An Unexpected Loss

Needing to get home to relieve Graham and Savannah
{who did such a superb job watching our treasures – more on that later},
I left for home the day after the wedding.

Overlapping the wedding together, I had gone early to help with the wedding prep
and Dw would stay longer to care for one sweet Little Man.  There’s nothing quite
like a Bompa to wrestle you to the floor!! His squeals are contagious!

Having a long layover on my return {which afforded me the opportunity to
write most of the post about Emma’s Decision}, I landed  in Phoenix Thursday night.
Moving swiftly through the re-entry process, gathering my luggage I was on my way
in record time.

Stepping outside the terminal to wait on the sidewalk for Savannah and the kids
to arrive and literally outside less than a minute my cell phone began to ring.  I thought,
“How odd. That’s a Skype number. It’s the middle of the night in Uganda and the middle
of the night where Emma is honeymooning. “

Answering I could not even tell who it was or what they were saying.  The hysterical
sobs were unrecognizable.  I shouted, “Who is this?? I can’t understand you!!”

It was Liberty.  She was trying to tell me that Elisha had stopped breathing
and Daddy was doing CPR and Daddy was trying to drive him to the hospital!

Elisha??!!


Elisha??!!


OH NO – NOT ELISHA!!!





NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  


This can’t be happening!

I had just wrote about him just two weeks ago right here, friends!

He’s the one we all praised God for regarding  a vital piece of equipment,
which Kenya didn’t always have and Uganda had been unable to get…arriving by God’s
divine grace and orchestration for his feeding peg!!

But an hour of so later we would find it was true…
after a long effort of CPR administered by Dw,
Elisha went to live with Jesus 
in the wee hours of Friday, March 13, 2015.  
Our hearts are broken.
Dw went to buy a casket,
Elisha’s body washed and dressed
for burial.  
Handsome and dashing, even in death,
wearing in a special outfit Macey had 
bought just for him
when she had last been in the States.
Never guessing it would be used for his burial.
Sweet Macey, 
such a Godly young woman,
unbelievable blessing this precious assistant is to Emma,
a passionate lover of the most vulnerable orphans.
Remembering Emma had left her Bible behind,
{concerned she might lose it and knowing she could read from Josh’s}
Macey found it and 
they were able to place in it 
Elisha’s footprint…
to accompany the ones already there:
tiny baby Arthur,
and
precious Jason.
By God’s grace,
Emma had wondered if she should leave her Bible.
She asked me what I thought?
No doubt, the Lord had orchestrated this concern of hers.
Before leaving for her honeymoon,
Emma had made Macey promise that if there were any 
emergencies, she would tell her immediately.
Yes, even on her honeymoon.
And yes, 
even though there was nothing she could do.
We prayed that God would not allow Dw and Macey to
reach her so they would have some time!
And so it was that they were unable to connect until the
following day.  Over Skype and through weeping,
Daddy told Emma that they
had lost Elisha.
Oh the grief!
And friends, maybe it is hard to grasp,
but these Gems are valued.
They are so very loved.
They are desperately wanted!!
Emma wrote me yesterday and said that she and 
Josh have cried buckets of tears.  
They cry off and on all day.
Yes, honeymoons are even times of weeping 
when you 
love the most vulnerable of all treasures.
When coming for the wedding, I had arrived at the Gem Foundation
in the middle of the night.
I confess, I went in to peek on one little one.
Elisha.

He was my sweet little buddy.
Hoping he was awake so I could tell him
Mimi had arrived.
He wasn’t.  
Yet I whispered through his mosquito net that I was here
and we would play in the morning.
He’s the only one I stopped to see.
He reminded me so much of my precious Ruby.
Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy
Hydrocephalus
Non-verbal but tried desperately to form sounds
Full of personality
He loved my hair 
{and I would lift his hand up to rub it through it over and over}
I spent a bit of time with him just before I was heading to the airport to
leave the day after the wedding.  
I asked Dw to get some pictures, which he did {below}.
I could tell Elisha wasn’t feeling good.
I prayed over him and anointed him with oils.
As I was leaving the Gem for the airport,
the Lord clearly whispered to me,
“Go kiss Elisha one last time.
I’m calling him home soon.”
I didn’t want to believe it and
I prayed furiously!
But God’s word is true:
“He whispers secrets to those who fear Him.”
Psalm 25:14
And I knew I had heard Him.
There are many thoughts whirling around
in my head at the moment. 
It is not ours to question the hand of God.
We humbly submit.
I did not sleep for three nights upon returning home
as I interceded for Emma, Josh, their honeymoon,
asking God to comfort them when they would have to hear,
Macey, Dw, Liberty, The Gems, the staff..
The loss of Elisha is so profound.


Elisha was an unending smile and a sweet joy to know.
My heart aches to hold him one more time.
Oh for one more hug, 
to allow precious little Elisha to rub his tender
hands through my silver hair. 
If The Gem Foundation should cross your mind,  
please pray for God’s comfort and peace
for Emma, Macey, Josh, Dw, Liberty 
and all the others.

17 thoughts on “An Unexpected Loss

  1. My heart is so very broken for your loss. Im praying for deep comfort in this time. I am so sad that the world has lost such a precious gem, but rejoice that little Elisha is with Jesus. Hugs.

  2. Thank you for writing with such tenderness through your tears. My heart cries with your loss and Emma's. I can picture smiling Elisha sitting on Jesus' lap with a healed body. What a beautiful reunion you'll have someday.

