I want to start this blog post off saying hello, it has been a while... it has been six months since I have sat down to write a post. You would think that with all the changes we have seen since March with COVID 19, I would have had a moment to do this but honestly, if anything, its been even busier for us around here at Casa Santuario lately. Let´s start in March. When schools closed here in Honduras, as they did in the US as well, we had to adapt and figure out a way to school the children from home. Living and working here at a children´s home, we have our own system of tutoring and helping the kids with their daily homework, but man it is a very big job to do ALL of the school work of 16 kids every day. Praise the Lord that most of the teachers who serve at our bilingual school are single missionaries and were able and willing to come and spend their free time doing the school work with our kids. THIS WAS A HUGE BLESSING! As of right now, our admistrative team consists of three people. The director, and two assistants (I am one of the assistants). There was no way we would be able to continue to do our daily tasks and do the schooling as well, but God already knew that and he had it all set up to help us, like he always does!
Since summer is now in full swing, I thought I would tell you of some of our cuarentena (spanish for quarentine) adventures. Almost as soon as the cuarentena started, some of our teens, with the help of the missionary kids who live here on site, made a make-shift volleyball court. They got sticks, made a net and even used sand to outline the court. They continued to play and teach all the young kids and even us adults how to play. We played water volleyball, volleyball with a soccer ball and even made up different rules, like kicking. You cant play a game with a ball in this country without being able to kick it, its just in their blood :) Another fun thing we did during Semana Santa (holy week), was create our own mini water park here on site. The normal tradition here is to go out and go swim or play in water. We normally spend the enitre week going on field trips to the local beaches, rivers, and even waterfalls... its one of the best weeks to be in Honduras. Since this year we had strict rules saying that we couldnt leave... we had to get creative. I came up with the silly idea to turn our playground into our version of a water park. This included a a waterslide, which was our green slide but with a hose hooked up to it so we could slide down even faster. It also included a sprinkler spraying up under our PVC pipe slide (if you havent seen one of these, you should look it up - they´re awesome.) We even made a slip-n-slid out of soap and a huge tarp. The kids spent the entire afternoon playing, dancing and just enjoying time together. I could not have imagined a better spent Semana Santa. Sadly, there have been lots of negative things that have happened since COVID 19. Currently if you look at the news you will see that the local hospitals here in Honduras are collapsing because they are overwhelmed with patients. People are dying and there is nothing they can do about it. The whole situation is sad and honestly, heartbreaking. However, I wanted to highlight some of the positive things that I have personally seen. We have seen our teenage children step up and look forward to helping out and filling up bags of food to be distributed to the local families who have little or no food. We have seem a new sense of community between the children, ourselves and the employees. We got to spend almost 8 weeks having our own version of Church services here on-site and it was a huge blessing, especially to me. My husband, Omar, led worship and our neighbor preached. I have seen people reach out and help others and I have seen a community come together and worship the Lord like never before. I know that things are bad, however I know our God is in control and he will rescue us. I rest in that and I pray that you can, too. I want to end this post just sharing with you my thanks. I know things have been hard financially for everyone. People have been without work and things are just hard. We are so thankful for those of you who work alongside us and support us financially. We would not be here if it were not for you. We want to thank you who are ernest in praying for us, we need them more than ever. Since the economy is down, we have seen a fall in our financial support as well. We expected this. We are asking for your prayers for our family for financial provision. We know God will provide. If you feel called to join us and work with us, there are three ways you can give. If you are able to give a financial donation for our family this, you can send via snail mail and qualify for a tax deduction to: Missions: Alissa Kearney (pay to the order of) Lemoyne Blvd. Baptist Church 15005 Lemoyne Blvd Biloxi, MS 39532 United States Or you can donate through PayPal to my sending church and also qualify for a tax deduction (this way does deduct 3% of your donation): Email: [email protected] You would need to specify "Missions fund: Alissa Kearney" Or you can donate to our personal PayPal here: email: akearney@bulldogs.mgccc.edu paypal.me/AlissaKearneyGomez Thank you again so much for all the love and support. We would not be able to be here if it was not for YOU.
