Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! Pull up a chair!
Sharing today from one of my faves: A Holy Experience!
Monday, October 10, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Simone and Jaldert
Our friends, Simone and Jaldert, were visiting this past week from Amsterdam! Simone is from Germany and she worked on staff with us for a few months about 10 years ago and she also went to Mexico with us on vacation with Jorge's family. Since then she got married to Dutchman, Jaldert, and it was so great to see them and get to meet her new hubby. Their last night we spent some time together in the old city and got some nice shots of them together!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Back On The Same Page
I can't believe that almost 5 months have passed by since I last updated my blog! So the easiest way I know to get everyone back on the same page is to share one of our last ministry e-newsletters. In July we started a new e-version of our newsletter shared through ISSUU...check out our July letter here!
We have also opened a new ministry page on FACEBOOK! If you visit and "like" our page then you will get the latest updates and tidbits sent automatically to your newsfeed! Check out our FACEBOOK page here!
And last, but not least...we have a new FLICKR account where you can check out even more of our photos! Check out our FLICKR account here!
We've had a busy summer with teams, projects, volunteers, construction, and more! Now we are gearing down into our Fall season which we try to keep at a slower pace. This gives us a chance to focus our attention more on our work with the community. We also are able to re-group and re-charge our batteries as we get ready for a busy new year. January through August are usually very busy for us so slowing down in the Fall allows our staff to plan for vacation time before the rush of starting the new year and all that brings along with it.
Coming soon: our new and improved ministry website and our August Edition E-newsletter (a little behind schedule but better late than never!)
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Malatya
Malatya Trailer from Nolan Dean on Vimeo.
Malatya Excerpt: Introduction from Nolan Dean on Vimeo.
Malatya Excerpt: State of Relations from Nolan Dean on Vimeo.
Global Day of Prayer for Turkey
Note: If you would like to see the following information in a different language please click HERE!
Other languages offered: Turkish, German, French, Korean, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Portuguese
TODAY IS THE GLOBAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR TURKEY!
PLEASE CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO AND THEN SCROLL DOWN TO SEE A LETTER AND A LIST OF PRAYER REQUESTS SENT BY THE ALLIANCE OF PROTESTANT CHURCHES IN TURKEY.
P4T: English (Med) from PRAY4TURKEY on Vimeo.
Global Day of Prayer for Turkey - April 18
From the body of Christ in Turkey, to our holy and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ around the world, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are writing to you from Turkey - from the land of Noah, of Abraham, of Paul, of Mt. Ararat and Harran, of Antioch, Ephesus, Galatia and the Seven Churches of Revelation………...
Yet today in our land of 72 million, which is 99.8% Muslim, the size of Christ's flock is only a handful. We are writing to ask, indeed to plead for your prayers.
As Turkish Christians we love our country very much. Pray for God’s will to be done, and for His Kingdom to come!
Pray that the Lord’s hand will be with us and a great number of people will believe and turn to the Lord.
We, the church in Turkey, have invited the worldwide church to pray for the land and the church of Turkey this day, April 18. We ask you at your church to pray for us, joining the prayers of millions around the globe. April 18 is when back in 2007 three of brothers were murdered brutally for their faith, the first martyrs of the modern Turkish church.
We are praying for you, and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding and we beg you brothers …
Pray for us!
The God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Alliance of Protestan Churches (Turkey)
These are a few points to help direct your prayers for Turkey. Please feel free to pray for any other points you feel led to pray for.
1- Please pray for the blessing and peace of Turkey in general, as the Lord desires us to bless and be a blessing to all.
“By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted...” Proverbs 11:11
2- Pray the Lord will display His love and mercy to the people of Turkey by pouring out His Holy Spirit upon our land, revealing His glory through healings, signs and wonders.
3- Pray the Lord breaks down the lies and the endless disinformation about Christ, the Bible and Christians that has blinded and hardened hearts in our land. Pray that God redeems the negative memories of history.
“Of course, we are living in the flesh, but we do not fight in a fleshly way. For the weapons of our warfare
are not those of the flesh. Instead, they have the power of God to demolish fortresses. We tear down
arguments and every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God, taking every thought
captive in order to obey Christ.” 2 Co. 10:3-5
4- Pray that hearts and eyes are opened to see Jesus as the way, the truth and the life.
