The McVentures Never End...

Our family has embarked on another major McVenture. It seems that the last few weeks following the holiday season have been so amazing and busy that only God could have orchestrated them!

On Christmas day our family packed up the van and left for Colorado. We just barely beat the blizzards (they came a day behind us) and arrived at Reformation Church on Sunday morning after driving for 30 hours straight! We checked on our house and had a wonderful visit with our Colorado family. On our way back across the country we dropped Collier off at ALERT for his final 20 weeks of training. Each time we part it becomes harder for all of us. And yet we are so glad to know that he has almost accomplished a year of training in the program! We are so proud of Collier's growth and accomplishments and look forward to his graduation in late May.

Shortly after we rolled back into town we brought Papa home from respite care. We quickly realized that he was not in good condition. After consulting with our wonderful Hospice nurse and social worker, we brought Papa to the Hospice Hadlow care center. After a chest x-ray revealed that Papa had pneumonia we were reassured that this was the right decision. Over the last two weeks Papa has battled to overcome this sickness and has taken a significantly downward mental turn. He is now completely bedridden and mostly incontinent. With his pneumonia mostly cleared and regular doses of morphine to relax his respiratory system, we anticipate bringing him home tomorrow.

Roughly 9 days ago, on Saturday (Jan 9th), Mom and Dad had a much needed visit with a wonderful woman who we know as "Aunt Margaret". Aunt Margaret helped to raise Mom from the age of about 6 months to 5 years old. During their visit Aunt Margaret told us about her granddaughter newest baby. As usual, we offered to adopt the baby before she could enter into the foster care system.

A few days later we received a phone call from Aunt Margaret. She spoke to the baby's grandmother, who is currently taking care of her, and they agreed that our family adopting this baby would be ideal for her and them. They could still be involved in her life and they could be sure that she is raised in a clean, drug-free, Christan home.




We met this beautiful 4 month old baby on Friday. Her name is currently Kalrissa Maria (pronounced Clarissa). We have decided to change her name to Margaret "Maggie" Grace.

Today we began making the appropriate phone calls to get this adoption process moving. We hope to bring Maggie home in a couple of months. We will keep everyone updated with information and pictures as we make progress. Most of all, please remember our family in your prayers. To pass a home-study we need to move. This comes as Papa is now taking a severe turn for the worse. In addition, Collier is feeling a huge sense of disconnection and worry over being away from us for the next few months. We are praying that the Lord will quiet his heart and bring him peace.

We are on the threshold of some amazing changes for our family. We thank God for each moment and treasure his blessings. Thank you for keeping up with us and please remember to keep on praying!!!

Love,
Chelsey for the McGehee Family

Irena Sendler

I received a forward this morning that I almost deleted, but for whatever reason I looked at it first. I was truly touched by this story. God can use anyone, anytime, anywhere to do his work.

Forgive the grammar of the following story as I did copy and paste it out of an e-mail:

"Recently the world mourned the death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During
WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive' .. She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out of the Ghetto in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried a burlap sack in the back of her truck for larger children. She also had a dog that she trained to bark when the Nazi
soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the children/infants noises. During this time she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 children and infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the children she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar
buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived and reunite the families. Most had been gassed. Those children she helped were placed into foster families or adopted.

In 2007 Irena was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize ... She was not
selected.

Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming.

Now, more than ever, with Iraq , Iran , and others, claiming the
Holocaust to be 'a myth,' it's imperative to make sure the world
never forgets, because there are others who would like to do it again."