M Stands for McCullough

Robin (at the lunch table): 'Boys, what's your favorite number?'

Luke: 'Eleven'

Jack: 'Eight'

Drew: 'M"

A Jack Phrase

Since I gave Drew major blog play the other day, I thought I would return the favor with at least one recent Jack phrase...

"Jesus loves Jack's bottom."

Yes, He does Jack. Yes, He does.

The Distribution Plate

Read this cool story the other day and thought I'd pass it on... (Our church and others have done something similar but in those scenarios a few people got 'Kingdom money'. I like this because everyone did even if it was a small amount.)

A couple of Sundays ago, when the pastor of Community in Christ Lutheran Brethren Church in Arvada - Rev. Gary Witkop - said he was passing around the collection plate for a second time one recent Sunday, the congregation dutifully reached for wallets and purses to give a little more.

Instead, Witkop told every one of the 60 men, women and children in the congregation to take $25 from the plate. And so, on Nov. 11 every congregant received a "reverse offering."
There was one catch. Witkop told his flock to use the cash — $1,500 in all — to show God's love to someone else.

Read more... here.

Making Others Jealous - Jon and Cindy

It has been about two months since Jon Roper and Cindy Yalda’s team arrived in the Middle East. (We go from a Roeper to a Roper this week.) In that time, everything has been new territory in terms of team dynamics and ministry. The five Americans on Jon and Cindy’s team have combined with the UK Impact team (UK version of STINT). Cindy explains, “This is the first year we have had a team from the States come together with a team from the UK under one leadership. It has been a blessing to have the Brits return for a second year because they have us get around the city, find housing, and not have to start ministry from scratch. Among the thirteen of us, we have six cultures represented. We have been told that statistics say that teams with four or more cultures represented are destined for catastrophe. I will have to disagree with that. I did have my doubts, but God has proven to be bigger and more powerful than statistics. Our team dynamics have been a huge witness to the people we have met thus far.”

Cindy goes on to write, “The girls on the team decided to emphasize relational evangelism. In the Middle Eastern cultures, building relationships and trust first is the key to open future doors with conversations about God and spiritual things. We invite all of our contacts over to our place throughout the week, and then hang out until the early hours of the night on Thursdays. We have prayed that God would allow us to have spiritual conversations with everyone that comes on those nights, and that more ‘native language’ speaking would occur. God has gone beyond answering our prayers! We have students from our local congregation who come every week and really interact with our non-believing contacts. We have contacts from last year that have not seemed to be spiritually interested come to our Thursday night gatherings and ask about our beliefs. Every Thursday, we have at least one or two students say that there is something really different about our group. They have all noticed that our group has very different individuals with very different personalities and yet ‘we are able to love one another and work together in a way that is so attractive’. We have heard many times that there is ‘a positive energy that radiates the room’ from our group.”

“We are seeing God break down barriers with students every day. The harvest is ripe in this country, and God has thirteen very different individuals here for a specific reason, which we are seeing unfold every day. The students are truly jealous of what we have. Even though they are blind to the Gospel, God is stirring in their hearts a desire for this relationship with Him that we have. We may not be seeing people come to know Yeshua as their Messiah yet, but we can see God moving. People are more open to talk about God and Yeshua today than compared to two summers ago, when I was here on project. I am excited to see what more God is going to do throughout the year as He brings students closer to knowing Him!”

Cindy’s update made me think of John 13:34, 35. You might recall that Matt spoke at Copper Mountain on this passage of Jesus washing the disciples. In these two verses, Jesus explains why we should love one another.

He commands us to us… That ought to be enough, huh? Our Master had given us a command to love one another. Not a suggestion or a good idea, but a command. As He continues this Upper Room discourse, Jesus says that if we love him, we will obey this command. (John 14:15; 21), we will remain in His love (John 15:10-12) and that we’ll be his friend (John 15:14).

He loved us… It is both how we are to love and the reason behind it. (1 John 4:10-12). He modeled it. He showed us the full extent of his love. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 1 John 3:16

Everyone will know we are His disciples… What a testimony Cindy describes that what the world says is impossible – 6 cultures living and working together in harmony – is possible in Christ. Loving each other as Christ loved us says: “This gospel we declare is real. He accepts us in His grace and we accept one another. His love has transformed us. His Spirit has given us life and power. We no longer live for ourselves.”

