2020

Dear friends, It has been a while since we have published an update on the house, the adoption, and life in general. As I write we (the world) are all under quarantine, a shelter-in-place order, due to the pandemic known as COVID-19 or the coronavirus. I'm attempting to work multiple jobs from home, while Randy continues to go to school during the week to provide lunches for the students in our community. But we've discovered that there is a lot that home remodeling, adoption, and life in general can teach us about how to quarentine. For example, today is the final day that our drywall crew will be at the house. Which is what they have been saying for the past three weeks. Just one more day... Home remodeling always takes longer than you think it will. And so does a quarentine. Every day the news is the same: we need more time. But you know what. The extra time in the home remodeling has been worth it. Because we've taken the time to do things right t...

While in Corpus Christi, Texas, last week (was that seriously just last week???), my sister-in-law introduced us to her friend Kristen. As we were all getting ready to go to the beach together, I shared briefly with Kristen that Randy and I had been working in Mexico at an orphanage for the past 18 months. She said it sounded a little like "Bokenkamp" where she had volunteered. Obviously intrigued, I asked her to tell me more. She said Bokenkamp was right there in Corpus Christi, and was providing shelter and meeting the needs of unaccompanied immigrant children from south and central america. She said she struggled there because she doesn't speak Spanish. Oh how I wish we hadn't learned about this the day before leaving Corpus Christi! How I would have loved to have gone and spent the day with a dozen beautiful little Spanish-speaking children like those who hold my heart in San Felipe. Time wasn't on our side on this leg of the journey, but now that I know ...

In 2008, just 6 months after having her first child, Katherine Wolf suffered from a nearly life-taking stroke due to a congenital defect she didn't know she had. The next 10 years have been a series of hurdles that Katherine and her husband Jay have had to overcome. But their faith has led them to say: "Maybe healing just looks different than we think it does." Katherine's facial features were permanently impacted and she has to use a wheelchair to get around. But what at the time was the worst hard time of their lives, they can now say has led to the role they were meant to play -- an inspiration to others with disabilities, both those which can be seen and those which cannot.  After speaking at a camp for people with disabilities, Katherine and Jay were inspired to start a camp of their own: Hope Heals Camp. Katherine writes: At first, I didn't want to be the "miracle girl in the wheelchair", but after years of ministering with all kinds of h...

Day 20! I'm half-way through this 40-40-40 Lenten adventure, and nearly $900 in. On this half-way mark, I'm excited to focus on an organization that is just getting off the ground close to "home" in Ohio. Why? Because at the end of these 40 days that is where Randy and I are headed! We'll be looking for opportunities to serve (to keep ourselves from missing our Baja kids!), and this one definitely feels like a worthy cause. Special thanks to Hannah (Bethany Seminary student and part-time pastor at Xenia Friends Church) for sharing the story of Bridges of Hope. SIMON KENTON: BRIDGES OF HOPE By Hannah Mullikin Lutz After several years of working to secure funding and to purchase a building, Simon Kenton Bridges of Hope was finally able to open its doors in December of 2017 to those experiencing homelessness in Xenia, Ohio. For the first time since 2015, single men and women, as well as those who might have been on the waiting list for the small, ...

Welcome back to the 40 days of Lent! Between traveling for my grandmother's memorial and coming down with the flu, my 40-40-40 train definitely got derailed. Yet even in my derailment I've seen how God has already opened my heart to his generosity through this Lenten practice. (For example, at the airport on Wednesday I bought a candy bar and a book -- Ready Player One -- to send to our troops, without even thinking about what it would do to my budget.) Being at my grandmother's memorial also reminded me of the beauty of family. The opportunity to get together with cousins from afar and share stories of when we were kids was everything Grandma would have wanted it to be. And since I'm very much in family mode, I'm excited to share today's guest blog post by another family member! There is so much good being done in the world, and this good is being spearheaded by a Terrell... how cool is that! (Okay, so Sarah and I are 5th cousins by marriage or somethin...

Anyone who truly knows me knows how important this little girl is in my life. This summer we'll have spent 12 years together. My dad found her, locked in his barn, when she was only 6 weeks old. She was an ornery puppy, hard to potty train and chewing on anything she could get her little puppy teeth into. But she showed up at just the right time... the week of my first divorce. I put up a good front on the outside, but most days this little girl was the only reason I got out of bed. She kept me moving and going. Since then we've been on countless adventures together. Moving from Ohio to Indiana, then back to Ohio, next to California, and then down to Mexico. And we're about to embark on another epic road trip across the U.S. once again. What does Jovi have to do with my 40-40-40 challenge? Today's donation goes to Paws Assisting Veterans ( PAVE USA ), which trains service dogs for veterans who suffer from mental or physical disabilities as a result...

One of the things I love about this 40-40-40 project is learning about local organizations that my friends support. There are many well-known organizations that do great work around the globe, but the more well-known an organization is, the more likely they are to have large sources of funding. It's great when an organization can impact a ton of people, but it can at times overshadow those organizations that are grass roots, right here in our communities, doing just as good (or even better because they are able to focus their services) as those big names.  I learned about one of those organizations when I asked my friends Shane and Buffy Rider about Wounded Warrior Project. Shane and I went to high school together, and he later met his wife while serving in the military. Shane served in the army from 1998-2004, and Buffy from 1999-2007. They were stationed in Ft. Polk, Louisiana. Buffy was also stationed in Hawaii (where my aunt was stationed years ago!). Shane spent t...

Time for another guest blog! Guest blogs have definitely been one of my favorite parts of this 40-40-40 journey. Being able to hear first hand from people who are on the ground, doing the heavy lifting, actively involved in ministry has opened my heart to all that God is doing in and through people. Today's blog is extra special because it has to do with orphans in Mexico. And not just any orphans. Newborn baby orphans. Here at Sonshine Hacienda we have an 8-month-old, Natalia, who has been with us since she was 5 hours old. She is an incredible blessing, but it hasn't been easy caring for a newborn when you have 20 other kids of various ages and needs to care for also. Not to mention babies are expensive! Diapers, formula, (most of her clothes have been donated thankfully), doctors visits, and a full-time staff person to care for her. Amber and Travis Owen (fun fact: Randy catered their wedding!) know this need all too well. This is their story. SOW MINISTRIES W...

Time for another guest blog! This one comes from my friend Nathan Sheets, who interned for me while I was the Communications Editor at Friends United Meeting in Richmond, Indiana. Now Nathan is working in Hollywood as the EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR of an organization that is working to end isolation and homelessness in Hollywood. What?! How incredible is that?! He shares with us just a taste of what The Center at Blessed Sacrament is all about: THE CENTER “The Center is a place that not only helps you. It’s been a place where I’ve discovered how to help myself.” Long before any of the current staff knew the place existed, "Social Services at Blessed Sacrament" and the staff/volunteers therein were devoted to facilitating a chaotic shower and (occasional) meal program, where people shuffled in as fast as the showers they were allowed. John F. was around in those days. “It wasn’t pretty,” he laughed as he talked, recalling how his life has transformed from tho...