Guatemala Update!

Caryn is back from Guatemala! The staff and students had a great time and God did some amazing things.

Four Lifelines staff from UVM and 10 students left March 6th and returned on the 14th. They were working with and thru a ministry to orphans & the poor in Guatemala called Forever Changed International.

In our desire to bring hope & love to people, we received so much more in return....

We loved on orphans at the orphanage where we stayed, many of whom have no chance for adoption... they loved us back with abandon & changed our lives & hearts with their smiles. We painted a bedroom for the two oldest girls (pictured sitting on their new bedding). The girl on the right in Ingrid... Click here to read the story of how she & her 3 siblings were rescued from an abusive & neglectful situation & taken to the orphanage just last month.

We hiked up to mountain villages where we brought food, toys & medical supplies to some of the most beautiful people on the planet.

We also brought food, clothes & gifts to a women's prison where children are allowed to stay with their mothers for the first 4 years of their lives... we cried & prayed with one mother as she described her fears of the day when her daughter, now 2 years old, would have to leave. This particular woman entered the prison 2 months pregnant, and wrongly serves a 40-year sentence for a crime committed while her entire church watched her singing in her church choir in the ghetto.

We spent a few days in what used to be considered an extremely dangerous and gang-ridden ghetto bringing in gifts, listening to stories of faith, praying, and attending church with the people of God there. We were all greatly moved by how the faithfulness of a few people has transformed this center of poverty into a still-poor, but spiritually growing & much safer place for families to live & love together.

Our last day in Guatemala, we brought food, clothes, & a few toys into the city dump where many Guatemalans actually make their home, literally living off the garbage there. I was humbled by the chance to give just a little to these people - even the youngest of whom uttered "gracias" with each loaf of bread we gave out.

The most exciting part of our trip was how God worked in the lives of the students in our group... all were greatly impacted & many made decisions for the first time to seek after Jesus & allow Him to work in their lives. Pray the Holy Spirit would continue to be at work in our lives & show us how to bring the great & wonderful things we learned back to "real life."

liliana

This amazing woman is an opera singer in Italy & the local coordinator for the Italian version of Magdalena: Released from Shame... Mike worked with her in Milan last year.


Click here to read her testimony & hear her sing!
http://www.lilianaoliveri.com/en/testimonianza.php

while mike's been gone....

"...your Father knows what you need before you ask him."

- Jesus (Matthew 6:8)

maybe i should have posted these prayer requests (see below in blue) on the blog sooner, but for those of you who got the email, thanks for praying for us while Mike's been in Ohio the past week...


as i reread my prayer requests, i laughed & thought maybe i should have been more specific, especially with the last request:

• For Caryn & Hudson in Orlando while he’s gone… safety, rest, health, & a good time together while Mike is gone.

safety.... at 5:30am on saturday morning, my mom, Hudson & I woke up to the alarms blaring & smoke filling our bedrooms... yes, we were all SAFE (for which we are very thankful)... it was just the backup heater trying to keep up with the "cold" down here (yes, only 30s, as opposed to -20s where mike was) & burning up all the dust that had accumulated on the coil since last winter... of course, we thought the place was burning down at the time.
maybe i should have said to pray for a "safe & non-eventful" time while mike was gone.

rest & health.... a few short hours after our little alarm incident, my stomach started cramping up.... assuming it was something i ate that didn't agree with me, i figured the rest of the household was safe as the cramps got worse & i spent most of the next 20 hours alternating between the bathroom & my bed*. just when it seemed we were in the clear, & i was feeling better, i hear from my mom who had since left, but was an hour away with similar symptoms... hudson was next, overflowing his diapers like a pro, though in much better spirits than either my mom or me was while he was doing it. (*special thanks to debbie, my hero through the worst of it, taking Hudson on errands with her while i was detained - and who is not yet feeling any ill effects... AND thanks a ton for the groceries, faith :)
maybe i should have said to pray for a "a lot of rest & GOOD health" while mike was gone.


a good time together.... of course, in God's loving sovereignty, He knows what we need even before we ask, & takes care of us even when our prayers (& prayer requests) are imperfect... i was just telling mike that i actually enjoyed the time i spent with Hudson when (bc i was so weak & tired from lack of sleep & food) i didn't have energy to do anything but just sit on the floor with him & try to make him giggle between dirty diapers.

maybe God knew just what i needed while mike was gone.



mike still isn't home (until wednesday night), so feel free to revise your prayer requests as you see fit :).

Mike leaves tomorrow (Wednesday, January 14) for a support trip in Ohio for a week!

