Jr. High Mission Trip Day 2

The students did an outstanding job today at working. They knocked out what was planned to be an all day task in 2 1/2 hours! 2 1/2 hours!!!! We painted almost an entire underside of a bridge that was tagged with graffiti from local gangs. After we finished thatwe then went to another site and did a similar thing and once again knocked out a giant area in a matter of 1 1/2 hours.

After we finish working for the day, we showered and changed and then headed to The River Walk for dinner and relaxation. It was a really good day, let's hope it keeps tomorrow!

Jr. High Mission Trip Day 1

We got off to a great start! We made it down to San Antonio at 6:15 pm. After hitting some traffic in Austin around 4:30 pm we made a quick pit stop and then on into San Antonio. We were supposed to go and worship with a local church last night but we were a little bit behind schedule which did not allow us to go and worship with them. We had a great time fellowshiping with one another during dinner and here at the hotel. The students have done a great job of acting accordingly, we have not had a complaint yet and I hope to keep it that way.

Tomorrow will be a test of there endurance as we will work from 9am to 4pm. I have confidence that they will have a great time being servants for God. It will be HOT but I think that they will be ok.

Since last time

My dad is doing great! He got back from seeing his cardiologist today and his heart seems to be doing really good. He begins rehab soon: walking, weight lifting, riding the bike... It seems that my dad had his surgery such a long time ago. It hasn't even been a month and so much has happened since then. My uncle Jesse passed away and one of my best friends son passed away.

To be honest I am tired: physically, mentally, emotionally. Although I may be tired in these areas my spiritual life seems to be getting stronger, don't get me wrong, I have had my moments of anger and anxiety about all of the situations surrounding my family.

I have been trying to comfort my friend who lost his youngest son last Thursday. He died when he turned over in his sleep and suffocated himself. I have heard of things happening like this but never thought it would hit so close to home. Going to a memorial and funeral of a 9 month old is never easy to deal with, he has a twin sister and older brother that are doing good. It is just hard to try to understand why this has happened. I know that God has his reasons, but I would really like to know. This speaks about faith, if God choose to reveal all of the things all the time, what would be the purpose of faith? Faith is such an amazing thing that is hard to grasp, one day it will all make sense and logic will set in and I can look back and reflect. Now is not that time though, God is faithful and just. He knows exactly what he is doing and that brings me great comfort!

Pop's heart surgery Day 5

My dad was able to be moved to a private room today after lunch. I got the call from my sister when I was on my way to eat lunch with some friends and then I was going to go to visit with my dad from 1-2pm. In CCU they have certain times that you can go visit and that is it, those times are: 5:30-6:30am; 9:30-10:00am; 1:00-2:00pm; 5:30-6:00pm; and 8:00-9:00pm. My mom was there at every time and myself and the rest of my siblings went at least once or twice a day. Now that my dad got moved out of CCU we can visit him anytime between 9am-9pm.

The physical therapist worked with my dad today and he was able to walk down the hall and back a couple of times and he said that he felt really good afterwards. His blood pressure is almost back to normal and his heart is getting stronger. Please continue to pray for the strength of his heart. He may be able to go home tomorrow, if not tomorrow then probably sometime this weekend. My siblings and I have been working around the house to get things ready for his return. We took down the Christmas decorations, cleaned the house, went grocery shopping, and moved furniture around.

I can definitely tell that my dad has a new look at life, he told me that he wants to focus on being around his family more, and going on more mission trips. My dad loves his family ad he loves to help people! These are great qualities that I am implementing in my life. Through this entire experience I have felt the power of God and prayer, there is just something to be said about the power of God and the power of his people lifting up their fellow brothers and sisters in prayer. I love my God, my family, my friends, and my church who have been praying and taking great care of us.

"Thank you God for your awesome power that you have shown my family these past few days! I have no doubt that your hand was guiding us through all of this and that you are continuing to guide us. Not only in this situation but in life. I ask that you continue to strengthen my dads heart and have a great recovery. I ask that he be able to get back to a life that he enjoys and that he will be able to give you all of the glory. Father may we never forget this and use this as a tool to further Your kingdom. Help us be disciples for You. Be with my brother and I as we travel back to our homes tomorrow. I love you and I'll talk to you soon! Amen."

