Prayers for healthy flying

Hi everyone,

We are so thankful we can write to you and know so many of you are praying.  Last night (Monday) Luka got a fever and hasn't been feeling well.  He has been so good and such a trooper all day.  He went to bed early with a 101 fever.  We have been praying over our son often.  We know God is able to heal his body before we fly tomorrow.  The girls too are very congested and so we are praying everyone is feeling well for the flight.  It is all too often that we have sick kids when we fly.  Discouragement and attacks from the enemy I am sure but this is where faith takes action.  We know our God is all powerful and in control. 

We were thankful for a good trip to Chicago.  The snow storm started when we arrived.  We enjoyed a fun day with Grandpa and Grandma Beute who brought us to Chicago.

Thanks again for praying for us all the way to Uganda!

Mandy and family  

Prayers for Malai

Feb. 16

Dear friends and family,

Emalai got her second cold a week ago and it continued to get worse all week. Yesterday she struggled to breathe so we took her in to the doctor where we found out she has brocialitis (spelling?). They tried a breathing treatment but it did not help. Her oxygen is a little low, she is breathing rapidly, and has a lot of congession and coughs. There is no treatment but if she gets worse will be in the hospital and put on oxogen. The next few days she will either get better or worse. We were suppose to go to Mc Bain this weekend but the doctor told us not to be that far from the hospital. So Malai and I stayed back and are staying at my parents house. Josh and the kids went up North but Lydia was quite nervous knowing her baby sister was so sick.

Malai had a rough night trying to breath but we are thankful for every smile she gives us. Pray for her. We know God is the healer of her body. He has the power to clear those breathing tubes and give her each breathe. Pray that we know if or when it is time to take her to the hospital. I also had a syst removed from my hand yesterday and have it all bandaged up for a week which makes comforting Malai a little tricky. We leave for Uganda in 10 days so we need extra prayers for all to get done and Malai to get well before we go.

Thank you everyone for praying with us for our precious Emalai. I will let you know if anything changes

Feb. 17
Thank you friends for praying with us for Emalai! (see below) I know God hears and is bringing healing to her little body. Last night was much better than Friday and seems Malai is able to breathe with less effort and sleep with more peace. You can still hear the sickness in her breathing and her coughing but she has not gotten worse. Keep praying for full healing. Thank you too for your prayers for the whole family with so much going on in our last days here. We are so thankful for the body of Christ!

Mandy

Emalai's Baptism

Emalai was baptized on Feb. 10 at Georgetown CRC

Grandpa & Grandma Shaarda

Shaarda Family



Grandpa & Grandma Beute







Dad's prayer for Malai

Pastor Jack's blessing over Malai



Aunt Amanda

Grandma and Aunt Jenna

Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Sonja, Eli, and Emma



Aunt Katie





Thank God for Malai!

Sex Slavery

January 31, 2013

Wow, being a new mother must take a lot of my time cause it has been a long time since I have been able to sit down and type! I would love to fill you in on what has been happening in our family of 6 now and all my emotions J , but that will have to wait till next time cause I have something else on my heart.

Last night at church a young lady shared about her work with YWAM saving children from the sex slavery industry. We all know to some level that child prostitution is happening but I don’t think many of us know the reality and depth of this evil. I wish you were all there to hear her stories and see the faces of the children she worked with. My mind and heart cannot wrap around all that is happening to children as young as 5 years old! I think a lot of us would rather not hear or know because it does cause us to grieve, to feel, to cry, to get angry, to be frustrated, to question… Like me, we look at our own kids and shake our heads thinking how can any human do such an evil thing? But we must know and feel so we are moved to pray and respond.

The first experience she shared was when she was walking down the street and saw window after window with little kids in them barely dressed. As she stood there looking at the motionless kids a man handed her a menu. She thought that was odd then read, “dark, light, brown, black…5, 6, 7 or 8...” Then she realized it wasn’t a food menu. She told of a 3 year old boy who was abused and they rescued in the village. His hands were in tight fists for months because of the hand cuffs and trauma he went through. But today he is 4 years old and is able to give high five once again. She explained how families are selling their daughters for money out of sheer poverty. She taught English to about 10 girls who were all rescued. All of the girls are 15 or younger and all mothers or pregnant. What seems unbelievable is the norm for girls in this country.

She also told of the hope in the mist of such sin. About a girl saying the best day of her life was when she learned Jesus still loved her. The smiles on the girls faces spoke of joy that only Jesus can bring after such trauma. For these girls to receive love and love is a testimony of God’s healing power. The time and love the many other worker poured into these girls build trust. Through them many girls learned there is a God who loves them.

