Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas came early to our houses.  We did Christmas with all the kids the beginning of December.  Christmas for us was a  day trip to Cebu with six kids and two high school helpers.  We left early in the morning to get the most time possible in Cebu.  We spent an hour and a half at a play world type place with a large ball pit and a small town. with a lot of food shops and hospital and fire dept.  The kids had a ton of fun playing together and just having a great time.  From there we went to have some lunch.  Lunch was at the food court, the cheapest way here to feed so many people.  Aftter lunch it was time to get our shopping on.  Each kid was given a budget and told they could buy a toy and one new outfit.  Each of our older kids where partnered with a younger and knew where mom and dad where at all the time and enjoyed finding all the fun things the mall had to offer.  For the kids at the orphanage it was a day of new adventures.  It was there first ferry ride, first time to Cebu and first time to see the big malls.  They had an awesome time and it was a blessing and joy to see the happiness in all of them.  after shopping it was time to make our way back to a ferry for home.  We had some time at the port to play in there little childrens area.  We had supper when we boarded the boat.  after that they where all ready to lay down and sleep.  The kids slept on the boat and the whole drive home.  It was a normal rest of the month finishing up school and christmas parties.  A new adventure starts for us all this afternoon.  Jonah is going with a team from church and our house parents are on vacation so I am staying home with six kids for five days.  I have two middle schoolers around to help watch kids a little but, it will be chaos at my house for a couple of weeks. 

P.S.  sorry again there are no pictures but the internet does not like to upload pictures for me.  This is a quick update being done while Jonah finishes packing and we try to feed kids lunch.  God Bless and Hope you have a very Merry CHRISTmas and very  happy New Year.!!!

october adventures

October brought a new adventure for Precious and for us.  It was exciting and she had a lot of fun.  She was asked by her teacher if she would like to be a girl scout.  The girl scout program is run through the school system and only a certian number of kids can join each year and it is usually by teacher recommendation.  She was happy to have the chance and worked hard to learn the scout law and code and to prepare all that was asked of her by the scout leader,  The second weekend of october was scouting camp weekend.  They left saturday morning and came home late Sunday afternoon.  Jonah went and spent most of the weekend there with her but just to observe and watch out.  He help to act as a parent chaperone.  Precious was very tired when she came home but had a great time and said she cannot wait till next year.  She thinks that next year she will come home after the evening program so that she can sleep better.  The next weekend Jonah had to travel for a funeral.  The leader of the denomination passed away so he with my brother and sister in law traveled to Negros for the funeral.  They where gone the whole weekend.  The end of this month was semester break for all of the kids.  They had two weeks off from school.  We spent part of the first week in Cebu as a family to spend time together and relax.  That is the best way for us to get away from the daily life here so we do that every three months or so.  We spent the rest of break just around home playing and having fun with all the kids here.  We also took updated pictures of the kids at the orphanage and our family.  I tried to upload the pictures but the internet is not liking that idea.  will try again later.  Hope you are all well.  God bless.

Honest reflections on family reunions

Earlier this month Jonah's family gathered for a reunion/memory service for his mom.  It is always fun to have the family together but also a lot of time and work.  It may be easier if the reunion was not at our home and my feelings about such reunion might be different.  I have to be honest when I say that reunions I have a love hate relationship with.  I love that the family can get together once a year because for most of them that is the only time we see them because of distance and finances.  but I am not always happy that my home, schedule and structure are invaded.  When the family comes they all stay at our house because it is the only place that is big enough to hold everyone.  It was only for a couple of days so not to bad.  The pictures are just a couple of snapshots of the weekend.  The reunion weekend I can say is always full of a lot of food and laughter though.

 

 

 Mark helping Junrey with the ice

 

 Brother in laws catching up and talking shop

 

 Kids having fun with bubbles

 

 Mark shaving a cocunut

 

 Airsoft game; uncles vs nephews

 

Rhaim one of the uncles practising his pose

 

 

