Bucket List Trip

2020 started out strong and filled with adventure! In February we were able to check off a huge bucket list item – visiting Australia!

We had the honor of being hosted in Sydney by our friends Glen and Natalie. We met Glen during a DART response with SP in Puerto Rico in 2017. It was so fun to finally meet Natalie in person, their two daughters, and catch up with Glen. They treated us like family and gave us a tour of the greater Sydney area.

After spending several days in Sydney, we hopped on a plane and headed north to Cairns. Our dream of scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef was fulfilled – an adventure of a lifetime in itself!

Then back to Sydney for a couple of more days with our friends. We went on a few more adventures that included the famous Bondi Beach. We hope to return to this beautiful country someday!

COVID-19 NYC

Anyone who knows me knows I love NYC. This trip was far different than any other. It was surreal and eery to see an empty Times Square that is usually bustling 24/7.

I had the privilege of serving with SP during the COVID-19 response to NYC in April. The first few days I trained and worked a few partial shifts in the field hospital in Central Park. Then I worked a couple of weeks in the makeshift unit in the lobby of Mount Sinai Hospital across the street from Central Park. In my last weeks there, I was assigned to Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital where SP occupied a couple of floors.

It was a long and exhausting but rewarding and blessed several weeks. I had the opportunity to serve alongside some of the absolute best people both within SP and within the hospital system. Together we laughed, cried, prayed, read scripture, showed and shared the love of Jesus, held hands with those who were alone and afraid, made arrangements for families to room together after spending weeks and months separated, struggled together learning a cumbersome EMR system, and so much more all while working in full PPE on night shift and completely exhausted. Most of the team got only one (if that) day off during their entire deployment, working 12+ hour shifts in full PPE for 3-5 weeks. 7 Linsky Crew, may God continue to bless each and every one of you; each of you are a treasure!

The people of NYC were so very kind to us despite what some media outlets portrayed. Every single evening at 7pm the buildings would erupt with people cheering. You couldn’t help but tear up – for so many reasons. Much love to NYC!

Honduras

Seth and his dad flew the SP helicopter from North Carolina to Honduras in November in response to hurricanes Eta and Iota. There was massive flooding from hundreds of destroyed levies. The helicopter was used to transport two medical teams daily to remote areas and deliver food, water, and filtration systems.

I was able to join Seth in Honduras for Christmas and had the opportunity to make the trip back to North Carolina in the helicopter as SP had ceased operations there. It was such a fun experience taking such a long trip through a few countries and states in a helicopter. It was a blessing to see Seth in his element and doing what he loves as well.

2021 Life Happenings

We celebrated our 10 year anniversary in Belize. Another scuba diving bucket list item checked off – diving the Great Blue Hole!

We have a new addition to our family, a golden-doodle named Moto. He’s the cutest but also very much a rotten little pup. Chopper and Moto are a rambunctious duo, but we wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world.

I started a new job working from home in April and loving it. My team is great and I enjoy the flexibility.

We also became a great aunt and great uncle in April. Our nephew had a sweet baby boy, Kayden.

The Next Adventure Awaits

After much prayer, Seth made the decision to resign from his full time position at SP. He has accepted a new position flying helicopters for a Christian owned company in Puerto Rico.

We will be moving there this summer. We are so excited for this new opportunity and to live in Puerto Rico!

Our hearts have been full the past few years with the friends and church family God placed in our lives; it has truly felt like home. It will be tough to leave these beautiful people, but we always want to stay open to the Lord’s leading. It does help that we will be living in the Caribbean, which is a great vacation spot for friends 😉

We are just so very thankful for God’s sovereignty, faithfulness, provision, and just pure goodness. We are grateful and thrilled to be able to be together in this next season of life.

Prayer

• Follow God’s leading
• Finding a home in Puerto Rico
• Smooth transition
• We would stay faithful to the Lord

First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Harris crew!! We added a new member to our family in February – Chopper. He is a maltipoo and oh so cute but oh so naughty, but he’s still a pup.

We also found out in November that our sweet Buddy has cancer; he has a mast cell tumor on his right shoulder and spots on his heart and lungs. We know our time is limited with him and pray he goes peacefully when his time comes.

Homecoming

Seth arrived home from Puerto Rico in early February. We made the most of his time home and squeezed in as much family and adventure as we could prior to his most recent deployment.

In February we were able to travel to Yakima, WA to visit Seth’s grandma who turned 100 years old in November 2018. We then visited Charity’s family in Texas in March. Seth turned the big 4-0 in April! Seth’s dad, Roy was honored for his military service in Vietnam by taking an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. with a special welcome home celebration upon his return back to Charlotte. We celebrated the 50th wedding anniversary of Seth’s parents, Roy and Kathy in June. In July we celebrated our niece, Sidney in Aruba as she graduated high school this year. We also took several motorcycle rides through the North Carolina mountains as well as kayaked and hiked. It was such a special season to enjoy together!