It’s enough to make anyone jealous.

I think I decided who I am Gonna Vote for..

Blast from the Past

I got a call early yesterday morning. I almost didn't answer my cell phone thinking, "Who in Texas is calling me on Thanksgiving morning before 8 am?" But I am glad I did.

It was an old friend who I haven't heard from in maybe 15 + years. Geoffrey Okere and I both attended Truett McConnell, a small junior college in north Georgia. I didn't know Geoffrey that well at first. He was a celebrity being from Nigeria but about midway through my Freshman year we become good friends.

We stayed in touch somewhat initially. He went off to a school in Kentucky and I finished my undergrad at UGA. He got his Masters and Doctrine from Seminary and moved to Denton, Texas to pastor for a while. I seem to remember him telling me that there were a lot of Nigerians there. I knew he got married and then over time I lost touch with him. I assumed (correctly) that he moved back to Nigeria. Somewhere in there he has written a few books that are on Amazon. He now is back in Texas and has started a ministry of prayer and church-planting.

As we talked, my heart was filled with gratitude to the Lord for the friendship Geoffrey and I had 25 years ago. I recall a young man who loved the Lord and was passionate about his word and the gospel. Friends used to use me as a 'translator' of sorts for Geoffrey and visa versa. His English was good but I seemed to understand him better than others and good translate back to him words spoken in thick Georgian accents that didn't sound like English to him. I have often thought the Lord gave Geoffrey to me as a friend to prepare for understanding broken English.

I do know (and told him) that he helped install in me a heart for the Great Commission and the world. I remember being his wingman a couple of times as he shared the gospel with some other students. At that time, I had never flown in a plane and had only been to 5 states. Alabama was a foreign land to me. (It still is but for different reasons now.) Geoffrey helped me see that there was a world out there with great needs. My first international experience 5 years after we left Truett would be to Africa - Kenya not Nigeria though. I was happy to tell him over the phone that I was going to South Africa in less than two weeks.

Geoffrey was a young man who was wise and sound in his faith. I was blessed to have such a friend at an important time in my life. I look froward to renewing our friendship and mutually encouraging one another.

I am glad I took that call.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Today we are going to celebrate Thanksgiving with some friends from church. I don't cook that much usually just when its a special occasion. So today I am making my favorite - Sweet Potato Casserole. I decided this year to use my Aunt Ruth's recipe from her book Recipes, Rhymes and Reflections (which I couldn't find on Amazon to link but the isbn is #0-9745741-4-7).

3 cups of mashed sweet potatoes (the slackard that I am used the canned version)

1/2 cup of sugar (I didn't add this since the canned version soaks in syrup.)

1/4 cup of butter

2 eggs

1 tsp of vanilla

(Mine mixture still looked a little dry so I added a 1/4 cup of milk).

Add the topping which I put into a baggie and mixed together (the mixing it in the baggie was my own touch)

1 cup of coconut (I only used 1/2 cup because Robin didn't want me using all of what she had)

3/4 cup of brown sugar

1 cup of pecans (And an extra fistful more than a cup)

1/4 cup of flour

tsp of Cinnamon (not in recipe but Robin suggested it)

and not in the baggy but will be added to topping mix.. 1/4 of melted butter

Will cook in 3 quart casserole dish at the Dupras' house for 30 min @ 375 degrees.

Remove and add Marshmallows (Also not in Aunt Ruth's recipe but you gotta have, as Luke calls them, 'smarshmellows' ) and cook for 5 minutes more...

Hopefully it will look as good as the pic I harvested off of google. (Then again the pic was from a fat-free recipe so its gotta taste better and hopefully almost as good as my aunt's would.) Robin is making another recipe that is a gluten-free, nut-free alternative for the 5 or so who will be there and would die if they ate this. That wouldn't be a good Thanksgiving.

The One He Loves

Francine Previte (the one on the right) - friend, little sister, two-time STINT Team Leader who participated in trainings I had the opportunity to lead and fellow blogger - has a published article in Radiant magazine called The One He Loves.

Great little article on when she was in Salerno, Italy last year and seeing herself as the One God Loves.

Great job Francine!

Serving with Grateful Hearts - Lauren and Matt

Lauren Roeper and Matt Reis are enjoying Matt’s handlebar moustache that he grew for no-shave November. Actually since that are leading together in Rome, we should call it a "spaghetti moustache"? When in Rome...