5- Pray the Turkish believers who are always on the frontline to walk close to the Lord. Pray for refreshing, emboldening, strengthening, protection and encouragement.
6- Pray for more servant hearted leaders. For good role models. For faithful laborers.
7- Pray for the ongoing unity amongst the churches and for its increase and deepening.
"May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in
accord with Christ Jesus that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ." Romans 15:5, 6
Thank you for your prayers. May the Lord’s hand be upon you always.
On behalf of the Body of Christ in Turkey
Alliance of Protestant Churches (Turkey)
Other languages offered: Turkish, German, French, Korean, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Portuguese
TODAY IS THE GLOBAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR TURKEY!
PLEASE CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO AND THEN SCROLL DOWN TO SEE A LETTER AND A LIST OF PRAYER REQUESTS SENT BY THE ALLIANCE OF PROTESTANT CHURCHES IN TURKEY.
P4T: English (Med) from PRAY4TURKEY on Vimeo.
Global Day of Prayer for Turkey - April 18
From the body of Christ in Turkey, to our holy and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ around the world, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are writing to you from Turkey - from the land of Noah, of Abraham, of Paul, of Mt. Ararat and Harran, of Antioch, Ephesus, Galatia and the Seven Churches of Revelation………...
Yet today in our land of 72 million, which is 99.8% Muslim, the size of Christ's flock is only a handful. We are writing to ask, indeed to plead for your prayers.
As Turkish Christians we love our country very much. Pray for God’s will to be done, and for His Kingdom to come!
Pray that the Lord’s hand will be with us and a great number of people will believe and turn to the Lord.
We, the church in Turkey, have invited the worldwide church to pray for the land and the church of Turkey this day, April 18. We ask you at your church to pray for us, joining the prayers of millions around the globe. April 18 is when back in 2007 three of brothers were murdered brutally for their faith, the first martyrs of the modern Turkish church.
We are praying for you, and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding and we beg you brothers …
Pray for us!
The God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Alliance of Protestan Churches (Turkey)
These are a few points to help direct your prayers for Turkey. Please feel free to pray for any other points you feel led to pray for.
1- Please pray for the blessing and peace of Turkey in general, as the Lord desires us to bless and be a blessing to all.
“By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted...” Proverbs 11:11
2- Pray the Lord will display His love and mercy to the people of Turkey by pouring out His Holy Spirit upon our land, revealing His glory through healings, signs and wonders.
3- Pray the Lord breaks down the lies and the endless disinformation about Christ, the Bible and Christians that has blinded and hardened hearts in our land. Pray that God redeems the negative memories of history.
“Of course, we are living in the flesh, but we do not fight in a fleshly way. For the weapons of our warfare
are not those of the flesh. Instead, they have the power of God to demolish fortresses. We tear down
arguments and every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God, taking every thought
captive in order to obey Christ.” 2 Co. 10:3-5
4- Pray that hearts and eyes are opened to see Jesus as the way, the truth and the life.
5- Pray the Turkish believers who are always on the frontline to walk close to the Lord. Pray for refreshing, emboldening, strengthening, protection and encouragement.
6- Pray for more servant hearted leaders. For good role models. For faithful laborers.
7- Pray for the ongoing unity amongst the churches and for its increase and deepening.
"May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in
accord with Christ Jesus that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ." Romans 15:5, 6
Thank you for your prayers. May the Lord’s hand be upon you always.
On behalf of the Body of Christ in Turkey
Alliance of Protestant Churches (Turkey)
Saturday, April 16, 2011
My Heart for Turkey
I bet you didn't know that Monday, April 18th, is the Global Day of Prayer for Turkey! Maybe you wonder why I care so much about Turkey? It's not my doing, really. I dare to say it is God's!
Fast forward 6 years. I had just turned 20 years old and was on a short-term training program with Mercy Ships on board the M/V Anastasis. We were sailing through Europe as the ship was on a PR tour, raising funds, donations and personnel for their first African outreach in Togo. Soon, I learned that there was a possibility that my team would be sent to Turkey for an outreach! I remember my heart pounding and my mind racing as I immediately thought of Fatma. I still had the same old address book from back then so I decided to send a postcard to that old address I had, not sure if Fatma and her family still lived there or not. I wrote a short note telling her that I had never forgotten about her and that I MIGHT be coming to Turkey in a few months and IF I did, I would look for her! There wasn't much more I could say because at that point I had asolutely no details. I didn't even know if I would be assigned to the Turkey team or not. I mailed the postcard from somewhere in Europe and hoped it would find its way to Fatma's hands.
