Day 4: Bonding

Today was a great day. We spent a ton of time with the kids and bonded with many of them. We are all getting attached to our "favorites" which means that they spend a majority of the day on our backs. They LOVE piggy back rides!This is our dear friend Keiley's shoes...a little big for her, huh? I will talk more about her later. We accomplished a lot of stuff today and are looking forward to the carnival tomorrow. Here are the highlights of our day:

We drove through town today to put up flyers for the carnival. This was my first trip into town and the poverty is quite evident by the sights that we saw today. Rachel took these pics...ESB is on everything, street signs, walls, etc. We found out today and it stands for East Side Bloods. There is a ton of gang activity here.

We met Kaslynn today and as she entered the youth center I was sickened by how dirty her clothes were and her shoes were about ready to fall apart. She had an "accident" which gave me the perfect opportunity to give her some new clothes. She had a blast going through the clothes that we brought with us. She settled on this outfit and said she looked "buuutiful". :) She modeled for me and loved looking at the pictures. I gave her a few more things that I thought she could use and she carried that bag around ALL day! Although it won't change her life it sure did bring a smile to her face and some pep in her step.

Livi's pink DS has become all the rage. These boys follow her around and beg her to play it. Things "walk away" constantly around here so I warned her to guard it with her life!

Today in walked a little boy named T.J. who was completely filthy. His clothes were messy, his face was dirty and his socks that were once white were brown. He was very withdrawn and shy but after I broke out the sidewalk chalk he came out of his shell. He loved every shade of blue chalk and confiscated them all!

Today I had a case of deja'vu. Last year I met Keiley on the playground and she had a very infected foot. I ended up cleaning her feet and Olivia gave Keiley her shoes since she had none. We found out that she walked to the youth center every day through broken glass. Well, today in walks Keiley with the same infected foot. She had shoes on that were clearly not hers but a nasty foot to go with it. As we walked into the youth center to get the first aid kit she grabbed my hand and said "I mished you!"

We have had lots of problems this year with kids running around shooting bows and arrows. And these are not "play" arrows...they are the real thing. One landed very close to Jordan today on the playground...Aaron handled it! They shoot at dogs and anything else that gets in their path. Amy and I were driving through town today with the windows down and we were a little concerned that a bow might come through our car. I can honestly say that this thought has never crossed my mind in St. Louis. :)

We are all exhausted and trying to gear up for a VERY full day tomorrow.

Here are a few prayer requests 1. Pray for good weather for the carnival. We have a 30% chance of thunderstorms which would not be good. 2. Pray that my voice does not completely go since I have lots of directing to do tomorrow. I have not felt good all day. It is like springtime here with pollen counts through the roof. My voice is almost gone...ugh!3. Pray that lots of families come tomorrow to the carnival and that they have a great time.

Day 3: Flexibility

Jordan and Malachi...adorable little boy that loved "J"

Our first full day on the reservation was met with many challenges. First of all, as I mentioned yesterday the teen center where we are staying is in much worse shape than last year. The grass is several feet tall and completely overgrown with weeds. Aaron spent all morning and worked through lunch trying to get the grass under control. Did I mention that most of the time it was pouring down rain? He was such a trooper and completely covered in grass when he was finished. Flexibility.

My big project this year is coordinating the carnival on Wednesday. The reservation has 1000 people and last year we had 600 at the carnival!And so, needless to say, this is a very big job. Once we arrived at the teen center we (Amy and I...carnival co-chairs:) organized the thousands of prizes packed in banana boxes in a secure room. We were so proud of our organization. Well, it didn't last. This morning we were informed that our "secure room" had to be cleared out...ugh! And so we spent most of the day moving and organizing the bazillion boxes that we had just done yesterday. Flexibility.

Every evening we feed all of the kids at the youth center. We have two separate kitchens...one in a building with the little kids and the other for the teens. To feed all of these children is quite a chore. Not to mention that they are all starving and have A.D.D...:) Tonight was our first dinner with the kids and the menu was chicken strips, french fries, corn, salad and fruit. When we pulled out our chicken strips they were frozen into a giant mound. We had to basically hacksaw through them to get them on a cookie sheet. And then to top it off we have an oven that only cooks on a quarter of the oven so the food has to be rotated constantly. The kids didn't mind and ate every bite. Flexibility.

All in all we had a very full, busy, amazing day. This was our first day with the kids and it was such a joy to see the kids that we fell in love with last year come through those doors. As you can see from the pictures everyone found their special child. I can't wait to see what relationships develop this week.

Last night we had an incredible experience that I wanted to share just so that I will not forget. After 9pm all of the children go home and we lock all of the doors. Last night at around 10pm we got a knock on the door. For some reason someone opened the door and there stood a man named David asking to speak to a counselor. Aaron just happened to be walking by when this was going on. He took some chairs and he and Donn went out to speak to the man. This man stated that he was down on his luck and needed someone to talk to. He has four children and his wife just left him and moved out of state. Aaron instantly felt a connection to the man and realized after a few minutes of speaking to him that he was adopted as a child and grew up in a town just south of Kansas City called Grandview...this is where Aaron is from! We are in the middle of an Indian reservation in South Dakota...really? How insane is this? At the end of their conversation the man asked for a favor which was to pray with him. This is even more amazing since the liklihood of finding a Christian on the reservation is next to impossible. God works in some crazy ways.

