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I told you that my desire was that we don’t just put “band aids” on the people that we come in contact with – but we develop long term meaningful relationships – well, after our trip to Belize we have been able to make a difference in the life of a little 7 year old boy, Moises. Below are some words from 26:12 in Amarillo. Moises fell out of the back of a pick up truck several months ago – Tim Tam and the Word at Work has worked diligently to help save this little boy’s life. Our staff stepped in in the midst of a huge blizzard to be surrogate moms for this precious little one. I put the ‘posts’ in chronological order – with the greatest news at the end!
From Tim Tam: “Tears of joy shower down today all over Belize City and beyond.
It started when my wife called and gave me the word that Baptist Saint Anthony Hospital in Amarillo Texas has agreed to receive Moises as their patient. It took me a while to stop crying so I could begin to share the good news with others. Our God once again hears the prayers of his children and brings hope to the hopeless. A network of caring people, friends connecting with friends all over the United States nonstop, thousands of emails, everyone striving to secure help for this little guy who refused to die.
Perhaps on Thursday, at least by Friday, a private jet will arrive in Belize to transport Moises, his mother and his Dr. to Texas even faster than a commercial airline. BSA Hospital in Amarillo is fully equipped to handle the case.
Early this evening I went to the hospital to share the good news with Moises and his mother. Unbelievable joy has pushed away all the sorrow in their rooms. And Moises is showing new energy and great improvement. Only days before, one of the nurses from Accolade Home Health Care (www.accoladehomecare.com) secured the TPN that was desperately needed to get nutrition into his body. Cars from distant cities drove through the night to hand off the medicine to a mission team from boulder Colorado bound for Belize who then rushed it to the hospital at the moment they arrived. The results were almost immediate. Tonight we noticed that the sores on his scalp and arms were now healing. There is new life in his eyes. But here is what blew my mind…… Perhaps you remember from the last alert we sent out that Moises spoke of a Angelic visitations, a man dressed in white who was helping him. Here we had come to the hospital to tell them they were about to go to the United States, and his mother shared that he already knew it. She awoke in the night to find Moises sitting in the chair next to the bed. He has not been out of his bed for many weeks. The “man who had been helping him” told him that he needed to get ready to go. Moises got out of bed while his mother slept. He bathed himself with wet wipes and put lotion on his skin. He put Vaseline in his hair and combed it and then sat in the chair ready to go. She didn’t know what to think of it other than that she was glad he was gaining strength and, though it little bit shaky, was able to walk around.”
Then tragically, his mom didn’t get to go with him initially to the states. There was a problem with her visa at the airport. So our ladies in Amarillo stepped in and became surrogate moms for a couple of days.
From Amy Chapman: “The storm is just getting here, but they have closed the roads north out of Amarillo, and west out of Amarillo already. It was only dusting snow when I was driving in, but it was VERY hard to drive because of the high winds making it white. Moses is getting excellent care… Iike he’s the only pt here. He loves the gifts 26:12 bought him, but especially the slinky!! It is constant activity with doctors in and out. Will give update when things slow down. “
From Tiffany Heizer, our administrator in our Amarillo office: “I just spent about 5 hours with him. He is very precious and a brave little boy. We played with play dough, colored, watched Dora—that is his favorite. He got out of bed and drove a Hummer up and down the hall then we played in the toy room. He is of course very frail and weak. As I carried him back to his room, because he was too tired to get back in the hummer or walk, I just about melted. I am so blessed to have 2 little boys who are healthy. We are blessed to live in a country where our children don’t have to lie in a hospital bed for months like he has not knowing when or even if you are going to get the surgery needed to repair your injury.
Beckie, thank you so much for passing his story on to us so we could share in this wonderful time for him and his family. “
From Lisa Tam: “Moises’ mom is here. And all are happy. The willingness of the Accolade folks to set aside personal schedules at the last minute, and in the midst of blizzard conditions, was truly a gift of grace.”
From Tiffany H. “His mom got here about 8:30… he had pain meds a little before so when she walked in he just laid there but smiled from ear to ear…She kissed him all over his face and was so happy to see him. I let Lisa and Beth know to please call us for any needs they have, mom was very excited about seeing the snow and having some warmer clothes there. So there is one little happy boy and his momma tonight.”
Sorry for the delay, but we have been waiting to post about this until we got pictures. Now that we have them – we are delighted to tell you about the wonderful event that took place in Odessa in December.
