(This is all subject to reversal and change… as we are learning.  Anyone ever play football?  When the quarterback changes the play at the line right before the ball is snapped its called an audible.  We had alot of audibles lately… )

1. The cryosyostosis surgery (to UNfuse the plates in her skull) for which we thought we were most likely coming here is now 90% off the plate… for now.

This is because the seizures are the prominant medical concern, and their origin is NOT a direct result of the plates fusing.  If the brain had grown so large in a confined space that it was being compressed, that could have caused it. However, it appears (subject to confirmation and further investigation by MRI today) that Bethany’s brain is actually smaller than what her skull space would suggest.  In short, small peanut, big shell.  Plenty of room, so no urgency on the surgery.

2.  The seizures are likely worse than and more frequent than we are actually SEEING.  Hence the EEG monitoring being extended for 24 hours.  They wanted to correlate how much of the brain activity is actually getting “out” through her actions.  They explained that as young as she is, her brain and muscles have not yet fully connected, so the brain can be having a seizure, and she could look like she’s resting.

3.  Developmentally, Bethany is fine.  When the neurosurgeons did an eval on her (while watching the EEG screen) she responded completely typically with regards to reflexes, tracking, and optical response.  So she seems, even though her “peanut” is a bit small, to be utilizing it very well.

4. Further test should give us further insight.  Today’s schedule includes fully dilating her eyes to look further into them.  The neuro’s said its like a roadmap insight to the brain development… cool!  As I write this, she is in an MRI where they are essentially looking for any malformation in actual brain part development.  Later today, they will be doing a spinal tap again to draw more fluid for analysis as well to see if metabolic or genetic concerns are causing this…

5.  We may not find our answer this week…

That was the hardest one to swallow.  We know that Bethany is responding well to seizure medication, and that we will likely be taking her home on some type of anti-seizure meds. That is quite likely going to be part of our life for the next 2 years, but it will give her body and brain time to develop and give us a chance to more fully understand what is going on as the conversation continues.

Thats all for now. Thank you all for your support and prayers!

Chad & Amy, Dillon, Emily and Bethany Houck

Back in January of 2009, we were looking for somewhere to do a little work in exchange for somewhere to park the RV for a few weeks while we began work on a book.  Today, almost a year and a half later, that book proof was shipped to the same place it began, and we are back where we started – geographically speaking.

Those of you who have been following for a while may remember the Chicken Coup project from 2009 in Lake Elsinore.  The location is called Rancho De La Paz, or “the ranch of peace”.  It is a re-entry point for YWAM missionaries and a retreat for pastors and full time ministers that need a little “down time.”  Run by the Caruso family, the ranch has a few llamas, a dog, a cat, a bunch of chickens, and some ducks.  The farm animals give people from the city something to look at that calms them, while giving rural missionaries something “familiar” as they handle re-entry into American society.

Last year we built the foundation for a new chicken coup.  This year, we dug some holes for some trees, but we also got to paint the trim on the chicken coup. I finished with a full day driving a John Deere 210 Loader moving over 30 loads of horse manure…  (view the full Lake Elsinore photo set on Flickr)

But back to my thought…

While we were painting, I thought about the fact that even though we weren’t there, the progress on the ranch continued.  Multiple other volunteers had helped with construction projects, repainted fences, patched holes and did countless other things.  Then we got to return and play a part again.

It makes me remember how I came back to my relationship with Jesus 10 years ago.  Several people along the way, each doing their small or large part.  Some laid a foundation.  Some built on it.  Others have helped dress up the project along the way.  Every one of them played a critical part.

Thank you for everyone who has done a little work on ME.  My life today is the fruit of YOUR labor.

Blessings from California, and now… On to Arizona!

Following our time in Simi Valley with New Heart Church, we headed south of Los Angeles and through the fun of LA traffic to one of the kids favorite overnight camping spots:  Oceanside, CA.  Specifically, they love Oceanside Harbor.  It is a parking lot with no RV hookups and the spaces are super tight together, but it excels in the areas that are critical to the kids:  playgrounds and wildlife!  They have a great little play area right on the sandy beach, its only about 100 yds to the waves, and there are almost always a few sealions swimming around in the harbor to watch.  We’ve been there about 4 or 5 times and every time there is a sea lion on the docks.

