The Happy Gardener

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

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Iaomai Letter from Board of Directors

To the Iaomai Family,

This past year’s trip to Huehuetenango in October was a great success. We saw over 1000 patients in the clinic; we did 130 surgeries; we performed 200 diagnostic ultrasound exams and counseled hundreds of patients and their families before and after surgery. Great job team!

The team of 75 volunteers returned home as changed people. We were privileged to watch so many patients safely treated. Everyone suddenly has a new appreciation of the daily blessings we take for granted. It never ceases to amaze me how volunteers from so many different places, life experiences, and expectations come together to serve others without regard for their own comfort.

Sean, Jonathan, Kari and Greg all appreciate the kind words of many who have expressed their thanks and appreciation for our preparations and organization of the team. We all consider it our great privilege to serve you and our Lord in this calling. We receive far more blessing than we could ever imagine.

This coming year we are excited to be able to have two trips to Guatemala. The first trip is January 5-16 to Joyabaj, and a second trip September 29 - October 9 to a site to be determined. We are investigating several sites other than Huehuetenango, but that is still a possibility.

For the January trip, we have also organized a stove team to go into the surrounding villages and assist about 38 families by providing a stove to cook on that does not have an open flame, decreasing the amount of firewood needed, directing the smoke out of the home, and decreasing the chances of injury from burns. If this goes as well as expected, we hope to offer a stove team on the fall trip as well. The stoves cost $230 each and include a water purification system. The team installing the stoves needs to raise the funds to cover them, which for this trip is nearly $10,000. The team has raised or pledged so far about 2/3 of this. This is amazing as we only added the stove project 6 weeks ago. For more information on the stove project see : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_e0vOfjvH0.

As the year end approaches, please consider a tax deductable donation to Iaomai, to the address below. Feel free to designate your gift for a specific project, such as stoves (either in Jan or Oct), medical supplies and pharmaceuticals, or general mission expenses. No one on the leadership team is paid; we are all volunteers and 100% of any donation goes to the missions. Our only expenses are a storage unit in San Diego, accountant fees, IT expenses and our trip supplies.

Thank you for your consideration and your part in changing the lives of so many. May God’s richest blessings pour out on you and your loved ones this Christmas Season.

Blessings,

Iaomai Board of Directors

Thursday, September 6, 2012

OLD POSTS

The below posts are items that I have emailed to myself and wanted to put on my blog. Finally I took a small break and posted them. Feels Good!

There Is Sunshine In My Soul Today

You know how it is when you have such a great weekend that everything in life just feels calm and peaceful and full. I had one of those this past weekend. I was able to accomplish some things in my yarden and put in my freezer some more beans, jalapenos, and tomatoes. We are slowly getting the yard the way we like and we put in some rocks for the aloe vera garden. Looks so pretty! Our grapes are turning purple. We each ate one last evening. They are still a little bit tart. I received a new calling to serve with the little ones in nursery. I am so excited and glad that the Lord called me to serve the little ones. I get to work with some wonderful sisters that I love dearly. I still get to lead the music in Sacrament meeting for a while as well and pick hymns from the hymnbook. The hymn book is truly one of my favorite books. My sweetheart and I will be celebrating 15 years this week. Pennies are powerful was able to help the trip to the orphanages by aiding in the purchase of some much needed supplies. Thank you so much sisters for helping make that possible. So as the saying goes “My Cup Runneth Over”. I am so truly blessed and I am thankful for all of the special people that add to that abundance in my life.

Here is to a week ahead full of love, fun, and blessings.

Have I Done Any Good in the World Today

I have been thinking a lot about the hymn “Have I done Any Good in the World Today”. For many this hymn makes them feel bad like they have not measured up but I want to put a different perspective on this sweet hymn. I think most of you complete it very well every day more than you know. Have I helped anyone in need, cheered up the sad, made someone feel glad. These are the questions asked in the first verse. I know that you mothers of young children do these things frequently throughout the day. Kissing boo boos and just plain old being there. The rest of you, well, you help me on a daily basis and make me feel glad because I know you are there. As I sit in my office and do the daily grind, I can find much comfort that you are all just a mouse click away. I also know that just letting that person running late for work cut in the traffic line without blaring the horn to let them know that the line cut was noticed, well they may not feel glad but they would not feel good if the horn blared so you are sparing some stressful feelings (your own included, and yes I am speaking from recent experience of just this morning. The person cut right in and I was flustered at first and then considered that maybe he/she needed to get to work quicker than I this morning). Or the smile you give to someone or the thank you to the cashier at the grocery store. Just noticing someone could be what makes their day. Giving someone the benefit of the doubt is a form of charity. So remember friends, no matter how insignificant you think a gesture is, it may just be that ray of sunshine in someone’s life. So here is to doing good in the world each day just a little bit at a time.