The Bahamas

On September 4th, Seth flew the Samaritan’s Purse helicopter to the Bahamas to assist in relief efforts after hurricane Dorian. He was based in Nassau and flew the helicopter to Freeport, Abaco and surrounding islands. The helicopter work has slowed down in the past couple of weeks. The aviation team is now based in Ft. Lauderdale, and most of the flying is being done in the Samaritan’s Purse caravan. It has been nice having Seth home the past few weekends as aviation operations have slowed down.

Samaritan’s Purse has made a huge impact in the Bahamas in the aftermath of the hurricane. Here is one of many articles regarding their work and ministry there. If you would like to volunteer with Samaritan’s Purse in the Bahamas click here for more information.

Seth will continue working in the Bahamas for part of if not all of 2020. Thankfully, he will be able to travel home on weekends. It has been a very tough season of us being apart but a crucial season for his service in the ministry.

Prayer

• The recovery efforts for the Bahamians
• Clear vision and direction in 2020 – for God to open our hearts and minds to His will
• Opportunities for us to serve together

Recap of 2018

2018 was filled with great blessings and adventures but was also a pretty tough year for us. We were not living on the same continent for the majority of the year but were so very blessed to at least see each other about every six weeks; we tried to make the best of those times together. We truly thank those of you that have continued to cover us in prayer throughout the years.

• Mid-January – Mid-February: Seth was in Antigua assisting with flight operations.
• March – Present: Seth has been deployed to Puerto Rico to operate the Samaritan’s Purse helicopter for relief efforts.
• Mid-March – end of May: Charity served at a Memorial Christian Hospital in Bangladesh with Samaritan’s Purse partnering with AOB Bangladesh.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Seth and I were able to spend time together in Puerto Rico for Christmas. It was definitely a different Christmas, but we made the most of it and simply enjoyed being in the same place.

To ring in the New Year we took a trip to Colombia. For those of you that do not know, Seth lived in Colombia for a large portion of his childhood. He had not been back to Colombia since age 12 or 13.

This was a full-circle trip and was so special for Seth to revisit and for me to see where he grew up. We visited two of his homes in Bogota where Seth first lived upon arrival to Colombia, which are both now businesses. We also drove about 5 1/2 hours southeast of Bogota to Lomalinda, a remote area, where Seth spent the last portion of his time in Colombia before he and his family returned to the U.S.

The foundation is the only thing that currently remains of his home in Lomalinda. Seth chatted with people currently living nearby, and they were excited to hear his stories of growing up there.

We also met a guy who is currently ministering to the local and last remaining members of the Indian tribe in this area. The guy’s father accepted Christ as a translator working with the missions organization Seth’s parents were serving with in Lomalinda back in the early 80s. Now, his son is carrying on the ministry locally. It was incredible to meet him and see everything come full circle.

New on the horizon

I received a call from Seth a couple of days ago that went something like this:

Seth: Do you want the good news or bad news?

Charity: Bad news first…

Seth: Well, we won’t be able to go to Culebra in February because you won’t be coming to Puerto Rico.

Me: Does this mean…

Seth: The good news is I’ll be coming home in early February.

Guys, this is such exiting news! Although we both know Seth has greatly been used by God as part of the team in Puerto Rico, we are both thankful that he will be coming home soon. It has been a long time coming to say the least!

We are in prayer regarding this new year and how God wants to use us in furthering His kingdom. Our prayer is that we will be serving together – whatever that looks like – whether here locally or abroad.

Again, we thank you all for your love, prayer, friendship, and support over the years!

Greater things are to come!

Join us in Prayer:

• God will continue to use Seth in these last days in Puerto Rico for His glory
• Safety for Seth and another pilot as they fly the helicopter back to North Carolina
• Wisdom and direction for us as we enter this new year and season
• We would keep God first and be kingdom-minded

Farewell, Bangladesh

Samaritan’s Purse closed the RCU (Rohingya Care Unit) at Memorial Christian Hospital in Bangladesh at the end of May. We had such an incredible SP team and local staff as well as the MCH team. There truly are no words to fully express the entire experience in Bangladesh. The only way I know how to describe it is the toughest yet most rewarding time of my life; we saw and experienced great tragedy yet witnessed the miraculous.

Home

I arrived home from Bangladesh on May 30th, and Seth arrived home on May 31st. We had some much needed time together for a couple of days in North Carolina. We then took our nephew, Trey on vacation as a graduation gift. We had the best time at the beach and enjoyed one-on-one time with our nephew. Seth stayed home for a couple of days after vacation, and we rode the motorcycle on the Blue Ridge Parkway; such great beauty in NC!!

