6th Peru Mission Trip

 Jeremy and I are so excited to be heading back to Pucallpa, Peru this September.  We typically lead the trip in June, but this year it got moved to the end of September - God must have known we needed the extra time!  Plus the Christ Fellowship is rolling out a new Mission Model, so we are now aligning our trip with their new format..... meaning - cultivating life mission minded team members, raising more funds to significantly impact the local regions, going more often, and increasing resources and impact.  Really, the things Jeremy and I have been praying about for 5 years.  It has also been exciting to go through their new trainings and finding that our way of doing missions pretty much align with their goals - so it has been a huge blessing all the way around.  So with all this long wordiness, I am trying to say we are heading back to Peru and are super excited. 

 Please read my support letter below!

Dear Friends and Family,

This year has been an exciting time for Jeremy and myself.  Many of you have followed along with our organ donation journey and the successful kidney transplant surgery on February 21st.  The entire donation story can be found on our blog at www.jeremy-kate.com.  Since the surgery, both Jeremy and Ashley have recovered wonderfully.  There has been a few setbacks, but we are so blessed that both of them are healthy!  Throughout this entire processes we have felt God's presence and protection and we know this journey is just another part of God's plan for our lives.      

It is amazing to think that the kidney donation story started over 5 years ago in Peru.  Really it was that first trip to Pucallpa that was a catalyst for change in both Jeremy and my life.  It is where I met my future husband and watched the friendship between Jeremy and Ashley begin.  It is amazing to reflect on how our work in Peru has furthered God's kingdom and significantly impacted our lives.  So with much joy and excitement, Jeremy and I are heading back to Pucallpa, Peru for the sixth straight year.  As we return to Peru, we want to share with you the ministry that God has laid on our hearts.   

This year we are leading a team of 14 members  on September 20^th – 30^th.  Again this year we will be going through Christ Fellowship and partnering with United Servants Abroad, a ministry that focuses its efforts in the jungles of Peru through medical care, and Bible and leadership training.  The Bible Institute in Pucallpa trains couples, in a two year program, to reach remote villages through discipleship and church plantings. Our mission trip will be focused on the construction and sewing needs of the institute.  The construction team will likely be completing the third story expansion of the Chapel.  The sewing room has two focuses;  Making curtains and sewing lessons for the Indians.

Jeremy and I have been so touched this year by the out pouring of your love and support.  Throughout the kidney donation, we knew we had a strong network of people praying over us.  As we plan to return to Peru, we ask for your prayer and support again.  We truly appreciate all those who have supported us since our first trip and those who have come along side us these past six years.  As this trip comes together, we know it is only possible through Christ.  We ask that you pray for this mission trip, for our whole team, safety and for the work to be done.

           In addition to your pray, financial contributions will also help our mission.  As a team, our goal is to raise over $28,000.  We are each required to raise $2,000 to fund our portion of the trip.  We have increased the cost of the trip per person so that the funds of the trip can better serve the mission of Pucallpa.  Donations can be made to each individual team member through online giving or donations to Christ Fellowship Life Missions. 

            We will also be selling T-Shirts again this year.  The design and details will be posted on our blog in the next week or so.  We will also be posting updates and status of our trip HERE on our website.  

Thank you for your continuous love and support.  Jeremy and I cannot express enough how much we appreciated our friends and family this year.  We know that God has and can do great things in and through our lives.  And each step of the way, we have been blessed by your kindness and support.  We look forward to sharing more of the exciting ministry in Pucallpa and the ways God continues to move in our lives.     

 Kate

Donations

Donations are accepted through a secure site on the Christ Fellowship Website.  When making the donation, please choose “Peru-Pucallpa Mission Trip 2012” and then select the team member you wish to support.  Not every team member has been added to the donation site, so you may choose "Unassigned" and write Kate & Jeremy Morris in the Memo line.