Eventually I was thrilled to find out that I had been assigned to one of the 2 teams that would go to Turkey. I loved the team I had been designated to and we began our training together and bonded quickly. We later found out this team would be going to Diyarbakir, in the southeast of Turkey. At some point in the process we began to hear rumblings that they might switch 2 team members between the two teams. I just KNEW that they were going to ask ME to switch teams so I started to avoid our school leaders because I didn't want to give them the opportunity to ask me to be the one. In hindsight I know God was preparing me so that when the time came, I would have the right response. And, sure enough, one day they popped the question. Would I switch teams to help accomodate the other team? Reluctantly, I said that I really didn't want to but was willing if they needed me to do it. And that's how I got assigned to the team that would go to Eskişehir, in the northwestern part of Turkey, the opposite region of the country!
A few months later, after a short stay in Istanbul, my team and I rode a bus, crossing the Bosphorus Bridge that connects Europe to Asia and several hours later arrived to the city of Eskişehir where we checked into the Hotel Şale. As we walked into the reception area I noticed a huge, wall-sized map of Turkey on the wall. I made a bee-line for the map and started looking for Fatma's town. I had never seen a map of Turkey before that moment and I honestly feel that my eyes were supernaturally guided because in a matter of seconds I found exactly where we were and exactly where Fatma's town was! Then I looked for Diyarbakir and I felt like I would cry. All of the sudden I realized that all of the "switching teams" business had been orchestrated by God. Fatma's town was only about 3 or 4 times closer to Eskişehir on the map than Diyarbakir was! I realized that if I had gone on the Diyarbakir team as planned, I would have had zero chances of finding Fatma!
After we checked-in to the hotel we were famished so we ventured out to find a place to eat. We had learned in our orientation that Turkey had segregated restaurants (I don't know if this is still true.) Since restaurant after restaurant that we found was for men only, we had to continue our search for a "family restaurant". We had noticed there were two guys following us around the whole night and we were a little freaked out by it. At one point we had walked ourselves into a dead-end and had to turn around to go back the way we had come in and we ran right into these two guys! Little did we know that they had seen us earlier when we were leaving the hotel and they decided to follow us to see if they could befriend us and practice their English! Were we ever relieved! So Hakan and Ergun took us to a family restaurant that night and fast became our friends/hosts/guides in Eskişehir!
I soon told Hakan about my quest to find Fatma and he helped me to send a telegram to her old address and day after day I waited to see if there might be a message left for me at the hotel. After several days with no word I became discouraged and tried to be realistic and told myself not to get my hopes up too high. One day when I was feeling sad about the whole thing, we walked in to the hotel lobby and the reception guy called me over and gave me a piece of paper with a phone message! It had Fatma's name and telephone number and a note asking me to come visit her!!
I was ecstatic! But first I had to get my team leaders permission to leave. I think I was so naive that it never even dawned on me that they might not let me go! As a matter of fact, looking back, I can't believe they DID let me go! I have since talked to them about this and they agreed that although the circumstances seemed absurd, God gave them a great peace about letting me leave the team and travel to see Fatma. As soon as I could recruit Hakan's help we went to the bus station and he helped me to call Fatma. I remember hearing her voice answer the phone (I assumed it was her) and I said in a questioning voice, "Fatma?!". She answered, "Karen?!" and we both squealed for a few seconds and then I had to pass the phone back to Hakan so he could have an actual conversation with her! So, the two of them worked out the details of the trip, Hakan helped me buy my bus ticket, put me on the bus and told the bus driver where to let me off.
