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Monday, May 5, 2008

The Story of EA...

I'm going to tell you a little story - okay, a long story - about a good friend of mine, and I'm hoping you'll find it in your heart (and pocket) to help out.

I met my good friend, Tassie, when I was in high school. We were roommates at the Honors Symposium at Harding University the summer before our senior year of high school. We had a great time during that two weeks, and got along pretty well. We decided to be suitemates at the same university the following year.

Tassie and I became very close; she's one of the few people I've met that really gets me. She's seen me through thick and thin, and has helped me through some of the worst times of my life.

During the summer before our sophomore year of college (I think; it may have actually been the following year), we got a phone call late at night at our house. This was particularly strange, because anyone who would call my family knew that phone calls after 9 p.m. were just not tolerated. I was already in bed, asleep, but the urgency of the call was such that I was awakened and brought to the phone...

It was Tassie, and she had a brain tumor.

Just let that sink in for a minute. Beautiful, very intelligent, humble Christian girl, 20 years old, learns she has a brain tumor.

It was terrifying. That was not a good night. She was in Tennessee and I was in Virginia, so I couldn't even hug her, but there was a lot of praying that night, believe me.

We came to find out later that the tumor did not appear to be growing; it was located very close to her pituitary gland, and doctors were afraid that removing it may cause her to lose the function of her pituitary gland. That's not ideal, so for the time being they decided to closely monitor it.

She was also told that she would most likely never have children, or at the very least, would require hormone therapies in order to conceive & maintain a pregnancy. No young woman wants to hear that, but Tassie put her faith in God, and was thankful for her overall good health. She met a wonderful (if goofy) man named Kevin, and they were married before our senior year of college.

About a year and a half later, she was pregnant. They had their beautiful daughter in the summer of 2001, the daughter that doctors said couldn't be conceived or carried. She was healthy and strong, and has grown to be just as smart as her mom and as sassy as her dad.

Two years ago, Tassie and Kevin felt the call to teach English in China. Those of you who can read between the lines know what I mean by that. They've been in China, teaching at a university and touching many lives.

And then, just after Christmas, Tassie found out that she's pregnant again.

Another baby that couldn't possibly happen...except God saw fit to bless them again, over and above what they could've hoped. Baby EA (which will be either Elizabeth Alathea or Elijah Andrew) is due in August. Everything is going well; EA is thriving, and Tassie and Kevin and Jael are just thrilled beyond words that they are going to be able to welcome a new baby to their family...God is good!!

And now to the part where I need your help:
In China, where Tassie and Kevin are living and working, babies are diaperless. I know. I had never heard of such a thing, either. That's not going to work too well for Baby EA for several reasons. Disposable diapers are available, but are ridiculously expensive. Tassie and Kevin have decided that cloth diapers are probably going to be the best bet for them, but even cloth diapers are not available there.

I'm an experienced cloth diaperer now, and so I am raising money to buy a supply of cloth diapers for Baby EA. The supplies will be purchased here in the US, and Tassie's parents will deliver them to China this summer.

Please, if you can, contribute to Baby EA's diaper fund. Cloth diapers save money overall, but the initial purchase can be daunting. If you are at all interested in contributing, please leave a comment or e-mail me. I can't think of a much more worthy cause...diapers for a baby who is an unexpected blessing to such a worthy couple who are working hard for the Kingdom.

(And also, if you know how to make a button that would link directly to EA's PayPal account, please let me know! I can't figure it out!)

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