Oneida! Spoons and Forks!

Ok, I'm excited! So very excited! My heart has been in Haiti for quite some time. I'm always looking for ways to help. Look at my links on the left side of the blog and you will find links to my Haiti friends. Look back further in my posts and you will see my blog about Father Mark. Click here and you will find Father Marc and Pwoje Espwa - Hope in Haiti .

Click here and you will find Oneida. The founder John Humphrey Noyes' had a theory of Perfectionism, a form of Christianity with two basic values; self-perfection and communalism. These ideals were translated into everyday life through shared property and work. Noyes' solution was a society where the interest of one member became the interest of all - the enlargement of the family.

Somewhere between Father Marc and John Noyes is Will.

A few months ago I asked Will what would help the kids at Pwoje Espwa. He told me eating utensils. Now my first thought was to run around and collect all the old spoons and forks that I could find. I figure I have a couple hundred friends. If they all gave 5 spoons and 5 forks each, I'd have enough to give to Father Marc for his kids. Sounds easy, wasn't! I guess I've never taken the time to see what 1000 spoons and 1000 forks look like. But that's how many they needed. What to do? I'm sure if you've read this far, you've guessed it. I wrote a letter to Oneida asking them for spoons and forks. Today I recieved a call telling me they would love to help. God is amazing! The people at Oneida are my heros! Now all I have to do is figure out how I am going to get them to the little hands that need them.

Tonight I'd ask everyone who reads my blog to do something that matters, do it today.

God talks to Me??????

Still having troubles sleeping. To much on my mind.

So, I know nothing about this web site, but when I googled "How do I know what God wants me to do?" This is what came up God Talks To You so I read this page. Then I get down to the part where it says "Test the communication" Compare the communication with scripture. God will never disagree with himself, and he has spoken in the Bible....open the Bible randomly and read where ever your eye hits on the page. So I did.

I opened the Bible in the dark of my bedroom. Walked through the house and turned on the light and Read 1 John Chapter 3. If you don't have time to read it, let me sum it up for you. "But if anyone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need and refused to help-how can God's love be in that person." "Let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions."

Then another question to God. What will happen to the person I am so worried about? Open to 2 Chronicles Chapter 33. Manasseh... (hmm... that's not who I'm worried about God.....) Ok, I'll read it anyway. So I read it. Well up until verse 11 it wasn't looking so good for Manasseh. (I want you to know I was feeling pretty worried about my loved one until Verse 12) "But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the Lord his God and cried out humbly to the God of his ancestors. 13 And when he prayed the Lord listened to him and was moved by his request for help. Long story short. Manasseh rebuilt what he had destroyed and the Lord lived in him. (Whewww, I was a bit worried, but I can see clearly now, things are going to work out!)

Wow, those two passages worked out so well that I just couldn't help myself I had to ask God one more question. How do I know my choice will be right? (There weren't any trumpets or angels but Psalm 127 opened then 128 and 129) Alrighty then. You go read Psalm yourself. I know God talks to me!

What does God want me to do?

I have been wrestling with some options in my life for a couple of years. It has not been easy. I spend a fair amount of my free time (and time I should be working) wondering... how will I know what God wants me to do?

Such a tuff question for me.

I think the answer is so simple it should smack me in the face, but it's not. Doesn't God want me to become the best person I can be and make great contributions to the world around me? To do that I need to know my true self. God knows the path I will take in life. God is my creator, my friend and my father. He wants to tell me His plan for my life.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)

My children are raised and gone. I've been waiting and waiting. I want to hear God tell me... You have the freedom and wisdom and time to do My work.

I'm listening God. Please talk to me.

Navy Bootcamp Graduation

May 8, 2009
I'm proud to announce my son has graduated! On to A School at Great Lakes. Here are pictures of both of MY sailors.

USS Comfort

Reasons to be a PROUD American!

Caribbean Children's Foundation

Once in a while, I am listening. Occasionally I am quiet enough to hear God talk to me. Today is one of those days.

Psalm 37:7 (New Living Translation)
Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.

I wrote very briefly about Nora one other time. Her work merits more than a half of a paragraph. Again, I want to say I don't know her and she doesn't even have a clue who I am. You can find her blog here and on this page you will see some of the faces of the children who are helped by her foundation.

She is one of my heros and she doesn't even know it. If you read her blog long enough you will see she has the patients of Job. Goodness where does that saying come from?

Job's story, told in the Old Testament is that of a God fearing man who suddenly found himself in a succession of events that brought terrible loss, with lasting distress and severe affliction. A bunch of disasters which striped him of goods, children and health, yet he remained faithful to God. Later it is revealed that it was a test of his faith. But because of his steadfast faithfulness, Job is blessed by God and he becomes more prosperous than ever before.

That's Nora and the Caribbean Children's Foundation! They proudly declare on their web page...

The "Children of Israel" Orphanage (of Les Cayes, Haiti) is currently drawing up plans for a permanent orphanage that will house both the boys and the girls. The Izidor family is waiting on the Lord for funds to make this permanent home a reality.

I will continue to pray for their permanent orphanage. It's hard for me to read that when it rains the boys must move to a safer place to sleep and the girls live in three rooms of the school.

I will continue to pray YOU the supporters will be quiet and listen to the Lord. Shh... listen and HE will tell you how to help...

