Dawning Light

Quick Update

We just got done visiting the doctor's office about Isabelle's hip x-ray.  It appears she has fluid in her right hip, as well as some widening of that joint.  Because her development has been delayed in a lot of ways, our doctor referred us to a pediatric orthopedic doctor.  Living in the city that we do, there are not any of those kind of doctors around, so it will take some time to find one that lines up with our insurance company, etc. 

Thank you for your prayers and concern for our Belle.  She's a great kid, and it's hard to watch her struggle to keep up with her peers as far as physical activity is concerned.  It is amazing how it has shaped her into quite a determined young lady.  I know God is using these trials to sharpen her personality already.  God's ways truly are perfect.

Not A Normal Life

We put on a lot of miles today and got a lot done.  We pulled more weeds at the ball field in Englewood for Pastor Bone and his little league team.  Read the amazing story of how we got the same dirt as the Chicago White Sox on Rob's blog.  It is on days like this that I shake my head in wonder at God.  Two phone calls, and these boys from one of the worst neighborhoods in America will be playing on the best dirt in America.  God is awesome.

As I was pulling weeds and getting blisters from raking mud, I could not help but pray for those boys.  Pastor Glenn and Carla don't look at themselves as coaches to 30 9-11 year old boys.  They see themselves as the only hope these boys have to stay out of the gang/drug scene which leads 99% of the time to jail or death.  That was my motivation to push through the heat and the blisters.

As we were cleaning up the field, the neighborhood drug dealers stood on their corner watching us.  I was within hearing distance to them, and I heard one say to the other with a smile "They are cleaning up this field!  Can you believe that?"  He couldn't believe it.  One of them let us use his hose to rinse the kids off after they waded in the mud all day.  An old man walked up and down the road shaking his head and talking to a few of the adult leaders.  I  asked one of them what he said, and she said the man told her that when he was a young man, he had a vision for saving the lives of the boys in the neighborhood just like Pastor Bone.  He had a team and they played on the very field we were working on.  He said his heart has been broken to see the field destroyed by lack of care.  He was so excited to see us fixing it up for the neighborhood.

As we were driving in the car today, I said to my girls, "you realize you do not have a normal life."  They nodded their heads and smiled.  Instead of the usual "What I did this Summer" essays, Maddie and Whitney's will read something like this:

   

"This summer I went to middle school camp and helped kids pick up trash.  All of the kids loved Jesus, and loved me.  Then I went to the worst neighborhood in Chicago where the drug dealers like to hang out.  Right across from their watchful eyes I pulled weeds and swept a puddle the size of a lake away so inner-city boys will not join gangs and end up in jail or dead."

Not a normal life. 

Tomorrow we hit the American Girl Cafe for a celebration dinner.  My girls deserve it.  They have been amazing troopers this summer.

How Rob spent his Afternoon

How the Girls Spent Their Afternoon

How I Spent My Afternoon

Blogging From Papa's

We've been hanging out in the Chicago area the past few days.  I grew up here, so it's fun to visit the old stomping grounds.  Right now I am hanging out at my Mom and Dad's house.  We stopped in unexpectedly hoping for a free lunch.  We had a great time yesterday at the family reunion.  Reunions are a strange thing when you only see certain relatives once in a great while.  I tend to feel overwhelmed, because there has been so much change among us but not enough time to talk.  It is nice just to sit together. 

Later today we are headed downtown Chicago to meet up with GCC's Chicago Mission Trip team.  I am really looking forward to seeing them.  We will be helping out Pastor Glenn and Carla Bone, Pastor's of Good Seed Ministries in Englewood, Chicago.  They are two of our best friends, doing an amazing and terribly difficult job in the inner city. 

I love Chicago.  I love everything about it.  We're really looking forward to the next few days.

Off to my free lunch!

38 Today

 

 

 

I love this man. 

We met when I was 12...he was 15.

We started dating when I was 16...he was 19.

We got married when I was 19...he was 22.

I have known him and loved him for a total of 22 years.

I am 34, he is 38...today!

Happy Birthday Rob, I love you.