0 Comments
It has been way too long since I have written an official blog post update. I post picture updates on Facebook and Instagram, but I have not seemed to find the time to sit down and write out something detailed. It seems that when I am home on a visa trip is when life seems to slow down, at least in a different way and I find myself sitting in front of a computer screen able to pour out my thoughts into a post for you to enjoy. I really wanted to be intentional in letting you guys see whats been going on and giving you a financial update as well. These past few months have been the end of the year months that are full of holidays. Some of the holidays are traditional and are celebrated in Honduras as well as the States, like Christmas but others are not as commonly celebrated. For example, Halloween, is not celebrated the same as it is in the States. Most of the families that are located in the area that we are, which is very rural, do not celebrate Halloween. This holiday is known as "noche de brujas", translation is "the night of the witches", so you can see why it isnt as popular. However, we, at the Casa Santuario wanted to use the excuse of the holiday to dress up with the kids! We did a small party for the children and the children of the missionaries with costumes, games and even trick or treating! It was a blast to see the kids dressed up and enjoying themselves. Once the month of November quickly came upon us, we decided we wanted to really focus on "giving thanks" with the kids. We are very aware that we would not be able to do any of the things that we do if it was not for God or for you guys, our supporters. So Judy, the director, came up with an awesome idea of making a HUGE turkey out of construction paper and having the kids fill out the feathers with reasons and things they are thankful for. This was a joy to see. Everyday that passed the turkey grew bigger and bigger with all of his feathers. This project drew out for a week or so and each evening the kids would all gather around during devotional time and write out new things they wanted to give thanks for. Some of the things were as simple as shoes, friends, food and some were God, or even specific people. We really wanted to show the kids that there is always something else to be thankful for, even if we are lacking in areas. The kids did not partake in a traditional Thanksgiving meal because Thanksgiving is not normally celebrated in Honduras, but my family and few other missionary families gathered together for some good food, great company and a time to reflect on what we are most thankful for. The last Holiday to be celebrated this year is Christmas. The girls and I wont be in Honduras to celebrate with the children or with my husband, Omar, but we did get to help get ready for Christmas before we left. To give you a small background on what normal Hondurans do for Christmas, at least where we are located is, that they give a new outfit for the day of the 25th and they cook homemade tamales out of pork or chicken. They stay up late and enjoy time with family, eating, talking, and shooting fireworks. The children at Casa Santuario celebrate a little differently because we do gifts. We do stick to the traditional new outfit but we add in a few trinkets and toys as well. Sad that we wont be there in person this year, but looking forward to spending Christmas with family and friends here in Mississippi this year.
To conclude this post, we wanted to give you a financial update. As you know, my husband has been out of work for nearly a year now. He has done some part time work in the palm fields near our home and we have been very thankful for that work. However, this work has not helped us significantly financially. He makes approximately 10 dollars a day. We use this money to help pay the lady who cares for our girls while we work. It costs us 2000 USD a month to live in Honduras. Currently, we average 975 USD of donations a month. So this Christmas, we are asking that you pray for those who are willing and able to give, to join us to reach our financial goal and continue to work we love in Honduras. If you are able to give a financial donation for our family this season, you can send via snail mail and qualify for a tax deduction to: Missions: Alissa Kearney (pay to the order of) Lemoyne Blvd. Baptist Church 15005 Lemoyne Blvd Biloxi, MS 39532 United States Or you can donate through PayPal to my sending church and also qualify for a tax deduction (this way does deduct 3% of your donation): Email: [email protected] You would need to specify "Missions fund: Alissa Kearney" Or you can donate to our personal PayPal here: email: akearney@bulldogs.mgccc.edu paypal.me/AlissaKearneyGomez Thank you again so much for all the love and support. We would not be able to be here if it was not for YOU. As my family and I continue to serve in Honduras, we are faced with the reality that life is hard. Sometimes, it is heart-wrenchingly hard. The Lord has continued to be faithful in our lives and even in the hard times, He comes in and blesses us in ways that we cannot even begin to explain.
