Ministering to others: In the storms of life

This is the second Sunday our pastor preached in his series entitled "Shipwrecked: What do you do when life's toughest storms threaten to destroy you?" As I mentioned last Sunday, all of the messages seem to apply to where we are in our lives. Today he continued in Acts 27 with verses 9-15 this morning and verses 16-25 this evening. The Apostle Paul did not create the storm he was caught in but what he did do was use the storm in his life to minister to others. Our pastor was saying that so many people run from God, run from the church and run from God's people when they are in the midst of a storm. When what we should be doing is running to God, to the church and to God's people where we can be ministered to. He was also saying that God does not waste any experience He allows us to go through. We are to take our storms and use them to minister to others. Have you been through a storm in life and used it to help others? If not, I urge you to think about how you could reach out and help someone today. There are so many hurting people all around us but we have to be willing to reach out.

The day we found out about the Trisomy 18 diagnosis we turned to the Internet to find resources and support because of the rareness of this disorder. What we found on the other end was a sweet Christian girl, in Memphis Tennessee, going through the same storm. She could have turned away, she could have ignored my email, she could have simply responded by saying she'd pray for me and that be it. Thankfully she did not. What she did was return my email immediately, pray for me daily and email me daily. She encouraged me, she loved me, she supported me all at the same time she was in the midst of her own Trisomy 18 storm. Because she reached out a sweet friendship was formed and we were able to travel the storm together, all the way to the end. And although the storm might be over, the journey is not. Now, we are traveling a journey together by encouraging each other, praying for each other and watching the Lord use our precious babies to reach others. That is truly what ministering is all about. (Thank you sweet Angie!)

Because the Internet has been such a great source of support and encouragement through this storm, as I continued to develop many new friendships (Kenzie, Kim, Emily, Kristy & Chrissy), our desire since August has been to use our storm to minister to others through the Internet. As mentioned a few months ago, we have earnestly prayed for months and feel the Lord calling us to create a foundation on behalf of our precious little boy, Tristan. The foundation will be called "The Tristan Asher Foundation". It's main purpose will be an online support center for girls to come to when they are awaiting possible Trisomy 18 results or if they have received a Trisomy 18 diagnosis and we walk this road with them. We want to reach out to couples locally and around the world. We want to use the 56 days the Lord blessed our family with to bring hope, encouragement and support to girls who receive NO HOPE when given a diagnosis of Trisomy 18 as it is labeled by doctors as "incompatible with life".

We have just about finished the foundation paperwork and are currently working with a designer regarding the website and logo. The foundation is slowly coming together and we have set a goal for July 1st and are hoping to meet that deadline. In the meantime, if you are reading this blog and know of a family who has received a Trisomy 18 diagnosis or is currently caring for a new Trisomy 18 baby and needs emotional support, please give them our blog address and let them know they can contact us directly through our blog until our foundation website is set-up.

We would also ask that you please pray for us daily as we are establishing this foundation. It is our ministry that was developed through the greatest storm of our life and yet it was the sweetest of all - 56 days with our little boy, Tristan Asher Hostetter!