I have been in Honduras for six weeks today and haven’t blogged one time! There are so many stories to tell and photos to share that I will have to blog in reverse. Today I’m sitting here in the Toncontin Airport in Tegucigalpa with Marlon. Our summer missions season in Honduras has come to an end, but I’m already thinking about the summer of 2011.

Today I’m thinking about our orphan camps for 2011. Our plans are to do a month of camp in the summer of 2011. The kids from the orphanages will come to camp on Monday and return to their orphanage on Friday. They will get a week of camp and our camp staff will get the weekends off to rest and get their clothes washed.

I know it seems early to be talking about 2011 summer missions in Honduras when the summer of 2010 isn’t over, but I believe these camp weeks are going to fill up fast. If you are interested in bringing a mission team for camp or if you know of someone who may be interested please contact me through our website (www.louderthanwords.org). Check back soon for stories from our 2010 orphan camps.

Well, he didn’t hate me, but he lost it when I put that backless gown on him!  Marlon’s surgery went very well.  It was difficult to explain to him what was about to happen, but he did better than I would have done.  Dr. Parsons was incredible.  He prayed with Marlon before the surgery and even came in on his day off to do the surgery!  Terry Jordan, Marlon’s audiologist was with us and helped comfort him before and after the surgery.

A couple weeks before surgery I would ask him occasionally to breathe through his nose.  It was extremely difficult for him and sounded like someone sucking air through a straw that was being pinched off.  After the surgery Dr. Parsons said that Marlon’s adenoids were so big that they had forked and were growing into his nasal passages!  When we got home and he became coherent, I asked him to breathe through his nose.  When he drew air in his eyes widened and a huge grin came across his face.  It was like, “I’ve never done that before!”  Later that afternoon I asked him to do it again and as he expelled the air he said, “aaahhh.”

On Wednesday, I’ll head back to Honduras with Marlon.  I have mixed emotions about it!  We still don’t have his hearing aids and are exploring options to move the mountains to get him back for more hearing treatment.  I’ll write more on that later . . . .

“I hope he doesn’t hate me after tomorrow!”  That’s my thought as I think about taking Marlon for his surgery tomorrow morning.  It’s hard to explain to a deaf kid that doesn’t have a language that he’s going to have surgery.  I’m praying that all goes well with the procedure to open up his nasal passages and take out his adenoids goes well.  I’ve also been thinking about how he will tell us if he’s in pain.  I guess that should be evident, but I’m a little nervous.  So, I know a couple of you will read this before 6:30 a.m. (06/03)  If you are one of those please say a prayer for him and for Dr. Parsons.  If you read this after 8:00 a.m. you can pray for a speedy and pain free recovery.  I’ll give an update tomorrow afternoon.

Oh, by the way, Marlon learned to ride a bike in the past couple weeks!

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It’s been a while since I last updated the blog with news from Marlon’s world.  There are a number of reasons, but one of which is that I think God is trying to teach me patience.  This month’s virtue for our Children’s Ministry at Bethlehem Church has been PATIENCE.  Each Sunday in May our children (and adults) have been learning about patience.  It seems that I’ve got some lessons to learn in that area too.

I must confess that I have been getting a little impatient with the process of getting Marlon’s medical/hearing treatment.  I know that he is not their only patient, but I’m ready to run, but at this point we need to focus on walking.  I know that getting hearing aids and adjusting them takes time, but in reality we don’t have much time!  Marlon has a one-time entry visa to the U.S. and he’s scheduled to go back to Honduras with me on June 9th (3 weeks from today).

My biggest concern right now is getting him another visa so he can return to continue this journey.  So those of you who read this blog and believe in the power of prayer please pray that the U.S. government and the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras with give him an extended multiple entry visa.  Also pray that his mother will be agreeable to that as well.  Even though he has lived in an orphanage since he was 3 years old, his mother still has “parental” rights.

Back to the story of his hearing.  We are  now waiting on the hearing aid company to send the hearing aids.  They are trying to determine the best model for him and we also need to pick out things the color of his aids.  It’s my understanding that those decisions were going to be made today and that we would get the aids very soon.  The other thing is the nasal surgery and possible removal of his tonsils and adenoids.  June 3rd is the date scheduled for that procedure.  I’ll keep everyone posted on that as we get closer.

On the home front, he has adjusted to life in NC extremely well.  At times I wonder what’s going through is mind.  I don’t know what I’d be thinking if I were him.  He is a good kid and gets along well with our children.  There have been a few “sibling rivalries,” but for the most part he is doing much better than I ever expected.

He has become very close to me and likes to sit beside me when I’m working and sit on my belly if I’m laying on the couch.  He loves my affirmation and approval.  At times I feel like I’ve got  a new puppy!  He follows me everywhere and even hung his head out of the car window last week.  I would have been concerned if his tongue was hanging from his mouth!  I think he just wants a Daddy!

He loves playing video games, soccer, coloring and can even be seen brushing the hair of Mariah’s baby dolls. As you can see from the picture above that he’s like most kids . . . he can’t get enough silly bands!  He’s very competitive and loves to come in and tell me how many goals he scored against David in backyard soccer.  Yet on the other hand, he wants to cry and moan when David and Daniel beat him in video games.  We still have some things we’re working on with him, but in the end I’m glad God had our paths cross.  I know God has something special for this kid!