Miss Isabelle

 

Any parent who has ever had a child with any thing other than normal health knows what it is like to have a doctor list possibilities of what could be wrong         with your child.  I know they share these things because they know you are smart and won't respond emotionally, but sometimes that is hard.  Isabelle's symptoms are gross motor/fine motor delay.  Her ankles and hips keep falling out of joint causing her a lot of pain.  She can not walk for long because of muscle weakness.  Dr. Hsieh said today that her symptoms could be pointing to :

• a muscular/tissue disease
• a rheumatic condition
• chronic hip dysplasia  
• or some mystery illness no one knows about yet.

We could:

• Take a hip x-ray for now to check for chronic hip dysplasia (this is my gut feeling of what she has)
• poke her and get all kinds of blood work done for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
• Do extensive genetic testing
• Do nothing and see what happens in the next year.

We chose the hip x-ray for now.  It seemed the least invasive and simplest test for right now.  Belle doesn't remember the extensive testing the first 2 years of her life, thank goodness.  We learned a lot from all that testing...mostly just to chill out and wait to see how she continues to develop.

What worried me this time is how Dr. Hsieh said, "She definitely has something.  Something is not right here."  We've known that all along with Belle, but it is hard to hear again, esp. when outwardly she appears fine to everyone else.

Pray for my baby.  I'm a little worried about her.

Disclaimer: Please don't anoint her with holy water as she passes by you at church.  Don't send me mystery medical miracles in a bottle.  Don't tell me to have more faith or believe God for a miracle.  I've heard all that already.  I'm just asking for a little prayer for my baby.  Thanks!

The Original Founding Member

My good friend Josh Gregory reminded me of the original founding member of the Rob Wegner fan club.  I had forgotten about it.  Thanks, Josh!

Special

Whitney found a four leaf clover at camp.  I could not believe it.  She told me she was going out to look for one and I said something very mother-like such as "ok, have fun."  knowing it would keep her busy for a few minutes, but also knowing there was no way on earth she would ever find one.  Five minutes later she came back with a four-leaf clover.  I did not think they actually existed...until Whitney found one.

Looking at this picture, I can not help but think that the four leaf clover is so symbolic of my Whitney.  She is so special, so unique. It is hard to find another like her.

This was the first year at camp that all 3 girls actually had the attention span to sit through all of the morning worship session without having to leave.  I used to stick it out with them till they were too fidgety or noisy and then we would leave.  I was so excited to be able to sit through the entire sessions with them.  One of the goals all of the speakers gave the campers was to share Jesus with 2 of their friends when they got home.  They challenged them to imagine the impact of Jesus on their friends' lives.  Both Maddie and Whitney wrote down 2 friends names right away. 

We got home from camp Saturday.  The phone was ringing when I walked in the door.  It was Whitney's friend...one of the two that Whitney had written down.

Whitney played at her house all day.  Whitney invited the friend to church.  While we were in the car, Whitney said, "Mom!  She has been reading the Bible we gave her, and today I asked her if she wanted to pray to Jesus and give her life to him, and she said YES!  We prayed right there in her room!"

I am so proud of Whitney.  The uniqueness God has blessed her with is drawing so many to Jesus already, and she is only 8 years old.  I am amazed.

Rob Wegner T-Shirts Now Available

J Aquilla is the founding member of the Rob Wegner fan club.  As far as I know, he is the only member, with the only t-shirt, but it's still flattering.  J cracks me up. 

Seriously Worth It

By Thursday night at camp, I was seriously wiped out.  For whatever reason, I could not sleep more than 2 or 3 hours in a row, so I was sleep deprived, not feeling well, and emotionally spent. Even despite all of that, I knew God's purpose was for us to be there as a family.  Proof of that came Saturday morning.  One of the counselors handed me and Rob a note.  Here's what it said:

Thank you for everything you have done for me.  Not only have  you provided me great wisdom and knowledge about Christ, a strong woman model who serves Christ passionately, but also you provided me an amazing model of a healthy marriage.  Growing up in a broken home, I don't really know what healthy is, and you give me a picture of it every time I see you.  Thanks for your passion.  Know I will continue to pray for you both in your faith journey and passion you both have to keep changing people's lives.  I love you both and am here if you ever need anything whatsoever.  I love you...

I will treasure those words for a long time to come.  It makes sleeping with bugs and having to go outside to use the bathroom in the middle of the night seriously worth it.