The reunion was one of the first weekends of the month.  on Saturday the 16th we took a chance to get away with some friends and a few of our nephews to go back to snorkel and swim near panglao.  We went about a month before and went early to go dolphin watching and saw no dolphins.  This time we went without thinking we would see any dolphins but saw a lot of them.  There where about 5 pods of 10 or more each.  The kids where in love and the adults where all pretty excited to.  It was an awesome site.  We stayed and watched the dophins for about 15 minutes and then went on to dock near the island to swim and snorkel.  There is a protected area of the ocean there where there is no fishing or swimming or boating allowed so there are so many fish by the coral that it is awesome to see Gods beauty in its natural environment.  It gives one a new appreciation for all that God created.  The rest of the month has been the normal of school and living life.  One big accomplishement to make note of though is that Faith finished her kindergarten work and has started first grade.  She is learning so much and does well most of the time.  She has some days that she does not want to do school, but we remind her of her goal and that helps.  She really wants to be classmates with one of the girls in the orphanage who will be in 2nd grade next year, in order to achieve that Faith has to excell through two years this year and she is well on her way to achieving that goal.  I am seeing that homeschooling her this year was the better option though or she would have been bored in school and been held back from reaching her full potential. 

 

       Next month we have a wedding to look forward.  Junrey one of our water employees and great friends is getting married and we all get to be a part of his wedding.  pictures and more updates after the big day.

 

Hope you are blessed and have a great day.



family fun

We started September with a family weekend.  We spent the weekend away with my sister-in-law and her family.  One of my nephews girlfriend owns a resort in pangloa and was able to get us a room for a great deal.  We spent Friday night at the resort and was able to go and walk the beach and have a shake on the way home.  The kids did a great job even with the late hour.  We got up early on Saturday to catch a boat and go "dolphin watching".  We did not get to see any dolphins but we went to a near by island and the kids went snorkeling with daddy and their nephews.  They had a blast and where so excited to tell about all the different kinds of fish that they saw.  From snorkeling we went to a place called virgin Island.  It is a sand bar in the ocean.  It is mainly dedicated to saints.  but had a cute little nature musuem.  The late night and early morning finally caught up with the little man so he took a nap on the boat ride out to the island.  he missed a little bit of swimming but had fun when we woke up.  

 

Mark napping on the boat

Jonah, Faith, Precious and cousin Ken

 

 

Precious, Faith and Aunt Melina



Mom swimming is fun

 

Sunday was grocery day after church.  Then the normal Sunday fun of basketball and relaxing with the family.  Monday is back to school routine and trying to recover from the long fun weekend.  Tuesday it rained hard for an hour or so, so we let Faith have a break from school to play in the rain with Mark.  Th kids love to play in the rain and it is impossible to say no because they never except

no as an answer.   

              

 

 

rain equeals mud mom

fun in the rain

 

Our september fun so far.  Hope you are all blessed and enjoy reading.  Love and blessings.

 

youth camp and medical issues

August has been a fun and not fun month all at the same time.  We have been fighting a few medical concerns with Precious.  It it nothing serious but still is not fun for her or us and makes life busy.  She has a couple of wounds that are having a hard time healing.  one on her leg and the other on her back.  At the same time she was having a persistent cough, sneezing, and at one point was having a little trouble breathing at night.  We ended up taking her to two doctors in Tagbiliran for the cough and the skin doctor.  We disovered that she seems to be allerrgic to dust and doctor also suspects that she fights environmentally induced asthma.  With the right meds and care the cough we where able to rid in a week the wounds on the leg and back we are still fighting they are looking better but still not completely healed.  soon after all this she started to have some issues with her right eye so a week after the first visit with the doctors we where back this time to see the skin doctor again and to visit an eye doctor.  The antibiotic ointment that the skin doctor prescribed the first time she was allergic to so we discontinued that and are just using the generic that you friends send in the first aid boxes.  That has helped and the wounds are healing instead of spreading.  as for the eye her iris was inflammed so we have two drops.  One to help tear production that is every two hours while awake.  We live by an alarm with that one.  The other drop is 3 times a day so not so bad.  That has been our adventures so far.  We have a follow up with the eye doctor the end of this month to make sure her eye is getting better. 

 

 

This last weekend we had one of our overnight youth camps.  We had about 150 young people come to worship play games and fellowship together.  It gets loud somewhat crazy here at these times but such a blessing to see so many learning and growing in the faith and even some learning about Christ for the first time.  Here are some pictures from the festivities.  

 

 

 one of the small groups

 Lunch time

 youngest member of youth camp

just a picture of my cute man

 

 

Thanks for sharing in our Journey and hope you are blessed.