The girls and I are currently finishing up a short four week furlough visiting family on the gulf coast. It has been a time of rest and a time spent with family and in the glorious AC! In this time, I have spent some time reflecting on the past year and some hardships we have had to overcome. I have always worried about updating you guys and sharing some of our struggles because it feels like when you serve on the mission field, it should always be joyous and life changing and those are the things you should share with your supporters and your friends. However, I really feel like it is time for us to get honest; to share some of the heartache and the real struggles that we face even on the mission field. Before I go any further, I want you to know that we are so incredibly blessed and love the life we live as missionaries on the northern coast of Honduras and we wouldn't change it. There are just always messy parts of life no matter where you are or what you do and we want to share some of them with you so you can pray for us and with us. In the late parts of last year (July - September), Aliyana and I were here in MS while I finished out my pregnancy with our baby, Averli, due to some pregnancy complications. We spent three months separated from my husband and I gave birth to our second child without him. Thankfully, I gave birth to a happy and healthy baby and she has been striving ever since. A few months after we returned to Honduras, we found out that Omar, along with 7 other men, would be losing their jobs. Omar was working a local job at the hospital to help with some of our financial needs. At the end of January this year, he became unemployed and this affected our family greatly, in more than one way. Men are made to work, to provide for their families and to have purpose and to not give away too many details, we can just say that mentally this time of being unemployed, has negatively affected Omar. Not too long after losing his job, we were presented with a special opportunity for him to travel to the United States on a work visa to work for a construction company for six months. We were excited about this chance because even though we would be once again separated, he would work, earn money for his family, and even learn a new trade that he could use later in life. Unfortunately, only two out of the eight men who applied were granted the visa and Omar was not one of them. Thankfully the teenagers at the Sanctuary Children's Center, where I work, needed some extra help with their studies and Omar has been able to offer a few hours a day helping them study. Also, ever since Aliyana was born over two years ago, we made the decision as a family to try to obtain a residency visa here in the United States for Omar so that he could travel here and one day, if need be, live here. We knew that once we had children, there would be a chance that we would need to be in the US for a time and we wanted him to be able to come with us. We have spent years and thousands of dollars trying to obtain his paperwork and we are currently starting over at step one. Just last week, we spent over a thousand dollars between lawyer fees and processing fees. Life has been hard recently. Do not mistake this and take away that every part of our lives is hard and messy because that is just not true. We have joy in our daughters, joy in time with our family, joy in the work at Loma De Luz, joy in our marriage and joy knowing that we serve an almighty and ever faithful God. We are blessed but also, we are not too prideful to just be honest and ask when we need help, and right now we could really use your prayers. The girls and I travel back in a few days and Honduras is in the middle of some difficult times as well. There has been political unrest, protests in the streets (making travel complicated), high gas prices, rising electric bills, rising food prices and low minimum wage prices. So today, we are asking for your prayers for the country my husband grew up in, the country I have grown to love, and prayers for our family and our financial situation as well as the morale in our home. Unemployment affects a lot more than just your wallet. I also want to thank you for allowing me to get honest with you and for accepting a "not so normal" blog update. I am thankful that I am able to be honest with you and am thankful that you will be praying for us as we are currently in a season of struggling. We are also thankful that we know that the Lord we love and serve is always taking care of us, even when we don't feel always feel it. If you feel called to give financially to our family, you can copy this link and paste it into your search bar to find out how: https://alissakearney.weebly.com/support.html There is a famous song sung by Nicole C. Mullen called ¨Redeemer. She sings this song and it describes how her savior died for her and now lives and that gives her the strength to move forward and get through whatever lies ahead. When I hear this song, I remember myself as a 15 year old, sitting in my room while this song blared on my stereo and I pretended that I could sing (which I cant btw) and I belted out the words to the song as though I was performing in church. This is a very fond memory for me, it reminds