Mission Messiah is a Christian drug rehabilitation center for women. The women are able to bring their children with them, which is a unique and wonderful blessing to those struggling with recovery. Our agency in Odessa decided they wanted to do something special for the women and children this Christmas. They made a wonderful dinner and purchased gifts for every woman and child at Mission Messiah. Here is what our Accolade employees had to say about their experience:
“Tonight went awesome and lots of blessings were bestowed upon all of us…Mission Mesiah sends out their appreciation and love to Accolade/2612….the food….the gifts…all the tears and smiles of joy were felt in the room tonight…A special thanks to Kelly and Amy. They did an awesome mission tonight….God Bless Everyone! WoW!” – Gloria Nanez
“It was all of us that got Blessed tonight even those who couldn’t make it! 26:12 is a BLESSING that ACCOLADE HOME CARE has given us to share with others. YOU can’t imagine how this group of women and children touched my heart tonight. I listened to a lot of amazing stories tonight.” – Kelly Crossland
“It was a wonderful experience and touching. The ladies and children were very happy for what 26:12 did for them. It was so neat because they kept praising our Lord and saying it is a blessing from God. And Kelly started off by letting them know what Accolade and 26:12 meant. Then Kelly asked if anyone wanted to pray and a 7 year old girl name Lolly prayed over the food. They were so happy and enjoyed the gifts and food we made for them. I am glad that I was able to do this for them. I know life is hard but God is always there for us. He is awesome God and a loving God.” – Amy Barreraz
The great thing about working with our organization is that people serve without ever expecting anything in return – or any acknowledgement. In Pampa Greg Logan donated a couch from his home to one of our patients who was in great need. Jeree Woods , Jodi Allen and Greg delivered it on their day off. Selfless service! Then Greg , Rhonda Greene, and Stephanie Ashby cooked food a few days before Thanksgiving. They delivered meals to our patients in Borger who otherwise would not get a Thanksgiving dinner.
“When you’re kind to the poor, you honor God.” Proverbs 14:31
Donna Key from our Burleson Hospice Agency sent me this very encouraging email. Thought I would share it so you could be encouraged as well!
“In November for the past several years, I have spearheaded a local request for donation of women’s and children’s coats for the Tarrant County Battered Women’s Haven. I asked our employees if they would join me in this effort and bring any of their gently used, clean coats to our office. This morning, I delivered 5 large (trash size) bags full of coats! Just wanted to let 26:12 know we did this project. The haven was deeply grateful.”
Our Pampa office is serving in a big way at the Pregnancy Support Center. The Center provides free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, diapers, formula and clothing to those who cannot afford these items due to different circumstances. Hope House Maternity Home provides housing to pregnant women who do not have any other place to go during their pregnancy and birth of their baby. T.V. and Yvette Cueller, employees at Accolade Pampa serve in this ministry in many different ways. Yvette donates her time once a week to the Pampa Pregnacy Supprt Center and Hope House. T. V. is on the local board. There is also a home there called the Transition House where new moms can stay with their newborn babies. Twenty-six:Twelve recently helped the employees there put together some necessary supplies for the moms and babies. This is a ministry where our Pampa staff will have many opportunities in the future to support, mentor, educate and care for the women and children who are ministered to by the Pregnancy Support Center of Pampa.
Left to right are Yvette Cuellar, RN, Monica Galloway (director of Pregnancy Support Center) and Kaysi Preston, LVN.
The Amarillo staff served alongside Habitat for Humanity on a hot Saturday in July -
Front row left to right is Sam Abrell, Janelle Gressett, Becca Armstrong. Back row left to right is Jessie Hamby, Johnie Archer, Debbie Archer, Cindy Thomet, Rick Thomet, and David Chapman (Amy’s husband)
Jessie Hamby, the “Most Valuable Volunteer” for 26:12 in Amarillo had this to say about a day of service in their hometown.
“Saturday July 26, myself and 10 other Twenty-Six: Twelve volunteers had the opportunity to work on a Habitat for Humanity house. The house we were working on was going to a Somalian refugee family of 15! We scraped floors and painted eaves, caulked windows and trimming, and even built a water heater closet. Cindy Thomet and I had the opportunity to see 3 houses in the different stages of development, one of them completely done. It was really special seeing what the end result of our efforts will look like.
As we are walking through life, we can only pray that somehow we brush off on other people and leave our fingerprints on their lives. This past Saturday, I think that we made a difference. It was so awesome working and laughing and learning and sharing, and even having a few blisters with people who want to give of themselves to others.”
“We live in deeds, not years: in thoughts, not breaths; In feelings, not figures on a dial. We should count time by heart throbs. He most lives who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best” – David Bailey.
Thanks Amarillo! You made a difference in your world!
Susan Hambrick, of the FMS Denton office, has found her passion. She prayed for many years that God would let her go to Africa to serve Him. It was easy to become discouraged during those very busy years of raising a family thinking that Africa would never be possible. But little did Susan know that God’s plans were so much better than anything she could imagine. Through her church she and a friend are teaching English to a group of refugees from Africa. Most of these beautiful people are from Tanzania and other east African countries. Swahili is the primary language. Twenty-six:Twelve has helped Susan serve through providing breakfast, purchasing a game to be used to teach English to adults and assisting with other supplies. Because of the relationship that FMS has with Jesse Kiwovele, a young man from Tanzania, Susan was able to take advantage of his interpretation skills recently. You will also see the great pictures of the Fourth of July celebration that Susan and her family and friends held for these people new to our country. Happy Birthday America!
If you are interested in helping Susan or starting your own ministry in your community, call the 26:12 office and talk to either Beckie or Emily. Here are some more pictures of a great Saturday with our new friends.
