I Love Monkey Ice

Please check out www.ilovemonkeyice.com to see where God is working in our lives.

Thanks as always for the prayers, support and love. We are so grateful.


Alan

Monkey Business

Hello everyone and God Bless you all! Sorry it has been such a long time since our last update. Life has been crazy, living in the States is a lot more hectic and fast paced, that is for sure.

Just wanted to give you all an update on what is going on in our lives. Alan is doing well, feeling much better. Jordan is getting along well also. She got a new cast last Friday that hopefully will be her last one. It will come off in another week. She won’t be able to walk for a while yet, but hopefully soon. Please continue to pray that the surgery did what it was supposed to do.

Ok now for the latest crazy thing we are doing… a friend told me the other day that we don’t ever do anything normal. I’m not sure if it was a compliment or not. Alan spent some time trying to find a “real” job to no avail. Then somehow we started exploring the idea of starting a small business. I can’t tell you exactly how this evolved but somehow we decided on a shaved ice business. With summer coming it seemed like a good idea… low investment, high return. But from the beginning we have prayed for 2 things… that this would provide for our family and also in some way bless other people.

Originally we thought that we would be mobile and do special events. Then we started leaning on opening up a small neighborhood stand. We purchased a small start up package but then found that finding a location for our small operation was a lot more difficult than we imagined. We were met with lots of opposition. We were either told no or if we thought something might work out, the door closed. Needless to say this process started becoming very frustrating.

Interestingly throughout the process God began revealing ways that we could use this business to bless other people. The name of our business is Monkey Ice (don’t ask). Our logo will be a jungle theme with monkeys and snow. God began showing us how this theme is just like the world… snow is not of the jungle and we are not of this world. Our monkeys will be holding a snow ball and these will represent nuggets of truth that we can throw at people. Another bit of symbolism God reveled is in regards to the ice itself and the syrups we will use. The ice is the common denominator in our product. It is the foundation (the truth) and even though it may be covered with many different types of flavors and colors, it does not change the foundation.

Who likes normal anyway?

So we had been looking for a business who would lease a small portion of their land or parking lot… wasn’t working. We had been praying but nothing seemed to be happening. I (Dana) was getting very frustrated and on Tuesday I was at the breaking point. In the morning I was reminded of how God had told me in Honduras to go past the point of resistance. I was so frustrated and tired of trying to make this thing work… that I told God that I could no longer do that. He was going to have to do it for me. I was out of ideas and when ever I try to “make things happen”, nothing ever does happen, I am just spinning my wheels. Alan on the other hand has great patience, calmness and an inner peace that is very irritating. He truly knows how to wait on the Lord. I guess that is why God uses us to counter balance each other in a marriage.

Tuesday night I went to a prayer meeting. It was a sweet time if prayer and fellowship, we prayed for many people and needs of our church body. After the prayer meeting I went back to a location where I had grabbed a Subway sandwich. Next to the Subway there is a shop available for lease… to make an already long story short… God just started opening the doors.

Alan had gone up to NC a week ago Monday and did some training with Adrian Johnson (the man who owns Pelican’s, a very successful snowball shop in Raleigh). Adrian had told him that if he could get a location next to some schools, that would be a smart move. This location (Quail Ridge Shopping Center) that we are going to lease is surrounded by three schools. It is directly across from the high school, right next door to a middle school and another shopping center away from a third middle school.

The owner is a Christian and is excited about working with us. He currently donates space in the shopping center to a Christian teen group that ministers to the students in that area.

We are very excited and also very scared (well I am scared more than Alan). Who would have thought God would be moving us in this direction… I certainly wouldn’t.

So here we are… we do have some specific prayer requests and would so much appreciate you lifting them up in prayer…

1. First and foremost that we are moving in the will and direction God wants us to go.
2. We have never undertaken anything like this, please pray that God will lead and guide us and that we will listen and make wise choices.
3. Our focus will not stray from our original intent.
4. Please pray for our finances. We are using the funds from the sale of our van in Honduras. We have a small budget and big dreams.
5. There is lots of work to do, we need to paint, install sinks and a counter… lots more than that too. Please pray for all the details will be worked out and that we can open as quick as possible.
6. Please pray for calmness and peace.


Thank you so much for your support. Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you so much for your prayers.

Love, The Sims

Sorry it has been so long since we have updated this blog. Below is an email we sent out in February ... it gives you some details of what has happened this year. Who would have thought we would be back here in the States so soon. God's timing is perfect though and we are so thankful for all He has done.

*******
Dear Friends and Family

I hate that we are relating this message via email, but it is the easiest thing to do right now.

First of all we want to thank you so very much for all of your prayers and support. In the midst of these trying circumstances God has poured out His provision and blessing upon us in many forms. The overwhelming concern you have shown towards our family has been amazing. Thank you for your prayers and stepping up to help us out financially.