me of the childlike faith I had and just the sureness I had in Christ and the fact he was my redeemer and no circumstance could tell me any different. I listened to this song again yesterday on Easter for the first time in a long time. I am now ten years older, a mother to two girls, a wife, and a missionary in a foriegn country. Days like yesterday, when we celebrate that Jesus Christ was resurrected and we have freedom in him and can face tomorrow because he lives, are meant to be happy days. I wish I could tell you that I spent yesterday happy and laughing while celebrating but that is not always the case. Sometimes holidays that I would normally spend with my family in Mississippi can be difficult for me while on the mission field. I tried to remember the reason we celebrate and put my loneliness out of my head but it was harder than I like to admit. So after I put my girls down for a nap, I turned on that song ¨Redeemer¨and was reminded just how powerful Christ is. The very same God That spins things in orbit Runs to the weary The worn and the weak And the same gentle hands That hold me when I'm broken They conquer death to bring me victory These are some of the lyrics she sings and as the words graced my home and I listened, I was reminded that Jesus rose again for me. He runs to the weary (even when we really dont know why we are feeling weary or down) and he conquered death to bring us victory. That simple truth was enough to turn my day around. I am so thankful to serve a God who gently whispers to me when I need it the most, he reminds me that he alone can satisfy and that he has placed my right where I am. So with that in mind, I know that I can face tomorrow, whatever it may bring. Most of my tomorrows involve me planning tutoring for the kids here, changing diapers, wrapping bithday gifts, helping an employee with an issue, chasing kids around, praying for the kids who take care of, and cleaning my house every two seconds because I have two babies. He gives me the strength to be here, doing what he has called me to do. He used this song to remind me that he lives and he is living these days with me. He was there when I felt the urge to go on a mission trip, he was there when Elkin came to the Children´s home causing me to fall in love with the Honduran people and gave me an overwhelming desire to serve here. He was there when I met my husband and he gave him the desire to spend his life with me. He is with me in the ups and the downs. He gives me patience when one of the kids ¨forgot¨his homework at school for the third time this week or when I have heard the question ¨how many points do I have?¨for the 100th time today... he comes in and reminds me that he has redeemed and he paid the price for my sin but then he rose again, for me. Because of him.... I can face tomorrow. Let´s start this blog post off with a celebration! We recently celebrated a birthday here at Casa Santuario. Now, as you may have guessed, birthdays are not a rare ocasion here...I think we celebrate at least two a month, if not more. I mean, we do have lots of children who are always growing, praise the Lord! However, this particular birthday was special. It was one of our teenage girl´s 15th birthday. If you know anything about the Latino or Hispanic culture, then you know that this specific birthday is called your ¨Quinceñera¨ or ¨Quince¨. This is a celebration for girls dating back to the Mayans and Aztecs. It is a representation of the girl entering womanhood. It is much like the North American ¨Sweet 16¨ except it entails more of a religious celebration than your normal birthday party. Quinceñeras take a lot of time and planning, but this one went very smoothly for the most part and it was a very joyous celebration of our girl´s life and a new beginning for her. We praise the Lord for her life and the fifteen years he has given her and her sweet spirit and heart for the Lord. I personally have loved watching her grow. Just to think that she was just a ten year old when I first got here... Speaking of beginnings, I am offically off of maternity leave and back working here at Casa Santuario full time! It has been a busy three weeks since I have been back. We had the party I mentioned above, three other children´s birthdays, one child be reunited with her family, school is back in session after Christmas break and tutoring has started! If you have kept up with us, then you know that one of my new responsibilities is taking over tutoring. We successfully finished the first week of the new semester and two afternoons of tutoring. Currently we have 12 students enrolled in the bilingual school here and all of them are attending one hour of tutoring in the afternoon with me and the help of a few others. So far, we have the children split up into two groups and we spend the majority of the time finishing any homework they may have and then we spend the rest of the time working in areas that they may be struggling in. So, some kids may do a word search to help with spelling and reading whereas another may do a math work sheet. As always, I am asking for prayers for the children here. I want them to be eager to learn and I want to be able to have patience with them as we work together. In this country, education