September has been a LOT. There have been some really fun moments, some exhausting moments, and honestly, some pretty heavy moments too.
We started the month with Jay flying back from the States. He had such a good time getting to see family and friends during his quick visit, and I’m so thankful he got that time. We also had a team that same week, but some very gracious HFH people stepped up and helped us with the team while Jay was making his way back. We are so thankful for people who are willing to jump in when we need it!
Then we had Independence Week here in Guatemala. We got to have a couple days of festivities with the homes, and it was so much fun! I love getting to see the kids enjoy these things and getting to celebrate with them. We are so thankful for our staff and the way they share their culture with us and make these days so special.
I also got to sneak away for a quick beach weekend with some ladies from my small group for one of their birthdays. This was actually my first time away from Logan other than being in the hospital having Presley! It was supposed to be a relaxing little girls’ weekend, and it definitely had its moments. One of the ladies had to leave early because of an emergency with her child, I was dealing with the four-month sleep regression and waking up basically every hour, and then a moto hit one of our vehicles on the way there. Somehow, in the middle of all of that, we still managed to have so much fun and get some much needed time to laugh, relax, and just be together.
After that, we had a medical team come from Huntsville. It was so good to see a longtime friend who was on the team! We tried to be around as much as we could, but taking a toddler and a baby to medical clinics isn’t exactly the easiest thing. It was a super busy week for Jay, but he really does love medical teams and getting to help wherever he can.
In between teams, Jay has also been spending any extra time he can working on vehicle maintenance. There is always something that needs to be fixed or worked on, and he is ready for a little extra time to really put some work into the vehicles. We also got to celebrate Jay’s birthday this month! It was fun to take a little time to celebrate him in the middle of such a busy season.
Now we are getting ready for our LAST team of the year, which comes on Saturday! We absolutely love teams and are so thankful for every group that comes and serves alongside us, but we are also VERY ready for a break. When you’ve had teams coming every other week, it feels like you spend a week preparing for a team, have the team, and then immediately start preparing for the next one. We are tired. We are excited to finish out this last team and have some time to breathe, reset, and just be a family.
And in the middle of all of this, we have also been dealing with some things with Presley’s health.
We’ve had quite a few medical appointments and tests over the last several weeks. Her initial testing showed some things that were a little odd, so we had to go back for more testing. Thankfully, that second round of testing came back good, but Presley still isn’t gaining weight. In fact, she has lost weight.
Yesterday, our pediatrician told us she is getting concerned and that we have about two weeks to get Presley gaining weight. If she doesn’t start gaining, we will have to hospitalize her.
That was a scary thing to hear.
My mind immediately went everywhere. Who is going to watch Logan? What is wrong with our sweet Presley? Why isn’t she gaining? How are we going to afford all of this? There are just so many thoughts that come with something like this, and it’s hard not to let your mind run ahead of you.
Our pediatrician also wanted us to see a kidney doctor, so we have been trying to get that appointment scheduled before our team comes Saturday. Thankfully, he had an opening tomorrow, so we will be heading into the city.
There are so many scary things surrounding her health that are constantly on my mind right now. At the same time, we’ve been looking forward to a family beach trip for over a month. Honestly, that trip has been one of the things keeping us going through this crazy season. We’ve been so excited to have a few days away together, just our little family, with no teams, appointments, schedules, or ministry responsibilities.
And now there’s a chance we may have to cancel it if we can’t get Presley gaining weight.
Obviously, her health comes first. There is absolutely no question about that. But I think it’s also okay to say that we are really disappointed at the possibility of losing something we’ve been looking forward to for so long. We are tired, and we were really looking forward to some time together as a family to rest and just enjoy each other. So we are praying for her health first and foremost, but also praying that maybe we can still have that little bit of time away together.
This month has felt heavy in a lot of ways, and we would really appreciate your prayers.
So, please pray with us.
1. My dad
Please pray for my dad as he is battling cancer. We are praying for healing and trusting that God is bigger than this.
2. Presley
Please pray for our sweet Presley. Her labs show that she is receiving the nutrition she needs, but for some reason, she just isn’t gaining weight. She is hitting all of her milestones and is such a happy, sweet girl, which makes this even harder to understand. We just want to find the cause and figure out how to fix it. Please pray for wisdom for her doctors, good test results, and most of all, that she would start gaining weight.
3. Finances
Please pray for us financially. All of these appointments, specialists, and tests are adding up quickly, and on top of that, our monthly giving dropped to the lowest it has been in over a year. As we look at the next month and try to figure out how we are going to make everything work, we honestly don’t know how we would cover a possible hospital stay or even more testing. We know God is our provider, but we would really appreciate you praying with us for His provision.
4. Our mental and physical health
We are exhausted. Mentally, physically, and emotionally. It feels like every time one area of life finally feels somewhat under control, something else changes and we are putting out another fire. Between ministry, teams, parenting, appointments, family health, and everything else, we are just tired. There have been moments where we honestly don’t know what to do anymore. Please pray for strength, wisdom, peace, and rest for both of us as we walk through all of this.
Even in the hard things, we know God is still good. We don’t understand everything happening right now, and there are definitely moments where we feel overwhelmed, but we are trying to keep reminding ourselves that God is bigger than all of the things that feel so big to us right now.
Thank you for praying for our family and for continuing to pray for the ministry here. We truly couldn’t do this without the people who stand behind us, pray for us, encourage us, and give so faithfully. ❤️
If you feel led to support us financially, you can give through the donate link on our website or through PayPal. Monthly giving is especially helpful for us as we continue serving here long-term. If you have questions or would like to know about other ways to give, feel free to reach out to us. And as always, your prayers are the biggest way you can support our family and the ministry here. We are so thankful for each of you who continue to pray, give, encourage us, and walk alongside us.
PayPal- Kgwester@gmail.com
Donate link on Jaykelsie.com
Love,
the Fulps