Well I am not really sure how to start this letter because I am still not sure I have wrapped my mind around everything that happened this summer, but I am holding on to the rock that is our sustainer and faithful God.
I moved into my new apartment/dorm (Kedong Upper West, KUW) on July 16th. I then left for Japan for what was supposed to be a 3-week visit to see my twin and her family on July 17th. We had a great few days together and I enjoyed meeting my namesake, Eimi (Amy) Selah, as well as spending lots of time with the older kiddos. It was funny because my niece, Hitomi, couldn’t quite understand that there were two Amys.. so she kept calling me “Abby”! J We had a lot of laughs about that.
4 days after arriving, we got a call from my dad in Indiana (their late Friday night). My stomach dropped when Alicia said who was calling because I knew it was late at night on Friday. Then we heard the news that has been something I have dreaded ever hearing. My brother, Tom, whom has been suffering with M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) for the past 10 years had died that night. My brother, Jon, wrote this and I would like to share what he said. “When you go on Facebook, the status asks "what's on your mind"? Well, weighing heavily on the Jarrett/Graham family minds is the fact that after 10 years of an auto-immune illness that left my younger brother, Tom, in intense, body-wracking pain 24/7, he took his life.
While not condoning his actions, it is hard to find fault in what he did. He had researched his illness, been a vocal presence to the illness community, wrote to Washington, been to many, many doctors, gone through experimental chemo therapy and numerous other treatments. All to no avail. He has been sick for so long, it is hard to even remember the times that he wasn't sick. When we get illnesses, they are sometimes severe and we lay there puking or with the lights out with a migraine or whatever we are doing, always knowing that our bodies will recover and you just stick it out for the hours, or days that it takes to recover.
Tom's illness was progressively worse to the point this summer that he rarely was able to get out of bed. The pain never went away despite the best care possible. His body, and his fogged brain had enough” So even though we are still grieving and mourning the loss of Tom, we have hope in the fact that by God’s grace and sacrifice for Tom’s sins on the cross, we know he is in heaven with his Savior. He is whole and healed with no more pain. One of the “themes” of this whole time of grieving that the Lord has shown us over and over again is God’s grace. What a gift!! In my head and heart, I often think of God’s grace and realize in a small way just how beautiful it is, but hearing the gospel over and over during this time has been like having my breath knocked out of me (in a good way). 1st Peter 5:10 says, “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” It is not our job to earn our spot in heaven, it is ONLY by God’s grace. The Lord laid this song on my sister-in-love, Christine’s heart right before the viewing. “Thank you for the cross Lord, Thank you for the price You paid, Bearing all my sin and shame, In love You came, And gave amazing grace, Thank you for this love Lord, Thank you for the nail pierced hands, Washed me in Your cleansing flow, Now all I know Your forgiveness and embrace. So we are grieving, but not without hope.
I want to share a few examples of God’s care for our family that we experienced in the midst of this. A friend of my sisters organized raising funds for my WHOLE family to travel back to the States and to Indiana. Laura and I were coming from Japan, my sister, Beth from England, Pat and fam from Colorado, Jon and fam from South Carolina. Those funds were raised quickly and we all made it home by Wednesday evening the 27th and the viewing was on Thursday and the funeral on Friday. The overwhelming amount of support from friends, family and even messages from the ME community online was incredible!! The 5 area churches represented by our family members surrounded us with love and care. They provided us with meals for a week for my family of 50+ people. That was a wonderful blessing to not have to worry about that each day. My family was able to have intense, constant family time, which was so healing. Christine and Austin and Andrew have been such a testimony to all of us. Their faith in God and love for Tom have been fully evident in every word that comes out of their mouths. The way Christine grieves allows us to grieve well. I could say a lot more about her, but she would want me to point you instead to her Lord, who is where her strength comes from.
