Just to let you know that Dr. Vallejo and I have a meeting on Wednesday morning at 10:00 to turn in the flash and printed copy of the Dysphagia book to Jenny at Compassion. (Yes, that would be a delay from the announcement I made a couple of weeks ago --- I was so excited to be near the end, I jumped the gun.)
I´ll have to wait until after that meeting to let you know how the rest of the process will go, and how much time they´re anticipating it should take.
For anyone who originally invested in Mission: Ecuador for the children´s books --- Jenny still has all the materials I turned in to her, and I´ll be talking to her further about following up on all of that in this next year.
Asking for your prayerful consideration, as there are now many possibilities for work, living arrangements, and moves, etc. --- but sometimes there are long delays between "road-signs", and it makes it challenging to know what to write. No concrete visuals to date, but Ohhhhhh how I do see God working HARD on something behind the scenes.
God´s best to each and every one!
Michelle
Monday, May 31, 2010
Welcome, Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church and MOST Ministries
I´d like to send a tremendous welcome to the church where I grew up in Warner Robins, GA - and to the rest of the team members who are currently planning their first trip here to Quito, Ecuador - arriving Sat, 19th June - through Friday, the 25th of June.
For all of you who have come down from RiverTree in Ohio, you´ll appreciate the first-time nerves, now that reports are coming in to them about indigenous marches and road-blocks, volcano eruptions, and potential earthquakes during their stay.
Would you join me in prayer for the 12 team members, Vista Para Todos staff, 3-4 translators + myself, who plan to participate in eyeglass/vision clinics in Cotacachi, Otavalo, Ibarra, and Zámbiza during that week? We´ll be traveling on Sunday the 20th - through Wednesday, the 23rd. Work will be inside of Quito for Thursday and Friday.
Your prayer support and kind words are always appreciated, as challenges and obstacles to ANY plan are somewhat chronic here -- I´ve learned it´s smartest to stay on my knees.
thank you so much for your faithful love and service,
your friend in Christ,
michelle
For all of you who have come down from RiverTree in Ohio, you´ll appreciate the first-time nerves, now that reports are coming in to them about indigenous marches and road-blocks, volcano eruptions, and potential earthquakes during their stay.
Would you join me in prayer for the 12 team members, Vista Para Todos staff, 3-4 translators + myself, who plan to participate in eyeglass/vision clinics in Cotacachi, Otavalo, Ibarra, and Zámbiza during that week? We´ll be traveling on Sunday the 20th - through Wednesday, the 23rd. Work will be inside of Quito for Thursday and Friday.
Your prayer support and kind words are always appreciated, as challenges and obstacles to ANY plan are somewhat chronic here -- I´ve learned it´s smartest to stay on my knees.
thank you so much for your faithful love and service,
your friend in Christ,
michelle
Friday, May 21, 2010
Yellow-brick road :)
I´m willing to bet most of you don´t realize that my actual mission call was back when I was 17 years old... it was just between God and me, and I said a "yes" which He apparently took VERY seriously.
Before I even showed up at RiverTree, I had followed His leading from Warner Robins to Atlanta (thought I´d be a Spanish interpreter, but they didn´t think my B.A. in Spanish and current speaking/writing level was even good enough to let me in the school to learn more); Atlanta to Athens (for speech-language pathology in graduate school --- thought it might be cool to be a bilingual SLP someday, maybe; and that´s when my Dad passed away from cancer). It´s where I intended to stay to have a home and family, except that God spoke again, and I moved on...to Ohio, where I stayed faithful to my Lutheran upbringing and joined Holy Cross, the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church about a spit away from my apt. --- until God thought I should be at Jackson Christian Church (which then shortly became RiverTree),,, where He made sure I got trained up to really study the Bible, listen closely to Him, and stay faithful. I was looking for a condo in North Canton (I loved the church, my job, and the whole climate and area), when He called me to Ecuador (right after I had a near-lethal bout with heart arrythmias).
And there wasn´t a thing He´s taught me since I was 17 that I haven´t desperately needed here. He has been so very INSISTENT with me (and more PATIENT than you could ever know!).
I think you all need to know that He´s speaking to me again, that I´ve been given some very specific and wonderful promises, and that I will obey His leading... just as soon as I know what that is.
