This months Inspiring Woman is my beautiful cousin LaRee! She has had a life full of miracles and surprises. I look up to her so much and hope that one day I can be the kind of mother she is. She loves so deeply and relies on the Lord with unshakable faith. Here is her story...
I
grew up in Orem, Utah. After graduating from Orem High I attended my
freshman year at Utah Valley University. That is where I met Travis,
he had just returned from serving a mission in Santiago, Chile. We
dated for almost a year before we were married and sealed right
before I turned twenty years old. We have anything but a practical
life.
I
decided to get my cosmetology license in hopes of having a well
paying job to put Travis through the remainder of his schooling.
Plus, I have always loved doing hair and makeup. I graduated very
quickly, and I had a job lined up after graduation at a Salon. I
began to grow a clientele and was making a descent salary. One Sunday
we attended a BYU devotional and we were both overwhelmed with a
strong impression that we needed to start a family right away. We had
the thought enter our minds that it might be hard for us to have
children. Taking this very seriously we made it a priority. I got
pregnant pretty quickly, easing our thoughts and concerns of
infertility. Travis was busy with school and basketball. He
started to stand out and get a lot of attention in the media
his junior and senior years playing Basketball for BYU. His senior
year he was invited to the Portsmouth invitational in St. Thomas. I
was unable to attend because I had just given birth to our first son
Ryder. He played really well and was named MVP of the
tournament. He began getting lots of phone calls and letters from
agents offering to represent him in the NBA draft of 2003. He was
then drafted number 37 of the 2003 NBA draft to the Atlanta Hawks.
We moved to Atlanta shortly after he had signed his NBA
contract.
It
was exciting to move to Atlanta. Our son Ryder had his first birthday
there. I had never lived outside of Utah and was excited to have that
amazing opportunity to experience living in the south of the United
States. I was blown away by the charm and beauty that Atalanta
had to offer. Beautiful estates with such mature over grown trees. It
was breathtaking especially in the fall and spring. I had hard days
being away from family and friends, but the most amazing thing about
being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is
that you can find friends all over the world. One common thing brings
us together is the perfect love of of our Father in Heaven and Jesus
Christ. The gospel is an anchor that unites, bonds, builds, and
strengthens friendships and relationships with those seeking to do
his work, and improve their lives. No matter the circumstances His
Gospel is an open invitation to all to come unto him, learn of Him
and be made whole through His atonement. I'm so grateful for the
Gospel and the blessing it has been in my life. It has been a secure
anchor and shield when the winds have blown and storms have moved
over me. In hard times I have always turned to the Lord and my
burdens have been lightened and my loads have been made easier. I
am so thankful for my Father in Heaven and his perfect love and that
he is a merciful compassionate God. So compassionate, He gave his
only begotten son, so that each one of us can be forgiven, comforted,
and blessed by Jesus Christ's Atonement. I'm so grateful for my
Savior and his perfect obedience to do the will of his Father. All of
these miraculous events happened because of love.
Travis's
contract came to an end. In negotiations his agent was able to get an
outstanding offer from a team in Victoria, Spain. The offer was hard
to turn down. We packed our bags and we headed on a flight to start a
new adventure in Spain. It was a bit of a culture shock coming
from Atlanta to beautiful Vitoria. The kisses on the cheeks were hard
to get used to. Being American and coming from a family where we were
not very affection, we value our personal space. The food
was very different, the cars, buildings, shopping, siestas, fashion,
and slower pace of life. When I first got there I was a bit arrogant,
thinking that it was silly that they closed everything down in
the middle of the day to nap or rest. As I lived there longer I
began to see the beauty and grew a deep respect for their culture and
tradition. It was nice that families could come home in the middle of
the day from work or school to rest or spend time together. I also
learned to appreciate the warm greeting of the two kisses on the
cheeks. It was very kind and respectful and it broke walls down of
coldness or insecurity instantly. After all, in my religion, kissing
on the cheek was like going to first base... Just kidding!! But it is
unusual to kiss a complete stranger where I come from.
My
husband was very busy and rarely was able to attend church with me.
It was challenging going with my 1 year old son and not speaking any
Spanish. Luckily there was an Elder serving in that area. He
was an angel. He is still the missionary who has left an everlasting
impression on me. Elder Bateman would translate the meeting in
English with a head set and microphone. All while playing the piano
and blessing and passing the sacrament. Sometimes he even ended up
giving a talk or conducting because people did not show up. A
missionary on a mission to serve the Lord. People at
church were very quiet and not as friendly as they were in Atlanta.
But there was the kindest lady named Maria Jesus. She just
smiled and kissed me on both of my cheeks and she adored Ryder. She
always made me feel welcome. Her eyes shined like the sun, with
the light of Christ.
We
had been in Spain for 2 years with no luck of getting pregnant for
the second time. We decided to see a fertility specialist. We soon
learned that we had infertility issues. It came as a shock because we
were able to get pregnant so quickly with her first child, we almost
didn't believe the news. Our first son Ryder was a complete medical
miracle. We then realized the only way to have more children would be
with fertility treatments. We began the process of in vitro
fertilization immediately. It was a horrible experience, I was
given the wrong injections several times that caused hyper
stimulation. I ended up in the hospital with complications and
difficulty breathing. It was very scary. Travis was out of the
country playing in Russia and was not given permission to fly home to
take care of Ryder and I. Luckily Travis' sister Heather was able to
come to the rescue with a phone calls notice and she was there the
next day to care for Ryder. I am so thankful for her and her
sacrifice. To make this long story short the IvF was unsuccessful.