We wanted to let you know that we have made the decision to move back to the States. It is heartbreaking for us to have to do this, but we know it is what we need to do right now. We love the people and the country of Honduras and the work we are doing there.

We have grown in many ways during our time in Honduras and wouldn't trade this experience in for anything. The circumstances we are in right now prevent us from fulfilling our commitment and we are very sorry for that. Jordan's medical bills are overwhelming and on the rise, plus we have realized that her physical needs can not be met in Honduras at this time. These reasons alone are cause enough to return but there are other issues as well. God seems to be using this situation to call our attention to other areas in our lives that need to be taken care of.

We took Jordan to the neurosurgeon on the 23rd of January and all is well. Her cat scan looked good and she does not have to go back for a year. We found it interesting that the doctors said they had never seen this happen before. She was classified as shunt independent 2 years ago and yet her shunt failed and she is now shunt dependent again. They have some theories on what happened but really don't' know, they said it was bizarre. Her foot is doing much better. They put on one more cast, it is mostly healed and they are planning to do surgery in about a month.

We had been waiting to get more information on Alan before we headed back to Honduras to tie up some loose ends. Alan had one more test last Wednesday (a gastric emptying test, he had to eat radio active eggs and they took pictures of how they went through his system) and it came back normal. So now they have scheduled him for gallbladder surgery on the 25th of February. We were really hoping that it would be sooner so that he could feel better, especially having to take care of things in Honduras but since they can't get him in until then end of February we are going to go ahead back for a few weeks.

We will be leaving this Tuesday the 5th and returning the 19th. We will be getting rid of all of our things there with a few personal exceptions. It cost too much money and takes too much time to get them back here. So we will be starting over from scratch as far as material possessions. We decided to take AJ and Jordan back with us this time. They are old enough and been a part of this process from the beginning that they need to go back and say their goodbye and help with this process. The other four kids will be in the care of our good friends, Dean and Angie Rish.

God has blessed us with a loving, supporting Christian family (I'm talking about all of you) and we are so thankful that He continues to meet all of our physical and spiritual needs. A local church here in Columbia has a house they use for missionaries who are on furlough or in transition. It is available from mid February until the end of June and they are going to let us stay there. That will help us out greatly.

A note to our financial supporters...

Our intention was to get a real letter out to you... sorry about the email, but we wanted to let you know what was going on and now it's "crunch time". WGO will accept your contributions for us up until April (if you need an tax receipt) and forward them on to us. We are going to ask if you would continue to support us until Alan gets a job. Thank you so much for your care and concern for our family.

We love you all and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all that you have done for us. It certainly has been an adventure... and it's not over. We are all in this (life) together.

Love,
Alan, Dana and kids

Urgent Prayer Request for Jordan

Please lift up Jordan in your prayers today. On Saturday we had to take her to the ER because she has been having headaches for about a week now and almost passed out on Saturday. In addition we noticed that her shunt (a tube that drains the fluid from the brain) was swollen at her neck. The strange thing is that this shunt has not worked for about 2 or 3 years (sometimes the brain can find a way to drain cerebral spinal fluid on it's own). So we don't know what is causing the headaches or the shunt to be inflamed or if they are related. She had a CAT scan Satuday night and it showed normal fluid levels in her brain (which is a tremendous blessing) so now we have to go to a neurologist today and she has to have an EEG and perhaps an ultra sound of her neck. All of her blood tests also came back negative for infections on Saturday, so we still haven't gotten a explaination on why there is swelling in her neck.

Please keep Jordan in your prayers for God's healing touch. Needless to say this is scary for Jordan and us since we don't have an explaination of the swelling and the long term effects.

Thank you as always for you fervant and consistant prayers for our family.

---Alan

Brigade numbers for 2007

Once again I am amazed at what God has done this year through the medical brigades.

People seen in:

Medical---28,815
Dental---5,445
Optical---9,193
Children's ministry---12,854
Total number seen in the medical brigades this year:

56, 307

The really important numbers:

Rededications---990
First time decisions----2,448

Here are the team numbers:

Number of teams hosted: 29 medical, 15 construction for a total of 44 teams this year.
Number of team members: 731 medical, 155 constuction, 886 total
(451 first timers to WGO)

Thank you to all the team members that joined us this year. They are the ministry of WGO.

What a great honor and blessing it is for our family to be able to join God at His work.

To God goes the Glory!!!!

Overdue and I am not even pregnant....

To the millions and millions that wait anxiously for our updates, here you go. Actually its more like 10 people that we owe money to that actually read this...lol.

Sorry for the delay, I am still having health issues that seem to be better for a couple of days and I think all is well, then right back to feeling bad. It has not been fun to say the least.

---Still getting into my expanded and new role overseeing the entire medical brigade and the operation of the mission house. There certainly has been a learning curve and I am learning to prioritize my time, because I still am doing interviews, recruiting and orientation for new missionaries also.