is a very valuable thing to have. Most adults here have not finished highschool and some only go as far as 7th grade. The economy makes it almost impossible for families to send their children to school and to finish highschool. Most kids stop studying and work so that they can help their family. The families that are fortunate enough to send their children to school, have to deal with an unreliable school system and very low-grade education cirriculum. Thankfully our children are able to go to school and have the resources to not only study, but to succeed. I only pray that I am able to guide them and hopefully make learning fun! As you know, my husband, as well as 6 others were recently let go from their jobs here at the Hospital. We ask that you continue to pray that a job would become available for him. This is his last week of work. We have been very blessed and we know that God will continue to provide for us, but we just ask that you remember us when you are praying. Men were created to work and provide for their families. God has taken us this far, provided a larger living space for us, gave us two healthy and beautiful baby girls and allows us to live here and love this community, so we know that we are where He wants us to be. Even when the circumstances may be difficult, we still praise His name and we ask that you praise His name too. If you feel called to join us and help us out financially, you can click this link to find out how: https://alissakearney.weebly.com/support.html The holidays are a busy time of the year, even for missionaries and even for people (like me) who are on maternity leave. The past few weeks have been full. Full of a lot of things. They´ve been full of fun, joy, holiday spirit, yummy food, some heartache, presents, laughter and tired eyes. I woud have to say that the Christmas celebration here at Casa Sanctuario was the best so far out of the six I´ve attended. We all felt like one big family. The kids, the employees, us missionaries - all celebrating the birth of Christ together. The differences in ages, cultures, beliefs, did not matter, what mattered was that we were together and that we have reason to celebrate. That was a very refreshing feeling for me. You see, our family recieved news that my husband Omar, along with six other employees would be let go in January. So as I was sitting around with these beautiful people, watching them light up with the joy of Christ, I remembered that he is the Lord my God and he goes before me. The Lord had been speaking to us about the possibilty of Omar going back to school to finish his degree and we are praying that this door being closed (him losing his job) is the Lord opening another door for him to be able to go back to school. We ask that you would pray with us during this time, that the Lord would make his will clear and that he would provide the funding for him to return to school and for our finances, we are losing a good portion of our income the end of this month when his shifts end. Starting next week, I will officially be off of maternity leave and back at work here at the Casa Sanctuario and I am very excited. We have a great team here and I know the Lord has big plans for this next year. Our teenagers are getting adjusted in their new highschool that offers better education for them, and our younger kids are thriving with our big sister-big brother program that includes some of our missioanry families speding time with them and teaching them what it is like to be a family. The Lord has really provided here and I cannot tell you how thankful I am that I get to be a small part in the huge things He is doing. I know that sometimes it is hard to fully grasp what it is we do here at Loma De Luz and that when you hear ¨orphanage¨, you may picture lots of beds and children waiting for something better to come along but the truth is that God is here, and he has chosen us to be his hands and his feet and these children are going to grow up and the reality is that they may never be offically adopted but he has sent us here to love them as our own, to hold them, teach them, and to bring glory to his name and that is exactly what we strive to accomplish daily. To end this blog update, I want to say a big thank you to all of you who support us with your prayers and with your monthly giving. You play a big part in what we are doing and we would not be here if it was not for you. As most of you know, we have been living in a 500 sq feet home and had the desire to move into something more comfortable but we did not have the finances to move. As of last week, we were approved to move and had some very generous and kind people make that move happen. We are now in our new home and could not be happier. We feel very blessed. This year had its trials and it had its blessings and sometimes, like now, they both came at the same time. But we remember that He stands beside us and he provides. Please continue to pray for us, for either a job to come along for my husband, or for the funding to happen so he can return to school and just keep the mission in your prayers. If you feel called to join us, here is how you can help. To give a financial donation for our family, you can send via snail mail and qualify for a