Their team serves alongside two ICS teams in the city. There is a CityFocus team gearing up for the next fall as well as another team that focuses on reaching the post grads in Rome. Lauren and two others on the STINT team are there for the 2nd year. (If you count the craziness of last year as a real year.) They feel blessed to serve alongside so many who want to see Italians know the Lord and a city transformed.

One of the things that Matt, Lauren and their team are trusting the Lord for is two thousand souls. They're trusting that the Lord would allow them to meet two thousand new students who would in turn have the chance to hear the gospel. However, one of the hard things in Rome is the Church history. Matt shares, “It's difficult to ask a student to think of God outside of the Church because they have been told for years to think a certain way and they have a lot of ‘conditioned responses.’ Still, it's great to see all the wonderful things the Lord has done and is doing in Rome.”

Since tomorrow we will have tryptophan-induced naps and stomachs full of pumpkin pie (or whatever concoction you can make in your part of the world), I thought we’d look at a thanksgiving passage this week. Colossians 3:15-17 is in the context of living this new life we have in Christ. Three times in this passage Paul writes about thanksgiving – be thankful, with gratitude in your hearts and giving thanks to God the Father. Diving in gives us insight into what makes a grateful heart.

Let peace rule in our hearts. Christ took on the punishment that brought us peace. (IS 53:5) He preached a gospel of peace. (Eph 2:17) He gives us with peace. (Jhn 14:27). We are members of a body called not to strife, conflict or division; but peace. Does peace reign in our hearts? Are we content? Do we lack for nothing? Are we no longer longing for a day when we will get this certain thing or this or that will happen - except longing for the Day He comes for us? A heart that is at Shalom is grateful because we realize we do not deserve anything… except hell.

Let the word of Christ dwell in us richly. Dwell… not just be a guest we invite over whenever we have time and a cup of strong coffee. We need to let the word of God, as Eugene Peterson says, have the run of the house. We need to let His Word become a part of us, embedded into our lives where it spews out as we teach it, admonish others with it and sing it… with gratitude in our hearts. We need to ask if our hearts are hard, rocky or thorny toward His word or like rich soil allowing the Word to produce a bountiful harvest for us and those He has entrusted to our leadership. A heart where the Word dwells like this is a grateful heart.

Let the name of Jesus be the framework of our words and actions. Can we really scoff in the name of Jesus? Can we really be sarcastic in the name of Jesus? (I hope I am not right now.) Can we hate in the name of Jesus? Can we just not care in the name of Jesus? Can we serve our own flesh in the name of Jesus? Paul says, “Whatever you do… do all…” And he ends with “giving thanks to the Father through Him”. A heart that lets the name of Jesus be the framework, the boundary, the guideline for his or her actions, is a heart that speaks and acts out of deep gratitude. It is gratitude because we know that we have life only because of Him. We obey not out of duty or to earn His love. We do things in His name because His name is love and life.

Have a Good Thanksgiving.

Drewisms

Drew: "Tummy hurts. Need Ban-aid."

Robin (seeing Drew holding play cell phone): "Who are you talking to Drew?"

Drew: "Red Kitty"

Robin: "What's that red kitty saying?"

Drew: "Meow"

Drew (after I gave him some Cheerios): "Want heart ce-su"

Me: "We don't have any heart cereal, bud."

Jack: "squares?"

Me (heading out the door to work): "Oh Jack, we don't have squares or hearts only Cheerios"

Drew: "Daddy go to grocery store buy heart ce-su."

Me: "No, bud I am going to work. I will see you guys later, love you."

(Hours later when I come home from work )

Drew: Daddy went to grocery store to buy Drew heart ce-su."

I didn't but I did stop by King Soopers on the way home from church yesterday to buy some more cold medicine and... Drew & Jack some heart ce-su.

November Letter

What is the Lord leading us to believe? Our STINT Team in Serbia is made up of 8 recent college graduates. They are demonstrating a simple, reckless faith.

South Africa. Our schools in the state of Colorado are partnering together to help reach one of the most strategic countries in all of Africa. In three weeks, I will be going over along with 12 other staff and students to scout out the land and formalize a partnership. We will also host a Christmas Party for orphans.

Read more by downloading our November letter.