The bus was very nice and comfortable and I felt safe the whole time. I was on cloud nine, I just couldn't believe that I was really going to see Fatma in person! About 7 hours or so later the bus pulled off on the side of the road and the bus driver motioned to me that this was my stop. It was dark already, around 8pm. I got off into the night, the bus quickly unloaded passengers and luggage and continued on its way and I just waited for someone to claim me. Finally after everyone had cleared away there was only a young girl and guy standing at a distance so I looked at them with my eyes wide as they shyly approached me and then the squealing and hugging began. "Fatma?!"...."Karen?!" It was indeed Fatma and her brother, Ali. From there we took a train for about an hour until we arrived to Fatma's town. I later found out that there had been a misunderstanding about my arrival time. They thought I was arriving at 8AM not 8PM...so they had been there waiting for me the whole day!! Oh, and by the way, I also found out that she did get the postcard!
I spent that weekend with Fatma and her family and it was a dream-like, surreal experiences that forever marked my life! I will close this story for now but my Turkey story doesn't end here. There are more stories, special people and memories but at least now you know how it all began!
If you would like to see more photos from my time in Turkey just CLICK HERE.
My connection with Turkey started when I was 13 years old. At my church youth group one evening we were told about an opportunity to become pen pals with someone from Turkey and I eagerly signed up. I was assigned a 14 year old girl named Fatma and I'll never forget how excited I was the first time a letter arrived with a stamp postmarked from TURKEY!!! From my perspective at the time, Turkey was a far-away land, on the other side of the world, and I never even dreamed or imagined that I might go there some day.
I remember in one letter Fatma told me that she hoped one day I could come to Turkey to visit her. My mom and I just laughed at how absurd that sounded to us! I remember saying, "Bless her heart, she actually thinks I might go there some day!" I loved receiving Fatma's letters but it was difficult to understand the broken English and I'm sure it was even harder for her to try to understand my letters. After about a year the letters ceased and we lost touch. Even though we weren't corresponding any longer, I still thought of her often and prayed for her. And Turkey continued to hold a place in my heart as the years passed.
Fast forward 6 years. I had just turned 20 years old and was on a short-term training program with Mercy Ships on board the M/V Anastasis. We were sailing through Europe as the ship was on a PR tour, raising funds, donations and personnel for their first African outreach in Togo. Soon, I learned that there was a possibility that my team would be sent to Turkey for an outreach! I remember my heart pounding and my mind racing as I immediately thought of Fatma. I still had the same old address book from back then so I decided to send a postcard to that old address I had, not sure if Fatma and her family still lived there or not. I wrote a short note telling her that I had never forgotten about her and that I MIGHT be coming to Turkey in a few months and IF I did, I would look for her! There wasn't much more I could say because at that point I had asolutely no details. I didn't even know if I would be assigned to the Turkey team or not. I mailed the postcard from somewhere in Europe and hoped it would find its way to Fatma's hands.
Eventually I was thrilled to find out that I had been assigned to one of the 2 teams that would go to Turkey. I loved the team I had been designated to and we began our training together and bonded quickly. We later found out this team would be going to Diyarbakir, in the southeast of Turkey. At some point in the process we began to hear rumblings that they might switch 2 team members between the two teams. I just KNEW that they were going to ask ME to switch teams so I started to avoid our school leaders because I didn't want to give them the opportunity to ask me to be the one. In hindsight I know God was preparing me so that when the time came, I would have the right response. And, sure enough, one day they popped the question. Would I switch teams to help accomodate the other team? Reluctantly, I said that I really didn't want to but was willing if they needed me to do it. And that's how I got assigned to the team that would go to Eskişehir, in the northwestern part of Turkey, the opposite region of the country!
A few months later, after a short stay in Istanbul, my team and I rode a bus, crossing the Bosphorus Bridge that connects Europe to Asia and several hours later arrived to the city of Eskişehir where we checked into the Hotel Şale. As we walked into the reception area I noticed a huge, wall-sized map of Turkey on the wall. I made a bee-line for the map and started looking for Fatma's town. I had never seen a map of Turkey before that moment and I honestly feel that my eyes were supernaturally guided because in a matter of seconds I found exactly where we were and exactly where Fatma's town was! Then I looked for Diyarbakir and I felt like I would cry. All of the sudden I realized that all of the "switching teams" business had been orchestrated by God. Fatma's town was only about 3 or 4 times closer to Eskişehir on the map than Diyarbakir was! I realized that if I had gone on the Diyarbakir team as planned, I would have had zero chances of finding Fatma!