July adventures

July is nutrition month at the local schools here.  This month the students and teachers focus on good healthy nutrition.  The classrooms have a feeding for the students once a week.  Each classroom picks a boy and girl to be there prince and princess of nutrition.  These students raise money throughout the month for the school and at the end of the month the money is counted and the boy and girl that raised the month is the king and queen of nutrition.  There is then one afternoon that the students but on a program for the parents with songs dances and competitions for the princes and princesses of nutrition.  Precious was princess for her class.  She did not smile much for the pictures because she was tired and had a bad bruise on her side but I am so proud of her for staying with it and doing what she had to.

Precious introducing herself

getting ready for the talent part of the program.  Faith helped with backup.

 

Part of her talent.  She did a drama with the help of friends and won the best in talent prize.

more from the drama.

Ate Sharon and Kuya Junrey where awesome helping with hair, makeup

 and anything else she needed

Part of the program was best in gown.  This was the dress she chose to rent.

mommy and Faith enjoying a few minutes together.

 

Precious with part of her team that day Ate Sharon and Faith

 

 

 

August has been spent with school for Faith and Andrew at home and just trying to live life.

 

Precious started struggling with health issues last week and we are still fighting that some.  We have discovered that she has environmental allergies and that has caused some asthma issues also.  She also has very sensitive skin so the smallest wound can become big and infected in a short amount of time.  She has four spots know that we are fighting one on her leg two on her back and she seems to have gotten one by her eye.  We where to the doctor last week and he gave us some cream for her leg and it is getting better but she has the new spots by her back and eye.  I like this doctor because he only gives oral antibiotics when everything else is not working.  We are thinking another trip to the doctor might be in order just to make sure that it is not something more serious. 

 

 

Yesterday was a long day of travel for us.  We went to a nieces wedding in Cebu and wanted to get home the same day so kids would not have to miss to much school.  Faith was a flower girl.  Left home at 2:30 and got home 22 hours later.  We are all a little tired and will be trying to catch up on sleep the rest of this week.

 

Thanks for reading and for all your prayers and support.  God bless.

 

 

 



the happenings

Our last post ended with sending our kids off to school.  There is only one change in the school area and that is with Andrew.  He is "to young" for school and was struggling to learn and the teacher, himself and our houseparents where getting frustrated.  I learned that he does not have the fine motor control to write and do the work that was required of him at school.  He has since been pulled and spends his mornings with Faith, Mark and I.  I have learned a few things about my kids in this whole school process.  Precious does better in the scheduled, structured school setting so in some ways I think I failed her in previous years by keeping her home.  I know that it is all a learning process as parents and I thank God that kids are sturdier than we sometimes think.  Anyway Precious is thriving at school and is really enjoying it.  I am glad that Faith is still home because in some ways I fear that she would have gotten bored with learning in kindergarten.  She is excelling with the homeschool curriculum and could very well excell through two grades this year.  She has an eagerness and love for learning and that is all the motivitation she needs.  Precious needs the motivation of the structure that she finds at school.  Mark is a smart little boy and learns new things everyday.  He is using 4-5 word sentences and speaks mostly visayan but knows english also.  most people talk to him in visiayan so makes sense that is the language he would speak most often.  My girls even struggle to speak english sometimes so will be interesting when and if we move back to the US. 

The end of June saw us celebrating more birthdays.  We had a nice dinner at home for precious and Jonahs birthday.  Precious also had a cake to share with her classmates at school.  We would love to have a party to celebrate all our kids birthdays but they are so close together and it would cost to much.  So we rotate the kids that get a big party and the other two get to have dinner with the compound.  which consist of three houses, ours, the orphanage and there aunt and uncle and three cousins. 

July slowed down some if that is possible.  It seems there is always something to do.  July was made a little more difficult when an earthquake happened near our power source and damaged the structure.  we went about two and a half weeks with no power at all and since then we have been on a rotation for power. At first it was sporadic and we could not figure out a schedule.  know we are supposed to have power for a period of hours to days withit being shut off every so often for four hours but even that schedule is sporadic at best.  The one thing that is interesting here is that the world continues at normal when the power goes out.  there is still school, church, stores are open with or without a generator.  It makes life hard when it is power out at night when you have several kids afraid of the dark.  It is hard to sleep when it is so hot also but we have learned to survive and are thankful for power when we do have it.  This is supposed to continue till the beginning of August but who knows for sure when it will be back to normal.

Mid July was a lot of parties again.  We celebrated Faith and her kuya Ken's (nephews) birthday and had a good friend celebrate his birthday all on the same day.  The next day we had a house dedication party and the next Wednesday we had a dinner with the local teachers and gvernment officials as a way to bridge the gap between the two and try to come to an understanding that we are not agianst each other but should try and work in unity.  There was a roasted  pig at all of these parties.  We enjoyed the time with family and friends but definitly ready for something different to eat after all that pork.  Thank you for traveling along with us on this amazing, fun, and often crazy adventure we call our life.

That's all folks!!  see you next time.

June days

June is already half over and so much fun and tears have happened.  The fun and laughter first.  June 2 we celebrated the birthdays of our twins.  Mark and Marah.  It was about a year and a half ago that they arrived to us and they have grown so much.  Marah was healthy for the most part when she arrived and she has continued to grow and develop as a normal two year old.  Mark was extremely malnourished, underweight and not reaching developmental milestones.  With the proper nourishment love and care he has grown to be within normal weight and has exceeded all the milestones. Both kids are fun and full of energy.  We enjoyed celebrating their birthday at the local beach with lechon (roasted) baboy (pig).  We also had many wonderful family and close friends to celebrate with us.  It was a great time of swimming, eating, and fellowship.

 Marah the birthday girl

 Mark and Marah enjoying a snack during their swim

 Yummy Lunch

Marah kissing the Pig!!

A few days after the party it was time to get back to business and get the kids ready for school.  Sounds weird to many of you I am sure.  I have been reading and seeing so many things about last days of school and here we are just starting.  Our school year runs from beginning of June to the end of March.  The first day of elementary and High school was a busy day here.  I was smart in that I had all the bags packed and ready before, but Jonah had to be out of town and left early that morning so had to get two kids up and ready for school and get Mark ready to go also.  I had to go with the girls to get them enrolled and was going to wait for Faith so I could walk her home as she would be done an hour before the others.  Got my two girls there and enrolled and the whole time Faith seemed excited but when it was time to go to class and for mom to leave she started crying so hard and would not go to class.  It has been since decided that she will stay home and homeschool with me (Jessica).  It is very quite though because the only kids we have in the morning from 8-11 is the three babies and Faith.  We send five off to school every morning.  Two go to day care (preschool) and then three at the elementary school.  grades 1, 4 and 6.  It is controlled chaos here in the mornings to make sure they are all up fed and dressed.  There are some days I dread that alarm.  But it is such a blessing to be a part of Gods ministry here and to see the kids learn and grow is amazing.  We have to also give a special thank you to our house parents because without them things would be even more crazy in the mornings.  The picture is missing Andrew and Nathan because their first day at daycare was a week later and they where not ready the morning we took pictures.

first day of school picture. L to R Precious grade 4, James grade 6, Tata grade 7, Faith kindergarten and Mickaila grade 1

Thank you for reading and for all your support in our ministry here.  Blessings to you all as you celebrate summer vacation.

Thanksgiving and travel

  Many of you have asked about our travels so will try and put into words all that happened.  The end of April and May saw us very busy.  The end of April is our churches annual Thanksgiving celebration.  This is the anniversary of the church and a way to celebrate what has been accomplished over the past year.  The month of April is busy getting everything ready for the celebration.  Our family was very involved this year as all three of our kids had practice for there respective dance numbers and the girls where in charge of coming up with parlor games for the kids.  I (Jessica) was in charge of parlor games for the women and Jonah was part of the team that lead the basketball tournaments for the men.

A side note should include that Mark was not supposed to be part of the boys dance but he was at all of the practices and would practice with the boys so when it came time to dance they let him dance with him.

Mark dancing with the boys

Both girls danced during the Praise and worship and also where part of a group of girls that did a special number also.  The Thanksgiving celebration is an all day affair that is enjoyed by everyone.  The day starts with a service in the morning with a special guest speaker and several special numbers by the kids and youth of the church.  Service is followed by a potluck lunch for the whole church.  There are always lots of yummy foods and a couple of lechon (roasted) pigs to enjoy.  Following lunch is the parlor games for the various age groups.  This is a fun time to relax and enjoy the day and get to know others better.  After games everyone just relaxes and enjoys the rest of the afternoon talking and sharing fellowship till the evening service.  This service is usually a talent service with several special prepared numbers by the young people again. 

Meroy ready to chop the lechon

 Mark dancing with the boys

 Lunch time

After the Thanksgiving we had one day to rest before we left on our first trip in May.  May 1-5 we spent in Negros at the denominations national convention and youth/kids camp.  This is a few days set aside every year for the pastors and lay leaders to gather in one place for a time of learning and renewal.  It is also here that the business meetings and board meetings are held.  during the day there are divided sessions for the adults, youth and this year for the first time in about 25 years they had a kids camp again.  Jonah sits on the board so he is at the meetings and sits in most sessions and I spend time running around with Mark and Faith.  From Negros we came back to Bohol and had no more plans to travel.  We had been invited to Mindanao but did not have plans to go at first but thought more about it and decided to go anyways so When we arrived from Negros we where home for less than 48 hours before we left for Mindanao.  We had been invited because a good friend was hosting and conducting there 6th annual interchurch youth camp and wanted us to see it and also our my sister-in-law was one of the guest speakers.  I am glad that we did end up going because it was a great chance to observe and see what there camp is like.  This is a huge youth camp with anywhere from 300 plus registered every year. I learned a lot there and we are going to try and reproduce a camp similar here sometime but will take a lot of planning and the right people to make it happen.  For right now we are in the prayer stages of this happening here and waiting for God to make it his timing.  Sorry no good pictures from here all I have are pictures of signs and papers and such for my reference.  So where to from there.  After the camp we decided to go and visit one of Jonah's brothers for a couple of days and relax after all the travel to that point.

From Mindanao it was back to Bohol but only to spend one night at home before we went to another youth camp but this time it was only 30 minutes from home.  We camped out there in the tent and our main purpose was to be a support to the officers, mainly my nephew who is the chairman of the NEBEMA(North Eastern Bohol Evangelical Ministerial Association).  We spent three days there before returning home and trying to find a routine again.  All in all we spent more time away from home in May then we did at home.

It was a busy month but God truly blessed us is all our travels and we are thankful to be home for while as we await the day to celebrate Mark and Marah turning two.

Thanks for reading and May God bless you all!!!

Growing!!!

    Wow it has been way to long and there are no excuses, only my sincerest apologies.  So we have been on the field for over 2 years know and our ministry has grown and seen many changes in those two years.  I will try and limit the changes to certain topics so as not to overwhelm anyone and to not make these post to long.

    People first.  Lets start at the beginning.  The first three orphans we received where, if you remember was a sibling group of three.  Jerwin(tata), Donnabe (Ebec) and John.  John and Ebec has since decided to live with an older sister near Tagbiliran.  I still keep in touch with Ebec on about a weekly basis.  she is doing well and will be entering high school this year.  Our school year starts in June and ends in March.  Ebec and Tata where in the 5th grade and not doing well in school when they arrived here and so I was proud to see and be a part of there 6th grade graduation the end of March.  Tata had also decided to leave and go live with an aunt near by.  We would see him around but he had cut ties with us for awhile, but we are so happy to see him back here at the church and volunteering his summer hours to help our pastor around there home and the church grounds.  He really seems to have grown up the last year or so and I pray that God will keep working in him.  We love all of our kids and hate to see them leave but God knows best and we know it is better to stay in Gods will.

Jerwin (Tata) Dupalco

The next young man that came to us was Marvin.  A lot has changed for this young man and he still has a lot of growing to do and we have to entrust his life to God.  We have done what we can and he will always hold a special spot in my heart but he has made his choices and he has to live with those choices.  Marvin lived here for awhile then went home to Grandpa after he made some bad choices here.  Some family learned of his situation and he lived with them for a school year but did not learn from his mistakes here very well and they will not let him return to live with them for the safety of their new little daughter.  So he will be staying with Grandpa, unless God provides a better place that can meet his specific needs.  He still comes to church when he can find a ride so we see him then and always try to encourage him when we see him.