Just down the road from Oceanside is the city of Vista, CA.  One of the last times we were in Oceanside, our local friends mentioned a recovery ministry named Green Oak Ranch in Vista, so we decided this time to contact them.  They agreed to let us visit and just hang out as guest to see what they were doing, so we headed to Green Oak for 3 days before attending a weekend service at Vista Assembly, where we had visited during Easter of 2009. (Remember the Tim LaHaye assignment?)

Green Oak was amazing.  They have on site facilities for their resident recovery program including a full cafeteria, dorms, a chapel, and classrooms.  They also have a over 100 acres of land that they also use for a retreat center, inclusive of a nature center, animal reserve with Llamas, goats, ducks, emu, a couple horses, a pair of donkeys, a bobcat, a longhorn, and a few owls.  They have a full reptile center, a pool, and retreat cabins.  Its quite a place.  Most importantly, you can sense the presence of God in those who spend their days there.  It is a place where lives are transforming and hope is being found.  It is awesome, and we are blessed to have experienced it.

Bottom line was, when he made the comment at lunch that day, it just sat right with me. It registered in my spirit as a “Yes”. That week, we set out to figure out the process of writing a book.

God was, as always, faithful. We looked for a place to park for a little while to write while serving, and unbeknown to us, the woman whose home we were parked at also did writing clinics. She is a published author and was able to help me put some of the first concepts into the first words until they became the first chapters. God continued to provide both the insight for the writing and the resources for the tour, and just over a year later, we completed a manuscript and a series of accompanying case studies for what we would soon call “Share Well With Others – Creating a Life that Reflects the Character of Christ.”

This week, full circle and back in the very same parking spot that the book began in, we received the proof copy from our printer. As the ink dries on the first print run, we look forward to sharing it with you in the next weeks, and thank God for His amazing faithfulness!

Share Well With Others – Unpacking the Proof! from Share5 by WorldWins on Vimeo.

See our first book as we open the package containing the very first printed copy. Public copies will be available June 1, 2010, so visit our site at http://share5.org/sharewell to order your copy today!

Mother’s Day weekend brought us an opportunity to share with the folks from New Heart Foursquare Church in Simi Valley (the sermon was Episode 1 of the new Share Well Podcast if you missed it!), but the preceding two weeks allowed us a little time to both relax, regroup, adjust to being a family of five in the RV, and possibly the most fun you can have with a sledgehammer, DO SOME DEMOLITION!!!

New Heart is in the middle of a sanctuary remodel, and they still had some wrap up demolition to do, so we all put on the work gloves and did everything from tearing out a wall to pulling staples from the stage where carpet had been removed.  We were also allowed to throw out a few ideas for how the interior could possibly look and talk with those doing the design work to give them some new concepts to play with.

Pastor Paul Kuzma has been a great support and friend since we met a little over a year ago, and both he and his congregation continue to blow us away with their generosity. He even ran a 100′ cable over his fence from his house for us to have cable TV!  Their staff and members are a blessing, and we’ll look forward to returning and seeing the finished project in the future!

View photos from Easter to Catalyst West at our Flickr Photostream

Grace Harvest Church – Moorepark, CA

Our first time to stop at Moorepark, Grace Harvest was hosting Pastor Emmanuel Sackey, our partner and Pastor from Somanya, Ghana, Africa.  We haven’t seen Pastor Sackey in over a year, so it was great to reconnect and have time to refresh vision with him!  Watch for some exciting things coming soon connected to Pastor Sackey, Share5, and Revival Harvest Ministries.

Catalyst West Coast II – Irvine, CA

Back for it’s second year at Mariner’s Church in Irvine, CA, the crew of Catalyst West put on another great conference.  Amy spent a good portion of her time with the Land Of a Thousand Hills Coffee crew, and I volunteered with the Catalyst team in the resource store.  The kids?  Well, they were doing one of their favorite things… encouraging people to Drink Coffee Do Good.