Quick to Listen - Sharon and Matt

At the STINT Briefing @ Copper Mountain in 2006, Matt and Sharon Mormance were on the chair lift going up the mountain with their teammate Kellie. They were telling jokes and just getting to know each other. After they had stared at the grass and flowers in front of them for quite a while, they turned around and took in the breathtaking view. It was then that Matt made this very insightful remark, "I think that our time in Kaunas is going to be like this - a lot of uphill work to prepare the way for future ministry. And we might or might not get to see the beautiful view later, but God has invited us into the groundbreaking part of ministry." It is over a year later now, and as Sharon tells it, "Matt was absolutely right!"

The Mormance's are on their 2nd year of STINT in Kaunas, Lithuania but the first as Team Leaders. (The Team Leaders from last year, Peter and Jen Hibbs, actually leave Lithuania tomorrow.) Matt and Sharon are leading a team of seven and much of their work has been "tilling some very hard soil". Sharon explains, "We have worked to get permission to go into the dorms to do surveys, we have worked to find ways to partner with the Catholic ministry on campus (giving us credibility and showing that we are not a cult - which is pretty important when you name is close to ‘Mormon’), and we have worked to discover what works best to reach the university students in Kaunas. It has been an adventure to say the least!"

"One of the most important ministry insights we have learned came from a friend we met at CM 2007 last summer", Sharon wrote. "Cam, who works for Campus Crusade in Australia, told us, 'It is not about how many people pray the prayer, or come to Bible studies, or come to events. It IS about how often we listen to the Spirit and follow His promptings to take initiative to offer others the opportunity to hear the gospel.' We have really taken this mindset to heart. Our most question each week is - 'Did we do all that God has put in front of us to do this week?' Then we leave the results up to Him. So to date, no students have come to know Christ as Savior, but God is at work here in Kaunas, both in the lives of students and in our own lives. And for this we give Him praise!"

James - the dude in the bible who most lived out Proverbs 27:6 - tells us that we all are to be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to become angry. This is a punch in the gut to me because I am afraid that I am quick to speak and slow to listen. And the Lord keeps trying to get my attention too because I have heard this verse referred to by speakers / pastors / friends several times in the last few weeks.

Quick to Listen - Like Matt and Sharon, are we listening to the prompting of the Spirit? Are we doers of His word to by doing all He puts in front of us? Are we quick to listen to the team God has sovereignly surrounded us with? Are we quick to listen to our disciples? to the lost? Jay Lorenzen - one of the wisest people I know - has a post on his blog asking whether we as an organization are willing to listen. He quotes, Andy Stanley, "Omniscience is not a requirement for leadership; a willingness to listen is." We as leaders need to learn to listen to the Lord knowing that he may be putting others in our path to be the instruments of what He wants us to hear.

Slow to Speak - Followers of Jesus and Leaders should be people who weigh their words. My pastor has been teaching on a sermon series this fall called UpWords - a weekly punch in the gut for me. One thing Gene pointed out the 1st week is that our words either give life or death. There is no middle ground. As Leaders we have a greater platform for this. Is our tongue bridled? (Jas 1:26) Do we fear the forest fire of destruction our words could cause? (Jas 3:5, 6) Do we guard our mouths? (Prov 21:23) Do we let only words that build up spew forth? (Eph 4:29) Is He Lord over my mouth?

Slow to Get Angry - What fires me up? Is it a holy anger or just a frustration that things are beyond my control? Do my reactions reflect a heart that is trusting the Lord? Have I died to myself? In Korea this summer, I was talking with Amy Rivera, a STINTer, whose dad is on staff. Amy said that she has never seen her dad get angry. Never? What kind of heart is a heart that never gets angry or at least is slow to get angry? Is my heart that rested, that content? Am I slow to get angry? I need a little of the spirit of Ben Rivera --- or the a lot of the Holy Spirit.

Gene showed this video clip Sunday. I don't know if I can get the embedded video below to work but you can go to The Work of the People to view it too. It contrasts often how we respond versus how Jesus responded. If - as James wrote - everyone should be these three things, how much more those who have be called to lead?

Play a Game / Give Rice

There is a free word game on the internet where for each right vocabulary answer you give 10 grains of rice are doanted through the UN to end world hunger.

Where are the Other Nine?

One day as Jesus was heading toward Jerusalem, 10 men with a skin disease cried out to him as he neared a town. We know from Leviticus 13 that these men that had to stay out the camp, not wash their hair, wear rags and warn people of their condition. So in addition to crying out "unclean", these ten men cried out to Jesus in a loud voice, "Master, have pity on us!".

