Days 9 & 10

The Grand Canyon...full of color, beauty and grandeur.  Breathtaking and inspiring.  It has been a very full two days of sightseeing, walking, picture taking, and careful watching of five children (some more so than others :).  We arrived yesterday and after just a few minutes, Harvey told me that he was going to need nerve pills; I had to agree!  There are few barricades and so with little ones, it can be pretty scary.  We prayed that God would keep us safe and He did.

The most unnerving thing, however, was the woman who asked to pray for Jonathan last night at the bus stop.  We said yes, not having any idea that she would start praying for healing.  Poor Jonathan looked so uncomfortable; I immediately held his hand and the second she was done began telling her that we did not agree with her and did not want him "healed."  Down syndrome is one part of who he is.  Harvey told her that just as God made her a woman with her genetics, Jonathan was created to have Down syndrome with his.  We had to explain that we do believe that God heals, but we do not pray for healing for Jonathan.  She talked about how HE was special, which is one of my pet peeves.  I let her know very kindly that ALL of our children are special (especially since they were all standing right there listening).  Harvey shared a verse with her in the Bible and explained that Down syndrome is caused by one extra chromosome in his body, not demons.  She had no idea what caused Down syndrome.  We were all very congenial about it,  even though she thought we were crazy for our beliefs.

In sharp contrast to last night's encounter was today's with a loving, Christian family.  We met at the Junior Ranger pledge ceremony.  I saw a mom and a daughter, both wearing "Amazing Grace Race" t-shirts!  For those that do not know, this is the musical we just performed at our church.  I immediately told them that we had just done the same musical.  Well, as it turned out, the family was from Indiana, homeschooled,  and had 12 children, one of whom also had Down syndrome!!  The family was such a blessing to us.  In our brief times talking, the mom and I were able to exchange email addresses and give each other a couple of ideas for our kids with Ds.  The neat thing is that as we were leaving, Jonathan clearly said that he wanted our new friends to know that we go to church and for me to tell them the name of our church; he understood that they were believers also :).  The Down syndrome community is something that I am grateful to be part of, but more importantly, is the fellowship with the body of Christ!

Our day ended on Route 66 watching a cowboy shoot-out and then eating at a local restaurant before heading back to the llama farm where we are staying for the second night. It was a great way to spend our anniversary.  It is hard to believe that 18 years have passed!  Someone asked today if we could have imagined on our wedding day that our 18th anniversary would be spent with five children, on a cross-country road trip in a minivan, visiting the Grand Canyon.  Honestly, we probably would have been the most shocked about the minivan part :).

Carried by His grace,