Pop's heart surgery Day 4

My dad is doing a lot better. He was able to sit up for about 4 hours today! Everyone is eager, including him to get out of CCU. The doctor gave us an update and said that he looks really good and that he should be able to move out of CCU today or tomorrow. He did not move out today but hopefully tomorrow he will. He got another tube out of him and his blood pressure is going up! The doctor said that it would be slow due to his heart being so weak, but that is what they expected and he is doing great.

I am eagerly, and some what impatiently, waiting for him to be out of CCU. I just really want to know if he is going to be o-kay and how much stronger his heart is. His heart was only pumping at an Emission Ratio of 15%, whereas a healthy human has an Emission Ratio of 100% that is how weak his heart really was. We are so grateful to have him with us even now. The doctors say that it is a miracle that he was still able to walk around and do stuff or even to be alive. I was talking to my mom before I went in to see my dad about how a lot of times I think about how much money doctors make and it wasn't until I was in this situation where I would give those doctors so much more for the job that they did! They really deserve what they make!

Tonight my dad was looking a lot better and even cracking a few jokes with my family. He is eager to see his grandkids, they all made him a video message which we played for him and he almost started to cry. I almost cried just watching them as they told my dad "I miss you Lito, I love you, and can't wait to see you" I choke up just thinking about it. They will not be able to see my dad until he is out of CCU and into a private room.

I know that God has everything in control and that he knows what is coming up, I pray for patience as He reveals these things to me and my family. I also pray for rest, I am so tired and I have to keep moving to stay awake throughout the day. I also pray for the strength of my dad's heart, and that he will be able to enjoy life and the things he loves to do.

Through all of this I continually read and pray Psalm 24. I encourage anyone who reads this to look it up and read it for themselves. It has brought me a lot of comfort over the past few days and I pray that it can help you too.

"Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for being God and sitting on your thrown. There are so many anxious moments that I would really like to answers to but I know that you will reveal them to me when the time is right. I ask for patience as I go one day by day, Father I ask for rest as I try to catch up from these last stressful days, You are the great comforter and I come to you for comfort and rest. I am heavy burdened and I come to you for strength. Please be with my dad and strengthen his heart so that he may enjoy life again. You are the God who has already preformed a miracle and I am asking for more of your awesome power. Thank you again for the grace and mercy that you give to us. Help me to be a disciple for You. It is in your name that I pray. Amen."

Pop's heart surgery Day 3

My dad looks good today. He had a good morning but a not so good afternoon, after the doctor and nurses came in and took a couple of tubes out he was doing a lot better. He was able to sit up in a chair and eat dinner. His color is coming back, his swelling is going down and his blood pressure is coming up. It's gradually coming up and we hope it will continue to come up which means his heart is getting stronger.

I was able to wash his truck today, he said it hadn't been washed in over a year and you could tell. It took me over 3 hours of cleaning and I could have spent another hour or two easily on it and as I washed it I just kept praying about the strength of my dad's heart, I think that I will be praying hard about that for a while. I'm glad that I got the truck cleaned I enjoy doing it and I needed to get it done by tomorrow so my mom can drive it while her car goes into the shop for the next couple of days. My mom is looking and feeling a lot better, I think that since my dad is feeling better she is feeling better. Please continue to pray for my family and my dad for strength and endurance. I thank you for the prayers and the continuing prayers that you are giving and showering us with.

"Thank you God for a great day for my dad, I continue to pray that his heart will continually get stronger and that he will be able to get out of the hospital soon. I thank you for your grace and mercy you give us. Please give us the rest that we need, from my dad to my mom and siblings. I love you and I'll talk to you soon. Amen."

Pop's heart surgery Day 2

Today was a very emotional day that started at 5:15 this morning. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night just for the fact that I was thinking about my dad and not wanting to oversleep. All for us got to the hospital at about 6 o'clock this morning, there was a chance that Pops could have been moved to the early case at 7 and we wanted to see him and pray with him before he went in. He did not go in at 7 and we were able to spend more time with him. We all as brothers and sisters went in with him and my mom at about 8:30 this morning to pray with him and he shared how much he loved us and how he hoped he had been a good father. He cried and wanted us to know that it was hard emotionally but he was spiritually ready for what happened. He needed to hear from us that we would be o-kay if the worse occurred ad we would be but he was very confident that he was going to be o-kay and he would see us when he is done with surgery. We all had a great cry and had a great time of prayer with him.