'Pity' might not be a perfect word here since that word makes us think of feeling sorry for someone. They didn't need pity, they needed help. Most often - even in the next chapter - this Greek word is translated as 'mercy'. They needed mercy because they were without hope.

Their cry to Jesus is prayer, desperate prayer. Desperate prayer is a realization in my soul that I am without hope without Him... unless he comes... unless He shows mercy on me... unless He provides what I need.... I need Him. I am desperate for Him. In the next chapter in Luke, we also learn that this type of prayer - persistent, shameless, desperately asking Him to change our lives, our families, our friends, our enemies, our nations, our world - is act of faith.

Jesus tells them to go to the Priest. Lev. 14 says they are to go when they are healed so they can be declared clean. But they were not clean yet. It was along the way that they were healed. This is action. This is obedience. Like desperate prayer, this kind of obedience is shameless. I mean what if they went and were never healed? They would have looked rather foolish. This is also faith. Without being healed yet, they left obeying Him and believing that He would heal them. And He did even from a distance. Faith is taking God at his word. Faith is unseen. It is believing that my circumstances are not reality; to believe who God is, what He is able to do and acting on that faith.

Of the ten that were healed, one - a Samaritan, a foreigner - returned and fell at Jesus' feet, thanking Him and with a loud voice praised God. This worship. This is thankfulness. This is gratitude. And like the prayer and obedience, it is also faith. It is faith because it says again that I believe that God did this and I am overwhelmed with gratitude at who He is. Falling at his feet. Crying out in joy. Shameless thanksgiving. It is a heart that says, I know I was desperate, I am desperate, and I need Jesus. I am grateful for what He has done because of his great love and power. I am acknowledging that he alone is worthy of my worship. Jesus said that his faith made him well. That word well in the original Greek is most often translated 'saved'. (Like in Ephesians 2:8-9, "it is by grace that you are saved...") It is this faith that saved him. It is this kind of faith that saves us and is saving us.

I want to be like the one who returned. I want to see myself as a leper - desperate -crying out to Him in faith, obeying Him even when it looks foolish, returning to thank and worship Him.

Deck Photos

Thought I'd display some newly stained deck photos. I am in process of uploading a whole new picasa album (64% there as I type). Once that's up, I'll change the revolving slideshow to show more recent fall photos.

Also notice that I have added a new sidebar of the "Unreached People Group of the Day" take a few minutes to pray for gospel to reach every ethnos claiming Rev 7:9.

Reading this Blog counts toward College Credit

One of my cousins had this on her blog, so I thought I'd see where "A Few Minutes" stands. I don't know whether to be proud or embarrassed. Like who wants to read something that's college/postgrad level unless its a textbook? And who read their textbooks anyway?

We want dribble. We want something we can read fast since 20+ blogs a day that I track get updated. I promise to hearby stop using a Thesaurus when I post stuff.

(BTW, STINT Leaders was "elementary school" which is also embarrassing since the audience are all recent college grads. .... Maybe since I used 'are' instead of 'is' will help dumb down this one, too.)

Get a Cash Advance

Thoughts in the Midst of Staining our Deck

1. Whichever previous owner thought, "wow wouldn't it be great to have a huge deck that covers the entire back of the house with intricate details and a lattice covering over half of it" never once thought about the fact that he/she would have to clean and stain that thing every 2-3 years.

2. This would a lot easier if I didn't have whatever I have (major cold/bronchitis/something).

3. I was worn out just from cleaning it on Saturday and after three partial days (M/T/W) of staining I still am not through.

4. I hope this stain last at least the 3 years the warranty says because it will take me 3 years to recover.

5. There is a reason why I have put this off for 6 months.

6. The greatest thing about having your 5 year old son help is that if it looks bad, I can always say "that's the part Luke did". (Just joking. He did fine and besides his attention span and work ethic only lasted one side of a planter box so I can't pass the buck anyway.)

7. It will be nice when this is done... I hope we still have some more days to enjoy it this fall.

Reaching the Farthest Horizons - K and E

K and E (with little baby S) are in East Asia with a team of all new STINTers. (The pic is from Busan so don't try to guess where they are.) Their team of seven is working among a cluster of campuses on the north side a large city. There is another team working on the south side that is made up on ICS and 2nd year STINTers. Together those teams are reaching students on 13 campus in that one city.