Then I think of all the women and children I know and see in Uganda. The abuse, abandonment, and even slavery. Why haven’t I done more, felt more, or prayed more? There are people right around me who need me to love them, protect them, and pray for them. I need to have Jesus eyes, His mercy, and His hands. Show me Lord where, who, what and how you want to use me.

So what do I do with all this? This morning I poured it out before the Lord in prayer. Crying out before my Father on behalf of the children. Allowing my heart to break as His does for each child being sold, abused, beaten, impregnated…each child that is afraid, alone, hurt, crying, and those who have stopped crying. I hate evil! As the lady who spoke reminded us the pimps and people who come for the sexual serves are also in need of Jesus. They are broken people too in search of filling a hole with an addiction. As I prayed this morning I marveled at God’s mercy to wait to come back because He desires that all be saved - even men involved in sex slavery.

We need to cry out for forgiveness. Come Lord and bring repentance to each person enslaving these children, every person using and abusing these children, each family selling their kids, each nation allowing such evils to happen, every leader not putting a stop to illegal practices, each person viewing pornography, and to every one of us who remains complacent, selfish, or silent. We need to change our ways. When we care more about our material possessions than about people we sin. When we spend more on temporary pleasures than on things God cares about we sin. We need to change! We need to pray that our nation and countries around the world rid themselves from sin. Pray for leaders hearts are moved to protect children. Pray for an end to pornography, sex slavery, abuse, misuse and control of women, abandonment… Pray for healing, peace, salvation, protection, and even joy for those hurt by the sin of this world. Raise up Your church God to hear, know, pray, obey, and be Your love. Open our hearts and minds to stand for truth and be used by You. We cry out to You Lord God! You are our only hope in this sinful world. Your word promises that You are able, in control, loving, You save, heal, bring justice, and are full of mercy. I believe you so I will trust in You.  

So lets ask God what He wants us to do for children and women around the world who are hurting. Let’s Christ’s love and invest into His kingdom.

Welcome Malai!

Make your own free photo slideshow

Emalai Carolynn

Malai & Mommy

The new Shaarda Family photo

Luka likes his sister now!  

Malai is now 8lbs and doing very well

Aunt Jenna and Malai - Malai is so strong already

Welcome Home Malai!

Malai's middle name is Carolynn after grandma Shaarda and my and grandma Beute's middle name

First bath at home

Our Baby Girl!

Last pregnant photo before being induced

First moments with Emalai

Big sister again!

Everyone is happy except Luka who wanted a brother 

Emalai has lots of dark brown hair

We are excited to introduce you to the newest member of our family, Emalai Carolynn Shaarda.  Emalai (pronounced ay-ma-lie) is Ateso for "Thanks to God."  She was born Thursday afternoon at 3:47 (after an hour and 47 minutes of labor).  Emalai weighs 9 pounds and is 20 1/2 inches long. 

As her name indicates, we thank God for blessing us with another beautiful daughter.  (Although Luka is not impressed :) He wanted a brother.)

Attached are some picture.  There will be more pictures and details to come.  Thank you for praying with us!

Here is our email from Tuesday in case you want to know what happened.

Merry Christmas everyone!  Hope you enjoyed celebrating Jesus birthday as much as we did.  

Many of you have been wondering if we have a new baby yet...not yet, but soon!  We are due Sunday but we went in today because the baby's movement has lessened in the last few days and over the last week I have grown more and more ichy (was up two hours last night going crazy).  The doctor had me on a monitor to make sure the baby wasn't under stress and thankfully it was moving and the heartbeat was good.  I had several contractions while hooked up too.  The doctor was however concerned about my whole body iching with no rash.  There is a rare liver problem in pregnancy that can do this (waste isn't all taken care of in the liver and goes into the skin causing iching).  He orded blood work but the test will not come back for a week.  The other blood work showed the liver was ok but just means this complication isn't in dangering me and the baby yet.  If it was we would immediatly be induced because it can cause a still born baby.  So, the doctor still wants the baby out with this condition as a possiblity and seeing we are days from our due date and dialated to a 4.  

We are very thankful the baby is ok and that if I have this liver complication the doctor is inducing us.  So tomorrow morning we will have our baby!  It is really strange to know that we will be holding our baby tomorrow.  Mixed emotions I guess.  Excited, ready, tired, sore, thinking about details and our other kids...  Our trust is in the Lord.  He is with us.  Please pray for us as we deliver our baby.

We will be in touch!  For the first time it is really snowing here so hopefully the roads will be ok.  I posted some of our Christmas pictures on the blog for you to enjoy.  Thanks for your prayers,