Signs of Hope: End of December

There is so much gloom and doom in the news these days, I thought I would seek out some good news for a change. If you are like me, there are days you never turn on the radio or TV to listen to the news. 

Lately, I find that of the news sources available, I pay the most attention to the one arriving on my front doorstep in the morning, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News. When there is little one can do about the Africans suffering in South Sudan or someone who just lost their home in a flood in India, discovering a local need and/or learning of its resolution is refreshing.

I do not mean to undermine any humanitarian effort in such places or similar. This small newspaper certainly covers all corners of the globe, but I think it is important to consider the needs of people in my own 'backyard' first, because I might  actually be able do something for those folks....and I hope the feeling is mutual. Take a look at what the Daily News reported on locally and globally in the last week.


--Dec 25. Hope when all was lost. A local man, a quadriplegic for many years (due to a car accident in 1969), suffered another car crash in April this year. A mechanism operating his specially designed van had snapped and sent him crashing into a building. Both of his legs were broken but he survived. The van was totaled. Replacement would cost $60k and he only had half. His church (200 members) pooled their money and presented him with a $30,000 check for Christmas!!

--Dec 26. Hope for an American symbol. The U.S. Capitol's famous dome is finally being repaired. In 1990 the Washington D.C. structure started leaking after a storm. More than a thousand cracks and tiny pinholes seeping water have since been discovered. Pans are still being used to catch the drips. The project will cost $60 million and take two years.




--Dec 26. Hope for the college bound. An online college (WGU) in Washington state has set tuition at less than 50% that of traditional schools (UW is $12,397). Schedule is flexible. One single mom managed to get a four year degree in 17 months. 



--Dec 26. Hope for grammarians. A Local man has invented a new game called Wordzzle. Players combine words to form sentences and learn about sentence structure. Sentences can be nonsensical and funny. They just have to be grammatically correct.



--Dec 26. Hope for foreign adoptions. Support for the Children in Families First Act is growing in the U.S. Congress. If passed, the bill will make international adoption easier. It is estimated there are millions of children in foreign orphanages, but adoptions by U.S. citizens have been next to impossible due to corruption and political problems. 


 --Dec 26. Hope for the persecuted, helpless and war-torn. Pope Francis prayed publicly for persecuted Christians, battered women, trafficked children, peace in the Middle East and Africa, and refugees across the globe. Regarding peace, he said, "True peace is not a balancing of opposing forces. It's not a lovely facade which conceals conflicts and divisions. Peace calls for daily commitment."


--Dec 26. Hope for the young and dying. A terminally ill eight-year-old Pennsylvania girl suffering from leukemia wished for a huge holiday singalong. Thousands of Christmas carolers gathered to sing outside her home the weekend before Christmas. She died on Christmas day.




 
--Dec 27. Hope for the building profession. Housing and general construction are UP in our small town of  31,359 (the best since 2005). It appears to be a trend elsewhere, too.





--Dec 28, 29. Hope for the fight against TB in Africa. A doctor from our region was evacuated safely from South Sudan when violence and fighting broke out in the area. More than 120,000 people fled the area. Dr. Jill Seaman began her work in Africa through Doctors Without Borders in 1989. She successfully helped establish a tuberculosis clinic in the Upper Nile region. Last report, the clinic was still operational and helping people. She had no desire to leave permanently. She needs our prayers!



--Dec 28, 29. Hope for alcoholics and their families. A drug has been discovered that may help alcoholics stay sober. The medication is called gabapentin, but it will be some time before the Food and Drug Administration approves it and research is complete. Still, it is a hopeful sign for those suffering alcoholism and for families struggling to cope.

Happy New Year!

Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl

50 States of Pray: From Washington State

Discovered Mark Koopmans's blog hop rather late, but really loved the idea of offering a prayer, a hope, a reflection on the past or hope for the future the night before Christmas.


It's Christmas Eve and my thoughts are of the hope raised this evening as people around the world lit candles in their homes and churches to celebrate the light brought into the world with the birth of Jesus Christ. Hope in the darkness, for all who believe and peace, unbelievable peace. And everywhere there was that old, familiar song . . . 