Here are some pics from today:

Aaron weed wacking the jungle...for 7 hours straight!!

Donn and Aaron after their 7 hours of yardwork.

Rachel and Keisha doing airplane.

Aaron was outside mowing in the rain when he saw Keisha standing in a field nearby by herself. Aaron recognized her since she was wearing the Mizzou sweatshirt that Rachel gave her yesterday. He turned off the mower and went over to her and asked if she would like to see Rachel...she smiled very big as he scooped her up and brought her inside. It is so unbelievable that these kids just wander outside and walk around in the rain without an adult having any idea where they are.

Rachel and DeJuan...he is a very sweet, high energy special needs child. He loved Ray!

Madi painting some nails... Madi giving some DS lessons Madi getting some math tutoring from Malachi. :)

Sam with K.Lnn

Sarah with Sunrose and Jordan with K.Lnn

Mizzou pom poms...M-I-Z-Z-O-U

Olivia doing some DS teaching with Cassy

Livi and Cassy doing some gymnastics.

Look at the hair color difference...not many blonds here.

And so, first full day was not one that we anticipated but we rolled with the punches and got through it. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little more smooth. Keep us in your prayers.

1. Pray for the rain to STOP! We need good weather for so many reasons I can't even explain them all.

2. Pray for the health of our team. We have colds, coughs, broken toes, migraines, stomach aches, etc.

3. Pray for the pastor that we met last year when our team rehabbed his church. His wife Ann has had some cardiac issues and her condition is getting worse by the day. She is hospitalized several hours away and they have 5 young children that need their mom.

Thanks for checking on us...

The Adventure Begins

Yesterday at 6am we departed for an adventure. The Crowell family along with 10 other families left for South Dakota. This is our 2nd mission trip to the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation where we serve the Lakota Indians of the Sioux Tribe. When we asked our girls if they would rather go to the beach or to South Dakota this summer, without a second of hesitation they yelled "South Dakota". And so we packed up and headed 900 miles to a magnificent but yet incredibly deprived part of our country to once again spend a wonderful week with the people that we so fell in love with last year.

As I write this, it is approximately 2am and I have just had my first shower since Friday...ewww I know. :) We have already had an incredible experience that I will write about tomorrow...an amazing story of how God works in absolutely incredible ways. We will be challenged this week like no other. The conditions on the reservation are much worse than last year...not sure why but sadly it is the case. But, we are with an incredible group of people that share in this mission and will be with us every step of the way.

Kids can have fun anywhere! This is like one gigantic sleepover....good times!

Tee Pees...does it get more Indian than this?

The beautiful land of South Dakota...breathtaking!

Unpacking the truck...all hands on deck!

These are the banana boxes that we packed for the carnival...we have over 6,000 carnival prizes, a dunking booth, a bounce house, a cotton candy machine and 10 other games. Woo Hoo!

Our luxurious sleeping quarters. This is the woman, young girl and tween room...most crowded room by far. There is a man room and a teen girl room...good times. A week sleeping with Olivia...ugh! She is a violent sleeper.

We are heading to bed now after a VERY long day. Tomorrow the kids arrive and the party begins. We are so grateful for our safe travels and the hard work of our team and can't wait to see what the week will bring. Keep us in your prayers.

Prayer requests:

1. Good weather..more rain is in the forecast. They have had record rainfall amounts in the last few weeks.

2. Kids that show up tomorrow at the Youth Center (rumor has it that the numbers have been low lately due to kids getting beaten up...yikes!

3. We can figure out a way to get the grass mowed (the playground that was fairly nice last year is a complete disaster with grass several feet high...this will be the location of the carnival on Wednesday where we will entertain approximately 600 people! Pray hard for this one!