tax deduction to: Missions: Alissa Kearney Lemoyne Blvd. Baptist Church 15005 Lemoyne Blvd Biloxi, MS 39532 United States Or you can donate through PayPal to my sending church and also qualify for a tax deduction (this way does deduct 3% of your donation): Email: [email protected] You would need to specify "Missions fund: Alissa Kearney" Or you can donate to our personal PayPal here: email: akearney@bulldogs.mgccc.edu paypal.me/AlissaKearneyGomez We thank you and want to wish you a Happy New Year! Our Little family has been reunited for two weeks now. Thankfully, Omar had vacation days and was with us for the past two weeks, helping us get settled back in. It has been a sweet time, with our new family of four. We had some fun issues, like termites falling on us the first few nights we were home (see pic below), and having the teenage boys come over to rescue an iguana that decided she wanted to live in our bedroom with us... but mostly we have had a good time just spending time as a family. The termite issue was taken care of and we got to have a sleepover with some Friends, so that was a blessing in disguise! We have enjoyed the last two weeks so much, from listening to the kid's here at Casa Santuario singing in practice for a play they are going to put on, to visiting our Friends and seeing how much everyone has grown in the past three months.
The next few weeks I get to spend with my Little girls on maternity leave. We plan on playing and enjoying some time before I go back to work full time. An exciting update is that starting in January, I will be working full time at the Casa Santuario (formally known as the Children's Center). I will be taking over the tutoring program we give the children. I am excited to see how the kids grow in their knowledge and English! Since returning to Honduras, we have realized that we have outgrown our house. We have loved living in this Little casita but with two Little girls, we are in need of more space. Moving into a house with more space entails us having to pay more for rent. We are in need of a family or a few families to join us in our ministry and who are interested in helping us pay for our rent so that we can live comfortably here and continue our work at Loma De Luz. We are in need of an extra 100 USD a month. If you are interested in being apart of what God is doing here and giving to our family here is how: To give a financial donation for our family, you can send via snail mail and qualify for a tax deduction to: Missions: Alissa Kearney Lemoyne Blvd. Baptist Church 15005 Lemoyne Blvd Biloxi, MS 39532 United States Or you can donate through PayPal to my sending church and also qualify for a tax deduction (this way does deduct 3% of your donation): Email: [email protected] You would need to specify "Missions fund: Alissa Kearney" Or you can donate to our personal PayPal here: email: [email protected] paypal.me/AlissaKearneyGomez Thank you for everything. September 17th at 9:25 am, our sweet Averli made her entrance into the world. She came in quickly and with a bang, but thank the Lord she is healthy and momma is too! That's all we can ask for really. As you've journeyed a long with us these past 10 weeks, you've seen a lot of my heart and some of my weakness too. Thankfully, the Lord is faithful and he showed himself very clearly these past few moments in my life. Sadly, Omar did not make it to the birth as most of you know, but with God's sovereignty we will be traveling home to Honduras in less than two weeks to meet her papi and we can not wait! I am writing this post mostly to show how thankful we are for all of you who supported us, encouraged us, walked with us, and showered us with your love. You have been a part of God's plan in our lives and for that I am thankful. We would not have been able to do it without you. To give you a small glimpse of how God works all things for his good, I want to tell you of some of the small details of our past few months and how I can see how and why God planned things to happen this way.. First of all, we spent the past 10 weeks living with 10 other people, 8 of which are children. Aliyana has had a blast and has not only learned so much, but she is more independent and I know that the Lord planned things to happen this way so that she would transition into big sisterhood more easily. I also have learned to cherish my marriage on a greater level. Being away from Omar for this amount of time and for such a big life event has made me cherish the time we do have together and just has really shown me that God means for married people to be together and not separated. Lastly, I've learned that it really does take a village. You guys have been super faithful and my family has helped us a ton, God really shone through in this difficult time. Things may not have turned out the way that we planned but at the end of the day, I am able to sit here with Aliyana, our 18 month old, on one side of my lap and Averli, our one week old, on the other. And how beautiful is that? I couldn't ask for more. We are ready to be back with Omar but also excited to be back on the mission field. Cant wait to post another blog here soon about what God has been doing in Honduras in our absence and what he does once we return!
