Let’s Go Royals!

Posted on October 22, 2014 by David

I (DeAnna) grew up with baseball and softball.  My Mom is a big Royals fan – always has been.  I remember going to the stadium with all the sights, sounds, smells and excitement – boy do I miss going to the stadium.  I also remember from an early age playing softball.  Mom coached the team sometimes.  I remember Mom always having the radio on for the Royals home games, because they weren’t televised.  I remember Mom winning us tickets via a radio promotion.  It’s just part of who I am.  I remember when the Royals were in the 1985 World Series (I was 8 years old).

deannaradio royals tickets

Now, 29 years later, our Boys in Blue (Royals) are in the World Series.  This is an exciting time.  I wish I could be in Missouri for the excitement, however, I’m glad we live in a time where internet is available to us in Cameroon and I can follow via the internet.

Let’s Go Royals!

stadium funJoshua on micJonah in Press Box

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It’s Raining, It’s Pouring

Posted on October 19, 2014 by David

It does feel that many times in life when there is a season of rain, it pours! Jonah had a bad asthma attack on September 30, which has sent me into a survive mode. One week later, Jonah fell and hurt his elbow and I thought he may need an x-ray. The same day Jonah fell and hurt his elbow, Joshua had a tooth come out while eating. He said he didn’t have any loose teeth and it just fell out when he bit down on something hard. When Joshua first said that his tooth came out, I immediately thought of the time when he was walking into Awana as a 5 year old and he tripped landing on his face on a sidewalk. His front four teeth were knocked every which way.  The below picture is from his Awana fall at age 5 after he visited the Emergency Room.

Joshua 5 years tooth injury
Back to the current tooth problem, the socket area of the tooth looked like a flat white spot, unlike a normal permanent tooth pushing through the gums, so it was hard to know if this was a baby tooth or a permanent tooth that broke off at the gum line. He went to see a dentist who took an x-ray to confirm it was a baby tooth. We are thankful it was a baby tooth, that Jonah’s elbow wasn’t hurt seriously and that Jonah’s asthma is currently under control.

Joshua dentist

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Volleyball

Posted on October 16, 2014 by David

I (DeAnna) used to play volleyball during junior high and high school. I always enjoyed playing. The last time I played competitively was 20 years ago (boy do I feel old admitting that). When an opportunity came up to get a team together and play in an all-day volleyball tournament, I thought it sounded like a good time.

volleyball

Volleyball Team
Saturday, October 4th, my team and I played in a volleyball tournament against six other teams. Some of the teams were high school students, some were people who play together several times a week, some were people who play together weekly and some were like us – a group of people who don’t play regularly, but enjoy playing.
We all had a good time and we all felt the same about it – no injuries is more important than winning, so no one was going to dive for the ball on the cement court we were playing on. We were all pooped by the end of the tournament and were eliminated in our first finals game. It became very clear to me that although I may feel young in my mind, my body is definitely not a teenage body anymore. I had more snap, crackle, pops going on than Rice Krispies.

(sorry, I forgot my camera and don’t have any pictures to share of the tournament)

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Birds, Birds, Everywhere

Posted on October 16, 2014 by David

When I visited Joshua Glenn on his birthday, I heard quite a ruckus coming from nearby trees. As I looked at the trees, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw hundreds of weaver bird nests on every branch and nestled in every nook and cranny.

nests in palm treenests

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Pizza Cookies

Posted on October 14, 2014 by David

One of Jonah’s classroom assignments was to write an advertisement for his own fictional business. I loved his advertisement.

cookie ad
During October break, we made pizza cookies. He didn’t sell them and I didn’t advertise them via email, but we all enjoyed eating them.

pizza cookiespizza cookies up close

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Joshua Glenn Update

Posted on October 11, 2014 by David

Thursday a colleague received a phone call from Rosalie saying that Joshua Glenn wasn’t responsive and it didn’t look good. That colleague and I (DeAnna) went to visit the family. It was heartbreaking seeing a 10 year old boy fighting for every breath as cancer was winning the battle for his life. The colleague with me pointed out that she has a son named Joshua, we have a son named Joshua and we were in the room with this family who also has a son named Joshua.

 
Joshua Glenn didn’t experience a miraculous healing here on earth, but now is without pain and suffering. He passed away late last night. Please pray for the family, Rosalie (his grandmother), Eric (his father) and all the others in his family. Please pray that the Lord is glorified in this incredibly difficult time and His peace and comfort will wash over the family.