For now, I´m doing my best to make sure the Vozandes team is on its feet (the book should really help), and that the Street Kids have somebody following up with them (hopefully Casa Gabriel, with Extreme Response), and that Compassion and my good friends at Nuevos Amigos have as much as I can give them in the way of training workshops and manuals (in my SLP area)in the next year. I´m looking for a roomate to share time, expenses and possibly "inherit" the apt next July, and for God´s financial provision (through medical translating work, translating for work teams, and possibly - later in Dysphagia research and program development), and am physically getting ready (sorting, packing, repairing in the apt. I´m currently in) for what comes next.
Will be sure to keep you posted, as so much is still pending at this point.
Trust your walk with Him is "golden" as well!
Michelle
Before I even showed up at RiverTree, I had followed His leading from Warner Robins to Atlanta (thought I´d be a Spanish interpreter, but they didn´t think my B.A. in Spanish and current speaking/writing level was even good enough to let me in the school to learn more); Atlanta to Athens (for speech-language pathology in graduate school --- thought it might be cool to be a bilingual SLP someday, maybe; and that´s when my Dad passed away from cancer). It´s where I intended to stay to have a home and family, except that God spoke again, and I moved on...to Ohio, where I stayed faithful to my Lutheran upbringing and joined Holy Cross, the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church about a spit away from my apt. --- until God thought I should be at Jackson Christian Church (which then shortly became RiverTree),,, where He made sure I got trained up to really study the Bible, listen closely to Him, and stay faithful. I was looking for a condo in North Canton (I loved the church, my job, and the whole climate and area), when He called me to Ecuador (right after I had a near-lethal bout with heart arrythmias).
And there wasn´t a thing He´s taught me since I was 17 that I haven´t desperately needed here. He has been so very INSISTENT with me (and more PATIENT than you could ever know!).
I think you all need to know that He´s speaking to me again, that I´ve been given some very specific and wonderful promises, and that I will obey His leading... just as soon as I know what that is.
For now, I´m doing my best to make sure the Vozandes team is on its feet (the book should really help), and that the Street Kids have somebody following up with them (hopefully Casa Gabriel, with Extreme Response), and that Compassion and my good friends at Nuevos Amigos have as much as I can give them in the way of training workshops and manuals (in my SLP area)in the next year. I´m looking for a roomate to share time, expenses and possibly "inherit" the apt next July, and for God´s financial provision (through medical translating work, translating for work teams, and possibly - later in Dysphagia research and program development), and am physically getting ready (sorting, packing, repairing in the apt. I´m currently in) for what comes next.
Will be sure to keep you posted, as so much is still pending at this point.
Trust your walk with Him is "golden" as well!
Michelle
Monday, May 17, 2010
Dysphagia book
Those of you who have followed a bit more closely the Vozandes-aspect of my ministry here in Quito would appreciate knowing (I do believe) that, in addition to the team that has been trained at Hospital Vozandes - Quito, we will now have (in the next 4-6 weeks) a published book that sets up the rules for play for the program!
One of the hardest challenges I´ve faced in the past few years has been resisting the pressure (from SO many sides) to simply provide dsyphagia services -- although this specialized profession does not exist in this country,,,, so there have been no rules for conduct, decision-making, training (academic or clinical), vocabulary -- and the list goes on. So as I was chipping away at living the example and training Paty and Karla, I was also documenting all of my own decisions, rationale, protocols, clinical hours, plans, etc. and turning them in to my hospital authorities (to protect all of us). Dysphagia is a medical diagnosis, and one that affects both breathing and nutrition -- so if a therapist doesn´t know what he/she is doing, somebody can get hurt. And in my case, Ecuador´s opinion of the service depended entirely on what they saw from me... so I researched, and studied, and documented. And now, through an incredible turn of events, it´s a book.
Together with my medical friends at Vozandes, we are pushing for the ETHICAL and God-fearing practice of this new profession in Ecuador. We are emphasizing personal and professional responsibility to patients, through excellency in practice. Communication and teamwork are an essential part of good dysphagia practice, and this requires something that the majority of professional Ecuatorians are missing --- willingness to collaborate instead of compete.... (to be honest, I don´t believe that´s only Ecuador --- but God gave me this responsibility here, so here is where I´m tackling it.) And there are MANY well-respected and established Ecuatorian doctors who have worked side-by-side with me over these last (almost) 6 years, who are cheering this project on. They not only want this new program,,, they really want excellence in service provision. They really lack academic and professional support (that we are SO blessed with in the States) for actually carrying it out.