K writes about his team of seven and their ministry, "We feel like the Lord continues to knit us closer together, there is nothing like being on the other side of the world and trying to figure out God's call for our lives to draw us close together to each other and to Him. We have seen the Lord blow us away with the fruit he has brought. Over the past month we have been able to share the gospel with 127 people, that is 127 people who had never heard of the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who have now heard. The kingdom of God expands daily and we have been able to see it right before our eyes, so far 21 people have prayed to receive Christ! We have been able to follow-up with each one of those, helping train them in what it means to walk with Christ for a lifetime and share their faith with others. The team on the south side of the city has seen tremendous fruit as well."

K and E's vision for what the Lord is calling them to has expanded. K writes, "He has showed us that even though we are at the farthest horizons there are still other places in the world that have not heard the gospel. He is calling us to win students to Christ, build them into apostles, and send these apostles out from here to the farthest horizons. Asian believers taking the gospel out to other countries, that live in spiritual darkness. Wow, only God could have a vision this crazy and we are humbled to be a part of it."

The other week I was have a late night conversation with two buddies of mine - Shane and Ethan - about movements. Shane and I rant about launching movements everywhere, Ethan goes out and does it. The three of us were discussing how many changed lives does it takes for a movement to become a movement. Is it 5? is it 3? Is it much more? Now this is just my theory so take it for what its worth, but I said, "ONE! One changed live. Because one changed life is a seed, an acorn. It may not become an oak of righteousness ....but it might."

How did Jesus reach the town Samaria? Through ONE woman by a well. How did he reach Philippi? Through ONE woman by a river and ONE man working in a jail. ONE. Back up and think of the apostle Paul. Through that one conversion / transformation / man getting knocked off his horse by a blinding light, the gospel exploded. Just ONE. All it takes it for God to transform one life and the course of history can be changed.

We know from the parable of the four soils that not every one who receives the word will be bear fruit. (And you know it too well from personal ministry experience too.) But it only takes one... because that one - the good soil - bears 100 times what was sown.

So we sow... because He calls us to... because as K writes its an amazing thing when 127 (or 1 person) who have never heard of His fame or glory hear the good news. We sow because we believe that of that gosapel seed will fall on the good soil and produce 30, 60 or 100 times what was sown. We sow because we believe that students you are now reaching with the gospel with multiply that and take it to their campuses, their cites, their nation and... the farthest horizons.

Saturday Flu Shots

Can you get the flu from a flu shot? Or is it more likely I was already sick? Or maybe a combo of expending myself Saturday afternoon cleaning the deck.

After making a major scene at the doctor's office hanging on to door posts as I carried him to the room and then having to hog-tie along with a nurse while another nurse administered the shot, Luke: "It (sniff, sniff)... wasn't (sniff, sniff) as bad (sniff, sniff) as I thought (wail)."

Bob's "Get a Clue Counseling"

This comes courtesy of Francine Previte - a two-time STINT Team Leader who is now working as the receptionist and assistant to the senior pastor of a church in Lakeland, FL and babysitting on the side.

It made me laugh out-loud. Is there anyone funnier than Bob Newhart?

The Magic Pill

Luke got sick Halloween night and threw up 4 times. (Not too much candy either as he was too sick earlier with sore throat to go out.) First thought, 'here we go again...' When the stomach flu storm comes through our family there is no shelter.

Robin was talking to one of our neighbors -Jennifer - whose husband John is a nurse at Urgent Care. He recommended a pill they use in the emergency room to give to kids who are nauseous so they won't have to give them IVs.

What there is a pill you can give kids so they will keep stuff down so you can give them liquids and such? How come we didn't know about this? Like how many times in the last 5 years has one if not three of our kids had the stomach flu? The worst was when we all had it and Jack and Drew were infants. We had to call people to keep our babies for a night. It was their first night apart from us and each other.

So John called the pharmacist for us and we got a prescription for ondansetron the generic of Zofran. One pill. One tiny pill. Robin asked the pharmacist why our doctor had never recommended this before and they said, 'well its usually given to cancer patients who can't keep down their chemotherapy. Our rational was that John said they used it all the time for kids. it worked for Luke. but I am reading all the possible side effects if you are allergic maybe this is this last time we will use it.

But then again if three little boys and a couple of parents are sick...