Uganda fundraiser for a friend... I think it sounds like fun!:)

Hello friends...

One of our friends that will be joining us on our mission trip to Uganda is doing a really neat fundraiser ... it is a handmade Christmas gift exchange...

 

Believe it or not... I already have our gift idea brewing...

Please consider joining in on the fun... :)  I know that they would really appreciate it!  And you will have a really neat gift at the end of it:)

 

And do not be overwhelmed at the idea... it doesn't even have to be handmade by you... She explains it all on her blog...

 

 

Go here for all of the information on how to get started and join in on this great opportunity  to bless the orphans in Uganda.  Thanks so much friends!:)

A beautiful day...

We had a beautiful day remembering the precious life of our sweet boy Samuel...

 

Greg switched days off so he was able to be home with us... I appreciated that so much....

 

 

We released balloons like we normally do... I did decide to skip the sky lanterns... Since we are now living in the city, Greg was worried that they could start a fire... and after some research I did realize that they are banned in Illinois... Hello!?!?!  Who would have thought... obviously, my husband... 

 

I love seeing what the kids write on their balloons, the things they remember or the things that they would want to say to Samuel... Yesterday I caught Jojo in the kitchen at around 9:50 am... there he was quiet wishing to the air..."Happy Birthday Samuel...  Oh, I miss you so much!"  He remembered that I would have had him at around 9:40 in the morning... I don't think he had any idea that I had overheard him... I can't tell you how many moments through out our days where the kids ask, "Why did Samuel have to die?"  or " Doesn't it seem like someone is missing?"  even Hope who wasn't a part of our family yet when Samuel died knows she has a big brother in Heaven. 

Daddy surprised us all by taking us to this Elk preserve about 10 minutes away... You literally just had a fence between you  and them... they were so close...

 



 

We had lunch out, which was a big treat for us (beans and rice for dinner that day:)  We saw a movie and came home to decorate Samuel's cake with our neighbors who just happen to be the head pastor, his wife, and son. 

 

There are so many times I am blown away by the Lord bringing us to serve in this church.  We knew the head pastor and his wife during our time at the seminary... I have asked for prayer for them before on my blog... They have lost 2 children since we have known them.  Here we were in Oklahoma literally praying for them every morning for over 2 years... And here we are now serving together. 

 

It is such a blessing for all of us to understand the loss side of each other's life.  Jerry and his wife have to be some of the most positive, enthusiastic servants I know... All that they have been through and they serve with great joy!  There is sort of a camaraderie in knowing we both have been there (the heartbreak of losing a child) We are able to share in all that means for our lives, the memories, the sadness, the thankfulness for the time we both had our children that are now with Jesus...

 

We all proclaimed what we were grateful for as we placed the skittles on the cake.  It was really special to have them here to do that with us. 

 

Grateful for the Lord's work on the cross so eternity with my Savior and Samuel can be a reality someday:):)  

FIVE YEARS CLOSER TO HEAVEN...

 

Five years closer to Heaven...

 

 that means 5 years closer to meeting our Savior...

that means 5 years closer to scooping up this precious little guy and embracing him again... taking in his presence all while within the amazing presence of our Savior... I CAN NOT WAIT...

 

 

I can not wait to see ALL my boys together...

 

 

I can not wait until our family is whole again...

 

 

I can not wait till there is no more pain or sorrow... till there are no more hurting hearts, no more longing or aching arms, and NO MORE GOODBYES... EVER!!!

 

 

Today, 5 years after we were told that Samuel's heart was  no longer beating...

 

I am...

missing him...

treasuring every single second that I had him growing healthily inside of me...

thanking God for the 9 beautiful mos. that he was a part of our family...

honestly, wishing I could have had more time with him...

(I think I will always feel that way even though I know the Lord knew the exact number of days his life would be and I fully trust him in that)

 

 

Days like today are filled with mixed emotions... such thankfulness... and sadness...

 

I think as the mom who carried this precious little boy... and personally experienced his death fully, literally inside of me and then bringing forth, birthing a child that wasn't living any more... I can not help but remember the moments of these days in a more personal intimate way... There are traumatic memories, there is no way around that... probably more traumatic for me than the rest of the family...

 

 

At the same time... I am so thankful that the Lord chose me to be Samuel's mom... from the moment that I knew he existed and for the rest of my earthly life, regardless of how quickly he was taken from us... I will praise the Lord for his good and perfect gift to us in the sweet life of Samuel. 

 

 

He was perfectly formed by our Heavenly Father down to every last detail, perfectly formed for our family, perfectly used by our gracious God to bring us closer to Himself... perfectly formed to teach us and change us in so many ways...

 

I love this beautiful little boy, Samuel, so very much... more than I can describe...

 

 

 

I am so thankful today that I am...

 

5 years closer to Heaven...



Stillbirth...

Stillbirth...

 

A word that probably makes most uncomfortable...