He then went to pre-op for about 2 hours before they took him into surgery. We were able to see him right before he went into surgery and had one last prayer and cry as they rolled him off. My mom took it really hard knowing that his heart was extremely weak and there was a chance that he would not make it through the surgery. She had a really hard time and finally let it go, she has been so strong for us but she needed to let it out and just cry.

Over the next 4 hours we prayed and waited anxiously for the hourly phone calls from the nurse in the O.R. and she kept reporting that he was doing really well and that things were going good. He had 5 bypasses and is now recovering in the CCU, when we went in to see him he was awake and was able to squeeze our hands and smile. He is now talking and remembers when we came in and visited with him. The doctor says he is doing really well and we will know soon if the surgery was able to strengthen his heart. Please continue to pray as he gets stronger and that his heart will continue to strengthen and he will have a fast recovery.

This has been a great time for us to come together as a family, we have grown so much closer and it has been really neat to see 2 people who have been madly in love with each other for over 41 years to strengthen their love and still show that they depend so much upon each other.

"Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty— he is the King of glory."
Psalm 24:7-10

"Thank you God for all the comfort that you have provided for us during this time. We still do not know what the future holds but we know that you are guiding us through any and every thing. We do not deserve the grace and mercy that you give us but You give it to us lovingly and generously. May we learn and grow from this experience and use this to bring us and others closer to You and Father may we always remember that we are and need to always be disciples for You. Amen. "

Pop's heart surgery

Today was the day before my dad's bypass surgery. We were very excited and encouraged from the latest news from the doctor about his left ventricle. His heart is weak but not as weak as they once thought, which is good. He is scared, as we all are, but very optimistic.

I wish that I knew the outcome of the surgery now! I spilled out my heart to God and let Him know how I feel and how I am not ready to handle the worst. I still need my dad and I am not prepared to deal with the lose of him. I finally broke down and just cried, I needed to do that and it felt good to get it out. I am so glad that Stephanie is here with me and just having her has helped me a ton. I will need her tomorrow morning when I see my dad off to surgery and knowing that I might have seen my dad alive for the last time. Just thinking about it is hard but I know that God is in control. I keep quoting Psalm 24 over and over again. It is my favorite Psalm and have turned to it for strength.

"God I know that everything is in Your hands and that You know exactly what is going to happen tomorrow. Help me and my family find the strength and security that you provide for us and come under the comfort of your wing. Oh God I need you and I ask that you be with my dad and my family as we go through this time. I love you and I know that you are the God who is above all other gods and You will be glorified and praised. I thank you for my family, my bff, and friends who are here and praying for us. Thank you for your grace and mercy that you give to us. Amen."

Merry Christmas

I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and I hope you have a great New Year! I can't believe that 2007 is almost over adn 2008 is fastly approaching! I am looking forward to what 2008 holds and to see where and what is going to happen!

Hello Fall

So it finally feels like fall outside. I love how the leaves are changing colors and falling off of the trees. I ilove the smell of the fireplaces that are lit around you! I love the feel of the crisp cool air when it hits your face. I just love cooler and cold weather. I am a hot natured person and sweat way to much so the coming of cooler weather is always fun by me. Here is something to try, get a cup of hot chocolate and go sit outside in the coolness of night (perferably below 50) and let the inside of you be warmed by the hot chocolate balance out the coolness of your skin by the temperature.

Summer of 2007

I can't believe that summer is almost over. It has been a great summer and a pleasant one, climate-wise, and I am ready to get the Fall going! There are many things that I wish I would have done this summer but there are a lot of things that I was able to do this summer that I absolutely loved. I hope you have a great week!

WUWE 2007

WUWE 07 was amazing. Thank you all for your participation and prayers. Thank you to Mark Matlock and Pearl Merchant band for the great sessions. May God bless all of you!

Update

So I haven't updated this thing in a while. To be honest I totally forgot about it. Things have been extremely busy but amazing! Summers are usually like that for me and I wouldn't trade them. Loving on students, loving on Jesus I can't think of any better things in life.

On July 9th I will be officially ordained into the ministry. What this means is that I can marry and bury or weddings and funerals. I am excited about this and I can't wait to see where God is going to take me.

From July 12th-25th I will be in Estonia along with about 10 other friends leading a English Camp, again loving students and loving Jesus. I love my life!

The clouds are constipated!

Jadon Lavik

Jadon Lavik

BibleGateway.com: A searchable online Bible in over 35 languages and 50 versions.

BibleGateway.com: A searchable online Bible in over 35 languages and 50 versions.

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first entry

this is my first entry.