was that crazy or what?
now... take that miserable experience you just watched, and times it by at least 10.
can you imagine?
what do i mean by "times it by 10"? let me tell you about the davis family's last few months...
davis fam and axel on the futre bvsa-travesia site! |
ultimately worms and puss were extracted from the hole. and more worms. and more puss. finally - over skype - dr. carlos diagnosed her with what seemed to be a bot fly manifestation.
the good news was that a bot fly is a one-and-done issue.
not this time! what would follow would be a 2 month battle with dozens of worm extractions, skin infections, fevers, and illness - from every single female member of the davis family. (which is the entire davis family, minus paul.)
yep, all 5 precious davis girls suffered from these vicious bites, infections, and worms being painfully extracted from their bodies. all this while jessica's health continued to fail.
my family had the privilege to keep shae in our home for a full month during this time. she was forced to leave honduras because of the environment and climate, so that she could heal better. because of jessica's health issues and paul's travel schedule, they sent her to us for a month.
if i can just say - as a side note - that this is what family is all about. can you imagine how hard it was for her mom and dad to send shae by herself to another country to suffer through this horrible situation without them? but paul and jess knew she would be loved and cared for, and they trusted us to walk though this time of suffering with their daughter.
it was not easy. i still remember laying on the pull-out sofa, night after night, holding shae in my arms as she cried her eyes out... while dr. carlos extracted worms from what was now 12 different bot fly locations all over her body.
including her scalp.
i don't think i need to share every detail. just know that mikayla (17), shae (14), mckenna (10), and lulu (7) all got hit with this in some form or another.
as i was talking with paul regularly through this, at one point i felt like he was at the end of his rope. he was the only one who never got sick, but would have traded places with any one of his girls in a heartbeat.
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i share this story because i have been nothing short of amazed at the davis family's fortitude and perseverance. and i believe, at this point in time, they need an advocate.
they aren't going to stand up and shout "please help us, just look at how much we're suffering!"
but they do need some help. and since kerrie and i, and the leiva family, have had a front row seat during their last 3 months, we believe that advocate is us.
let me tell you one more thing before i share some specific needs.
as jessica was in and out of the hospital dealing with her own health concerns during all of this, her and paul said something to me that i will never forget. i had been wrestling with how to give them some encouragement... just feeling like everything about "enduring suffering" had been said at that point. so i told them that if they feel like they need to head back to the US for a while, take some time off, rest, etc - please do so. i just didn't want them to feel like we had any expectations of them.
without hesitation, their response was: "that's not an option. if satan is attacking us like this, it's because the village of travesia is worse off than we even know. the enemy must like travesia just the way it is if he's trying to run us out of town. the more he attacks, the more committed we are to stick this out. he's only making us more certain of our call."
and that's been their dogged firm stance ever since.
just a couple weeks ago, paul went out to the site of the future boy's academy in travesia, only to find a bunch of boys running around the property playing soccer. he sent me a short video of them playing, with a note that in-part read:
"...this is why we do what we do. this is why we suffer illness and infections, and cry and go to bed frustrated. why we scratch our heads and wonder if we heard God correctly. it's so these boys will find the same Jesus that we know..."
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so... we want to get the davis family out of the filthy area of puerto cortez where they currently live as soon as possible. we want to get them into the village of travesia. into a new, clean home that is better for their health and overall well-being!
**WE NEED TO RAISE $58,000**
that amount will complete the davis home, as well as build a small home for axel and jason to share. (jason is moving from savannah, GA to come join the bvsa-honduras team!)
once the homes are complete, the family can relocate to travesia and begin a simple/basic version of
the boy's academy program. with just the homes in place, they can begin doing devotions and soccer practices on site.
after that, an additional $133,000 will be needed to build the gymnasium, classrooms, weight room, locker rooms and kitchen (without furnishings) at which point the ministry will be in full operation.
travesia boys standing on the future davis' home site |
for now, we are shooting for the goal of $58,000 in order to get the davis family out of their current situation, and into travesia where they belong!
please go to bvsatravesia.com to read more about the davis family, the rest of the bvsa honduras team, and the village of travesia.
and you can click here to donate! whether you write a check or use paypal, be sure to note "bvsa honduras".
of course you can always contact myself or paul davis with questions or for more information...
thanks for considering helping. we couldn't do it without you!