A word that if truly thought about probably strikes fear in the hearts of most pregnant women...

 

What a word... I remember, that was a word that I mulled over and thought about every so often for years...

 

As a childbirth educator and doula... I had asked myself over and over again, how would I care for a family and the baby (yes, I said the care of the baby... even though he / has already died...the way that the nurses and my family cared for Samuel was so important... they were so respectful and tender with him... meant the world to me then and now!) if they had a still birth and I was their birth doula or the person that had taught them all about the day when their special miracle would arrive...

 

only to have all of their dreams dashed because of the death of their child before he/she ever drew a breath on earth...

 

In all honesty... It made me nervous for their sake... I couldn't imagine what they would go through... how I would help them cope in the midst of a delivery like that...

 

But I was NEVER worried for my own sake when I was the one pregnant with the baby...

 

I remember plain as day a few weeks before Samuel was born thinking and even telling Greg that I thought this baby was safe... that he/she couldn't have gotten wrapped up in the cord... (he moved around a lot... but not often in those crazy circles or rolling motions where I thought the cord could have been an issue.) 

 

And yet that is where we found ourselves one day after our due date...With a baby that was no longer alive inside of me...

 

Did you realize that  there are 26,000 stillbirths a year in the US... averaging out to about 1 in every 160 births...or about one ever 20 minutes...

 

Did you realize that there are about 5,000-6,000 SIDS deaths per year in the US...?

Did you realize that in Africa, there are more babies that die as a result of stillbirths than die from AIDS and malaria combined??

Did you know that there are 28,000 babies that die in the first year of life in America??


It breaks my heart to hear of any baby dying... for any reason... 1 baby dying every year would be too many in my opinion...
But it really stuck out to me that there are about 5 times as many deaths each year as a result of stillbirth compared to SIDS deaths... yet there is so much more education and working to prevent SIDS death... (please hear my heart... I am so so very thankful for all the SIDS prevention education... so thankful... just wish there was more stillbirth prevention education)

I can not help but think that the common public or even the medical field doesn't fully understand what a family goes through who is grieving the death of their baby when it wasn't even born yet?
I think that there might be a common thread that most people believe that since that child hadn't breathed a breath yet or that you hadn't experienced a day of life caring for them... that it is somehow easier... I know that I had many imply that after Samuel died... that somehow because it happened before he was born it was better or easier...

I also know that many stillbirths could be prevented through better care and monitoring.  After living in the hospital for 7 weeks during my pregnancy with Levi with the health of my placenta under great scrutiny... and experiencing the very thorough ultrasounds three times a week... I know that  poor blood flow can be detected fairly easily through looking closely at the cord and also at specific ventricles in the brain... It was amazing how they could tell that Levi was still safer inside than outside of me.

Stillbirth... something that I never really considered could ever happen to me personally... But now that I have lived it, watched many other young women walk the same path in life... now I see the full picture and all that a life lived after a stillbirth of ones child could be like...  It is hard, it is gut wrenching at times, it is beautiful... it is scary... it can be lonely... It is a time when the Lord certainly carries you each and every day and faithfully heals your broken heart... but ultimately, it teaches you that EVERY SINGLE SECOND WITH YOUR BABY IS PRECIOUS... in side the womb and out! 



The challenge...

 

Here are the street boys in the slums of Kampala eating the food they were served at the feeding program... for some kids this is one of the few meals they eat each week... Heartbreaking...

 

 

Look at this little beauty... She is precious... Perfectly created by our Heavenly Father... You don't see very many little girls on the streets... But she may have just joined up with our group as we traveled through the slums to go play soccer with the boys... You should have seen the following of kids we immediately attracted as we wove through the incredibly dirty and poverty stricken area...

 

 

 

Which brings me to today...

 

It is time for our annual (well now it is annual, since this is our 2nd year doing it) beans and rice challenge...

 

In an effort to...

1.  Give us all some perspective on  how good we have it here in America and how very spoiled we are...

2.  See how very hard some people have it in the world...

3.  Bump up the gratitude level around here...

4.  Grow more empathy for orphans, kids who live on the streets, the homeless in our own backyard...

5.  Be content with less...
6.  Learn to be thankful for whatever we get to eat... not matter how much we like or dislike it:):)

7.   and hopefully allow the Lord to teach us even more than we are expecting and grow us in ways we didn't imagine...

 

We will be eating beans and rice for the next month... at lunchtime...

I know... not a very big deal... :):)  But you have to start somewhere right??

 

We will not be legalistic about it... But we will try our very best to stick to it... If we happen to get a lunch invitation in the coming month... then we will eat beans and rice for dinner that day instead... I am sure it won't be but a day or 2 till Greg is offered a nice big beef and cheese sandwich at church...t always works that way... and that is where the rubber meets the road:)

 

Tomorrow, the kids will take a try at eating that beans and rice with just their hands... just a little practical experience for them to realize how millions of kids eat each day... If you look at the pictures above you will see the street kids in Uganda doing just that. 