The three cities circled from N to S are Istanbul, Eskişehir and Alasehir, the cities I visited in Turkey.
One of my roommates, Angie, in our hotel room.
After we checked-in to the hotel we were famished so we ventured out to find a place to eat. We had learned in our orientation that Turkey had segregated restaurants (I don't know if this is still true.) Since restaurant after restaurant that we found was for men only, we had to continue our search for a "family restaurant". We had noticed there were two guys following us around the whole night and we were a little freaked out by it. At one point we had walked ourselves into a dead-end and had to turn around to go back the way we had come in and we ran right into these two guys! Little did we know that they had seen us earlier when we were leaving the hotel and they decided to follow us to see if they could befriend us and practice their English! Were we ever relieved! So Hakan and Ergun took us to a family restaurant that night and fast became our friends/hosts/guides in Eskişehir!
Ergun and Hakan on the left and my teammates on the right:
Tim, Sylvie, Dick, Clara and Angie.
Tim, Sylvie, Dick, Clara and Angie.
It was Hakan's birthday and we threw him a little party on top floor of the hotel.
At the movies with Hakan and Ergun.
I soon told Hakan about my quest to find Fatma and he helped me to send a telegram to her old address and day after day I waited to see if there might be a message left for me at the hotel. After several days with no word I became discouraged and tried to be realistic and told myself not to get my hopes up too high. One day when I was feeling sad about the whole thing, we walked in to the hotel lobby and the reception guy called me over and gave me a piece of paper with a phone message! It had Fatma's name and telephone number and a note asking me to come visit her!!
The guys who worked in Reception at the hotel.
I was ecstatic! But first I had to get my team leaders permission to leave. I think I was so naive that it never even dawned on me that they might not let me go! As a matter of fact, looking back, I can't believe they DID let me go! I have since talked to them about this and they agreed that although the circumstances seemed absurd, God gave them a great peace about letting me leave the team and travel to see Fatma. As soon as I could recruit Hakan's help we went to the bus station and he helped me to call Fatma. I remember hearing her voice answer the phone (I assumed it was her) and I said in a questioning voice, "Fatma?!". She answered, "Karen?!" and we both squealed for a few seconds and then I had to pass the phone back to Hakan so he could have an actual conversation with her! So, the two of them worked out the details of the trip, Hakan helped me buy my bus ticket, put me on the bus and told the bus driver where to let me off.
The bus was very nice and comfortable and I felt safe the whole time. I was on cloud nine, I just couldn't believe that I was really going to see Fatma in person! About 7 hours or so later the bus pulled off on the side of the road and the bus driver motioned to me that this was my stop. It was dark already, around 8pm. I got off into the night, the bus quickly unloaded passengers and luggage and continued on its way and I just waited for someone to claim me. Finally after everyone had cleared away there was only a young girl and guy standing at a distance so I looked at them with my eyes wide as they shyly approached me and then the squealing and hugging began. "Fatma?!"...."Karen?!" It was indeed Fatma and her brother, Ali. From there we took a train for about an hour until we arrived to Fatma's town. I later found out that there had been a misunderstanding about my arrival time. They thought I was arriving at 8AM not 8PM...so they had been there waiting for me the whole day!! Oh, and by the way, I also found out that she did get the postcard!
Fatma and her brother, Ali.
Sharing a meal with Fatma and her parents.
Special days with Fatma.
I met aunts, uncles, cousins and friends!
Fatma and her mom.
Fatma's grandma, in the middle...she was a fun and fiesty lady!
If you would like to see more photos from my time in Turkey just CLICK HERE.
Friday, April 15, 2011
It Could Be Us Some Day!
Hopefully you noticed that I have a new "widget" over there on the right of the screen...its a weblog from The Voice of the Martyrs giving news updates about the persecuted church around the world.
The Voice of the Martyrs is a non-profit, inter-denominational Christian organization dedicated to assisting the persecuted church worldwide. VOM was founded in 1967 by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, who was imprisoned 14 years in Communist Romania for his faith in Christ. His wife, Sabina, was imprisoned for three years. In the 1960s, Richard, Sabina, and their son, Mihai, were ransomed out of Romania and came to the United States. Through their travels, the Wurmbrands spread the message of the atrocities that Christians face in restricted nations, while establishing a network of offices dedicated to assisting the persecuted church. The Voice of the Martyrs continues in this mission around the world today.