For those who worked directly with patients alongside of me, I had the chance to model my own dependence on God´s wisdom and leading for each and every patient who came our way. It slowed things down tremendously, but resulted in a wonderful comprehension of our work, patients´needs, and accountability. And they saw how God turned obstacles into footstools, and enemies into friends --- through simple prayer --- all the way through. They decide now if they want to seek God´s face in their continued growth, or if they think they should handle it on their own. Please pray for the whole team, as they´ll struggle with all kinds of emotions like pride, effects of fame (they´re getting patients from all over Ecuador,,, and being recruited by other hospitals),, and will have to consciously decide their motivation for continuing on. Sometimes blessings are harder to handle than sadnesses.
I´m excited for this book to be published, as it should shift attention from my person, directly to the profession itself. And I pray that it helps the team to solidify, get its bearings, and decide when and how to advance in the subject. In its minimum function, it will be a safety net for Karla and Paty in their daily practice, whether they advance any further or not.
As for me, God apparently has me on the sidelines since last November - with the start of the "book" (I would have written sooner about it if I understood then what was happening), in a sort of "language school" until September --- advancing my Spanish language to university/post-grad language level. (All that when I was thinking of signing up for a course!) I´ve had personal training through the book editing alongside of Dr. Vallejo, and have been translating medical documents. Eventually, I may have the opportunity to be paid for it. It´s quite an opportunity,,, and most likely means that He´s not finished with me yet on the subject!! And there´s a pending trip to Chile in the fall to connect with a dysphagia therapist there (who does research, and is linked to one of their wonderful universities). We´ll see how God works that all together.
Many more possibilities in the works, but since they are so many, and involve many other people and variables, prefer to simply ask for general prayer on that count, at which point, I´d be happy to share when God has given me clear vision on those counts.
Pray each of you sees God in little and big ways every single day.
love in christ,
michelle
One of the hardest challenges I´ve faced in the past few years has been resisting the pressure (from SO many sides) to simply provide dsyphagia services -- although this specialized profession does not exist in this country,,,, so there have been no rules for conduct, decision-making, training (academic or clinical), vocabulary -- and the list goes on. So as I was chipping away at living the example and training Paty and Karla, I was also documenting all of my own decisions, rationale, protocols, clinical hours, plans, etc. and turning them in to my hospital authorities (to protect all of us). Dysphagia is a medical diagnosis, and one that affects both breathing and nutrition -- so if a therapist doesn´t know what he/she is doing, somebody can get hurt. And in my case, Ecuador´s opinion of the service depended entirely on what they saw from me... so I researched, and studied, and documented. And now, through an incredible turn of events, it´s a book.
Together with my medical friends at Vozandes, we are pushing for the ETHICAL and God-fearing practice of this new profession in Ecuador. We are emphasizing personal and professional responsibility to patients, through excellency in practice. Communication and teamwork are an essential part of good dysphagia practice, and this requires something that the majority of professional Ecuatorians are missing --- willingness to collaborate instead of compete.... (to be honest, I don´t believe that´s only Ecuador --- but God gave me this responsibility here, so here is where I´m tackling it.) And there are MANY well-respected and established Ecuatorian doctors who have worked side-by-side with me over these last (almost) 6 years, who are cheering this project on. They not only want this new program,,, they really want excellence in service provision. They really lack academic and professional support (that we are SO blessed with in the States) for actually carrying it out.
For those who worked directly with patients alongside of me, I had the chance to model my own dependence on God´s wisdom and leading for each and every patient who came our way. It slowed things down tremendously, but resulted in a wonderful comprehension of our work, patients´needs, and accountability. And they saw how God turned obstacles into footstools, and enemies into friends --- through simple prayer --- all the way through. They decide now if they want to seek God´s face in their continued growth, or if they think they should handle it on their own. Please pray for the whole team, as they´ll struggle with all kinds of emotions like pride, effects of fame (they´re getting patients from all over Ecuador,,, and being recruited by other hospitals),, and will have to consciously decide their motivation for continuing on. Sometimes blessings are harder to handle than sadnesses.
