

This is Part 13 of the Looking Back series, previous parts are Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, and Part 12.


After coming in on the overnight train, we spent the day sightseeing and shopping in Kiev. In addition to Independence square and a few other places, we walked through the mile long market.

Metro

Max holding up the ceiling

Baby in the middle of the street!!! :)
(Don't worry, the road was closed because it was a Sunday)

Independence Square

It was HOT, so we were lovin the fountains!

A sundail clock thing, without the sundial in the middle. :)

Nice statue eh?

Help me out here guys.... Saint Sophia or Saint Michael's?

Some important government building...

Dogs... everywhere!!!

Love this van!

What the typical side of a building looks like...

This guy was the only one in the compartment of whatever you wanna call it with all of us (we filled up the other side too), so we were getting a kick outta talking in English to him (see the expression on his face)... not exactly what we should have been doing on a mission trip... lol

Max and his pizza!

Looking Back Part 12: Mom's Dorm & Leaving

This is Part 12 of the Looking Back series, previous parts are Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, and Part 11.


Two years ago today was our last day in the city before heading back to Kiev. In the morning we visited the new mothers dorm which is for mothers (and sometimes fathers) who get pregnant unplanned and choose to keep their baby instead of aborting. The rest of the afternoon was spent packing, and after supper we left for the train station for our overnight train back to Kiev.

Olivia found a new friend! :)

This little girl walked over to me and wanted to be held.. I was happy to oblige! ;)

She all smiles! Very ticklish too! :)

Supper - Sushi?? I thought we were in Ukraine, not Asia!

Our fridge - Over half of that is chocolate, but it doesn't seem as much anymore since I've seen how much Ashley and Rachel brought home! :)

Loading up!

Alina (from our Ukrainian team) came to say goodbye at the train station

LOL Action shot!

Goodbye KR!!! I will miss you!!!

Looking Back Part 11: New Faces, New Places

This is Part 11 of the Looking Back series, previous parts are Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, and Part 10.

Two years ago today was a Friday, and it was a day we visited two new places, and met many new faces. In the morning we went and played games and did crafts with the older children specials needs home (which is orphanage (7) on RR). Guess how many pictures I took there??? ONE. Ya, I took one picture. :P Oh well, I can tell you I had a wonderful time, and I definitely want to work more there in the future! And by the way, Maxim was the only one of the kids on RR who was there at the time, and I did not see him.

In the afternoon we went to the teen dorm, and guess how many pictures I took of the teen there? NONE! Not one. I guess I wan't fond of my camera that day or something. :P I did take some of the bathroom that they were raising money to renovate.

Alright, here are some pictures.

We went to this beautiful orthodox church before we went to the older kids orphanage.

The inside was beautiful but we couldn't use the flash on our camera (we did have permission to take pictures inside, make sure you find out if its ok if you take pictures inside if you go to a church in Ukraine), so none of my pictures inside turned out very well besides these two.

All the gold you see at the top in these pictures?? PURE GOLD. Meanwhile across the street, surrounded by a high fence, are children wasting away and dying for lack of proper care.

The ONLY picture I took at the older kids SN orphanage - my dad and two of the boys

Hanging out and goofing off waiting to go - Josiah and Brooke

Crazy Kid!

The bathrooms at the teen dorm

Over 200 boys and girls share 4 stalls that look like this and the above. With no stall doors, and no privacy. The boys bathroom was closed because it was so much worse, so they were sharing this one.

And 2 sinks

This is what it looked like 2 years ago when I was there. I stole the following from Max's website about what it looks like now. Praise God!

Bathroom Update January 2012

The bathroom renovations are finally complete! Praise the Lord!! We officially opened the new bathroom earlier this month and is such a great blessing to the young people at this dorm. It is a beautiful colour, has all new fixtures, a private shower room and also a hot water heater and a washing machine!

Thank you so much for supporting this project! It has been an incredible experience for the kids. Not only do they now have a new bathroom that they helped build but they’ve also learned how to work as a team and build relationships. Please pray with us that these young people will continue to see God move in their lives.

When we were there, we played card games with the few kids that were there during the summer, brought snacks, and just hung out and got to know each other as best we could with 2 translators between all of us and the language barrier. :) Here is a picture Alice took of Max and Slavic when we were there: