We Needed A Second Opinion

OK, I think it's time for a second opinion. Certainly a doctor from Costa Rica doesn't know what he is talking about. We need to go back to the United States and find a doctor that will hopefully give us better news.
I never thought I would see family and friends so soon after leaving our home in Orlando, Florida to be full time missionaries. We had planned to be gone 4 years before seeing anyone again. Bitter/Sweet!!!!! Happy to see everyone but sad for the reason we were back.
We found a doctor that was familiar with the disease that we were told our son had. He did confirm what the doctor in Costa Rica told us.
Guy and I needed to now make a decision if we should go back to the mission field or should we stay in Orlando. We had been told that there was no cure for this disease. We both felt that if there is nothing that can be done then we should continue with the plans God had prepared us for.
Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy. He wants to knock us down and paralyze us so we won't get back up. But God is Bigger.  I found this song on YouTube that I had heard one Sunday in church. It has always stayed with me and anytime I have gotten discouraged I start singing it to myself.
 I KNOW IT'S OLD and I don't know anyone in this video but close your eyes and listen to the words. When I first heard it I had no idea how many times I would sing this song to myself. I sang it through many tears. It always gave me hope and took my eyes off my situation and put them on God.

Standing in the Rain

We were getting used to life in Costa Rica. Guy and I were making friends that I knew would last a  lifetime. We were getting into a routine. The routine consist of going to language school everyday then going out every afternoon to practice what we had learned. We would need to go food shopping mostly everyday. On Sundays we visited different churches. The more we got out the faster we would learn the language. All of the missionaries that were in language school had been preparing so long before even getting to language school. Everyone was getting excited to move to where God had called them to go. I was getting a little nervous about what life would be like in the Amazon Jungle. We were completely walking and living by faith.

 

 

We had lived in Costa Rica for about 5 months and I decided to take Jason to his 18 month old check up. I wanted to keep up with all his routine check ups. At that check up the doctor made an appt. for us to take Jason to see a specialist. I really had no idea why we were going to the specialist but I was concerned because he made the appt. for that evening. I was NOT prepared for what I was about to hear. When we arrived that evening we were greeted by the doctor himself. There were no papers to fill out and no waiting to be seen. The doctor took Jason and looked at him for about 30 min. but seemed like an eternity. The doctor handed Jason back to me and I held him like I had never held him before. Then the words that NO parent should ever hear come out of a doctors mouth. All I remember hearing was "Your child has type 1 Hurlers Disease and he has 4 years to live. He will get pneumonia and die". I'm sure the doctor said a lot more but I don't remember another word. I stood up and handed Jason to his daddy. I walked out the door and I stood in the pouring rain and cried from a place I didn't know existed. I could not bear to hold Jason that night because I believed the more I held and loved him the more it will hurt to lose him. That feeling only lasted till the next morning.  I wanted so much to help my husband because I knew he just heard the same thing I heard and he was trying to hold Jason and an umbrella over Jason and me while trying to get a taxi to stop and pick us up. Shortly after we got home our house was filled with the other missionary families. They stayed with us all night. By the next morning I wish with all my heart that it was all a mistake and the doctors were wrong and that everything could go back the way it was the day before. There is one thing that went back to the way it was and that was  hugging and holding Jason and never letting him go. God chose to pour out His Grace on us that night and surround us with love. We had no idea what our future held but we did know that Jesus loved our son even more than we did.

 

Leaving On A Jet Plane

It was time to get on a plane and leave the only home I had ever known knowing that we would not be back for at least 4 years. Everything had been done that needed to be done. Even our house sold the night before we left. The goodbyes were said by our family and friends. Our stuff was packed and had already been shipped to our new home in Costa Rica. I really had no idea what our life would be like from this point forward. Neither one of us had ever been out of the country before. I was very surprised with myself about how calm and peaceful I felt when driving to the airport. Everything was good until the wheels of our plane lifted off American soil and at that moment I missed my country and longed for the day we would return. This was one of those moments and there were many more that if you didn't have a strong assurance that God had called you to go that it would be so easy to quit.
When we arrived in Costa Rica there was a sweet couple that met us at the airport to take us to our new home for the next 8 months. They gave us a tour around the city and I immediately fell in love with San Jose. As soon as I saw a McDonalds I knew I would be fine. Our home was located in San Fransico De Dos Rios. This was the area where all the missionaries from all denominations lived while they attended language school.

We shared a duplex with another missionary family. Their names were Jim and Viola. They were with the southern baptist and were assigned to go to Central America after language school. Our duplex was centered in between a chinese restaurant and a bakery. It didn't take long at all before we felt at home.

Guy and I couldn't wait to get out with Jason and start exploring the city after having a much needed good night sleep. I wish I could say we got a good night sleep but we were awaken by cannon's going off which we later found out was the Catholic Church. It took some time getting used to our new strange noises in the neighborhood.
Goodnight  and in retrospect we'll talk again soon.

No More "NO WAY"

Now that we were completely sure that God has called us to become full time foreign missionaries in Ecuador with HCJB it is preparation time. First, we wanted to learn everything about HCJB while at the same time they wanted to learn everything about us. This process took several months. At the end of all their questions we were approved to be full time missionaries. At that time we were told what area we would be the best fit for. Since Guy was a paramedic on the Orlando Fire Department he would be using his education and job experience to work in the jungle as a medical missionary. Since Ecuador did not have paramedics the country gave Guy the closest job description to a paramedic which was a doctor. Which was pretty cool.  We were told that we now needed to raise support before we could go. They told us that usually takes about 1 1/2 to 2 years. God provided our support in 3 months from 2 churches. That alone is a miracle. The next step would be that we would have to first live in Costa Rica for 8 months while we attended language school to learn Spanish. Well, you gotta do what you gotta do.  After language school we would be on our way to our new home in the Amazon Jungle.
I need to pause a moment and share my thoughts on living in the jungle. This decision was a process. We were first told we were going to live in the capital of Ecuador which is Quito. I thought to myself  Quito would be fine but no way would I want to live in the mountain area. Then the mission called us and  said they didn't need us anymore in Quito. They now need us in the mountain area. After thinking about it I thought the mountains would be OK because there are no snakes in the mountains but for sure no way would I want to live in the jungle area I thought to myself. Then the mission called and told us they didn't need us in the mountain area they now need us in the jungle. I then said Lord I'm not going to say no way anymore to anymore locations. If I kept this up I would be living WITH the tribes in a hut.

During this time period I was excited about our adventure and how God was showing us so clearly the next step to take by faith. During all this time I was being a new mom and enjoying it so much. We were enjoying all the first of our first child. 1st Christmas, 1st Birthday, 1st haircut.  But in my heart I would have fear and doubt. Would Jason be safe living in the jungle? Would we get bitten by a snake? I don't like snakes at all. I knew that sudden fear is not of God and I knew that I would rather be in the jungle in the center of God's Will then to be anywhere else out of God's Will.

I'm sure you have been asking yourself. What is HCJB and what does it stand for. HCJB are the call letters for the first radio station in Quito, Ecuador. It stands for Heralding Christ Jesus Blessings. The mission of HCJB is to reach the world  with the gospel through (at that time) short wave radio. At that time short wave radio was the most up to date technology. Short wave radio could go where missionaries were not allowed to go. Along with radio, the mission also had 2 hospitals. One in Quito and the other in Shell, Ecuador. We were going to work out of the one in Shell. If you are interested in learning more about HCJB you can go to their website www.hcjb.org   The picture above is of Guy, myself and Clarence Jones. He is the man who started the mission organization HCJB. It was very cool to meet him after reading his book "Come Up To This Mountain".

THREE LITTLE ITEMS

Have you ever asked God to show you the direction He wanted you to go and then want a little more proof just to be sure you heard Him correctly. Well that was us. We were getting ready to quit our jobs, sell our new home, leave our family and friends and take our new born baby to go live in the amazon jungle as medical missionaries. We wanted to be very sure this was exactly God's perfect will and plan for our lives. So Guy and I decided to put a fleece out to God.  We asked God for three items that we thought we would need if we became missionaries with HCJB. We thought if God provided these items without us telling anyone what those items were we would know we are to go. The three items were a camera and film, a stereo and a ham radio.