You gotta be old to remember the saying “a penny for your thoughts”.  It would probably be more like “a dollar for your thoughts” in today’s economy.  I know I’m revealing something of my age with that quote, but I try to “think young” (six children under age 12 will do that for you).

I posted this picture of a recent senior portrait session for several reasons.  One, because I like it.  Two, because my 11 year old son (and photography assistant) doesn’t like it.  Three, because when I first started working in a photography studio (over 20 years ago) my mentor’s rule was, “Never cut through flesh.”  Oh, how times have changed.   Four, to see what opinions I can generate from it.  So now it’s your turn.  Tell me what you think about the composition of this photo . . .

This week I had the privilege of shooting Camie, the Seniorzrock Photography senior rep for Gaston Christian School.  Camie has a great story that I may share here on the blog in the future.  Yet for now, here is a sneak peek from her senior rep session . . . join our Facebook fanpage here – http://www.facebook.com/seniorzrock

Today, Marlon went to his second Dr.’s appointment since coming to North Carolina on April 19th.  His first week here with us he saw Terry Jordan, an audiologist with Charlotte ENT.  Terry knew Marlon because in 2008 she visited his orphanage with her church in Charlotte.  She has been our connection to getting his hearing evaluated.  Terry’s initial evaluation was that he has “aidable” hearing (deafness that can be helped with hearing technologies).  On that initial visit she noticed that he was having some trouble breathing and thought he might have a deviated septum.  So, that brings us to today’s visit.

The visit to Charlotte ENT today was to meet with pediatric otolaryngologist Dr. David Parsons.  The outcome of this visit was confirmation that Marlon definitely has “aidable” hearing and they are going to proceed with getting him fitted for high tech hearing aids.  The next step in this process will be getting some molds of his ears made this weekend.  After that, he should get some hearing aids very soon.

The other outcome of today’s visit was the discovery that the boney cartilage inside of his nose (that’s how I’m interpreting it) has completely closed off his nasal passages.  We had noticed that he breathed very heavy at night while he was sleeping, but it wasn’t until his first Dr.’s appointment that Amy and Terry discovered that he only breathed through his mouth. Dr. Parsons advised that we watch him while he sleeps to determine if he is having sleep apnea issues.  I think I’m going to set up my video camera tonight and see if he stops breathing!  Dr. Parsons’ advice was that Marlon needs surgery to open his nasal passages and to remove his adenoids.  So it looks like he may have a little surgery before he goes back to Honduras in June.  I’ll keep you updated on his progress . . .

How can you pray for Marlon?  I’ll just make a list:

1. Pray that he gets the help he needs to learn to communicate.  Whether that be through hearing aids or learning sign language.

2. Pray that we can develop a plan of action for maximizing his chances of hearing, communicating and learning.

3. Pray for Marlon’s mother (Sindy) that she will have the wisdom to make the best choice for Marlon.  Yes, he lives in an orphanage, but his mother still has the rights of a mother.  She gave him and his two siblings to the orphanage when he was three years old (she was 18 at the time – now 25).

4. Pray for us to make the best decision about an upcoming surgery to repair his nasal passages.

5. Pray that God’s will would be accomplished in Marlon’s life and that his life and our actions would bring glory to God.

I’m sure several of you who’ve been following my tweets and Facebook status updates have wondered, “who is this Marlon kid?”  For those of you who don’t know his story and for those of you who may have forgotten I decided to give a condensed version of our story with Marlon here on my blog.  I’m sure in the days to come I’ll be posting about him so I wanted you to know a little of the “backstory”.

I first met (or actually heard of) Marlon in March of 2007.  We took a mission team to work at his orphanage in Honduras that spring and I remember people talking about the deaf kid, but I don’t really remember meeting him.   I spent a week at his orphanage and could not identify him if you had put five of the kids in front of me.  In my mind I had this thought, “I don’t want to play with the deaf kid because I can’t communicate with him!”  I confess that sounds harsh, but that was my reality.

So what changed?  God gave us a deaf kid!  Really, it was that simple.  We adopted Mariah from Guatemala and within seven days we found out she was deaf. That discovery changed my thinking about deaf kids.  In 2008 when we went back to Marlon’s orphanage I sought him out.  For three days we kicked a soccer ball back and forth.  Both of us had an ear to ear grin!  At times, I had to walk outside the gate of the orphanage to make a cell phone call.  As I would walk down the fence on the outside, Marlon would walk down it on the inside.  We communicated.  We didn’t need words to communicate that I cared about him.

It was in 2008 that we began pursuing getting him some help with communication.  We had been able to get cochlear implants for our daughter and wanted to explore some options for him.  There was an audiologist from Charlotte who had visited his orphanage and was willing to help if we were able to get him to NC.  So after almost two years of work with the legal system of Honduras and hours at the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa we were finally granted a one-time entry medical visa for Marlon last week.

After a whirlwind trip to Honduras this weekend He’s finally at our home in NC.  In the next couple days we’ll begin testing to see if he can be helped by advanced hearing technologies.  If he can then there will be a long process ahead of getting him hearing and language.  If hearing technologies can’t benefit him then we will explore options of sign language schools.  Either way, our goal is to help him get a language so that he can communicate better and improve his options of success in the world.

I know I’m not always a good blogger, but I promise I’ll keep this blog updated with his story.  If you have questions you can email me or if you want to help with some of his expenses while he’s here you can do so through our ministry at his website – http://tinyurl.com/yyj6qga.

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