The next story is almost unbelievable (BUT GOD). Laura and I had our long-haul flight from Tokyo to Dallas and noticed that the 2 flight attendants on our side of the plane were very sweet. About 3 hours into the flight, baby Eimi started to get a little fussy, so I went to the back of the plane (we were in the last seat anyway) to stand and bounce her. I got to talking with one of the flight attendants (Susan) and in our small talk it came up of why Laura and I were traveling home to Indiana. Of course I started breaking down when explaining why and Susan immediately stood up and gave me a hug and called the other lady, Terry, to come over and they both hugged me and were crying with me. Well as we were talking, lots of things came up and they knew I was coming from a visit with my sister and that I was a missionary in Kenya. I told them how God had provided the funds for us to fly and how He helped us get Eimi’s passport in time to travel. I said a few other things I can’t remember but enough that Terry said, “you know Amy, you are not alone on this flight, Susan and I are Christians. Can we pray for you?” So they prayed for me right there and we talked for almost 2 hours. Laura got a nap this whole time J. She came and found me and Terry went to the front of the plane for a minute. When she came back, Terry said, “it sounds like the Lord has already taken care of your flight, but I want to help.” She handed me a 50$ bill!!! I was shocked! She knew we had a 4-hour layover in Dallas (which turned into 14 hrs because of a cancellation and delays) and said you will need food! Susan also handed Laura another 50$ later. I mean, I get chills just remembering this again!! God was watching out for us through these sweet “angels” in the sky. We both kept saying, this was not an accident! God knew. They pampered us the whole rest of the flight and continued to say they would be praying for our family. Needless to say, we will never forget Susan and Terry and their care of us. I have traveled SO many times and have never heard of anything like this, so I know this was just another extension of God’s care for our family in such a hard time. Those were just a few of the ways that, to me, was like God wrapping me up in a big bear hug. That sounds a little silly maybe, but it was truly so comforting. I traveled back to Japan with Laura on August 4th and then had 2 more days with her family before heading to Kenya on the 8th.
Another way God showed His sovereign care was that my best friend, Julie Sandefur was coming to spend about 2 weeks with me before school started. We had tried to plan this trip ever since I started coming back to Kenya and it finally worked out. God knew I would need a friend here with me. We kept busy seeing some of the beauty of Kenya as well as finishing unpacking my house.
This week I have been busy with meetings for the beginning of term and finishing up preparations for my dorm. Because there are a smaller amount of Juniors boarding at RVA this year, I get to have ALL of the Junior girls in my dorm. So I will have 20 girls this term, and 21 during terms 2 and 3. I am SO excited to have these girls in my dorm. 8 of them were in my 6th grade PE class I taught my first year, and 7 of them were in my Sunday school group last year. I have also had a few of their older sisters before so it is fun to be so connected already from the beginning.
I would appreciate prayers for our family as we continue to grieve at different stages and miss my brother. He was an incredible and loving brother. He was a steady presence in our family even during his illness. Please keep Christine and my nephews, Austin and Andrew, in your prayers too.
Please pray for a strong start of the year with the girls; that we would build relationships quickly and that the Lord would give me wisdom as I lead these sweet girls. Also that the Lord would give me insight to any issues as well as helping me see anything I need to. J (so general at the beginning, but the Lord knows what I mean. )
Please pray for continual support needs. There are always many expenses that come up with having a dorm that is as big as mine. For example, I had to buy a small deep freezer because I never had enough space in my fridge/freezer combo in my last dorm. Anytime we want to do something special for our girls, those funds have to come out of our own pocket so it just depends on what the Lord has blessed me with for that month. He is faithful and I know I can trust Him. If you ever feel led to give a one-time gift or become part of my monthly support team, your gift can be sent to African Inland Mission.
By Mail
You can contribute by mail. To do this, make your check payable to AIM and include a separate note indicating the missionary name or project name. Our mailing address for contributions is:
Africa Inland Mission
Attn.: Receipting Department
P.O. Box 3611
Peachtree City, GA 30269-7611
Attn.: Receipting Department
P.O. Box 3611
Peachtree City, GA 30269-7611
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More information is online at: http://us.aimint.org/give/
I so appreciate your support and love. I also should mention that I am thankful for the community the Lord has surrounded me with here at RVA. It was really sweet. I got to see 3 of my girls from my first dorm here. They are getting ready to start their sophomore year in college. I was talking with them and sharing about my brother. Before we said goodbye they put their arms around me and prayed for my family and me. You better believe I had tears in my eyes. J I have many fellow staff members and friends that have continued to check in on me and pray for me. The body of Christ is a beautiful thing and such a picture of the love of God.
I will close for now!!
Much love to you all.
Serving with you,
Amy
Below are some pictures of my time with Laura and her family as well as our family in Indiana.
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| Final sibling picture with Dad.. that is a tough realisation every time. |
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| "trins" :) |
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| 7 sisters together for the first time in a LONG time. |
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| Aunt Amy carrying baby Eimi the Kenyan way :) |
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| Keishi, Hitomi, Aunt Amy |
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| my nieces and nephews are growing up!!! 5 in college. so crazy! L-R (Sister)Laura, Nate, Tyler, Ethan, Carter, Luke (brother in love), Chris, Me, baby Jamie being help by Katie |
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| Jarretts dont do things in small groups. Hiking in Turkey Run |
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| baby Eimi and Aunt Amy :) |
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| "sis" Alicia, with Yoshiki, Eimi, Keishi, and Hitomi |
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| Jamie and Susie, Christine, Debbye and Leo, and me |