I've been reading some of Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand's books over the last few weeks and have been woken up to the reality of the persecuted church that exists around the world today and the fact that we never know when we might find in ourselves in this situation!!
The Voice of the Martyrs is a non-profit, inter-denominational Christian organization dedicated to assisting the persecuted church worldwide. VOM was founded in 1967 by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, who was imprisoned 14 years in Communist Romania for his faith in Christ. His wife, Sabina, was imprisoned for three years. In the 1960s, Richard, Sabina, and their son, Mihai, were ransomed out of Romania and came to the United States. Through their travels, the Wurmbrands spread the message of the atrocities that Christians face in restricted nations, while establishing a network of offices dedicated to assisting the persecuted church. The Voice of the Martyrs continues in this mission around the world today.
I've been reading some of Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand's books over the last few weeks and have been woken up to the reality of the persecuted church that exists around the world today and the fact that we never know when we might find in ourselves in this situation!!
Hebrews 13:3:
Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them;
and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.
Harvard Dental Team
I've been meaning to post this for a while now but better late than never! Three weeks ago we had the blessing of hosting a team from Harvard School of Dental Medicine. Under the leadership of Dr. David Kim the team worked for three days at our under-construction-clinic-site, treating patients from the community. We thank the Lord for the way he shows his love and care for our friends in Bocachica!
Rich and poor have this in common:
The LORD is the Maker of them all.
Proverbs 22:2
STATS:
Extractions: 95
Cleanings: 43
Fillings: 85
Sealants: 96
Flouride treatments: 99
(Photos by Sarah Costello)
Dr. Soo-Woo Kim, Mindy Gil, Jennifer Kim and Dr. David Kim
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
Goodbye Luchito
Luchito from Karen W. Silva on Vimeo.
Well, I am very sad to share the news that Luchito didn't make it. He was doing so well and showing improvement every day! It was so fun to have this little guy with us and to take care of him each day! After bottle feeding him every 3 hours for 2 weeks, I am really feeling his absence! I'm not really sure what happened to bring him back down again but it seems that he had some kind of a respiratory issue at the end and it did him in. The day he died (April 2), in the morning, I had a bad feeling that he might not make it. He was listless again and refused to eat. Jorge and I had to go out for dinner that night with some friends and I remember saying to God that I didn't want to leave him because I was afraid he would die and I didn't want him to die alone. That afternoon I just held him a lot and tried my best to help him. He was suffering...it was hard to watch! Then at 5:20 pm as I was holding him and searching the internet about his symptoms to try to figure out what to do I felt him pee on me and looked down and realized he was gone. Jorge and I buried him in the back yard. We miss him!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Luchito's Life So Far
Luchito's story begins with his Mama. That would be Kitty Baby who arrived at our house about a year ago when she was just a tiny kitten herself. I had been out on the island for the week with a team and when I came home she had claimed our home as her own. Unfortunately, Kitty Baby gave new meaning to the term "Scaredy Cat" as she wouldn't let anyone near her for many months. She didn't want to be near us but she didn't want to leave us either. Even to this day, she will just barely let us pet her...but always on her terms.
Last Fall Kitty Baby started looking fat...like she was pregnant, but I wasn't sure. I went away for a few days in October and when I got home she didn't look fat anymore so I thought it had just been my imagination. Not too long after that we started to notice that Kitty Baby would climb up and into the roof of our next door neighbors. It was a funny sight to see her squeeze herself into the hole between the roof tiles until all we could see were her little hind legs kicking until she finally slipped all the way in. We still didn't think much of it since she has always been a loner, we just figured she had a new hang-out. Until one day we got a call from our neighbor telling us he could hear a baby kitten up in his roof. All of the sudden it all began to sink in...Kitty Baby HAD BEEN pregnant and had given birth in our neighbors roof while I was away in October.
That brings us to Smokey. Since Smokey spent the first month and a half or so of his life in the roof, he wasn't too keen on us humans the day his mom brought him down to meet us. Unfortunately Jorge and I were leaving for vacation to Mexico the next day so we didnt' have much of a chance to make friends. Smokey is still around and while he's not exactly a people kitty...he has warmed up to us more than his mom and will let us pick him up if need be.