Seth then headed back to Puerto Rico. I stayed behind at home for most of June to rest, work and enjoy friends and family. I was able to meet a dear friend and her daughter in NYC for a fun girls’ weekend, my longtime bestie came to visit, and my mom and two aunts visited as well. It was such a blessing to be surrounded by friends and family after being in Bangladesh for a couple of months.

Puerto Rico

Seth has been serving in Puerto Rico since early March with Samaritan’s Purse and will be here indefinitely. He is flying the helicopter for three SP programs. One is a solar power program. He is flying the team up into remote mountainous areas where they are installing solar power to homes that are still without power.

The second is a church and home roof rebuilding project where he is flying the teams into remote areas in the mountains that are very hard to access by road. The teams are installing roofs on churches and homes that are still under blue SP tarps 10 months after the hurricane.

The third, and most challenging project is sling loading generators, solar lights, and Bibles to remote churches. The churches are then distributing the items to families still in need and expecting power to be returned in the coming months, but they are still in need of a more immediate short term solution.

I arrived in Puerto Rico in late June. It is so nice to be back and see so much progress since last being here in December. I am enjoying getting to know the team here and putting faces to names of people Seth has told me about over the last several months.

I will be flying back to NC some to work as there are currently no positions available here in Puerto Rico. It will be tough to leave as we are finally back together again, but we know God has a plan and purpose for Seth being here now.

Prayer

• Wisdom and clear direction from the Lord moving forward
• We will remain kingdom focused in all that we do
• We will be able to be together/serve together long term in the same location
• Safety for Seth as he flies each day

Rohingya

I did not fully realize the magnitude of the Rohingya crisis until I arrived in Bangladesh. Click here to learn more. We are told that although the Rohingya have arrived to Bangladesh life will not be all rainbows and butterflies. Essentially, they are in a detainment camp here as they are not allowed to leave the camp without documentation of medical necessity, unable to get or create jobs, etc.. I can’t imagine being discriminated against to the point of being driven out of my country and into another where I’m confined to a camp simply because of my race and/or religion. This is such a tragedy, and the Rohingya need our prayers and to be shown the love of Jesus.

RCU

Rohingya Care Unit is an extension built onto Memorial Christian Hospital to treat Rohingya refugees. Memorial Christian Hospital has been in operation since the 1960s; you can read more here. We have seen various injuries and illnesses from elephant attacks and motor vehicle accidents to Hirschsprung’s (5 patients so far!) and cancer.

So much has happened in the past month inside this unit built of rolls of white plastic and bamboo with a tin roof. The unit is divided into two wards: male and female. Heat quickly fills both wards as the day begins and termites fall from the bamboo onto the patients, beds, floor, staff, etc throughout the day. I often cannot tell if sweat is rolling down my back or a termite or both. Prayers blare from speakers at a nearby mosque; these were once unfamiliar but are now rarely noticed. It is funny how quickly our “normal” changes when we’re in a new environment.

This week has been especially tough for our team. On Thursday we sent home an 11 year old girl who was such a ray of sunshine in the RCU. Unfortunately, she was discharged from care as there were no other treatment options available for her here or anywhere else in country. She came to us approximately a month ago with an osteosarcoma on her right knee the size of a soccer ball. The doctors here amputated her right leg above the knee. She was recovering so well and had just started getting around on crutches like a pro. Then she began to complain of shoulder pain, so they took a chest X-ray. The results showed metastasis to the lungs with one large tumor (larger than her heart) and three small tumors. We took some family photos and had them printed out for the family. Thursday we gathered around in a corner of the RCU with the family; we shared the Gospel, prayed with this precious family and gave the photos to them as a gift. There was not a dry eye that day; I will never understand these types of situations this side of heaven. Truly heartbreaking.

We have also witnessed miracles in the RCU. We have a little 2 year old boy who aspirated on a palm seed a few weeks ago. Initially, the doctors were unable to retrieve the seed, and it was lodged into the right lower lobe of his lungs. The day after he arrived on the unit he had to have emergency surgery to have a tracheotomy as his airway had swollen up due to the trauma from the aspiration and attempt of retrieval of the seed. A few days later on the night shift the baby had a right pneumothorax and had to have a chest tube placed. He started recovering well, and we thought he would soon be discharged. A week or so later as we were leaving our shift in the evening, he went into respiratory distress, and his oxygen saturation dropped really low and stayed low for at least 30 minutes as we bagged him until we could get him to the operating room. We cleaned up the area around his bed and put fresh sheets on it. As we were walking home we thought there was no way he would make it and had the discussion that we made his bed to help ease the father’s anxiety in hopes that his son would return to it. As we were eating dinner the surgeon sent a message to our charge nurse with a picture of the palm seed and the numbers on the pulse oximeter; great oxygen saturation and great heart rate! Needless to say we were shocked and so excited! The doctor explained to us that the original palm seed he aspirated had made its way to the left main stem bronchus of the lungs (causing the respiratory distress), and the doctor was able to retrieve it. He was monitored for a few more days, and his tracheotomy was decannulated. As I type this, the boy’s father is packing their belongings to be discharged back to the refugee camp. Such a miracle!

