Wednesday, November 28, 2007

[Beens Prayer Partners] From Dan and Robin Been

Dear Friends,

We leave tomorrow for our trip down to Maputo so Robin can have the
baby in a safer location. Please pray specifically for the follow:

1) That we would have no car problems including; flat tires because
of surprise pot holes, or engine problems and that our welded
suspension spring would not break.
2) That gasoline would be available throughout the country (we are
traveling from the north to the south of the country). At times
there are shortages of gasoline or if the electricity at a station is
not working nothing can be pumped.
3) That the extra gasoline we are carrying with us would not explode,
due to heat or jarring (to our mothers and grandmothers, please
don't worry!).
4) That the river crossing by ferry would be safe. We don't want to
end up in international headlines "overloaded ferry sinks in Africa".
5) That the A/C would work well.
6) Robin is due Dec. 24th, pray she and the baby would do well
during the 4 day trip and that the baby would be content with its
present location.
7) Our kids are getting use to traveling however, four days is a long
time, pray they do well.
8) The mechanic in S. Africa called today saying the parts we'd
special ordered (the above mentioned suspension spring and rear
shocks) may not be in by the 3rd (our planned day to take the car in)
and wanted us to move our service date to the week of the 10th.
That's not possible since we need to be back in Maputo by that
point. Pray the parts would arrive while we're there so Dan doesn't
need to make a special day trip back to S. Africa later to have that
work done.
9) Pray for our workers and the interns we're leaving behind with
various jobs, tasks, assignments - that they and our property would
be safe, that they would accomplish their teaching projects, etc. and
that they too would have a time of rest.

Thanks and blessings. We'll touch base once we're back in the land
of the internet to let you know we made it safely.

Robin and Dan


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Tuesday, November 20, 2007

[Beens Prayer Partners] Fwd: Update from the Gardners

Dear friends,

Many of you have asked so we thought we'd forward on this update from the Gardners.  God has been good.  Thanks for your prayers on their behalf.  Of course there is still much that has to take place before any of us will know what the future will hold regarding their return - continue to pray for wisdom on their part, to know what the Lord would have them do.

Blessings,
Robin

Begin forwarded message:

From: Shawn & Sarah Gardner <gardnersforgod@msn.com>
Date: November 20, 2007 3:31:16 AM GMT+02:00
Subject: Update from the Gardners

Dear friends,
 
We have so much to be thankful for during this Thanksgiving season!  We are back in Colorado and really enjoying it.  It has been great to spend time with our families and the kids have received lots of spoiling from their grandparents.  It has also been an incredible blessing to meet so many of you who prayed so faithfully for Caleb.  Friends and "strangers" come up to us and with tears in their eyes share how they prayed, how they were touched, how they are so happy to see our Caleb looking so good.   We have been so touched by this and more than ever have gotten the sense that GOD SAVED CALEB IN ANSWER TO THE HEART-FELT PRAYERS OF THOUSANDS AROUND THE WORLD.  We stand in awe of our God, with gratitude to be on the receiving end of so much love and support!!!  THANK-YOU FOR YOUR PART IN SAVING OUR PRECIOUS SONS' LIFE!!!!!!!
 
Another blessing has been looking over our finances.  Caleb's bills have totaled nearly $100,000 so far.  Guess how much we received from generous, loving friends and churches--- $100,000.  WOW!!!!!  Can you believe it? We were dumbstruck when we realized this.  And again we have been deeply touched seeing the list of those that gave, knowing that these gifts were given in love and as a sacrifice to the Lord.  Yes, truly these gifts are a sacrifice.  We are at a loss of words to communicate our gratitude.
 
We have rented a small house in the countryside surrounding Grand Junction.  Ben has started preschool at the local Christian church, which he loves.  We look forward to spending the next several months here, getting Caleb the medical help he needs, resting in the beautiful area and seeing so many of you.
 
Caleb saw a new pediatrician last week and she was very surprised to see him looking so well after hearing how sick he was.  She is scheduling assessment visits with several therapists and doctors and after getting back the results from everyone we'll have a better idea of where to go from here.  I think Caleb will need to meet with the speech and physical therapist at least weekly; the speech therapist can help him control his mouth so he can begin eating more than pureed baby foods.  And the physical therapist can help him regain his strength and coordination.  
 
Caleb is making remarkable, miraculous!, recovery.  He still is not very responsive with us however, and most of the time prefers to just play on the floor by himself.  It is hard at times when we remember how happy and healthy he was before this ordeal.  But we try to take our fears to the Lord and we continue to ask God to completely restore his mind and body.  God has displayed His nearness and power during this ordeal, and we trust Him to complete the work in Caleb and in us as well!!
 