Please pray:

• For opportunities for Mike to speak about our work at 2 churches & 1 small dinner party, where couples interested in our ministry will have a chance to hear more about how they can partner with us.
• That Mike would have wisdom & hear God’s leading on what to share & how to encourage those who attend.
• That God would meet our need for new ministry partners… that many would want to be a part of our team through their prayers & financial giving (especially commitments to give monthly), to help reach people around the world for Christ.
• That the weather would cooperate as Mike travels & as people travel to hear him share – it’s going to be COLD!
• For Caryn & Hudson in Orlando while he’s gone… safety, rest, health, & a good time together while Mike is gone.

Thanks!! Your prayers are so important to us!

thanks for the ecard, da.

back to new orleans

update

a HUGE thanks to Matt, Deb, & Emma for taking some awesome family pics of us during our visit!

to catch you up, we moved into a townhouse about a mile from work in july, Hudson turned 1 on August 26th, walked about 2 weeks before that & got his first tooth about 2 weeks later...

we're back to work with the JESUS film, but we've been assigned to full-time support-raising due to our low monthly income... we had the chance to reconnect with a supporting church & lots of current supporters in the Ohio area, but we're looking for more! we're trying to make up a lot of lost support & to raise additional to cover increases in health care, cost of living, ministry expenses & various other increases related to having a baby :). we are praying we'll be back on the field by early next year!

mike primarily works from home, but is going into the office once or twice a week -- mostly to work on support -- but also to keep abreast of what's happening in his new position -- he'll be taking over the production of new JESUS film translations & recordings for Europe (including Eastern Europe & Russia), the Americas (north, south & central), and an area called "Oceania", which includes Australia & New Zealand... so we're anxious to get back to work! A big push right now in JESUS film is the translation & recording of a new tool targeting women called "Magdalena"... to learn more about this film, which focuses on Jesus' interaction with women during his time on earth, go to http://www.magdalenamovie.com/.
caryn is also looking into ways she can be involved with the ministry... she's been helping a bit with an event at headquarters & is doing research for a writing project related to Magdalena when she's not chasing Hudson around or going to the free Jazzercise classes at headquarters - the doc says she's got osteopenia in her hips, so she's committed to weight-bearing exercise!
in mike's free time, he's gotten back into his kempo classes, volunteering doing handyman stuff at church, and is currently helping a friend get a roof on his house.

off to see the manatee...

last weekend we headed out to blue spring with some friends to catch a glimpse of the manatee...

"Cold river temperatures and cool nights have kept the manatees in the spring run for several weeks through December and January. Temperatures in the spring run remain a constant 72 degrees; creating a warm water refuge for the West Indian Manatee. The best time to view manatees is early in the morning on a cold winter day. As we get into March and April, warmer temperatures will slowly allow the river temperatures to rise and the manatee will no longer need the warm water of the spring to survive. " (from the blue spring website)

we did see some, but they alluded the camera.... click here for pics of the West Indian Manatee (that someone with a fancy camera took).

first camping trip

moss park... orlando, florida while dad sets up camp... we slept snugly in mike's 3 man backpacker tent (translation: small)
love to hike with dad...
... and chill with mom
around the campfire
happy campers

love the johnny jump up

sorry -- you have to crank your head sideways for this one.

first beach day

Dirk

meet "Dirk" (giver of the football jersey mentioned in the previous entry)... we had the delight of forming an acquaintance with him when he came to Orlando to work on a recording project with us a few years ago. he acted as our brilliant director and general entertainment during his time here. the gracious fellow he is, Dirk also hosted Carly & me at his home in Winchester during our last-minute-can't-believe-we're-actually-doing-this-trip-to-UK last New Year's. He was our tour guide (as you can see) for the day introducing us to Stonehenge in all its glory, as well as to random Jane Austen historical sites we HAD to visit. But that's not all... he & his lovely wife had us into their home, feeding us a delightful vegetarian meal and giving us a much-needed place to rest for the night. if you'd like to join the Dirk fan club, of which we are unofficially a part, you'll also need to know that he's a rock star drummer. check out his band at http://www.riotousbrothers.co.uk/index.htm.

Dirk's quote of the day:
"Weight on? Caryn looks EXACTLY THE SAME as at New Year's but with a soccer ball up her smock!"
gotta love him.

which reminds me, i am tardy in sharing any photos of my trip with Carly... i'll start with the other famous people we met during our travels...

Jane Austen:
"A woman, especially, if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can."





Ann Taylor
(yes that's actually her name, though we don't honestly know if she is any relation to the brilliant retailer):
"Where are you going? ...I can take you there myself!"
(her response to our request for directions to the bus that would bring us to our B&B in the Cotswolds... gotta love the English)

Unknown Scotsman
(though we are quite sure he is famous -- doesn't he look important?):
"[unintelligible conversation in a thick accent]"

forgot to mention...

we stopped at 5 different Bass Pro Shop locations between Fort Lauderdale & Branson this month... some of them multiple times.

if you have not yet "experienced" a Bass Pro Outdoor World store, it's worth a trip to the nearest one... if it's just too far, click here for a video on the Bass Pro Store Experience*.

gotta love the USA!


