Prayer Works

I had a rough month last month -- first the concussion when my toe was being worked on, then the toe itself got infected. I was asking God why, what he wanted me to learn from all this (I don't think he caused it, but he must have allowed it for a reason). Well, after two weeks of nausea and dizziness, the concussion finally got quickly better when Frank and Charlie promised to pray for it. The infected toe continued to respond to nothing very well for another week -- until Jacqui and Candace prayed for it, then it quickly healed as well. A week later, to my frustration, I came down with a very bad, sick-in-bed kind of cold. I just couldn't shake it -- usually one day in bed will do it, but this time, I needed a second day, and still felt bad. Then on the third day, Carrie Ann got tired of napping with me all the time and said, "Mommy, wake up!" I explained that I couldn't "wake up" until I was feeling better. So she knelt on the bed, folded her hands and closed her eyes and said, "Jesus up away, mumble, mumble, Mommy all better, mumble, mumble, Amen!" (She knew it needed more words but wasn't sure what they were, so she just put in some random noises.) I thanked her, and said Jesus is very happy when his children pray to him! And after that, I no longer needed to stay in bed all the time!!! So what have I learned from all this? God didn't answer my prayers for myself -- he waited until I asked for help, and let my friends pray for me. I learned that we need to pray for each other, and let others pray for us. Not a new lesson, just one that needed to be reinforced, I guess. So if there's anything I can pray for you about, let me know!

Trip to Alberta

Last week we went to Calgary for Matthias' yearly check-up. All the doctors said he was doing great. The kids had a lot of fun playing in the hospital, especially the elevator! While we were in Alberta, we took a couple extra days to visit the kids' cousins -- Nathan in Okotoks and Silas in Red Deer. Yay! I was excited to meet Silas, the first child of one of my own siblings!

Carrie Ann was amazed (and a little jealous) to find a baby smaller herself. Bethany learned how to hold him comfortably (something she never quite mastered with Carrie Ann), and enjoyed helping to feed and burp him. Thanks to Dan and Caryn, Deborah and Helen for their hospitality!

Lots more pictures are on my family pictures site.

Matthias was very excited about the trip there. Right when we were about to leave, Frank's sister Deborah called to warn us that it was very snowy there. We looked on the internet and saw some yucky pictures of snow blowing over the road, on every possible route. So we prayed together, and Matthias offered a heartfelt prayer that God would keep the snow from us. Well, we made it to Sparwood with no sign of snow, but at the rest stop there we saw a man from Albert chipping ice blocks off his truck--no fun! He said the worst part was the stretch from Pincher Creek to Fort MacLeod -- a section I usually by-pass by taking Hwy 22, but planned to take that day, since Hwy 2 was plowed but 22 was not.

Well, we set off, and I prayerfully decided to take 22 if it didn't look too bad. Surprisingly, the sun was shining after Sparwood, and by the time we reached 22 we still had not hit the storm -- and the sun had melted all the snow off the road. As we drove up Hwy 22, there was a heat mirage which made it look like the road was covered with snow 100m ahead, and as if it was blowing away as we approached. It was a really neat visual image of the power of God melting the snow to clear the path for us! We were very thankful for the great driving conditions, and Matthias especially rejoiced that his prayer was answered!

The rest of the trip was not quite as good as that first stretch, but God kept us from any accident (and even close calls, though we slid around a little). When we got home, we heard that Bethany's friend Millie had been praying for us the whole time. The prayers of children are powerful in God's eyes!