Prayers and Hope for Haiti

I haven't blogged since the earthquake hit Haiti. It's so hard to express my thoughts and concerns without feeling that heartbreak. After awhile we'd rather avoid the images of Haiti and it would be really easy to say, "Oh, that's so sad" and then turn our backs and walk away. I can't. I feel connected due to just one trip and my son's second trip, and through good friends who are still making those trips, through school children being sponsored by my family. I've been following the blogsite of Troy and Tara Livesay. They are the missionaries we stayed with in LaDigue in 2007, and Aaron again in 2008. They moved into Port-Au-Prince just over a year ago. If you want to see the real stories of God's love and hope, along with stories of survival go to www.livesayhaiti.blogspot.com

We've been busy fundraising at church and at the elementary school. The children are so willing to give and there are so many stories of generosity that just touches your heart. Please don't give to UNICEF. If you're wondering why I would say such a thing, go to Troy and Tara's site and you'll see the frustration of a huge organization interfering with processes that they have no business being in. Some having to do with adoptions.

I have three opportunities to go to Haiti this summer, but I'm unsure of what God is calling me to do. All of these opportunities have to do with working with children which I know will rip my heart out, so part of me wants to avoid it all together. Satan wants me to believe I'm just one person so don't bother going, but I know better. So I wait to hear from God, and financially he will provide if he wants me to go. The pictures are from our trip in 2007. They had next to nothing then and now have absolutely nothing. This was a country built on corruptive sand. Pray that the new Haiti will be built on the rock of the Lord.

Wow, time slipped by so fast! Then so much time went by that I didn't know where to start. No more excuses. I'll just give you a quick review of the last few months and begin anew with the new year!

Aaron began his first year at Spring Arbor University. He loves it! He's been home for Christmas break and will be going back to SAU on Tuesday for the 2nd term. Aaron and Alex have been doing some snowboarding over break and spent New Year's Eve in Grand Rapids with friends watching the ball drop downtown.

Alex began his junior year in high school. He was co-captain of the tennis team playing #1 singles and was voted all-conference by the conference league coaches. He was also given the most valuable player award. He's working in the school's after school program with the kindergarten and first graders. With all that he continues to be an honor student in school as well!

Alyssa is playing basketball! She's enjoying being part of the team and is learning a lot. She's a talented writer and is always reading. She went through some testing on her spine and neck this fall and found that she has some congenital birth defects that should be a huge deal. But God has blessed us once again by making it a minor issue that shouldn't ever effect her. The doctor stated she's a "unique" little girl. Boy, do we know it. She's something special.

Abbey continues to grow! In fact, she grew 4 inches in the last year! We discovered that at her check-up in November. She continues to do well in school, catching up faster and faster. She just celebrated her 4th Christmas with us. And she's about as excited as a 4 year old at Christmas! It's fun to see.

Scott continues to do amazingly well! He is off all pain medications and is feeling great!

Whew....now you see why time as gone by so fast. Now that I've caught up a bit, I'll try to stay on up of it. Happy New Year!

Please continue to pray for Peighton

Peighton was flown to Ann Arbor today for further evaluation by their cardiologists. There are so many ups and downs, but we know who is in control. The Great Healer can, and will, keep her in his loving arms. She will be our little miracle.

Pray for Peighton Rose Bonk

I was going to blog about our wonderful camping trip we took to a park on Lake Michigan this week, but that all seems so unimportant at this moment. We now have a wonderful new member added to the Bonk family. Scott's nephew "Little" Ben and his wife had a baby girl shortly after midnight last night. The first text I got was the great news of the healthy baby. The next text at 3 a.m. was the urgent need for prayer. She was being transferred to DeVos Children's hospital. I have tried to describe our day four times now and just can't. What started out looking like a devastating day was a day that ended with hope. God is good! She has some huge hurdles to overcome, the biggest one being a heart surgery. But please pray that she will continue to grow for awhile before they have to aeromed her to Ann Arbor to the best cardiogist in the state. The more days she has before that trip the better. Pray for her parents Ben and Jen, her grandparents, and her doctors. This is where the "rubber meets the road" when it comes to faith. Thank you for yours.

Back from Vegas

A friend and I spent a few days in Vegas this week. It was wonderful. They had record high temps and plenty of sunshine. We stayed at the Mirage hotel. Kim had found a huge deal on the trip back in March. We slept in, lounged at the pool, and walked many miles a day going through the different cultural themed hotels. We prided ourselves on finding the best meal deals and ate everything from Italian, to Mexican and Chinese on a very low budget.

The theme on Fremont Street was "The Summer of '69" focusing on the anniversary of the first moon walk. The light show was awesome and I loved the music. We took the double decker bus back to the hotel which gave us a great view of the night life. Some of which we could have done without seeing.

The highlight of our trip was Broadway's "Lion King." It was FABULOUS!! I can't even begin to describe it. The music, costumes, lighting was so amazing. I would to see it again! I hear it's been in Lansing and am going to look there. Let me know if anyone wants to join me. It was incredible.

As always - be blessed!

Another New Adventure

Well, we were blessed to find a used bike for Scott! We spent Saturday cleaning it up and painting it back to it's original pre-rust colors. It takes a bit to get used to since the steering works by shifting your body one way or the other. Sunday we decided to venture out to the Mackatawac trail in Ravenna. It's a great bike trail that runs from Muskegon past Conklin to.....well....I don't really know where because we didn't make it too far. Apparently pedaling with your arms is a bit tougher than with your legs and Scott tuckered out on us pretty quickly.

On the return trip back to the parking lot we nearly had another disaster. You see, Scott started to get brave and decided to race Alyssa. He tried to psych her out by saying he quit and then proceeded to "sneak" up on her to pass on the left. WRONG THING TO DO! Alyssa looked back to see where we were and pulled her bike to the left colliding with Scott sending them both down the embankment with Alyssa and her bike on top of Scott! Scott was sure Alyssa was going to have a broken bone. She was fine. It took me a few minutes to push him out of the ditch and assess the damages. I was sure he was going to have another broken bone, but no, the only damage was a few scratches on the newly painted bike. The church was spared from sending yet another fruit basket. Whew!

Wow, what a weekend!

Aaron's open house was amazing. I felt honored by the number of people who drove up from great distances to attend this event. It was so busy but fun. I felt like I had a chance to talk to everyone but really didn't get a chance to chat like I wanted to. My very favorite aunts and uncles where there too! (Yes, you know who you are;)Part of me is so sad that the party is over. The next phase is to prepare him for the move to college in early September. OUCH! There goes my heart again, but I know it's part of God's plan Thank you so much for all the loving thoughts, prayers, and support. We have an amazing family and amazing friends.

P.S. The beautiful quilt was made specifically for Aaron by my stepmother, Donna. It's just gorgeous. She put a lot of love into it. Thank you, Donna.