Merry Christmas

I figured it was about time for an update....not much to say other than Madi is still awaiting surgery, BUT she is feeling well enough to fully enjoy this Christmas! She couldn't be any cuter and we are all still praying for the upcoming surgery.
Thank you all for being such a blessing in such a time of need.
Merry Christmas!

So in awe

Just talked to Melissa and wanted to update you all on the fundraising and Madi.
First of all...Madi is getting better everyday which is so good because she is still considered to be in a critical state. Continue to pray as she works towards getting her surgery.
Second...I am just beyond blown away by all of you. Melissa just informed me that they have received about $2000 from your donations through this pay-pal and about $1500 from The Shepherd's Crook Ministries funds....that is $3500!!!!! You cannot even begin to know what a huge blessing that is...to know that your medical bills are being paid for and you just have to worry about taking care of your family....that is HUGE. Thank you all so much. God is so good and it's been awesome to see how He has used all of you, all over the country to bless the Davis Family.
If you would like to continue to give the opportunity will continue to be here at least until Madi is completely through with her surgery...there are still expenses ahead and it's always tough when you are living in a different country, the holidays are approaching, and you have a family to care for...on top of medical issues.
Blessings to you all.
Kelsey

Wonderful Madi update

Wow I am just blown away with how incredible your response has been to the Davis' situation.
Wanted to give an update on Madi girl....
This is from Melissa's facebook status yesterday: "brought home a pale delighted Madi this afternoon, only God could have pulled THAT miracle off. Faced death, we were given life and we are a humbled and grateful family. Please keep praying for Madi over the next 6-7 weeks, she will still be critical until after her coming surgery. For tonight just thankful that we have a patio full of side walk chalk pictures made by our 4 year old this afternoon"

Keep praying as they continue to push through this critical time with Madi and that her body would continue to heal so that she will be ready for surgery. You can continue to give....we've raised a lot of money, in fact Mel said that as of yesterday what they had received was $1700! There are still bills to be paid so if you would like to continue to give it will be received with a grateful heart.
Thank you all so much for showing the Davis' your love.

Healing...

I just had to share Melissa's faecbook status today....

"Is it okay to cry and praise God in the middle of your little girl's sonogram, because we had another victory today?!" ~Melissa

Praise God she is progressing! Not out of the woods for another six weeks still but the abscess is beginning to heal....keep praying....keep giving (the healing may be progressing, but medical expenses are still piling up). Thank you all for showing them how much you care!

Chip-in...

Heads up...I just got an email saying that my paypal payment has not been confirmed...please please don't cancel your payments..Scott has been receiving the emails and knows that the money is being sent, but has very limited time on his computer to go through and accept it all...they will be confirmed just give it some time
*edit*
YAY! Just talked to Scott....Madi update:
Her white blood cell count came way down again today which is good news. They are continuing to monitor the abscess where her appendix ruptured and if it shrinks she can possibly come home within 72 hours, but it is difficult to say. . So pray, pray, pray that she would continue to heal so that they can all be home again. I asked if Madi was aware of everything because several people have asked me that and I have been curious too...He said that she is very much aware of everything. She hates hospitals and doctors (what 4 year old does) and so every shot and poke is a fight, but that she is holding up...she's a fighter and it's good to hear she hasn't lost her spunk. If she is released she will get to go home and continue on the antibiotics and then will go in for surgery anywhere within 3 weeks-12 weeks from going home, depending on when the infection and abscess "cool off".
So specific prayer requests...continue to pray for Scott and Melissa, for strength and wisdom. Especially keep Madi in your prayers, for comfort, peace, strength and healing. And for all the family too as most of them are far away and cannot physically be there for them through this.
*end edit*

Heard from Scott and Melissa very briefly and they are so beyond blessed by you all. They said they can feel your prayers...

Still waiting for an update on Madi today but will let you all know as soon as I hear, I did talk to Alison Weibert who is the Managing Coordinator/Medical Ministries Coordinator for The Shepherd's Crook Ministries and she was explaining to me that when they did a heart surgery for one of the boys in Guatemala it ended up costing $10,000. Now, Madi is not getting heart surgery thankfully, but the bills are piling up. Have you ever had a child in the hospital, or spent time in a hospital yourself? It seems the bills are never ending afterward...your paying to stay there that long, paying for every test, every x-ray, every medication...and eventually once the infection goes away...they will be paying for a surgery. That adds up to be a lot....and that is not including the travel expenses of having to go back and forth from the hospital, food costs, etc.

The site has had LOTS of visitors which is awesome...the prayers are still much needed! I'm totally not someone who likes to ask for money, but since it for someone else and I know it is a need.....just think if everyone gave $5? $10? that adds up. Sorry I don't want to annoy any of you or guilt you into anything at all, I just know their hearts and I know they would never ask for financial help and so I feel like I just need to do it for them. I know that God will provide in the way that He sees best.

Side note:
I am trying to check and see if the chip-in widget is broken or if it just takes a long time for donations to register. I have had a couple people tell me they donated through it and received the confirmation emails...if anyone knows anything about chip-in or is super tech savy could you shoot me an email :)

Quick Update

also...just added the "Chip-in" widget to help keep track of what we have raised. Because I just added it the money already donated is not on there, but don't think that your donation hasn't been counted or isn't a HUGE blessing!

*EDIT*

Just received an email that Madi's fever is down, her white blood cell counts are normalizing and her abdomen is softer...all good signs that the antibiotics may be working against the major infection.

