Spring Arrives!

Spring arrives! The forest in the woodlands will soon erupt with the sounds of newborn fawns and small mammals. In our backyard the birds have premed their nest as baby birds hatch, soon to fill the air with chirps and bird songs.

New life is the sign accompanying Spring here in India. In the north east where we gather with friends enjoying Indian tea, we were stirred into enthusiastic conversation about the new life in the Bible studies and the churches. The kind of life that happens by being born again. That sweet fellowship flourishes among the believers and joy fills the room. The transformation of such believers delivered from darkness know now that they live in His glorious light and life.

A Hindu priest positioned in the temple to execute a macabre act of child sacrifice…his own daughter who was seven years old. Her father was a Hindu priest and he told her there was a special service that night at the temple so he went and bought her a new dress for the occasion. Little did she know that her father‘s plan was to sacrifice her that night to the Hindu gods. When they arrived at the temple the little girl said, "Father, where are all the people?" and he said, "We are early." He took her in and there were only other Hindu priests and they went to the altar and he told her to put her head down and began to get ready to cut her head off with a big sword. She saw the sword and started to cry and pray, "Dear Jesus, save me!" When she prayed all the articles of worship and the incense holders fell on the floor. They put them back in place and as they proceeded a second time, it happened again as she prayed a second time, "Jesus save me!" The priests stopped the sacrifice ritual. The other priest told the father, this is a bad omen, and they could not sacrifice her. Her father was very angry and ended up cutting his own flesh to give blood to the gods. He continued in his anger and took her home and locked her in her bedroom for two days with no water or food. She had heard from a friend at school that Jesus is the loving powerful Lord who answers prayer. Today she is a beautiful believer and is loved and has a prayer ministry praying for the sick to be healed.

The woman next to me is that "little girl", she expressed to our team that she could not let me go but wanted me to stay with her.

In our friend's home, just as dinner was being prepared for us, I saw a quiet man standing aloof, so I went over to say hello. He was polite but reticent to speak. Then very slowly he began to tell me his testimony. His joy was now all over his face and he was saying “Yes, yes! I too know! Very, very happy I have joy now. It's Jesus I have now.”

This man was a high cast Brahman and in that status receives praise and privileges in this Indian culture. But he chose to give it all away and put it aside for Christ as his Lord and Savior. He has walked away and is denying himself of all that could be his to follow Jesus. As the Bible says, "Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and He will lift you up.” James 4:19

This believer who came out of darkness and evil because he saw the love of God extended to him through believers in Christ. Please pray for India, there are over 1 billion people who do not know the love of God in Jesus Christ.

French Heaven

I have been an aficionado of the French language since the very first time I heard It. So, when I had a chance to study French in high school I jumped on it. I received an A for my performance in class but after graduation and into marriage the pursuit of my French language skills faded, but my love of the language and desire to speak fluently has never faded.

This beautiful French family of 6 arrived via invitation. They arrived at our home in Parisian style, each with their backpack of clothing, homeschooling necessities, personal bedding rolled up in the straps and each child caring a new skateboard. They were happy of heart and expressions when they entered our home, the oldest daughter, 13, expressed enthusiastically, “I love your house, I want one just like this when I’m older.” The children milled around momentarily gazing up our walls at my large Polynesian themed paintings, then the cathedral ceilings and gasped in surprise as they fully saw the looming elk head juxtaposing into the living room; not to be outdone by the sailfish hanging above the French doors. That in itself would become a remarkable memory for them, and they hadn’t even heard the story about the sailfish, but it does make for things children dream about when adventure fills their minds.

 I was in Heaven surrounded by French language spoken by adults and children. The children’s whispers and laughs camping out in the upstairs TV room, and filling up water balloons in the bathroom for the long surprising drop off the balcony to an unsuspecting sibling below was a joy. The happy rolling and scooting on their skateboards upstairs through the kitchen into the dining room and circling the sofa in front of the fireplace and down the long haul to the front door, and the absolutely never-ending adventure of these happy spirited children brought joy to our home.

 

The sweet late-night pleading in French, by the youngest daughter, to watch “a little movie”, as I was told later by the father, made me laugh. The late morning walks down to the beach with their hands full of beach paraphernalia which included two boogie boards, two skateboards and a beach bag full of assorted necessities, was a sight to behold. The beautiful and pleasant tradition of the eight of us praying and eating together around our outside deck or evenings of laughter, storytelling and bonding will be forever sweet.

 Cooking together in the kitchen was so memorable because Malé and Louie prepared their French meals at the kitchen island while ours we prepared at the counter next to the stove. Vegetables galore were cut up tossed and drizzled with a pleasant sauce before they made their way to the oven, careful preparation on the barbecue was also a regular event. The nights were a combination of happy dining and cleaning up, or afterwards bringing out a musical concerto with Tom on his flute, playing the Mexican hat dance, and Jim and I on the guitar singing in accompaniment. Well there were no words to sing but just expressions of happiness. The next song we ventured upon together was La Vie en Rose in French listening to it on YouTube to get the timing right. Oh, we all broke out in an English rendition. Tell me it is not a romantic evening singing with your friends in English to a typical French song. The one daughter made a video of her father singing this song and sent it immediately to his family before he had a clue what she was doing!