A Christmas to Remember

As I alluded to in my previous post I had the rug pulled out from under me right before Christmas. We returned from our Christmas party at the shelter and I went to take a relaxing bath. I remember soaking in the tub basking in the glow of the families we had just spent time with and looking forward to the next few days and the wonderful magic of Christmas. Aaron walked into the bathroom and I happened to ask a question about work (not sure why!) and he basically in a nutshell stated that he had a conversation with his partner who told him that his salary was going to be 100% commission in 30 days. So basically, 48 hours before Christmas our world greatly changed! I have heard before that it is when faced with adversity that you see the true man emerge and this was definitely the case. I would love to talk about my husband's character and his steadfastness in caring for his family. Aaron constantly reassured me during this turmoil that the only thing that mattered was our family and that we were going to be ok. He would say over and over, who cares about our "lifestyle" and our "possessions"...these are earthly things that will be gone in an instant. We discussed the possibility of selling our house and putting the girls in public school. I hate to admit it but the idea of these things made me sick. I was happy and comfortable and never imagined this could happen. Usually when you own your own business you get through the ups and downs...we had done this for over a decade. But we were suddenly faced with a new reality. I immediately looked for a job. I hadn't worked in years and thought that I seriously might kill someone if I went back to nursing. But I didn't know what else to do and started sending out my resume. By the complete grace of God I was offered 2 positions very quickly. One that I knew I was clearly not qualified for (not sure what they were thinking) and another one that seemed a better fit. I debated for a few hours and decided to accept a job at Nurses for Newborns. It seemed to be more flexible and would allow me to be a mom of 4 children a little easier. Aaron was completely petrified of the job since my territory was North City and North County. The day that I sent a text to him from a crack house giving him the location of where I was in case I didn't come home was the straw that broke the camel's back. He decided right then and there that he would need to start looking for a job to hopefully get us out of this dreadful situation. The lowest time for me was Christmas Eve when I unwrapped gifts for the girls and returned them. As I walked into those stores with the holiday buzz and excitement of joyful people looking forward to the big day, I was incredibly tearful. I had shopped for months and had carefully selected each and every present I bought for the girls so the thought of returning them made me sick! People in the stores probably thought we had had a tragedy in our family when they looked at my red and swollen eyes. I will also never forget our Christmas Eve church service when I literally held my breath for fear that I would break down in front of everyone (which I eventually did!). I couldn't sing one single word to any of my most loved Christmas songs. And if you know me, you know I LOVE to sing in church. The lowest of the lows was when I looked over to Jordan who was sitting on my right and saw that she had tears pouring down her cheeks. We had reached rock bottom. Over the next several weeks the support of our family and friends was absolutely amazing. Our parents on both sides completely stepped up and rallied behind us. I am sure they were petrified at the thought of the 6 of us moving in with them! They were absolutely fantastic and gave us many pep talks as well as unconditional love. I would also like to mention those that were our "rocks" so that I never forget...Shannon, Chuck, Trey, Brian, Dondra, Kathie, Angie, Kim M, Kim C., Tim, Mandy, Lance, Heather, Phil, Chris, Chuck R., Shelley, and Chuck S....just to name a few! It is a shame to have to go through a trial to realize how incredibly loved you are but we all felt it! I will never forget those that prayed for us and know that I could never thank you enough. We now realize that those prayers completely took our pain and anger away. It was such a surreal moment when I realized that my sadness was gone but our situation was getting more and more bleak. Funny how God can take the pain away! So the last few months have been a roller coaster to say the least. I am still working at Nurses for Newborns and honestly LOVE my job. Aaron is getting used to the idea knowing that I am learning some much needed "street smarts". I don't get a panic attack anymore when I cross the bridge! The miracle beyond miracles was that Aaron found an incredible job while not even really looking for one. He is the VP of Sales at a company that did a little over 80 million dollars last year. He is transitioning well and LOVES his new job. I am getting used to a husband that travels and have recently found out that a mom and 4 daughters can fit in a bed with a dog at our feet! There are many things that I have learned during this trial in our life that I pray I never forget: 1. The only things in this world that we can truly control are our attitude and how we respond to life's ups and downs. 2. The love of our family and friends will always persevere no matter what! We have been immensely blessed by those that we call our family and friends. 3. Peace and happiness doesn't come from this world but only through the love of Christ. 4. Crying on Christmas sucks! I would not wish sadness on this amazing day on my worst enemy. When your children are opening presents Mom and Dad should be joyfully watching not taking turns breaking down in the other room. 5. Life is full of disappointments but God never disappoints. 6. My husband has the most amazing character of any human being I know. He is truly incredible and handles adversity like no other! 7. We "need" very little in this world. 8. I have a new understanding of what it truly means to trust God. Sometimes that means not getting what we want or what we think is fair but simply growing closer to Him is the only thing that matters. 9. Coupon clipping becomes an addictive game that takes up a ton of time. 10. God gives us wake up calls every now and then...be ready!

Christmas Joy!

The GIRLS I teach... all of them have delivered except for NaNa who is to my right. LOVE HER! Madi and Baby Trenton Laurie, Madi and Andrea

Aaron and I with Laurie and Tony. Tony LOVES when Aaron plays with him...he is ROUGH!

Baby Trenton...how cute is HE?

Rachel and Trenton (can you tell we LOVE Trenton!)

Madi and Crazy Tony...he LOVES her!

Jordan and Baby Genevieve...J loves the babies!

Livi and Tony Dancing Away

Wow, it has been a LONG time since I have blogged and I have so missed it! And so, I am catching up from Christmas and will start with the party on December 23, 2009 at a woman's shelter where our family volunteers. This party happened a few hours before the rug was pulled out from under our family...more to follow but I just want to keep the events in order.

This evening was by far the BEST part of my Christmas. I absolutely love the girls that reside at this shelter and learn more from them than they learn from me. I have taught them childbirth class on Tuesday nights for over a year and cherish each and every one of them. I have been asked to be in the delivery room with some of them and literally almost caught a baby a few months ago...past blog, check it out!

And so with the help from our church family we had a Christmas party. Each of the moms and children were "adopted" and many presents were bought. It was so much fun to play Santa and to see the faces of these beautiful children light up! We ate pizza (their choice!), decorated cupcakes and opened tons of presents. It was an absolute blast and a memory that my family will treasure FOREVER.