This time she had 5 kittens...on March 5th. Here they are when they were 3 days old.
From left to right: Tiger, Ping, Panda, Lola and Luchito
I just had to throw this one in there...is this pitiful or what?! Smokey joining in with his new siblings for some breakfast! And Kitty Baby thinking, "Lord, have mercy!"
Here is Luchito on the left and Ping on the right at 6 days old. As you can see Luchito is normal and thriving.
Luchito (far left) is the same size has all his brothers and sisters but something happened while Jorge and I went away for our anniversary. When we got home four days later Luchito was in big trouble!! We assume that somehow he had not been able to get enough food, fighting for nursing time with all the others, so he started to go downhill fast. When we returned he was totally limp, couldn't hold his head up or move his limbs and when I held him up to his mom to nurse he wouldn't even open his mouth to grab on.
So, we started to feed him with a syringe and the following days he just seemed to be hanging on by a thread. Every moment I expected to find him dead. I started investigating on the internet to figure out how to help him but I wasn't feeling very hopeful.
I read that mamma kitties will sit on their sick babies to smother them to death to put them out of their misery. One day when I went in to check on Luchito I couldn't find him! I counted 4 kittens...I looked at Kitty Baby and demanded, "Where is he??!" and she just looked at me with a blank stare! I slipped my hand underneath her and sure enough, she was sitting on him!
So again, to make a long story short, I was able to get him to the vet on monday to get some good advice on what to do and buy some needed supplies and now I am trying my best to nurse Luchito back to health and have been bottle feeding him every 3 hours for the last 4 days. He has had many set-backs and I honestly was convinced he was going to die but no matter what happened he kept hanging on to life! He was fighting so hard to stay alive that I was amazed and perplexed! He even survived his own mom trying to smother him to death! That is why I named him Lucho. Lucho is a nickname in spanish for men named Luis but it also is a word that mean to fight, struggle and wrestle!
One thing the vet pointed out to me was that Luchito was not showing any respose to pain or any movement in his hind legs and while his front legs were limp and weak, he did at least respond to pain. So I watched him the next few days and was sure that he was a paraplegic, possibly from damage done from when his mom sat on him.
But today has been a very good day! He's had lots of "firsts"... signs that he is improving like:
big, open, alert eyes
wiggling his ears
faint purring
licking/grooming his paw
AND... moving his hind legs!!!!!
Luchito on the right and his sister, Lola, on the left. Poor Luchito is still limp and can't support the weight of his own body...even his own head...but his eyes are alert and his ears are perked!
Lola is a little chunk and Luchito is about 1/2 the size of what he should be.
I'm thankful for his progress so far and that when I wanted to give up, Jorge urged me to keep fighting to save Luchito.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
20 YEARS!
Last month our 20th anniversary came and went in a flurry of busyness so this month we took some time out to celebrate it! Wow! 20 years already?! That's half my life!! Our Chilean friend, Pili Bunster, did another little photo shoot for us up at the fort above the mission in Bocachica on a very windy day...here are a few shots:
And last week we finally got around to our get-away. We went up the northern coast of Colombia to a small fishing town called Taganga, which is just north of Santa Marta. One of the days we ventured up the mountain to a town called Minca for a change of scenery and a 5 mile hike.
Taganga
Beautiful sunsets from our balcony!
We had our own "hot tub" ... but before you start feeling envious, you should know the water was cold! That figures!!
Our hotel room.
View from the balcony.
Day trip to Minca.
It's a small town in the mountains about 660 meters above sea level.
Bamboo
There was a group of about 8 to 10 kids walking along the road with us as we hiked up to the waterfalls. They were walking home from school. This little girl walking with me was named Karen too!
A peek at the natural beauty of Colombia.
Jorge and our new buddy, Reynel. He was one of the kids walking home that day and he followed us all the way up to the falls. He is from an indigenous tribe called the Arhuaco and he was teaching Jorge some phrases in his dialect.
Reynel and Jorge playing in the falls...bbbbrrrrr....ice cold water from the snow capped mountains of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the world's highest coastal mountain range!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)