 In an old fashion style, we celebrated Louie’s birthday with party hats, balloons and horns! Jim and I experienced tremendous joy with this family as all the children we’re comfortable and happy in our beautiful beach home. We went out for a special night to enjoy sushi together which Louie and Male’ our friends loved. The four of us laughed over silly jokes but I think we realize we were simply happy to be out and eating sushi together, it was a cultural dessert.

 Their youngest daughter expressed to me that when I write her I must do it only in French! She bonded with me and presented me with a beautiful art card she had painted, Jim and I fishing from a boat but only my line had a huge fish on it! Then inside of the card she painted me surfing quite skillfully with long prose in French that was a very dear letter to us. Her father translated it for me, it was quite obvious that I was the apple of her eye with her words sweet and tender. She opened her greeting with, “You took us into your home and we felt just like family. You treated us like friends you had known for a long time.” She went on to express a full-page of happiness in our home and how she had experienced it and it was obvious her heart was a grateful heart, she is only five.

The evening before the family departed for the trip to Nubia, Africa, Louie expressed to me, “Shonda this was providential” in the context of them coming and staying with us for three weeks, it was providential. Louie and Malé extended a very warm invitation to Jim and I to come to Paris and visit them. In addition to this they Face-timed both their parents and introduced us to them. What an extremely warm family.

Yes, I do believe it was God’s plan that we should meet and have the love of God shared among us.

Shonda

 

OUT OF THE COCOON

 

OUT OF THE COCOON

My last visit to Jules Stein Eye Institute (JSEI) in March presented me with questions. Unable to see the Retina Specialist, I had a brief conversation with a Hospital Administrator, who being courteous and thorough I was left without any indication or direction as to what I should do.  By mid June I was feeling discouraged at the lack of any communication from my JSEI doctor.  This dampen my spirit and I became sad and angry. There was no information coming forth from JSEI, this being one of the leading Eye Institutes in the Country.  I have been thinking of all the things I could do again with restored eyesight via stem cell treatment.  Would this slip away before I could ever realise it?

  It has been 20 years since I have lost my eyesight which is now at a visual measurement of 20/300.  This  has made it impossible to do anything skilfully that requires adequate vision.  It has made every day of my life exceptionally challenging some days more difficult than others.  Simple and mundane tasks, such as seeing clearly the settings on the washing machine, dryer, threading a needle to mend a shirt, or sew on buttons.  For most people these daily task are not even given a second thought, yet in my case they are major challenges, such as: following a multi step recipe, recognising the shampoo bottle over the moisturiser once in the shower, or locating my magnifier, house key and sunglasses.  Because I can’t see, even up close as everything falls into a blind spot, so I must sweep the surface to locate, making ever task tremendously time consuming and discouraging. The only technology I can use is an Apple iPad which is limited and causes thwarting my every task I attempt to do. Keeping a vital sense of accomplishment as I continually need to ask for help is an on-going stress factor.

I have dreams of taking care of Jim as he gets older and drive him around to doctor visits also assist him in care for him as he has done for me.  I thought it prudent to take computer classes,  to continue my Spanish guitar lessons, also would like to develop my art with some formal instruction. At present time I am happy continuing  my college courses online. I was facing the death of dreams and would need to gather the courage to admit it. In a word it was terrifying.  The  following two months passed in silence from JSEI.

The beginning of August found me very motivated to contact my doctor and ask why I must be“wrapped in a cocoon” of silence and wait?  We send a registered letter asking the Doctor when might the stem cell procedure begin?  Two weeks past and we got the response. 

Remarkably on August 3 a call came in from Jules  Stein Eye Institute there was a voicemail for me saying the doctor had not forgotten me and that I was to make an appointment or they would call me by December.  There was also an explanation for the delay. Hallelujah!  A explanation and acknowledgement after a year and a half of waiting now this is something I can work with!  I am leaving my cocoon jubilantly.     Roshonda     (Jim assisted me with this post)

Family Visits

My mother once told me, we are as happy as we make up our minds to be. And, I had made up my mind to take all the time I could with my daughter Leah to be together, talking, loving and laughing, things we chicks do well. We shopped against the clock, made it fun and went to breakfast as a treat. We went to the beach and enjoyed a beautiful day at 73°. I still can’t forget that exquisite day.

We have a large, beautiful family and naturally as a family woman I desire us all to be together occasionally. The Holy Spirit confirmed to me during the past two weeks, our family would all enjoy being together again... I do have perfect peace in that and I thank God for his love.