  3. I think it's incredible how God whispers His plans to us, even when we don't know it. When you posted about the need for wedding clothes for the Gems I felt God telling me that I should help meet this need and even though it didn't make sense financially, I agreed. I got an email back from my shower host within a few minutes asking if I would shop for Elisha. Of course, I had to go to the website and learn more about this sweet little boy. My heart was captured. This summer I cared for a little boy who was 5 years old and weighed just 9 lbs. I was able to advocate for him to get a gtube places and for 8 weeks, we fought for his life. Moses went to be with Jesus in July. As soon as I started reading about Elisha he reminded me so much of my Moses, I got an overwhelming sense of urgency to pray for him and the Lord kept whispering to me that he would soon be healed and reminding me to "pray for Elisha's healing". I had no idea what that meant but for the last 2.5 weeks I have been praying for Elisha fervently not by my own choice but because God brought him to my mind so often, even waking me up in the middle of the night with an urgent need to pray for Elisha. All day last Friday I was stopped with an overwhelming need to pray, most were short whispered prayers as I went about my day until late in the afternoon when I spent quite a while listening to praise music and praying for Elisha's healing, as God had been telling me to do. Today I am praying prayers of praise for Elisha's full and true healing and the promise of all things new while I also pray for healing and comfort for those who loved him so dearly.

  4. But now, Jesus holds him in his arms and Elisha and He can talk together perfectly. And he can run his hands over gold streets rather than silver hair. Many prayers for all of you. So sorry for your grief.
    Love,
    Sandy in the UK

  5. Oh Linny! I am so very sorry to hear of Elisha's passing. I had been away from your blog for some time while adjusting to life with 4 littles. However, the Lord has been sweet enough to grant me bits of time with "you" over the last few weeks and I'm certain the first post I read upon my return was that of sweet Elisha. Please know I am praying for Emma, Josh, Macey, DW, Liberty, you and all the GEM staff during this time of unspeakable heartache. My heart hurts for each of you but overflows with joy knowing that this precious child was so well cared for and loved by you all, and that he is at home in the arms of Jesus! Praise His everlasting name! Big hugs and lots of love to you all.

    Piper

  6. I think it's incredible how God whispers His plans to us, even when we
    don't know it. When you posted about the need for wedding clothes for the
    Gems I felt God telling me that I should help meet this need and even
    though it didn't make sense financially, I agreed. I got an email back from
    my shower host within a few minutes asking if I would shop for Elisha. Of
    course, I had to go to the website and learn more about this sweet little
    boy. My heart was captured. This summer I cared for a little boy who was 5
    years old and weighed just 9 lbs. I was able to advocate for him to get a
    gtube places and for 8 weeks, we fought for his life. Moses went to be with
    Jesus in July. As soon as I started reading about Elisha he reminded me so
    much of my Moses, I got an overwhelming sense of urgency to pray for him
    and the Lord kept whispering to me that he would soon be healed and
    reminding me to "pray for Elisha's healing". I had no idea what that meant
    but for the last 2.5 weeks I have been praying for Elisha fervently not by
    my own choice but because God brought him to my mind so often, even waking
    me up in the middle of the night with an urgent need to pray for Elisha.
    All day last Friday I was stopped with an overwhelming need to pray, most
    were short whispered prayers as I went about my day until late in the
    afternoon when I spent quite a while listening to praise music and praying
    for Elisha's healing, as God had been telling me to do. Today I am praying
    prayers of praise for Elisha's full and true healing and the promise of all
    things new while I also pray for healing and comfort for those who loved
    him so dearly.

  7. I somehow lost your blog address as I stopped blogging. A post came up on facebook about sweet Elisha-a God thing. I am so very very sorry – our hearts break and yet rejoice at the same time. Praying for you all.

  8. Oh Linny I am so sorry for the loss of this beautiful boy. It is a gift to Emma and yourself and all those who came in contact with Elisha, a gift from God to be able to spend time with him, no matter how short. And He gave him to all of you because of your tender and willing hearts. He gave him to you all so that he would know love here on earth. And now he is whole and free and in the perfect loving arms of Jesus. Many prayers for you all. Sending you love.

  9. What a beautiful, handsome loved child. I'll think of your whole family as you adapt to the loss of precious Elisha. His smile in the photos confirms that he knew your love until his last breath. He knew he was loved. Be well.

  10. Oh sweet baby. We asked about adopting him several times but each time the Lord whispered to us that he was not ours. I am so thankful he was loved deeply and passed to Jesus knowing love, family, safety, and how treasured he was.

  11. God is always faithful. I'm thankful you were listening to the Spirit when He told you to kiss Elisha one more time; that's a beautiful, healing memory. Praying for all who knew him.

  12. I'm so sorry. What a loss. I always loved seeing his photos on your and Emma's blog because his smile was just so beautiful. But he belongs to God, not to us. He could have no better father. A hard comfort, that, but a real one. Jesus loves that little boy. He'll take care of him.

  13. I am so sorry for your loss. What an incredible gift the Gem Foundation was to this child! I can't imagine what has last days or weeks would have been like without the team. And vice versa, the joy he brought to them. Weeping with you.

  14. Sorry to hear about Elisha's passing but heaven is a wonderful place and he will be happy and well. But so glad you found joy in him! Hugs and prayers!

  15. I'm so sorry to read about this loss. This little one's face and smile are absolutely precious! I'm sure your consolation is that he is safe in the arms of the Lord and now whole in every way. ((hugs))

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