...this is what HE told me

Be All That You Can Be

This is an open letter to my son who called me from Navy bootcamp yesterday.


Ryan,
Another typed letter, sorry. At least you can read it. I was so happy to be able to talk to you. You had me a bit worried when I answered the phone. I know bootcamp is hard, but I want to tell you some things. I want you to re-read this letter when you are feeling like you are alone.

I am the mom and I am confident that my son is in good hands. You are warm and fed and you are working your butt off and when you come out of bootcamp you will be a very proud sailor, like many, many, many before you. You will be special. Even more special than you were when we brought you home from the hospital. You will have joined the ranks of the men and women who protect our country. And even though we sometimes feel like our family is the most important. Try to remember, that before our families can be safe, we must have a safe place to live. There are people all over this world who are not safe because of the country they live in. You are one of the men who will make sure that your wife and child, I, dad and all of our family can go to sleep at night safely.
All of the things that you are doing right now are for a reason. Thinking about your day…

Get up early every morning. Shower, shave and get ready for inspection by making your bed, straightening your locker, and cleaning the barracks. Marching with your company to breakfast, drilling, physical training, going to classes, taking tests. All those things are to see where YOU will be best in the United States Navy. Don’t think for a moment that leaders are just pulled off of some farm in Ohio, Illinois. They are groomed into leaders. As parents, (as your mom) I gave you the basic knowledge of the world. I tried really hard to show you what was right and what was wrong. I taught you how to love and be loved and be a strong person. I hopefully taught you that you are loved by not only me and your family but by God also. There is a greater purpose in life than to “just be”. Everyone has their destiny. Destiny is a big word that is hard to understand. But everything you are doing right this moment/minute is, well, to be, it’s meant to be. You have to do what you are doing right now to be the person that you will be until the day you die.
By doing the PT and going to classes and all the other things, you are learning that you may not be the strongest, or fastest or the smartest, but you are part of a team that IS! Together as a team you become a force to be reckoned with. Of course you are military. So one day you may need to depend on one of those other team members. They won’t be those same guys that you went to bootcamp with but they will be one of the guys who went through the same bootcamp that you went through. It is about a team. Just like being part of a family is like being part of a team. Think about it. In our family everyone has their roles. Some of us are good at some things and some of us are better at other things. You are learning about team work in bootcamp. You’ve always been a part of a team, now you are just learning to understand how a team works.

You are learning that there are rules and regulations that govern the military and the Navy…in particular at this moment. BUT, in life there are also rules and regulations. To have a happy family life and happy country, there are rules. You are learning all of them. You will also be able to take this information and apply it to your family and to your whole way of life. By LEARNING all this stuff, you will be able to PROUDLY represent your family and your country. YOU will also be able to DEFEND your family, your relationships and your country. Every thing you are learning in boot camp is applicable for ALL OF LIFE!
Don’t worry about not being able to call home. That’s also is for a reason. Several reasons I am sure. When you first get to bootcamp, it's the worst thing that could possibly happen to a human being! You said that yourself. It’s MEANT to be that way. You’re thinking…there is no way a civilized human being can survive such treatment!!! You’re thinking you will never….ever complete this!
Everyone is mean, remember everyone has orders to follow from someone, they aren’t just being mean to be mean! The food is terrible! Ha, ha you thought Steph didn’t cook very well…Where do you think the saying comes from that, “No one cooks like mama!” comes from? The hours are terrible, but remember you LIKE being up late!!!! You may be thinking that there is no way they're going to be a sailor for the rest of your life. But, sure enough in just a couple more weeks, you’re going to forget all those things. Just like having a baby. Women say all the time 10 minutes after birth, “I’m never doing that again”, and ha ha, there they are doing it again in no time. So the Navy doesn’t want you calling home and getting a “Oh poor Ryan” from mom or anyone else from that matter! I am a proud, proud, proud Navy mom. I’ve given both my sons to the Navy. I believe in all the values they teach you. I believe in being tough, I believe my sons can be great leaders! Don’t worry that you can’t call. Because I know you are growing and changing and it’s just like before you’re born. You need time to grow, give it time. Those waiting for you know that you are getting ready to come out. And when you march across that room on May 8th it’s going to be just like a birth! You just have no idea how proud you and your family will be!

When you are done with bootcamp you will be a trained Navyman! You will be like hundreds of thousands before you! You will be our future leader and YOU will then have to teach those young boys (and girls) who joined the Navy, just what the Navy is all about. You will be well prepared. You will have skills that make YOUR family, and Navy family strong!

I am really proud of you. KNOW that YOU are doing your family and your country proud.

Yep, I sound like a Navy commercial don’t I? Well, it’s because I believe in YOU and our military. Truly, there is a reason the Navy says, BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE!

51

Yes, I am 51.

What's next? What does the next 51 years hold? Dreams which have been collected.

Haiti, helping children and teaching health education. Sailing with the man I love. Going to see my grandchildren to experience their lives with them. Visiting my children in far off places. Welcoming new grandchildren and great grandchildren. Teaching my daughters and daughter-in-laws how to make jelly. Living in a renovated school bus. Making soap. Making quilts. Passing on my love of different cultures and different people. Giving my worldly possessions away to those who want or need them. Being loved by someone forever. Never returning home to get old and die. And when I die, being greeted at Heavens door by God and all the people who I've loved.