*disclaimer: not recommended for vegetarians

pics from the road

mike & my Dad getting ready to pull up a tree stump at my parents' in Fort Lauderdale
Mike at his first crawfish boil at my Grandmother's in Louisiana
me "showing" a bit more somewhere near Memphis

After a scenic railway tour just south of Branson

Celebrating Mike's Grandma's 90th with family in Missouri.

in O-town

Mike joined me in the States after a week.... here's a short update of our whereabouts since then:

we spent a few days with my parents in Fort Lauderdale, then headed up to Orlando for some meetings... after that we took one last pre-baby road trip which brought us to Caryn's Grandmother's in Louisiana for a real crawfish boil, a short stop south of Memphis, then to Branson MO to meet Mike's family & surprise his Grandma on her 90th, stopping-off in Nashville for some real BBQ & a stay in a historic home on the way to Athens GA to visit with dear friends - the Curtis family...

i didn't drive a mile... Mike is a bit tired.
got back to Orlando a couple days ago just in time for a baby appt -- Caryn & baby are doing fine... gaining plenty of weight (as predicted) on all this great American food. we're getting settled in the home where we'll be housesitting this summer right now... Mike's having a blast mowing the lawn, & we had the very American experience today of club warehouse shopping.

pictures of our journeys to come!

half back

half (or 2/3!) of the bazemores are now safely back in the US of A... yay! after lots of packing, goodbyes, and about 24 hours of travel with my dear friend & travel partner, carly, it's good to be here.
this week i'll be visiting with friends, getting cell phones, seeing a baby doc, filling a few gaps in our summer housing, & doing a some things at the office.
mike is still wrapping things up in chiang mai, doing a GREAT job packing & selling & giving away our things (everything that needs to be is SOLD, as far as i know!!!! thanks, God - and thanks for your prayers, friends!). he meets me in fort lauderdale (where my parents are) in a week.
oh -- and i just noticed baby B is moving farther & farther to the right up above... getting closer!

building homes

This is a picture from a previous CCC Tsunami relief trip of the homes Mike helped build this past week. Mike was able to help finish & hand over keys to 7 homes just like these... as the team leader put it, to 7 families "no longer living under the trees."

may 7

mike got back safely over the weekend with all kinds of neat stories about his time down south... look forward to sharing about those soon!

can't believe i am going to be back in the states in like 11 days!!?? even more incredible when i think these next 11 days will include a trip to bangkok to meet carly, a trip down phuket & back then sightseeing & shopping in chiang mai with her, packing the rest of my stuff & most of the house, 2 goodbye parties, the long flight home, & who knows what else...
guess you can pray for energy.

i get into orlando May 18...
mike gets into Fort Lauderdale on May 27th (we'll stay with my parents for a bit down there).

looking forward to seeing all of you US residents soon!

saying goodbye

we've been doing a lot of it lately... it's so strange to visit with friends & realize that it's the last time you'll see them -- if not forever, for a very long time.


here I am with some girlfriends & their babies... i met Khun M through our work here in Chiang Mai -- she worked in the office we used to share. Christy & I met through mutual friends... Mike & her husband used to work together in Orlando. Both are busy with babies these days, as you can see!


here we are with the Rutledges & their growing & extended family... you can read about their story & ministry here.

these days...

mike called the other night absolutely ecstatic..."we got to put on some roofs & even hand over keys!!!"

since before we moved here, he has been wanting to go down south to help with tsunami relief work done by our ministry... something always came up - recording trips, visitors, pollution crisis (when he didn't want to leave me alone at the guest house in hua hin)... so this trip came up, & we were both really excited for him to go.

Campus Crusade is one of the last groups to be doing work in areas devastated by this disaster.... most organizations have pulled out, but small groups from Crusade continue to go down to help rebuild what the waves destroyed... as Mike was saying, they are still finishing up homes in some areas & able to give house keys to displaced people who will finally have a permanent place to live so many months later.

so tonight mike is on some little island with a few other guys from the ministry, sleeping in a wooden structure on stilts that they hope "doesn't fall down"... i hope so, too!

meanwhile, i'm sorting through 18 months of accumulated life things, trying to decide what comes home, and what to give away... kind of sad when i think about how little so many people have... really close to nothing... and i am worried about fitting all our things into 4 large suitcases.

glad we can do a little something to help, though.

new mailing address

Please note that, due to our move, we will no longer be able to receive mail in Chiang Mai.

Contact us if you would like to receive our summer mailing address in Orlando... our phone number will remain the same for now.

We will not be able to receive your mail at the new address until late May when we return to Orlando, but due to the slow & irregular mail service here, it will be unlikely that we would receive any mail sent to us here from the States at this point.

Thanks so much for your prayers & warm encouragement during this transition time!