I´m excited for this book to be published, as it should shift attention from my person, directly to the profession itself. And I pray that it helps the team to solidify, get its bearings, and decide when and how to advance in the subject. In its minimum function, it will be a safety net for Karla and Paty in their daily practice, whether they advance any further or not.
As for me, God apparently has me on the sidelines since last November - with the start of the "book" (I would have written sooner about it if I understood then what was happening), in a sort of "language school" until September --- advancing my Spanish language to university/post-grad language level. (All that when I was thinking of signing up for a course!) I´ve had personal training through the book editing alongside of Dr. Vallejo, and have been translating medical documents. Eventually, I may have the opportunity to be paid for it. It´s quite an opportunity,,, and most likely means that He´s not finished with me yet on the subject!! And there´s a pending trip to Chile in the fall to connect with a dysphagia therapist there (who does research, and is linked to one of their wonderful universities). We´ll see how God works that all together.
Many more possibilities in the works, but since they are so many, and involve many other people and variables, prefer to simply ask for general prayer on that count, at which point, I´d be happy to share when God has given me clear vision on those counts.
Pray each of you sees God in little and big ways every single day.
love in christ,
michelle
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Mother´s Day
Thought this would be a good time and place to let you know how I celebrated Mother´s Day...
One of the street families I know very well is that of Joaquin´s family (he sells Pinguino icecream in front of the hospital). The kids were home visiting (they live with relatives a few hours away during the school year to attend classes), and their Mom sent them off to have lunch ...with ME!!
It started out just me and Daisy,,, but then Jessica (7), Jefferson (12), and Carlos (13) (cousin) all showed up sweaty (having run top-speed uphill 2 blocks) at McDonald´s in the Plaza, screaming "Michelle" and giving hugs as they came in. Thing is, I only had $5 left to spend between the 3 of them!!... So I gave the bill to Jeff (he´s the oldest), and told him they would have to see how to make it work between the 3. so....
I thought my eyes would drop out, as they came back to the table with 3 burgers. Then the cousin ran out somewhere -- they explained to me that he had gone to buy juice elsewhere (as they had decided they couldn´t afford the sodas there). Carlos came back with a huge bottle of juice, and 1 plastic cup ---- and they poured the drink out, and gave it to ME!!! Can you believe it??
I was able to gift Jefferson a Bible for his birthday (about 6 months ago), and he told me before that he reads it. ... with that kind of stewardship, I really believe him!!
Have a great day ... and Happy Mother´s Day to all the real Moms out there!
your friend in Christ,
Michelle
One of the street families I know very well is that of Joaquin´s family (he sells Pinguino icecream in front of the hospital). The kids were home visiting (they live with relatives a few hours away during the school year to attend classes), and their Mom sent them off to have lunch ...with ME!!
It started out just me and Daisy,,, but then Jessica (7), Jefferson (12), and Carlos (13) (cousin) all showed up sweaty (having run top-speed uphill 2 blocks) at McDonald´s in the Plaza, screaming "Michelle" and giving hugs as they came in. Thing is, I only had $5 left to spend between the 3 of them!!... So I gave the bill to Jeff (he´s the oldest), and told him they would have to see how to make it work between the 3. so....
I thought my eyes would drop out, as they came back to the table with 3 burgers. Then the cousin ran out somewhere -- they explained to me that he had gone to buy juice elsewhere (as they had decided they couldn´t afford the sodas there). Carlos came back with a huge bottle of juice, and 1 plastic cup ---- and they poured the drink out, and gave it to ME!!! Can you believe it??
I was able to gift Jefferson a Bible for his birthday (about 6 months ago), and he told me before that he reads it. ... with that kind of stewardship, I really believe him!!
Have a great day ... and Happy Mother´s Day to all the real Moms out there!
your friend in Christ,
Michelle
Saturday, May 08, 2010
Transition time again!!!
Greetings to my long (sort-of) lost friends in Christ!!! I´ve found the opportunity to sit down and re-access the blog account I had set up from Ohio -- then couldn´t use from here for COUNTLESS complications and overwhelming job responsibilities...
Anyways,
thought you´d be interested in knowing that all who have participated in the 5-year march to form the first-ever Dysphagia program in Ecuador are (apparently) super excited for the team and service they´ve created (yey!)!!! so much so, in fact, that different medical specialists are participating in all kinds of ways to make sure they don´t lose what they´ve all worked so very hard to achieve :) I just found out this week that one of the neurologists plans to mention the program while he´s at a medical conference in Argentina -- how neat!