For The Glory of It All

We just had our final morning worship session with the entire camp.  The presence of God came in a unique and powerful way.  What middle-schoolers do you know that want more and more worship time?   They get it.  They know what the presence of God feels like, and they want more.  My hope and prayer for them is that their entire lives, they remember what it was like to sit in the presence of God for a week.  My prayer is that they will never settle for anything less than living every day alive in His presence. 

I have seen campers and counselors for 16 years "re-enter" their regular lives.  Many have made commitments to God here that have "stuck."  They are the ones who are changing their worlds for Jesus. They are missionaries, pastors, doctors, moms and dads.... I have also seen campers and counselors make tragic mistakes.  Not all at once, but little by little, take steps away from Jesus until they end up in places they never imagined they would be.  I can think of two who are in jail.  I am remembering two girls who had babies just at the end of their 8th grade years.  So many stories.

As we sang together this morning, I could not help but weeping.  So much is riding on the decisions these kids make.  I just prayed and prayed for them that they would continue to make their next right decision.

I think Isabelle caught on to the moment and felt the presence of God as well.  She looked at me and said, "Mommy, do you think we can go back to Disney World?"  I said, "I don't know.  We have to ask Jesus."  She closed her eyes and folded her hands.  Then she said, MOM!  He said YES!"  Funny girl. 

Bragging Rights

Maddie and Whitney talk about the rock wall all year long. It is a 40ft. High tower that appears to be insurmountable. It was a huge goal of theirs to climb the wall this year. I was so proud of both of them today. They both made it to the top! It is an amazing thing as a parent to see my kids accomplish such a huge goal.
Accomplishments like these build so much self esteem in not only my kids, but in all the campers. This gives them serious bragging rights for the rest of the year.

Jack '78

I was laying in my bed praying for the kids who are right now listening to Mark Beeson teach them about what it means to give your whole life to Jesus.  As I was writing in my journal and praying, My eye caught an etching in the wood which said, "Jack '78".  I couldn't help but wonder what Camp Adventure was like for Jack in '78.  I was 5 years old then.  He was a middle-schooler.  He came here to hear about Jesus too.  Just like these kids are tonight and all this week.  I wonder if Jack of '78 is still following Jesus. 

As I stood in morning worship this morning watching the kids praise Jesus with their whole hearts, I could not help but think that for the rest of their lives they would compare their worship experiences to camp.  I think that about my own kids now.  God meets my kids here in this place every year in a unique way.  For whatever reason, God shows up at this place.  I think that for years and years people have come here to meet with God, and it is one of the few places on the earth that is sacred ground.  I feel it when I walk into this place.  God meets people here.

I wonder if Jack of '78 is thinking about his summer at Camp Adventure when he goes to church.  I wonder if he is trying to help his own kids find places of true community and authentic worship.  I wonder...

Commitment Night

I am always amazed at what happens by Wednsday night a camp. This is the third day the campers have been in a positive, loving, super-supportive environment. They have been talking about Jesus for 3 whole days. Tonight is commitment night. The campers will have the opportunity to give their lives to Jesus. They are surrounded by an atmosphere of love and acceptance. So many kids will choose to follow Jesus tonight. Pray with me that many will make that decision. It is going to be an awesome night. I am so glad I get to be a part of it!

The Muddle

No, this photo is not of the lake here at camp. It is a lovely photo of what I see when I open my cabin door.   Belle affectionately refers to it as "the Muddle."  We seriously cannot leave our cabin right now without wading through a foot of water. I had the funniest thought this morning when I was waiting in line with 6 middle schoolers for a shower.
I thought to myself, "I have eaten lunch with a former President and first lady. I have been to the Taj Mahal. All of that is pretty cool, but serving Jesus at Camp Adventure tops them all. The rewards for this kind of service are eternal. I can handle a mud puddle...for now at least!

Michelle Wegner

Family

So, You might be wondering why in the world we choose to do this every year as a family.  Why would we spend 3 days packing, sleep with bugs in our bed, give up our cozy couch and tv for a week?  Well,  for us, it's all about family.  It's about letting the middle school kids at Camp  Adventure see from afar how a family can work.  So many of them have only seen the broken kind of families.  Theirs hasn't worked out so well, so for many of them, they just start giving up on the idea of family at about this age.  Our hope is that they will see the light of Jesus in us-His light shining through our cracks and flaws.  I hope we can give them hope for what family really can be.

The Rope Bridge

This is serious fun unless you fall in the swamp and get leeches.

Michelle Wegner