Sometimes I feel as a person who claims to be of Christian faith, that I sometimes struggle between praying for what I want and what God's will for me is. I often wish the two would be the same and some times they are. It tests us when we are praying steadily for something we desire so desperately and if it does not work out the way we were hoping, it is easy to become discouraged and faint of heart.
As most of you reading already know, my daughter, Aliyana, and I have been stateside for about 8 weeks due to pregnancy induced high blood pressure. We have been trying diligently to get my husband, Omar, a tourist visa so he could join us on this somewhat stressful journey. I am not going to lie, I have found myself discouraged and faint of heart more than once since we found out my blood pressure was elevated and that I most likely had pre-eclampsia like I did in my first pregnancy. I felt this way when I knew we would be traveling home unexpectedly and having to add more financial stress that what we already face. I also really felt this way when three weeks ago we were denied a tourist visa for my husband. I had been praying for God's will but I found myself upset when his will didn't match what I had in mind. Then suddenly I heard him whisper to me...."my thoughts are higher than your thoughts and my ways are higher than your ways" this verse, found in Isaiah, was one of the main verses He used to confirm to me that I was and still am supposed to be serving as a missionary in Honduras. He has used it various times to remind me that he knows what is best for me. One day in partricular when I was feeling down, missing my husband, and wondering why we had not had luck in getting him here with us, I had a sweet friend contact me and remind me of God's sovereignty in our lives. She has served as a nurse at Hospital Loma De Luz in Honduras and she reminded me of a simple truth, I am privileged to have been able to travel home to MS suddenly when things went array. We see so many women lose their babies due to pregnancy related complications in Honduras, and it is NOT because our doctors aren't able and qualified to care for them (because honestly they are more than capable), its due to a lack of resources and these women have NO options. I however, did have an option, and I took that option by traveling home and I am blessed to be able to have done so and have reached week 36 in pregnancy so far. How sovereign is he? Overwhelmingly so in my life. Today, we had scheduled a second appointment at the US Embassy for my husband, hoping that they would change their minds and give him a visa and sadly, we were once again denied. This news saddens me, as it would any hormonal pregnant woman about to give birth without her husband by her side, but God has shown me that he is sovereign and that I still get to give birth, I get to have a baby and I will be able to travel back home to my husband in due time. This may not have been the plan that we were hoping for and we may not understand why it wasn't in God's will for him to be able to join us for this, however we remain faithful in our love for Him and I remind myself that He will be with me and he will be with Omar. Urgent Medical Update: As of yesterday, Monday Sept. 10th, I am 36 weeks along but have had some complications arise due to my blood pressure and had to be hospitalized overnight last night and in observation. My OB decided it is best if we go ahead and induce no later than 37 weeks, that is if we remain stable until then. So we ask for prayer that things stay under control and that we can make it another 5 days! We also ask for prayers for a healthy baby. 37 weeks is a good time, however it is still early. We will travel to the hospital Sunday night and hopefully have a healthy little girl Monday morning, Sept 17th! I am on strict bed rest for the next few days until its time to have a baby. Thank you guys for going on this journey with us and praying for us. Please pray for my husband as I know it will be hard for him to not be here with us in this time. Looking forward to posting pictures of baby girl number 2 real soon. Yes, I realize that this blog post has a strange title, different words that dont really make all that much sense when put together in one phrase the way I put them, but dont worry... they all have meaning and are what God has been showing me, teaching me and instilling into me the past few weeks.