For those of you who have been following me with the street kids, one of the twins (Joey) told me something very, very special a couple of months back... he said that he was sorry for getting upset with me a couple of years ago when I scolded him for sitting in the street, that he wondered if I´d forgive him; he said he remembered ALL the things I´d done for him and his family... sitting in the rain with them, playing games, and bringing them hot soup -- and he said "thank you for all you´ve done for us". He´s just 11 or so. And he´s the most quiet and shy one of all the kids I´ve worked with. Lots of the kids aren´t hanging out on the street anymore. I´ve found out over time that they really do have a lot of choice in the matter. It´s neat to find out that they´ve stayed home.
So another transition is starting, with God leading me slowly down this last stretch of road here... I´m working towards transitioning my ministry duties here to Ecuatorians who are passionate about seeing all of it along. That´s already happening in grand form at Vozandes (with God´s leading I stepped out in March, and am really tickled to see that the team has stepped up and is taking charge of the program.). And I´ve found some potential partners in the Street Kids ministry, which I´ll tell you more about as that crystalizes.
The other big news is that I now have Ecuatorian residency... it´s really a special blessing, because it facilitates my continued long-term support of the program we started here. Lots less paperwork and less expensive in the long-haul. There is now some communication with therapists in Chile, who may in the future be interested in some type of collaboration or academic support of us here. I´ve been working on a book (didn´t start out intentionally to be that) with one of the ENT´s here editing it with me (it´s in Spanish), that should be ready for publishing by the end of this month. Should help to network our program with others (I hope.). Planning to travel to Chile in October (mostly personal, but some professional reasons) - and hope to come back with LOTS of news!!
God´s best to each of you, and I´ll try to update once every couple of weeks here so you know what´s going on. Sometimes there are long gaps for me in knowing what´s next, and I see God teaching me patient, faith-full waiting. I´ll let you all know when I do what´s next.
love in christ,
michelle
Anyways,
thought you´d be interested in knowing that all who have participated in the 5-year march to form the first-ever Dysphagia program in Ecuador are (apparently) super excited for the team and service they´ve created (yey!)!!! so much so, in fact, that different medical specialists are participating in all kinds of ways to make sure they don´t lose what they´ve all worked so very hard to achieve :) I just found out this week that one of the neurologists plans to mention the program while he´s at a medical conference in Argentina -- how neat!
For those of you who have been following me with the street kids, one of the twins (Joey) told me something very, very special a couple of months back... he said that he was sorry for getting upset with me a couple of years ago when I scolded him for sitting in the street, that he wondered if I´d forgive him; he said he remembered ALL the things I´d done for him and his family... sitting in the rain with them, playing games, and bringing them hot soup -- and he said "thank you for all you´ve done for us". He´s just 11 or so. And he´s the most quiet and shy one of all the kids I´ve worked with. Lots of the kids aren´t hanging out on the street anymore. I´ve found out over time that they really do have a lot of choice in the matter. It´s neat to find out that they´ve stayed home.
So another transition is starting, with God leading me slowly down this last stretch of road here... I´m working towards transitioning my ministry duties here to Ecuatorians who are passionate about seeing all of it along. That´s already happening in grand form at Vozandes (with God´s leading I stepped out in March, and am really tickled to see that the team has stepped up and is taking charge of the program.). And I´ve found some potential partners in the Street Kids ministry, which I´ll tell you more about as that crystalizes.
The other big news is that I now have Ecuatorian residency... it´s really a special blessing, because it facilitates my continued long-term support of the program we started here. Lots less paperwork and less expensive in the long-haul. There is now some communication with therapists in Chile, who may in the future be interested in some type of collaboration or academic support of us here. I´ve been working on a book (didn´t start out intentionally to be that) with one of the ENT´s here editing it with me (it´s in Spanish), that should be ready for publishing by the end of this month. Should help to network our program with others (I hope.). Planning to travel to Chile in October (mostly personal, but some professional reasons) - and hope to come back with LOTS of news!!
God´s best to each of you, and I´ll try to update once every couple of weeks here so you know what´s going on. Sometimes there are long gaps for me in knowing what´s next, and I see God teaching me patient, faith-full waiting. I´ll let you all know when I do what´s next.
love in christ,
michelle
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