---God has been wonderful in providing additional workers here in Honduras. We have a 3 new missionaries coming at the first of November, a teacher due at the beginning of January, another couple in the final stages of fundraising, a retired couple here presently interning and helping us out, another intern scheduled for the beginning of the year and a couple of more in the process of applications, interviews, etc. God has worked wonders.

---Dana and I are both participating in Bible studies during the week and have grown through them.

---The kids are doing well with their homeschooling and are adapting well to the culture and life here.

---When we were back in NC at Fairview we were asked by the mission committee what we needed and how they could help. We said that the best thing would be for you to "come". We can tell you what it is like, but to actually see Honduras is powerful. And it is such a blessing to have someone come down, not necessarily on a team, but just to visit our family. Our home is always open to anyone who wants to visit. Well a friend from SC and her two young daughters have taken us up on the offer and will be arriving in Honduras on Monday the 5th for a 6 week stay. She said that she is coming to minister to us, but we pray that she will be blessed by her time here and see what our ministry with WGO is about.

---If you get the WGO newsletters you have read recently about a couple of our kids that have left the bridge house to start their lives away from WGO. What a blessing to see these young adults and the transformation in their lives and the way they have been impacted through the prayers and support of WGO. These are examples of the long term seeds planted many years ago at Centro de Vida and Rancho Ebenezer. It is so neat to see the results of years of hard work, prayers, laughter, and tears. To God goes all the glory.

---We have 2 more teams in November to finish up the year. Including ranch teams we will have had over 40 teams come down this year. As busy as it was, we would love to see more teams. If you or your church are considering a mission trip, please let us know and consider coming down to Honduras. We would love to see you.

---As most know we now have a van to replace the one that burned up last year. With that we had to deplete all of our reserve. So please keep our finances in your prayers. We are confident of God's provision and care.

---We hope to have a newsletter out with the next team, next week. If you do not receive one and would like one, let us know. To be better stewards we would prefer to send it via email, but will mail a hard copy to you if you would like. Also we send out regular email updates and more importantly prayer requests (for example the recent health problems) so if you are not receiving them, please email us and we will add you. The email is mgrathome at yahoo dot com.

Thanks for your patience with the updates. I am sorry that I am not as diligent as I should be. But always remember that we love you and are incredibily grateful for your love, prayers and support. You will never know how special and humbling that is to our family. Thank you for joining with us in God's work in Honduras.

--Alan

Dana, AJ and Jordan on Staff Brigade Day

About a month ago we were not able to do one of our brigade days with a church because of strikes in the city. We definitely wanted to honor our commitment to the church, so this last Wednesday we had a staff brigade day. This was a wonderful opportunity for our staff, both North American and Honduran to bless this church and the community around it. Dana, AJ and Jordan joined in the brigade also. Dana was in evangelism, AJ helped in the pharmacy and Jordan worked in the kid's area. It was a great day and everyone enjoyed it.







Here are some of the faces of the brigade. Once again you see the beauty of the Honduran people.

































Here are some pictures of our staff working on the brigade that day. We had everyone from the mission house, the cooks, cleaners, maintenance, drivers, etc. participate. It was great to see them give back to their communities. We also had a couple of teachers and 7 of the kids from Rancho Ebenezer. This was the first time that they have seen or participated in a medical brigade and it was great to hear the excitement in their voices as they retold their experiences.

God had the perfect plan for making up the missed day and He was Glorified.

Health Issues

Sorry that I haven't updated in awhile, but I have been battling some health issues related to my stomach. In reality I really haven't felt well in about 4 months now. It started before our home assignment and has continued. Once back in Honduras, we have went to many doctors to get some answers. I have endured and endoscopy and ultrasound and different medications.

Basically this is what was determined. My stomach looks fine and healthy (no ulcers), but it just is not working right. What I mean by that is that I am experiencing bile reflux in my lower stomach. Apparently my valve (pyloric valve) that should keep this out of my stomach is not doing its job. This has led to my discomfort and gastritis (inflammation of the stomach). Also during my ultrasound they did discover that I have 5-10 gallstones. Talking with the surgeon, the gallbladder probably should be removed, but I have not had any typical symptoms associated with gallbladder disease. Also removing the gallbladder will not help with the bile reflux and may in fact make it worse. I have been given some medicine to try and help the condition, but so far no noticeable relief.

Needless to say the situation is frustrating and the adage applies: I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. So I selfishly ask that you keep me in your prayers as we make the decisions of the next course of action (i.e. surgery or not).

Also please keep Carson in your prayers for health also. She is currently experiencing her second round of being sick in the last month or so.

One final IMPORTANT note: While I may not update this blog as much as I would like, we do send out updates, newsletters and prayer requests (such as this recent health concern) via email. So if you would like to be put on our prayer partner, newsletter and update list, please drop us an email with your email address. We would be honored to include you on our list. Send it to mgrathome @ yahoo.com.

Thank you to all that have been prayer warriors for us.

----Alan