 

I will keep you posted on how it is going... Jojo, the funny kid that he is... is totally excited about it:)  I have heard a few moans from the rest... the beans are already in the crock pot...

 

Tomorrow Day 1...Hintz beans and rice challenge 2013...

Anyone want to join us??

 



The abundance of the Lord

So  Anna and Caleb hit the road with me today to head to Royal Oaks Apple Orchard in Harvard Illinois today.  We were there a few weeks back to actually pick apples with some family and friends...

 

But today we headed there for another reason...

 

To glean the apples that had fallen off the trees.

(Gleaning was a practice that they allowed in Old Testament times where the harvesters  would leave some of the harvest on the ground for those less fortunate to gather later)

 

So this neat orchard allows non profit organizations to come and gather for their churches, food pantries etc. 

 

We were AMAZED by the abundant blessing of our Father... and the recipients of our church food bank will blessed today with fresh apples from the orchard. 

 

The only rules... don't pick off the trees... only off the ground... but we knew full well from picking there a few weeks ago, that when you picked one beautiful apple off the tree that a few seemed to always fall to the ground. 

The apples on the ground were next to perfect... :):)

 

It was a super chilly night, (they even let us pull the car right out into the orchard) but the kids and I had a blast knowing it would blessing to many today!

 

Love the generous heart of Royal Oaks Orchard... if you live near there... give them a try next year for apple picking:):)

Following my heart and the Lord's calling!!!

I don't think I have had the chance to let you all know here that I am following my heart and the Lord's calling back to Uganda this coming January.  My oldest 2 boys, Louis and Caleb are saying, "Here am I Lord, send me!"  right along with me and we are thrilled!

 

Last year this trip was a LIFE CHANGER for me... A GAME CHANGER...

 

Those close to me know that before my sweet hubby had a call to this wonderful church in Illinois, the talk around our home was how to get back there... Was the time now??? Did our church body have a presence there yet??  Would it be a wise thing??? Were the kids old enough to move 1/2 way around the world to a foreign country??? Yes, you hear that right...move us all... Those were the wonderings in our hearts...

 

Was the Lord calling us as a family back to Uganda???

 

Yes, this girl who had clearly told my husband years ago... I did not think at all, in pretty much any instance that the Lord would call me to do mission work overseas, said it was TOO FAR FROM FAMILY!   But that same girl had a serious heart change.  Last year, I was ready and fully willing to consider it and follow the call if we had felt the Lord leading us to that...

 

My husband is the more level headed of us probably...

We did research... we were ready to make calls to the district offices of our church body...

 

Then BOOM... we had the call to come here...

I can clearly say... I KNOW THAT THE LORD HAS US HERE!  WE KNOW HE CALLED US HERE!  We are so very blessed to be here... Who knows maybe that will be His plan for us some day... but the time certainly wasn't now:)

 

Once again... I know too that He is calling us back to Uganda to go love on orphans... feed babies... care for children body and soul... share HIS good news... feed the street boys in the slums of Kampala... Get our hands and feet dirty in the red soil of Uganda doing whatever work He calls us to... and we can't wait!

 

I know He is calling us back where He will break our hearts in new ways for the things that break His heart! 

 

We have a few in the church here that are praying over and considering joining us... It is so funny how He works... I felt a total nudging from the Holy Spirit to talk to someone specifically about the trip (totally out of no where:)  and of course true to our faithful God, he had been nudging her as well! 

 

 Louis and  Caleb's friend Emma, from Phoenix, will be coming as well as we travel and serve with International Voice of the Orphan  (IVO) again!  We know that even now as people are praying and considering if the Lord is calling them that He is going ahead of us forming the team He desires to serve together there in January... It is so exciting to watch His plan unfold...

 

We are thrilled!  We know that the Lord always provides... but yes, taking 3 of us across the seas is a financial undertaking.  We are praying over what to do here to help fund raise, maybe a church wide dinner diva night...  and Louis plans on offering photography sessions to help fund raise for his trip as well!  If you live in the Chicago or Milwaukee areas and would like kids, couples, or family  photos done email me at hintzmom27@yahoo.com to get something scheduled:)  He does a great job!

 

I couldn't help myself... a few pictures from our last trip...

 

 

 

This little man, Felix, literally stole my heart... My heart leaps with joy at the thought of seeing him again...

 

 

Our wonderful leader Dwight ministering to a sweet little one in the slums...

 

 

The team with the village kids at Praise's house... oh, I miss them...

 

 

Hanging with some former street boys at "The Street Child Project in Kampala"  The stories of these boys are gut wrenching, yet it is so beautiful to see and hear of how the Lord has worked in their lives!

 

 

All my boys...

 

 

The feeding program to the street boys in the slums... What a blessing it was to spend that day with them...

 

We would love to have your prayers as we boldly step forward to answer God's call to serve and love the orphans in Uganda...  THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!