About 1 week later we got a letter in the mail saying we have won a prize. When I called to claim the prize I asked what we had won. I was told we had won a 35mm camera with 500 rolls of film and free developing. The next weekend we got a knock on the door from our closest friends. They were in the military and were getting transferred to another state. They said they wanted to give us a going away gift. They wanted to give us something that they already had. They said they looked all over the house and decided to give us their
stereo. They were holding it in their arms with a big bow around it. As soon as we saw the gift in their arms we knew we also would be getting transferred soon ourselves. Still we said nothing. Now it was fun to see how God was going to give us a ham radio. Only a few days later Guy gets a call from Dick Rutherford. Dick is the man that invited us to his house to have dinner and meet with missionaries from our church. He told Guy that he just received a phone call from a lady in our church that had recently become a widow. She said her husband had a ham radio and she knew he wanted it to go to a missionary. Dick told the lady that he knew of the perfect person to give it to. You guessed it, us!!!! ALL THREE ITEMS in two weeks time.

There was no denying the direction God was leading us.

A NEW DIRECTION

Up till now I have been writing only about the first 5 years of our married life together. And before I move on to the next chapter I want to re-cap our life now as a family.
In-Retrospect, I can see that throughout my life I have always desired to have balance in my life. And this was one of those moments in time that seemed in complete balance. We both had good jobs, two fairly new cars, we enjoyed  married life, we just had our first child, we just moved into our new home, we attended a great church, we were close with our family and we had good friends.
As I mentioned in another blog that I desired Guy to get a little more spiritual. I was thinking more along the lines of him becoming a deacon in the church we attended. But God had different plans.
One morning Guy started sharing that he has been feeling like God might want us to go live in another country as missionaries. And what is strange is that I didn't freak out because God was laying on my heart the same thing.
We didn't know where, when or with who. So for fun we looked at a world map and closed our eyes and pointed. Our finger landed on Ecuador, South America. I thought Lets go for best 2 out of 3. I looked for Hawaii then closed my eyes and pointed. We started searching information about Ecuador. We called the Baptist Foreign Mission Board to ask if there were any openings or needs in Ecuador. And there wasn't. We knew there were so many organizations that we could apply for but which one do you pick? So we  prayed and  asked God to send the mission organization to us. In the meantime, while working on the fire department Guy started attending bible college. He was preparing himself that when a mission organization does contact us, we would be prepared.
Then one afternoon I needed to send Guy to the store to pick up some bread. When he came back home he said he ran into someone from church. His name is Dick Rutherford. Guy said we were invited to their house for dinner that night. They were having a cookout with some missionaries that our church supported. We were excited to meet a missionary from another country. This was a great opportunity to ask questions about missionary life. Take one guess of which country they were missionaries of. Your right, ECUADOR. And if that wasn't weird enough they just happened to have an application to become a missionary with the organization they were with. The mission organization was HCJB.
I learned at that moment, God knows my address and has a plan for our life. He didn't share the whole plan at once and I am thankful He didn't. But He did give us our next step to take and the faith to go through it. God provides everything you will need to do what he has directed you to do.
In retrospect we will talk again soon.

IT'S A BOY!!!! It's a BIG boy!!!!!!!!!!!

On April 2, 1980 Jason Michael Walden was born. I remember hoping our child would be born on his or her due date. And my hoping turned to reality. On April 2, we woke up and right away I started feeling like we needed to call the doctor. We were told to go to the hospital. Our bags were packed with all the items we were told from our pre-natal class that we would need during labor. Some of those items were socks, tennis ball (for back pain), an item to focus on and I don't remember what that was but I do remember focusing on the clock in front of my bed. Also last but very much not least we needed the certificate that Guy went to the pre-natal classes or he would not be able to be in the labor and delivery room with me. Back in the day that's how it was done. This was also back in the day when the epidural was not yet being used. Plus I wanted to do it all natural. No drugs!! I am very sensitive to all drugs and found out that day that I am allergic to pitocin which is a drug to help start contractions. After a few drops of pitocin I then had a 8 minute contraction. I know that for sure because as I mentioned my focal point was the clock. When the time came I pushed for 2 hours and the doctor decided to put me under and deliver the baby with forceps. Both Jason and Mommy looked like we had been in a fight and lost. The whites of my eyes were  red because all the blood vessels in my eyes popped when I was pushing. And Jason shoulder was hurt from the forceps. After you hear how much Jason weighed at birth all these events will make sense. He weighed 10 lbs. 13 oz. And 21 inches long. Our little HULK was born!!!!!!  It is true that the pain is forgotten the moment you hold your beautiful baby in your arms for the first time. Being as I was a first time Mom, I didn't realize that Jason's weight was that unusual until I put him in his newborn outfit to go home from the hospital and it was to small.  The first 3 pictures were taken when Jason was 8 days old.

Life does not get any better than these moments.