 
“…weeping may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5

 
“God will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” Rev 21:4

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Traffic

Posted on October 10, 2014 by David

We’ve blogged many times about the traffic. It’s rare for me to catch a photo of traffic since my phone doesn’t have a camera. I caught a traffic moment that is very typical. Staying on one’s side of the road doesn’t happen and everyone wants to be the first to reach the intersection. When cars are backed up going towards an intersection, it’s typical to find people making multiple lanes in one direction. The big problem with this is, it blocks the traffic trying to come the other direction and then both sides are sitting still.

traffic

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Avion Part Two

Posted on October 8, 2014 by David

Once we arrived back to our house, all the kids wanted to get home quickly to share about all they saw and did at the hangar.

During the tour, the pilots asked the kids to pray for them when they hear the plane go overhead.  They said to pray for safety, the passengers and for God to be glorified.

The next day, one of the pilots had a flight and we all heard the plane coming in our direction.  The neighborhood children didn’t chant avion, instead I heard a couple of them say le pilote loudly, then there was discussion amongst the children.  I smiled.

discussion

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Avion Part One

Posted on October 6, 2014 by David

We live somewhat close to the runway where the SIL plane flies from.  It’s quite comforting for me to hear aircraft taking off, flying overhead and landing since I grew up close to an Air Force Base.

The neighborhood children chant AV-I-ON when an airplane or helicopter flies overhead.  Avion is the French word for airplane.  I’ve enjoyed hearing the children chant this and it sparked an idea.  I asked the Aviation Department if they would give a hangar tour to our neighborhood children.  They were eager to do so and the plans started coming together.  We borrowed a van from a partner organization to drive the neighborhood children to the hangar.  They were so excited to ride in a van.  The children in our neighborhood rarely ride in taxi’s, they usually walk to where they are going, so to ride in a van was quite exciting.

We arrived at the hangar and everyone was so excited.  They were looking all around, taking in every sight, sound and smell.  One of our colleagues who is a pilot, came out and started the tour.  He did a great job explaining everything in an exciting way.  The kids were so thrilled they got to touch a plane.  The last plane to look at during the day allowed for the kids to climb up and sit in the cockpit, even turn the yoke.  They were on cloud 9.  Their smiles and joyful giggles were a wonderful sight and sound.  As the pilot was explaining how the wings worked, Junior was studying it closely and even put his arms out to his sides trying to imitate the motions.  Another pilot gave the kids a gift of coloring sheets, colors, a juice box of sorts (here they are sold in bags) and an individual serving can of chips that are like Pringles.  The kids were so excited and chatted all the way home about their time.

group photoJunior and Geovanni

Pictured above: right is Junior, left is Geovanni.  Future pilots?

 

 

all of us

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Difficulty Breathing

Posted on October 1, 2014 by David

I know when I (DeAnna) have a cold, especially the kind of cold that blocks my nasal passages, I realize how much I take for granted when I can breath out of both nostrils without obstruction.

When Jonah was a toddler, he underwent eye surgery due to Brown’s syndrome.  When the surgical staff removed the tube in his throat, his airways closed up.  The surgeon came out and told us what happened.  When we saw Jonah for the first time following that surgery his little voice was a raspy whisper.  He continued having wheezing and this raspy problem, so I took him to the pediatrician who referred us onto an allergy and asthma center.  The specialist took her time and was thorough before diagnosing him with asthma.  We started treating him for asthma and started the journey of trying to determine triggers that would induce asthma attacks.  One of the triggers is an upper respiratory infection – the common cold.  I know many parents think I’m weird because I stress out when he gets a cold.  I’m quick to ask him to hold his breath if someone coughs in his direction, wash hands, etc…  In the past when he had an asthma attack he would get breathless and wheezy, which led me to take action.

Over the weekend, Jonah came down with a cold, but it seemed to be a head cold and not settling in his chest.  By Monday night, he was in the midst of a bad asthma attack.  It’s so scary as a parent to watch your child struggle with breathing.  Needless to say, Monday night into Tuesday was horrible as a parent.  Tuesday, with the help of friends in the medical profession, he was able to get his oxygen saturation level up.  We are so thankful that the Lord has given us friends who are so willing to help us in time of medical need, thankful for loved ones quick to fall on their knees in prayer, that the Lord led us to a clinic here that speaks English and seems to have a knowledgeable doctor, and thankful that the Lord has been working in Jonah’s body.  Please continue to pray for Jonah’s breathing and asthma.  That he’ll be able to maintain a good oxygen level and sleep well during the night with deep oxygen-filled breaths.

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