*END EDIT*

Quick update...nothing too new but I did hear from Caleb (one of Melissa's brothers) that Madi was doing better today. I also talked to one of the ladies from Shepherd's Crook and she had talked to Melissa earlier....she said that Mel voiced many of the stresses and worries she had on her plate (one being finances) so continue to pray for her and Scott.
Again, if you would like to help out financially the post below explains the options for how to do that. The holiday season is approaching (or upon us, I'm not really sure cause Christmas stuff has been out for months), let's help out so that they can enjoy a nice Christmas and not be worrying about looming medical bills.
Thank you all for your responses and your giving I know that this is a HUGE blessing to them and it's such a perfect example of how you don't have to live next door to show someone what it means to be in community.
I am personally so blessed to see how much people care about this family and to get the messages and emails asking about the Davis' and wanting to help...Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
~Kelsey

Let's meet a need!

Hello everyone! You are probably at this site because Melissa, Scott, Madi, Caden...or one of the other many Scott family members has touched your life through their stories, their missional living...or simply, first hand experience being around them.

The reason this blog is being started right now is specifically to keep updates on Madi and to bring together people to join in prayer, lifting up that sweet little girl. For those who don't know, on Friday Madi was put in the hospital with a ruptured appendix and because the swelling and infection were too bad they have not been able to operate. It's been a very sensitive, critical case and Melissa and Scott have been praying for and seeking out guidance and wisdom as they work with the doctors there in Guatemala as well as communicate with doctors stateside to confirm that the actions being taken are the best for their sweet girl. The best option has been to keep her on heavy antibiotics to hopefully fight the infection and continue to take X-Rays. I cannot even imagine how Scott and Melissa have been feeling through all this. It also means that their sweet baby Caden cannot be with them (although I assure you he is in wonderful hands and has the best Uncles and Aunt watching out for him).

Let me share with you just a brief back story on Madi's life........
A few years ago Melissa traveled to Guatemala to help a very sweet, spunky baby girl....to this day they continue to wait on some finalizations, living in Guatemala, gripping tight to the knowledge that God has perfect timing even when it seems like there is no hope left....Not only are they waiting, they daily serve the people there being a light in Madi's home country.Madi has faced many hardships in her short little life and it is very obvious that God hand picked Melissa to raise her and nurture her little spirit and to take care of her needs. Later Scott came into the picture and you know how that goes...boy meets girl (well...years ago they were actually sweet hearts ;) ) then some gap time goes on..Melissa begins to help take care of a little girl and is living in Guatemala..boy gets back in contact with girl..comes to Guatemala...they are head over heels in love...girl goes back to states to visit, boy proposes...boy and girl get married two years ago and he moves to Guatemala with her to continue waiting.
Next...they welcome a beautiful baby boy into the family one year ago...Madi is GREAT at helping take care of little Caden. So that is their story in a very tiny, itty bitty nutshell.
I have personally been so touched by this family...each member...Madi is a spunky, passionate, loving, social little girl who touches the lives of everyone who comes in contact with her...and everyone who hears her story. Scott and Melissa are the most amazing people I have ever met...they hate being recognized but I just have to brag. They are the most selfless, giving, servant hearted, missional living couple.

As their "extended" family we are called to help meet needs that arise and here is a need. Madi's medical bills are going to be huge and that is just one last thing they need to be worrying about. If we can pull together and each give what we can, we can not only bless this family, but show them that we may not be able to physically be there to support them but we can reach across miles and borders and help meet needs.

All the money given will go directly into Scott's paypal account because they are out of the country it's obviously too hard to do checks, bank deposits or anything else...this way they have direct access to the money and can take care of the medical costs that are piling up.

EDIT:
I just recieved word from Alison Weibert from The Shepherd's Crook Ministries (Melissa works with them), and she said they also have a sponsor fund set up for Madi and we can give directly to that if you would like to receive a tax deductible receipt.
Here are your options-
You can mail a check to:

The Shepherd's Crook Ministries

PO Box 773

West Chester, OH 45071
***Just make sure that you put "Madi Davis" in the memo***

Or you can go to their web site at the following link to access the PayPal donations page. You would just need to put "Madi Davis" in the "designate" field to be sure it gets to her account.

http://theshepherdscrook.org/donate/now/

If you would like to hear more about The Shepherd's Crook Ministries here is the website...they are an amazing organization

www.theshepherdscrook.org

You can also still do the following if you would like to just directly put money into the paypal account. Sorry for the changes I have been trying to get a hold of people to figure out the best way to do this, so now you have several options. If you have already given money, first of all...THANK YOU! and no worries, it still has gone directly to Scott and Melissa :)

If you feel led to give simply click on the "donate" button in the right column and it will take you to paypal. You can either sign into your paypal account or, if you don't have an account, you can click "continue" in the bottom left where it says to use credit, debit, or bank account. When you go to make the payment I think there is an option to add "specific instructions" and you can specify that you are donating for medical bills or that you are donating from this blog. If you would like to leave an anonymous comment or shoot me an email with the amount so I can somewhat keep track of what has been donated, so we can stop donations once things are covered (I like to think big). I'm not personally looking into their account so if we can keep an approximate tally that would be great. No sense in bugging Scott to try to find internet and keep track of it himself during this time.

If you have any other questions about Madi you can email me at lantz.kelsey@gmail.com and I will answer them as best I can.
Thank you for being willing to reach out and bless a family that so desperately needs to know that people are gathered around them.
~Kelsey