   That last group of kids that came to us was a sibling group of five.  This was the group that came from the neglected home and the kids that where very malnourished when they arrived.  These kids are Hazel, Mickaella, Andrew, Marah, and Mark.  Hazel has since chosen to return home and quite school all together.  The rest of this sibling group is still here with us and are not just growing but thriving.  Mark and Marah will celebrate there 2nd birthday with us in a week.  Marah was in pretty good health when she arrived so she has continued to grow well and is learning new things every day it seems.  She is learning to talk and to play nice with here friends.  Mark has grown so much and has become a very smart little boy.  growth wise he seems to be right on track for other kids his age.  He has learned so many words and is putting up to three words together to form short sentences.  most of his language is Visayan but he is learning English as well.  I appreciate the people here with him especially because when they teach him a new word they will try and teach him the Visayan and English word.  With him I am having to learn more of the Visayan so I can understand what he is trying to talk to me about.  If you could pray with us as we continue to work with the local Social Service agency to process his adoption.  He is so much a part of our family that it would break our hearts if he is not allowed to be part of our legal family.  We look forward to celebrating Mark and Marah next week and the gift they are to us and our family.  Mickaella has grown so much as well.  She is at a healthy weight and continues to grow physically, spiritually and emotionally.  She is still very small in height for her age and that maybe a life long thing for her.  She has finished kindergarten and will start first grade next month.  Andrew is growing well and is also at a healthy weight and height.  His vocabulary is growing by the week and he is talking in short sentences.  He will be a visitor to the local preschool this year so hopefully he will learn a lot there and learn to socialize better with other kids close to his age.  We hope and pray these kids will all continue to grow and learn and that they learn more about our savior and see his love everyday. 

L-R Mickaella, Andrew, Marah, Gianne, Nathan

An update on some other people you have heard about but are not our orphans.  Jolene is a working a high school student she is still living and working for my sister-in-law.  She will start grade 9 in a couple of weeks.  She sometimes struggle with staying because she misses her family but she knows this is the best place for her.  If she went home she would most likely be somewhat forced to marry and not be able to finish school.  I try to encourage her any chance I get and we smile and laugh together.  It is interesting with her because she does not understand English well but she pretends sometimes for my sake so we have interesting conversations that make us both laugh. 

Junrey and Ogeke are the two gentlemen that work at the water business that we own and operate here.  They are doing well and both work for us still.  Ogeke is a hard worker and never ask for time off.  He loves to help out in any way he can.  He is great with the kids and will help out by watching them or just taking them to play on the playground for a little while so moms and dads can get a rest for a few minutes.  Junrey is engaged and getting married in October.  He is planning to continue working for us after he is married.  He is the one that manages our day to day paperwork and operations.  He is also great with all of the kids and is willing to pitch in and help out with child care.

   The last people I can think of would be our family.  Jonah and I (Jessica) are doing well.  We just celebrated our 10th anniversary the other day.  Marriage is not always are walk in the park but God has blessed us with 10 years of joy and sadness and fun and adventures.  We look forward to walking this journey together still and pray God will continue to bless us so we can continue being a blessing to others.  Our girls are doing well also.  Precious finished third grade as a homeschool student.  This year was a struggle for us.  It was a new curriculum and somewhat of a last minute decision.  She started the year at the elementary school but struggled some with the language so decided to do one more year with homeschool and we had a friend from church that is a teacher come in about twice a week to tutor her.  She will be entering the fourth grade at our local elementary school here and we will encourage her to see the year through and evaluate at the end of the year.  She is growing so much.  We are proud of the daughter that God is growing her into.  Faith will start her official education in kindergarten this year.  She tried preschool last year but did not want to go to school when she was told mom could not stay in the classroom anymore.  We hope that she has outgrown that but there is a part of me that fears she has not.  We will encourage her to spend one year at school and evaluate at the end of the year.  She still has a lot of growing to do but she is a smart little girl.  she has started reading short three letter words this past year and counts to 200 with a little bit of help once in awhile.  She I think often has the desire to be an only child so can be hard sometimes when there are so many other kids around.

Precious, Mark and Faith

We thank you for taking the time to read about our journey here and pray you are blessed in a small way with what God has done here in the Philippines.

For a side note we want to praise God that after a year of processing our registration with Securities and Exchange commission (SEC) it was finally approved and we have received the registration.  We are officially registered as the Lucas Shelter for Children Philippines, INC,  To read more about the name look for our June newsletter in your mailboxes in a couple of weeks.

will try another update weekly till I can get us caught up to current.  Sorry again for the major time lapse.

Also a good friend of ours is in the process of putting together a box to ship.  I believe this one will be a medical/first aid one but if you have something you would like to include please contact Christine Davenport at email address davenport.christine@gmail.com  I will try to keep an updated list of desired items on the side of the blog.  I just have to remember how to create it.  God bless and have a wonderful day.