Emily and Dillon rocking with Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee from Share5 by WorldWins on Vimeo.

Elizabeth Anleu Rodas is a member of Los Pensamientos development group which received a Kiva loan of 65,000 pesos on 21 September 2009. Development groups are groups of more than 10 people which have a bank account and meet weekly or fortnightly to make their repayments. They have a representative and a governing committee. Los Pensamientos group are currently repaying their loan.

Elizabeth works selling fragrances and cosmetics and requested a loan of 1,000 pesos to buy more products and to repay a debt for products that she had already bought. Thanks to this loan Elizabeth has paid off much of her debt, she has purchased new products and she has made a small proft which she used to buy new sneakers for her grandchildren.

When you support Share5, you are supporting hard working women like her not only in Mexico, but also in Cambodia, Burundi, Rwanda, Ghana, Thailand, and the many other places that Share5 has made loans through the Share5 Fund.  AND… because we carefully look to make our loans through specific Christian organizations that provide the loans in the field, we know that the Gospel is being offered to address not only physical poverty, but eternal spiritual poverty as well.  Its a beautiful thing.  Its TEAMWORK in action.

So, thank you for changing lives… while you were sleeping!

See the full list of the over 25 loans that you have helped us provide around the world.

Set up your automatic $5 monthly contribution to assist with the Share5 Fund today!

When morning arrived, I walked out my door to 44 degree weather, winds, and rain.  Not exactly the weather picture I had in mind.  Later, as the weather got worse, I wondered if the school would let their kids still participate.  Fortunately they did.

To wrap up the day, I had a shareholders meeting for the company that I used to work for.  To really ice the cake, my wife and I ended up walking into a room full of suits 10 mins. late, baby in hand, and barefoot.  I’ll admit I thought twice about donning my shoes for that moment… but we didn’t.

What we realized is that our convictions and our actions only gain integrity when we are willing to stick with them when it is inconvenient.  Otherwise, we’re little more than fair-weather fakes.  Thanks to the kids in the rain that helped me see a better part of humanity.  Lesson learned.

Share5 and Foothills School Go One Day Without Shoes from Share5 by WorldWins on Vimeo.

The TOMS One Day Without Shoes march in Boise, ID with the students of Foothills School of Boise. By marching to the State Capitol in 44 degree rain and wind, these young people were helping to raise awareness for those worldwide who go without shoes every day.

Find more at http://onedaywithoutshoes.com

So… if you are a High School friend of Amy’s and in Portland this week, drop her a line!  She is in town.  If you happen to be in Mexico, come on by the build site and pound a nail or make a sandwich. (less likely, yes, but believe it or not, we do have a woman “coming by” in Mexico that just HAPPENED to read about the builds, contact us, and volunteer!)

Upon our return to Boise, we will be spending around two weeks helping my mom transition from the Elks Rehabilitation Hospital back to home.  Then we’ll load the RV and see where God takes us!  (Thank you to those who are taking a role in helping make my mother’s transition happen- from meals to overnight stays to visits to phone calls- while we are out of town!)  She is continuing to recover well from spinal surgery, and is expected at this point to regain all functions that she lost prior to the surgery.  Praise God!

Blessings – From the road once again!

The Houcks

Amy working on Stucco, Mexico House 2, March 2009

This first home will go to Beatriz Meneses and her 5 children and 2 grandchildren, who are presently living under a tarp between two adjacent walls. Things are still a little up in the air as to whether we will build a full double version of our typical house, or just complete a portion of what would eventually be their final house, just to get them in.  Regardless, it is not too late to participate financially to help make this dream a reality.  Please, make your contribution today and help us put a family in a home and off the street.

To learn more about UthBuild, how you can participate in one of our future builds, or to find out about bringing a group of your own to build a home in Mexico, visit our UthBuild page and then drop us a line!