You may also makes checks out to Christ Fellowship with a blank memo line.  Please mail checks with an attached note stating Pucallpa Peru Mission trip and the team member name.  Checks can be mailed to:

Christ Fellowship

Attn. Life Missions Department – Peru

5343 Northlake Blvd

Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418

Donation Page

Bit.ly/CFPERU12

or Click HERE

The past 5 months

Jeremy and I (Kate) started this blog back in January of 2012 to document his Kidney donation journey.  It has been an amazing past few months and we have been so blessed by those you have followed along.  Really, this blog has been the perfect way to share our story.

For many of you, this is the first that you are finding our story.  Recently the Ashley/Jeremy/Kidney Cutie story has been in the press.  Catawba College, Ashley & Kate's alma mater, featured the donation journey in this article.  And Ashley wrote this article for her local town newspaper.

A while back, Jeremy wrote a Cliff Notes version of the donation - that post is a great overview of where this journey has taken us and the time frame of all the events.  The entire story of the kidney donation is just beautiful, and I would highly recommend you reading it all.  You can simply click on the months and each post on the right side of the blog page.  Below is my shortened version of the story with a ton of links.  You can click through and read all the highlights of the donation.   

If you are new to the blog, you can read where it all began in this post that Jeremy wrote.  Jeremy told the story of him meeting Ashley really well in this post - make sure to read this one, it has been known to cause a few tears.  The posts that followed were a way to tell the story and bring everyone up to date.... there was much talk about our engagement, our wedding (our love story according to Kate), trips, and the testing process to become the kidney donor. 

There are some great posts and stories in all these entries, really I could link to each one.  If you have a spare hour or two, start at the beginning and read the whole thing.  I am not promising a perfectly written book, but it will be a great story that will renew your faith and inspire you.

This is a fun little post Jeremy did about the things you learn when donating a kidney.  And this one is Kate's List.

So back to the Kidney Donation.  After all the waiting and the waiting, this is where is all starts to really happen.  This is Jeremy ready for surgery.  And here is the Successful Surgery Update. February 21st, the day of the surgery, was a very emotionally charged day.  We felt so much love and support from our friends and family and we knew we were wrapped in Prayer and God's protection.  This is the post I wrote in reflection of that day - it still brings tears to my eyes reading through it now.

Once we made it through the surgery, it was on to recovery.  The recovery highlight came when Jeremy and Ashley first got to see each other - another tear filled moment captured here.  There are several posts talking about the long road to recovery.  We talked about finding a new routine and the ripple effect of the surgery.

Throughout the blog, we also talk about Ashley's health and recovery.  Her post surgery progress was a little bumpier, with a few set backs.... but she is now healthy, strong and doing better then ever.  Ashley wrote her first entry in the blog back in May, and of course it was just beautiful.  You can read all about her trip down to visit us here.

Now that the kidney donation journey is coming to an end - with much joy and praise that both Ashley and Jeremy are healthy - this blog is taking on a new purpose.  As you read through the beginning posts, much of story began in Peru.  And now we are heading back to Pucallpa for our 6th mission trip.  Jeremy wrote all about it in this post, and I will be writing about it soon.

We hope to continue to post and share our hearts and our life with you all.  Plus, we have some fun posts in the works - like recapping the wonderful birthday celebration Jeremy had for my 30th.  So we hope that you check in from time to time and share in our life.  We have truly come to cherish all those who have been praying and cheering us on during the kidney donation process.

Pucallpa, Peru 2012 Support Letter

Kate and I once again will be leading a team from Christ Fellowship Cityplace to the jungles of Pucallpa, Peru.  We will be leaving on Sept. 20th and returning on Sept. 30th.  I have attached a copy of my support letter, please take a read and let me know if you have any questions.

Looking back on the last few years, it is amazing to see the work God has done in Kate and my life.

For those of you who don't know I donated a Kidney to Kate's best friend from College Ashley Quinones on Feb. 21st. If you would like to learn more I blogged about the whole process and you can check it out at our website www.Jeremy-Kate.com.

  It was over 5 years in the making as the first time I met Ashley was when I met Kate on the first trip to Peru.  It is hard to believe that it has been that long, and that the plan that God had for the three of us when he sent us on that trip.  I could have never imagined that I would have met my future wife on that trip as well as have an opportunity to be an integral part of something as amazing as an organ donation.  I feel incredibly humbled that God chose to turn my life around and use me in this way so that he can hopefully be Glorified in my life. I can only imagine if this is what year 5 since that trip looks like, what year 10, 15 or 20 might look like.