We are deeply indebted to our loving Lord and to His loving people.  "Thank-you" seems so inadequate.  May God richly bless you for your love for Him and us.
 
the Gardners
 
Call us!  970-210-4945
Email us!  gardnersforgod@msn.com
Visit our website!  www.gardnersforgod.org
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Friday, November 16, 2007

[Beens Prayer Partners] prayer update

Dear Partners                                                               November 2007
 

Wow, quite a bit of time has passed since we last wrote any kind of update.  Thank you for your faithfulness in praying for us, even when we haven't communicated as much as we'd prefer.

A lot has been and is going on so let me try to bring you up to speed on the praises and prayer requests we want to share with you.

Praises

Ø    Our rural intern families arrived and have settled into their new homes.

Ø    The internship program has been slightly modified so Dan can run it alone and is progressing well.  There are 7 men total involved – 3 men from the rural areas and 4 men from within the city – and all are enjoying the program so far.

Ø    Caleb Gardner being released from the hospital, making dramatic improvements, and for the safe flight the family had in returning to the States.

Ø    The development farm sloooooowly getting off the ground (our bunnies are finally multiplying and sustaining their kits and the interns will begin their personal projects in December).

Ø    Netia continues to go well (Dan did cut back to 2x/month again as that's all he could handle while running the internship program).  As an addition, the minister's wives are going to begin participating alongside their husbands in January.

Ø    Robin's pregnancy seems to be continuing well.

Ø    Karunia's reading skills have dramatically improved – math (the other area she struggles with is improving)

Ø    Esperansa is now potty trained!!!!

Ø    We enjoyed celebrating Asher's, Karunia's, and Esperansa's birthdays in October.

Prayer Requests

Ø    That we would be EXTREMELY ORGANIZED in the next two weeks as we strive to get everything in order and laid out for the time we'll be away to have the baby.  Leaving always takes a bit of work to organize things for our teammates to handle, but now there are NO TEAMMATES to leave things with so . . . not only is it our house that is being left behind but rather our house and the 3 other houses on the property down the road (Gardner's, the guest house, and Michael's old house).  Everything has to be in order and laid out clearly and plainly.

Ø    Traveling mercies:  we'll be heading up to Montepuez on the 21st of November to have a quick Thanksgiving celebration with the colleagues we have there.  We'll return here on the 24th early and then be leaving to head south for Maputo on the 29th (3-4 days of travel).

Ø    Our Car:  More specifically than a request for general traveling mercies please pray we'd have no problems with the car.  In early September, Dan took a trip out to the bush for a conference.  On the way home he busted the rear shocks and completely broke one of the rear suspension springs.  After trying multiple times to get the part sent up from S. Africa it was learned there's no part in S. Africa and it has to be ordered from Japan.  Our mechanic there is ordering the part to fix it but in the meantime we've had the spring welded so we can make it down.  After the welding job we had a missionary friend, who's a mechanic by trade look at it to make sure it would hold.  He thinks it'll be okay if we go carefully and slow (the break was in a good spot) but it's more important than normal that we not hit the potholes hard.

Ø    For a smooth and safe delivery of the baby (technical due date is December 24th).

Ø    For safety in travel for Dan's cousin, Rhonda Frederick, who'll be flying over Dec 13th & 14th to help us out with the other kids

Ø    For wisdom for Gardners as they seek further treatment for Caleb and as they seek to discern what the Lord would have them do regarding a return to Mozambique.

Ø    For the interns.  Specifically they'll be using the time we are gone to begin their personal development farm projects.

Ø    For joy on our part as we continue to endure the electrical and water issues we've been having lately (it's not uncommon for us to only have city water a couple hrs each day, if that, and electricity has been off more than on recently).

Guess that's all for now.  Electricity just came on so I'm going to send this while I can.  Thanks so much for sharing in a part of our ministry.  We appreciate each of you.

Blessings,

Robin and Dan

Friday, November 02, 2007

[Beens Prayer Partners] Fwd: Back in the States - from Gardners

Hello friends,

Several of you have been asking for updates on Caleb but we really didn't have any to give.  I mean we knew they were returning to the States and that Caleb was continuing to make slow improvements but that was it.  Here's an e-mail we got this morning which gives further detail and new information.  Thanks for your prayers!