Silent night, Holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin, mother and child

Holy infant so, tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace,

Sleep in heavenly peace.

It's just the two of us this Christmas, my husband and me. Our children and grandchildren live far away. We could have solved this dilemma with a plane ticket and messy weather, but we are trying to make a life here. After all, we started out just the two of us and did fine once. But beyond trying to finish a novel (and I am bound and determined to finish), I find I am seeking a purpose for staying where we live, and a reason for not relocating closer to family.

My prayer would be for confirmation we are where we should be and direction if we are not. I need a map, please! Is it not a prayer we all could benefit from? Life is so short, but rich with potential.

My best wishes to everyone as we approach another year together. This blog community has been incredible. It just gets better all the time!





Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Africa Mercy - Heartwarming Stories: One Nurse's Journey

Just in time for Christmas, here are two heartwarming stories from Marilyn in the Congo. Learn more about the African people this amazing ship serves, and how faith in God is behind it all. ---Sharon


(This is a running email post written by a volunteer nurse serving on the Africa Mercy, a hospital ship that travels the African coast. In your charitable donations please remember this worthy organization).

December 20, 2013

Greetings, my friends,

I like to share two stories with you, stories that make me smile, stories that make me grateful to God not only for my own blessings and good health, but also for the privilege of being here to help extend God's compassion to the people of Congo.

Earlier this week, our field team conducted a routine eye screening at a small out-of-the-way church in one of the residential neighborhoods of Pointe Noire. What wasn't routine, however, was the appearance of one of the first people in line. A twelve year old boy stood there with his father, his face disfigured by a large, weeping tumor covered in bandages. Nothing wrong with his eyes? Good, go home!  Next!...No, that's not how it played out.

He wasn't a candidate for cataract surgery, but he sure would have been a candidate for maxiofacial surgery, had we been screening for that. So, stop the presses. What can we do? Ask more questions.

It turns out that the boy lives far away, and they only heard about    Mercy Ships last week.  Filled with hope, father and son traveled for ten hours to reach the ship.  They couldn't find a screening for tumor surgery (that was done last September...), but undeterred, they sought us out anyway by coming to the eye screening site. How they found us at that little church, I'll never know.

It took a few phone calls, but we got clearance to bring the boy to the ship for further work-up on that very day.  He and his father rode to the ship in the eye team vehicle after the screening was done. That boy was radiant with joy, and full of hope. By the end of the day, he'd had a CAT scan and lab work done; he'll most likely have surgery sometime in January.  What a different life he'll have without that tumor on his face. What initiative and perseverence his father showed to give him that chance.

My second story concerns a young man, age 19, who has been completely blind for many years with dense cataracts.  His mother was afraid for him and refused to allow surgery by the local surgeons. (From what I have seen, she was probably wise in that decision...) Sadly, his mother died a year ago, so now he lives with his aunt. Mercy Ships came to town, and together, they decided to risk surgery. He had his first cataract surgery a week ago. He was brave, but during surgery, he called out to mama...her dreams for his future, grief, and hope all intermingled in that one word.  Well, her dreams and his hope were rewarded--he had nearly perfect vision in that eye even on the day after surgery.

A week later, we operated on his other eye. Oh, oh. According to the measurements, he needed a very different lens in that eye--four diopters different, which is huge. That's not usually the case--people's eyes tend to come in a matched set. What to do? Were the measurements wrong? Dr. Wodome, a very competent and confident surgeon, was in a dilemma over which lens to implant, one that matched the measurements, or one that matched the other eye, since that one had worked so well? The team stopped for prayer, and the surgeon chose to match the lens to the measurements. Results? Nearly perfect vision in the second eye also. His two eyeballs really were different lengths. It's good to work with a surgeon who seeks God's guidance in making decisions.

A new year is soon here, and what blessings will we find awaiting us? I feel like I'm living in a wonderful pagaent of God's grace. It reminds me of the Exodus miracles--not so dramatic, of course, but clear evidence all around me of His compassion and His active involvement in the affairs of men. I am blessed every day just by being here, in my ringside seat.

Marilyn 



[Click here to learn more about the nurses and doctors on board the Africa Mercy.]