I don’t think that this will be long, but I’m probably wrong :)
I just wanted to give a little update of where things are as of today. Also, for many of you that are getting this for the first time, you can find our last post linked at the bottom of this one. This is our private direct email list for ministry/personal things that we can’t or choose not to share publicly. I’d please ask that you don’t share these posts publicly, but please feel free to forward them along to friends or loved ones that either want to pray, or that would receive encouragement in some way. For God’s Glory!
I’m not going to attempt to follow a timeline here; this week has been a blur for sure. I’m also going to use layman’s terms for things I don’t fully understand yet, so there’s that…
I can tell you that Nori, Kristi, and Inah made it safely to Charlotte a few days ago. They were blessed by our church and friends to have immediate housing and transportation ready. Thank you! They immediately got Nori to the triage location for this sort of thing. She was there for a couple of rocky days before being assigned to a bed at an in-patient program yesterday. We are super thankful to the Lord that she is in Charlotte for this. Beds are limited in NC and she really could have even been placed out of state. God is good! At the triage location, Kristi was only able to visit Nori twice a day for 15 minutes each. Now she’s able to see her for 2 hours at the end of each day! We expect this in-patient segment to go for about a week, and then we will have to see what’s next.
God never promises to show us the big picture of what He is doing, but we continue to see His hand everywhere in this, and we trust that He can give a crown of beauty for ashes (Isaiah 61:3). When Kristi described the triage room that Nori was in, my heart sank and I prayed for God’s care over my girl. Then she told me how a younger girl arrived at the triage center, scared, and Nori came along side her and taught her some games and befriended her so that she didn’t feel so alone. Again, this morning Kristi told me a story of another girl at the new place that she’s at that Nori came along side and was trying to care for. The doctors and nurses told Nori that she didn’t have to do that, that’s their job, but Nori continued to try and make her feel welcome and not scared. Lord I don’t know what you are doing, but I love you, I trust you, and I thank you. November 4th is Nori’s 17th birthday and I praise God with all my being for His grace over her!
Please pray for Kristi as she tries to figure out what housing looks like next both for her and Nori, and for when the rest of us arrive in December. There’s a lot to weigh out. Also, please pray that the girls can get some sleep. I know that Kristi could really use a solid normal night of rest!
Keep praying! I never anticipated all of the emails and texts that I have received from people saying "Me too". There are so many parents that are walking through pieces of this and/or have before with kids that are really hurting. My heart breaks. What's my encouragement in that? I guess that I've been encouraged to spread a much wider net with my prayers, and to be more intentional about doing it. And don’t be afraid to share about the Hope that you have :) I don’t know what He is doing, but I trust that He is good.