Wednesday, July 15 brought the end of a visit to our home with our daughter and grandson. Her time here was focused and planned but we manage to do fun things in between. I so much enjoyed the time Noah had with me. We made deep, indelible memories together including short scripts from movies and impressions that telltale our trust and love for each other. He was six years old when he had a proper diagnosis of his condition (Fragile X Syndrome) and when I was told I wept like a baby. In disbelief I boldly said, "No this cannot be, I understand him and I believe he understands me."

Noah is 21 years old now and during our visit we had many long involved conversations. I witnessed his deep thinking and then pausing, he would answer me. We have developed transfixed love and trust in each other and the love that resides there has its own expression. We are known as “two complicated ants” and that is because we follow one behind the other just like ants do and we communicate with our hands to each other just like the ants communicate with their antennae. We are also known as “twins” bearing a very close resemblance to each other and we twin in many behaviors simultaneously. I am and always will be blessed to be his Grandmother.

The Appointment

I had an appointment at Jules Stein Eye Institute with the ophthalmologist to measure my visual acuity. Traffic was light so we arrived early and it was nice to have a little extra time to gather my thoughts. And, gather my thoughts I did as to what should come next on my journey in restorative medicine. While we waited for the ophthalmologist appointment, Jim went over to the doctors office to see if he could talk to anybody about possibly getting an appointment the same day for excising a small piece of my forearm to begin the stem cell process. In a brief time, he was back with a woman who is quite knowledgeable about the laboratory and the stem cell process; she began to explain to both Jim and I what lay ahead. She began her explanation with the laboratory and it’s available space serving all of the UCLA medical facilities. This really turned out to be the crux of this conversation. While I had thought it was about me being proactive, it was about the availability of space. She explained, they could excise a small piece of my forearm, but there wouldn’t be space to supervise it in the lab. However, my name is on the list and they know who I am and they will call me. She confirmed that I am still on the grant so, it is just a matter of time. 

I felt that I stood there, in front of her, definitely in a stupor. All my plans played out in front of me. My thoughts were akin to, what is next? What should I do now? How should I take this? I looked at Jim and asked him, what does this mean? He assured me and said let’s pray… We prayed for divine intervention. I almost laughed when we said amen because instantaneously I sensed the peace that passes understanding. I really do not feel discouraged and I certainly don’t feel disappointed… because I am very grateful for this gift that landed in my lap. I am only happy and since this is real life I must meet this in real time. God’s peace is relevant and reassuring and restful. Any and all anxieties I put to rest. God’s peace keeps me calm in a blind storm.

A Brave New Decade

Long have I waited for a brave new decade which brings with it regenerative medicine...

This is epic!! We are here!!

As a culture we are awakening every morning in the Creche of scientific success called restorative medicine. This is now the reality of stem cells taken from our own bodies. These are referred to as adult stem cells.

For the last 20 years my eyesight has declined rapidly from 20/20 overnight to 20/250 . This is a measurement to express my visual clarity.

As I mentioned in my first post (See my other blog: JoiurneyInBlindFaith.blogspot,com), "God kissed me with joy", I wish to make it clear that it is a very dreadful event and illness to lose one’s eyesight but, I only thank God that it did not destroy me. Preferably, when I got knocked down, I just stood up. When I was overcome with sadness, I just tried to look at it objectively as to what I could do now….

This post is not about me entering into a brave new world through stem cells but rather an acknowledgment for what now lies ahead for all of us. I believe, as in creation, when we see the ability of the lizards to regrow their tails, maybe this something of a blueprint from God through our DNA? I have lived a lifetime in the last 20 years with all that I have learned about human nature and the human spirit to overcome. Not really only for myself but for so many of those beautiful people I have met in the disabled community. I only hope I have become humbled and able to transliterate their difficulties in my response. There will be so many opportunity open and available to me now, I will embrace them with great thanksgiving and gratitude, mindful of the riches I have been fortunate to acquire along this way.

Please enjoy this scientific YouTube video I have included here. It will be quite helpful in describing the miraculous work of stem cells and you will discover God‘s handiwork they’re in. Indeed we are fearfully and wonderfully made!

March 9, 2020 I have an appointment in Los Angeles with the doctor who will do my stem cell therapy.

Vision for the Future: Stem Cell Therapy for Eye Disease

https://youtu.be/OaTWoeALu2w

Joyful

The picture here is our youngest granddaughter, who was very stealth like in quietly playing with mamas make-up. She blissfully adorned herself like mama and then was found by mama and to her surprise there was only sweet words. What a joy this is for me, as her grandmother, and recognizing this important role in her life.

The beginning of this year I began college and today, I just enrolled for my second semester. I have heard from my teacher that my grades are very good and while it does take work and planning ahead, I am ready to take on my next new adventure. The work has been challenging which I think is good because I have to stretch, but stress in getting outside one’s comfort zone is a good thing.

I will be going overseas with Jim this time and teaching in the marriage and family seminar. That is definitely one of my favorites, and I regularly teach the differences of communication between men and women. There is a lot of laughter and the class always seems to have a great time.