2 Thessalonian 1:12 "We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, 

and you in him, according to the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ"

This summer we will be going on our sixth mission trip to Pucallpa, Peru. It is such a blessing to know that God not only brought us together through this mission trip but He also gave us a passion for Peru.  As we continue back to Peru, we want to share the ministry God has laid on our hearts.

Kate and I will be leading this year's mission trip to Pucallpa, Peru on Sept 20^th through Sept 30^th. This is the fifth year we will be leading, and God has blessed us with our largest and most diverse team yet.  The team of 14 people is from the Cityplace Campus of Christ Fellowship Church.  We have four members who will be returning for the 3rd time,  and this will be everyone else first time to Pucallpa.

Again this year we will be working with United Servants Abroad, a ministry that focuses its efforts in the jungles of Peru through medical care, and Bible and leadership training.  The Bible Institute in Pucallpa trains couples, in a two year program, to reach remote villages through discipleship and church plantings. Our mission trip will be focused on the construction and sewing needs of the institute.  The construction team will likely be laying a third story concrete floor, tile work and painting.  The sewing room has two focuses.  Making curtains, which serve as the couples' only privacy in shared rooms and are often used as their towels, tissues and napkins.  And sewing lessons for the Indians, and more specifically making shorts and shirts.     

Kate and I have been so blessed by all of your prayers and support throughout the years.  As this trip comes together, we know it is only possible through Christ.  We ask that you pray for this mission trip, for each team member, for flexibility in such a large group, safety and that we will glorify God through it all. In addition, I seek your prayers for Kate and myself as we lead this trip. Please specifically pray that we will have the discernment to lead this large group in a successful manner; and that we will be a faithful witness to our team and the people of Peru.

           In addition to your pray, financial contributions will also help our mission.  As a team, our goal is to raise nearly $28,000.  We are each required to raise monies to fund our portion of the trip. We do take a team approach to fundraising, so any additional monies contributed will benefit the entire team. Any surplus funds raised beyond the total expenses for the team will be given to the ministries in Peru.  Donations can be made to each individual team member through online giving or donations to Christ Fellowship.  Please click on online giving and select Pucallpa, Peru 2012, Kate or my name from the list to make a donation, if neither of our names are there please select unassigned and put our names in the notes section. 

    We will also be selling T-Shirts again which you will be able to find at our website http://jeremy-kate.blogspot.com/p/pucallpa.html we will also keep you updated of the status of our trip here as well.

Thank you for your continuous love and support. I know that Kate's and my life have been and will again be blessed by your kindness. I look forward to sharing with you all the memories and accomplishments of this mission trip, and the glorious ways God was revealed.     

 Jeremy

Telogen Effluvium = New Hair Style

Back in mid June, Ashley received another diagnosis - Telogen Effluvium. Telogen effluvium is a form of acute-onset, nonscarring alopecia that causes massive hair loss. It's brought on by stress/trauma.  I think the fight for the transplant, the surgery and several months of pain afterwards qualifies one under the stress/trauma category. 

The bad news of Telogen Effluvium is that Ashley is losing her hair.  Before her transplant, one of her medications caused extreme hair growth.... now she is having hair loss.  The poor girl can't win either way.

So a week or so ago, Ashely got an adorable hair cut! 

 And to Ashley's true form - she made the most of it.... even sporting some colorful wigs.

This hair cut is close to the same style she had back when she met Jeremy for the first time in Peru.  Here is a picture from that very first mission trip to Peru in 2007

Even with the new short hair cut..... it was time to shave it all off.  So on Saturday, the 7th it was wig shopping and shaving day!!!!


Here Ashley is getting ready to have her Brother-in-Law Billy shave all that fluff

Ashley with NO HAIR!!!

Ashley and her sister Kelly had a fun time shopping for wigs.  She tried on several and ended up with an adorable new Hair Style! 

I think it is a great look for this Kidney Cutie

There are more pictures on Facebook if you want to check them out HERE