My dearest friend I made in Vitoria named Teresa was
always serving me and helping me. Maybe it was out of pity or perhaps
she was an answer to all of my prayers. Although she wasn't the same
religion as I, we had similar values and characteristics. To this
day, I love her like a sister. I'm so thankful for her
friendship. She is beautiful in every way. I am so grateful to have
met her in a time of life when I needed a friend so desperately.
After Trav's contract was up in Vitoria we returned to Utah and tried
another Ivf full cycle in LA. It was successful! We packed up, and
set out on a new basketball journey to Moscow, Russia. Shortly after
we arrived I had a miscarriage. Starting all over with a new country,
apartment, language, culture and life I really struggled with the
miscarriage on top of all of the uncertain things in life. I did not
have a friend in literally thousands and thousands of miles. My
husband was traveling 2-3 times a week out of Russia. He was gone 6
-8 hrs a day in the car to get to his practices twice a day. He
sacrificed living closer to his practices for me and our family so
that we could move in an expat community. He was sometime in the car
2 hrs each way. He is so unselfish and thoughtful, I love my husband.
I
was utterly alone. There were times where I thought if I did not have
Ryder I would have died of a broken heart. Ryder was my side
kick, my buddy, best friend, and he was the sweetest child. I was so
thankful for him and that God had given him to me before we took off
on the basketball adventures. One night after Ryder had gone to
bed, I began to search the scriptures with tears streaming down my
face and with words of my prayer crying out of my heart and mouth. I
pleaded with my Father in Heaven for an answer, or at least a reason
for my suffering. I asked for peace and comfort. I even asked if He
cared or was he even aware of me? I came across Mathew 11:28-30. I
was overcome with a tremendous feeling of peace and comfort. I had a
very strong impression that I was there to do some work and help His
children in Russia. I also felt a strong feeling of love and that he
was aware of me and wanted me to not weep or feel sorry for myself.
My trial was small and it was not going to be forever. I was prompted
through the Holy Ghost to begin searching the statistics of orphaned
children and statistics of children with special needs in Russia.
Earlier that day I had seen an episode of Oprah where kids were being
sold into slavery in Africa for 20 dollars. It haunted me. 5 year
olds were sold to work for fisherman. They were sent to retrieve nets
out of the ocean and many of them could not swim. They would get
caught in the nets and drown. The masters would just go replace them
with another child sold by their parents for 20 dollars. It still
haunts me even writing about it. It hurts my soul to think of this.
But it also moved me and it still does today. I went into action with
a crazy idea to start a children's foundation to help children around
the world. I would start right there in Moscow, Russia and hopefully
be able to help in other parts of the world.
My
husband and I always had a desire to adopt so we began to fill the
adoption papers out when Ryder was four. As we were just about to
mail them off I found out that I was pregnant. No fertility treatment
just an answered prayer and a miracle from our loving Father in
Heaven. It's crazy how the Lord works. He refines us, He sometimes
has to test and try us so we can be the instrument or tool He needs
to build up His kingdom. I'm so humbled by His perfect plan of
happiness. It is real and I testify of it. I know our Father in
Heaven loves each one of us and Christ lives. He atoned for our sins
and he is the prince of peace. The atonement is real and it is
powerful, it's miraculous. I have seen it change lives, comfort the
heartbroken, and soften the hardest of hearts and allow forgiveness
and mercy to take place. It is beautiful and glorious.
Shortly
After my pregnancy my husband's Achilles ruptured during a game, we
were sent home to Utah for an emergency surgery. While we were home
we were approached by a nice gentleman named Eric. He worked for
nature sunshine. He mentioned that his company was looking for a
foundation to sponsor and they wanted the foundation to be doing work
in Russia. It was a perfect match and they became our founding
sponsor. We know it was another miracle and a stepping stone to help
the children in Russia. We returned to Russia with funding and began
to do humanitarian work with the funds from Natures Sunshine. We
lived in Moscow Russia for 4 years. It was amazing and beautiful. I
love the people and culture. I'm truly blessed for the experiences I
had and people I met there. Because of the foundation a sweet little
boy named Artem with liver failure was able to get a liver transplant
and is healthy and happy. The impact of the foundation today.
In
no way do I want to take credit for the impact. I truly believe it
has been Heavenly Father's work and my husband and I were instruments
and tools that helped the miracles take place.
Since
starting the the foundation we have been blessed with 2 more healthy
boys and a beautiful daughter through adoption. We have four
beautiful children who are miracles and gifts from God. I love being
a mother and a wife, I love my husband with all of my heart, and I
love my kids deeply. I am so blessed and I count my blessing daily. I
truly see the blessings through the growth of overcoming obstacles
and challenges. With the Lord all things are possible.
When
you have promptings don't stay in neutral get moving into action and
be an instrument and you will allow miracles to take place!!
Thank you so much for sharing your story, LaRee. You are truly inspirational. Love you!
LaRee..