32 Week Goal: Praise the Lord that baby girl number two has reached the goal of 32 weeks gestation. That is a big deal! We praise Him for that. Our next goal would be to make it to 35 weeks, and we are thinking we just might make it. I have had prenatal visits with a local OB here stateside since we arrived four weeks ago. So far things have remained pretty stable. My blood pressure fluctuates and so does the protein detected in my urine but that is normal and has raised no high concerns so far. We are still taking things easy and just trying to let baby number 2 bake as long as we can. Thank you so much for all of your encouragement and kind words the last month. We wouldnt be where we are if it were not for all of you. I am beyond grateful. Denial: Some of you know this, but my husband, Omar, is a native Honduran and he could not travel with us back here to MS last month because he does not have a visa. Well, we prayerfully decided to try and get him a temporary visa so that he could come to be with Aliyana and me for the birth of our second child. We applied, paid 160 dollars, gathered up so much paperwork and bought him a plane ticket to travel to the capital city of Honduras to visit the US Embassy and had a huge list of people praying for him today (thank you all so much for that), sadly he was denied almost five minutes after arriving. They did not even look at our paperwork or really even consider why he needed to come to the US. He has handled the bad news a lot better than myself, (I blame the pregnancy hormones for my feelings, ha!) However, we have been discussing it and think we want to give it one last try and get an emergency requested appointment and an expedited interview and pray that this time around they take us more seriously and allow my husband to travel here to be with us in this time. We ask for you to pray alongside us as we go through this process again and hopefully more efficiently the second time around. We also ask that you pray with us for financial support in this time. It cost 160 USD just to apply, roughly 140 USD to travel to the embassy plus the taxis he has to take, and the parking for all day parking for our vehicle while he travels by small plane. We have already spent this amount once and are willing to do it again in good faith that the Lord will make his will clear. We also want to thank those of you who have been praying and who did give to us financially so that we were able to apply the first time and have been able to be apart this past month. Sadly, as of right now it looks like we will be apart for a little while longer. We ask for prayers of wisdom and that God opens the doors and closes those he wants closed. Faith like that of a child's: Last but not least, I wanted to share with you guys the faith and just the kindness of a child's heart. I am staying here in MS with my aunt and uncle and they have been blessed with a full house. They have eight children they call their own. So as you can imagine, Aliyana is loving our extended stay here in the states because she has eight cousins to play with and to love on all the time! That has been a huge blessing. Well, every night my family gets together in the living room to read some of God's word and to have prayer time. They have been praying for the appointment today every night since we arrived, for Omar to be granted a visa to come here. One of my cousins, Adalee, has the sweetest heart and just such a strong faith in the Lord that sometimes it baffles me. I am so envious of the love she has for people and for God. This morning I woke up to the picture below hanging on the wall for me to see. She wanted to encourage me and let me know that she was sending us good wishes today. And after we were denied and she could tell that I was upset and stressed about what to do next, she didnt hesitate or even think twice.... no, she just sat down and wrote me another little note (pictured below) to remind me that God is in control.... imagine that, my young cousin had to REMIND ME, a grown missionary, of something so simple but so profound, that God is in control of every little thing. She reminded me that my faith is sometimes wavering and that I need to be more child like and remember that God knew the outcome of today before we did and he knows just how to comfort my ever hormonal heart. so please, if you think about it, pray for us, that we are going in the right direction, and pray that we make clear and smart decisions and that God provides the finances we need to stay above water in this difficult time. Thank you all again for taking the time to keep up with us and reach out to us. We appreciate it more than you know. I look forward to updating you soon about our continued efforts to get my husband to the states and about the sweet little soul I have growing in my tummy. Love you all. To give a financial donation for our family, you can send via snail mail and qualify for a tax deduction to: Missions: Alissa Kearney Lemoyne Blvd. Baptist Church 15005 Lemoyne Blvd Biloxi, MS 39532 United States Or you can donate through PayPal to my sending church and also qualify for a tax deduction (this way does deduct 3% of your donation): Email: [email protected] You would need to specify "Missions fund: Alissa Kearney" Or you can donate to our personal PayPal here: email: [email protected] paypal.me/AlissaKearneyGomez Thank you for everything. Please feel free to contact me at (228)239-0730 with any questions. |