Blessings,
Robin

Begin forwarded message:

From: Shawn & Sarah Gardner <gardnersforgod@msn.com>
Date: November 1, 2007 11:14:25 PM GMT+02:00
To: <smithsinmoz@hotmail.com>, <dhulseymoz@teledata.mz>, <holtoncrew@gmail.com>, <rustyandann@gmail.com>, <robin@mozambiquemessages.com>, <deoliveiras@yahoo.com>, <aaronandmika@hotmail.com>, <hearttransform@yahoo.com>, <chad.westerholm@cordovachurch.org>, <africahowells@yahoo.com>, <jacobjaynie@gmail.com>, <dm4moz@yahoo.com>, <nyefamily@gobrainstorm.net>, <bzentmeyer@sccable.net>, <bettyparriott@yahoo.com>, <aprilcbrown@yahoo.com>, <ncc_office@sbcglobal.net>, <andybrumley@aol.com>, <papazufelt@hotmail.com>, <bbbyrd2001@yahoo.com>, <annetteseals1@yahoo.com>, <khblee@verizon.net>, <bob@actcom.net>, <albumsmem@msn.com>, <blake@pmgx.com>, <bgrenco@aol.com>, <vanliere@montrose.net>, <alcorson@avwildernesssupply.com>, <anastasiasears@yahoo.com>, <buckndo@montrose.net>, <bpcc@itctel.com>, <betty_plese@yahoo.com>, <annmarie6767@aol.com>
Subject: Back in the States


Hello from beautiful Colorado!
 
We arrived back in the States on Tues. afternoon.  We had a good trip; it was a very long flight from South Africa to Atlanta (over 18 hours on the plane) but the kids did great, no crying fits or anything!  And we made it back with all of our luggage.  Caleb slept most of the time (with help from some sleep medicine) but when he was awake he did fine.  Thank-you for your prayers!
 
Before we left South Africa Caleb saw both the cardiologist and pediatrician.  The doctors are extremely happy and amazed at his recovery thus far!!!  His heart is 100% normal now and physically he is completely healthy.  Although we still don't know how much, or if any, damage was done to the brain due to lack of oxygen, he continues to re-learn new things all the time and everyone is very optimistic about his future, esp. considering how incredibly far he has come just in the past few weeks.  One report we saw described Caleb's condition in the hopsital as: "He presented with severe laryngotracheo bronchitis followed by severe pneumonia and multiple organ failure including status epilepsy."  The doctors said that there were several occasions when Caleb could have died and some now admit that they did not know if he would survive or not.  At the time though I don't think we realized the full implications of what was happening, we just knew he was very sick and continued to have complications.  We do know, however, that we asked for a miracle and everyone, including doctors and nurses, whole-heartedly agree that we did get one!!!
  
We're spending a few days in Denver with Shawn's mom then tomorrow we'll head across the mountains to Grand Junction.  Over the next several months we hope to travel to some of our supporting churches (but that probably won't be before 2008).  We will meet with a pediatrician soon and set up a regular schedule of visits with her.  Most likely Caleb will continue to see a physical therapist for the next several months at least.  He is sitting up on his own now, rolling over, getting into a crawling position, etc.  And he celebrated our arrival in the States by crawling a bit!!  He still is a bit weak and prefers to lay down a lot, esp. after an hour or so of exercise, noise and stimulation. His ears seem to hear well and he is focusing his eyes but his range of vision is pretty much limited to things right in front of him.  We will be working with him to try to stimulate his eyes to look down, up and to the sides.  He is starting to hold his bottle by himself-- he loves to eat and drink milk, that's for sure!  He left the hospital several pounds heavier than when he entered! 
 
Admittedly at times I (Sarah) am still sad and grieve for what 'was' but then I'm reminded that Caleb is alive and recovering against the odds. It's hard not to be thankful!!!  All we can say is thank-you to our God for answering the prayers of so many.  "Thank-you" seems so inadequate, but we pray our lives can be a living sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise!!  And THANK-YOU for all of you who fervently prayed and fasted for our son.  Again, words cannot express our gratitude to you!!  We just pray that God has blessed you as you have blessed us!
 
We will still send out email updates occasionally.  If you are not on our regular monthly email list you can check out our website (www.gardnersforgod.org) from time to time to get updates.  Or just email us (gardnersforgod@msn.com) and ask to be put on the email list.
 
We love you all!!  Thank-you for your continuing prayers for Caleb-- God has started a miracle and we pray He completes it!!  Also thanks for praying for us, for continued endurance and peace during these coming months and years!!
 
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."  Romans 12:12
 
Shawn and Sarah Gardner
Benjamin, Olivia and Caleb