We are praying and believing for complete healing for two boys. One is a 14 year old with multiple medical issues and is severely emaciated; he has literally deteriorated before our eyes. The social worker, which is like a chaplain has been talking to him about Jesus, and he prayed last week that Jesus would forgive him of his sins and heal him; this is what it’s all about, Jesus. Since that day he has been eating again and has a whole new demeanor. The other boy is a 5 year that has been in the RCU for approximately 80 days, and as you can imagine we are all really attached to him. He is scheduled to have a major surgery this week. This will be his second surgery since coming to the unit, and he came close to death the first time. Please pray for him; we are praying for healing in his body and that God would give the surgeons wisdom as they perform this complicated surgery. We are believing for more miracles.

Life on the Compound

Our team (Samaritan’s Purse) is staying on AOB’s 43 acre compound here in Malumghat, Bangladesh in the home of a missionary family that is on furlough; what a treat to have such a nice place to stay! Each nurse works 12 hour shifts 4-5 days in a row with one day off in between; we also rotate day and night shifts every couple of weeks. There is a pool on the compound for everyone to enjoy, which is where we usually spend our days off. There are rice paddy fields around the compounds with estuaries where boats come and go when the tide is high. It is such a beautiful place and so peaceful.

Prayer

• Rohingya crisis
• Safety of the Rohingya refugees in the camp and no cholera outbreak with monsoon season coming
• Healing of our patients
• Our team as it has been a tough week
• The MCH staff
• AOB staff

Antigua

Seth and I recently returned from Antigua. Seth’s role there was flight operations which involved coordinating flights between Antigua, Barbuda, and Dominica as Samaritan’s Purse is providing rebuilding efforts to the latter two islands. We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to serve together in such a beautiful country filled with some of the most warm, kind, and gracious people. We also met some wonderful people working with Samaritan’s Purse that will be forever friends.

Puerto Rico Round 2

Seth will be flying the Samaritan’s Purse helicopter back down to Puerto Rico in March. We are not quite sure how long he will be there, but it seems it will be for an extended time. We will update more regarding the role of the helicopter once plans and programs are finalized. We are both so excited to be going back to serve the people of Puerto Rico!

Bangladesh

I (Charity) will be serving with Samaritan’s Purse at Memorial Christian Hospital in Malumghat, Bangladesh for a couple of months beginning in late March/early April. I am honored and extremely blessed to serve in this capacity. My hope is to join Seth in Puerto Rico upon returning from Bangladesh.

Prayer

We thank you all so very much for your continued prayers and support. Please pray as the Lord leads and also specifically for:

• Safety as Seth and another pilot fly the helicopter to Puerto Rico and for Charity as she travels to Bangladesh
• For each of us to be used by God in furthering the kingdom and to grow closer to Him during this next season.
• Continued strength in our marriage as we will be apart for a couple of months
• A position for Charity when she arrives in Puerto Rico

 

Blessings!

~Charity & Seth

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Seth and I decided to begin updating everyone via this site as opposed to social media as not everyone uses it (including Seth!). So, in saying that…Welcome!! Also, we would like to thank each of you for your support over the years via prayer, encouragement, financial, etc. We truly can’t thank you enough and would not be where we are today without each of you!

We are currently living in North Carolina as of May 2017. Seth is working as a helicopter pilot for Samaritan’s Purse, and I am working PRN (as needed) as a nurse doing Occupational Health/Primary Care and Home Health.

In 2017, Seth was deployed with the Samaritan’s Purse helicopter to Texas (Aug), Florida (Aug), and Puerto Rico (Sept-Dec). His dad, Roy joined him for the Puerto Rico deployment; they flew the helicopter there and back, island hopping along the way for fuel stops. I was also deployed to Puerto Rico with the Samaritan’s Purse DART (Disaster Assistance Response Team) as part of the Medical Team from October – December. It was such a blessing to be deployed together. Puerto Rico is such a beautiful place with some of the most lovely people we have ever met.

Seth was deployed on Saturday to Antigua to assist with the Samaritan’s Purse response to Barbuda and Dominica. He is scheduled to be there for one month but could be longer if there is still a need for his role. I will be volunteering there for two weeks and scheduled to leave mid-February.  Please pray for safety over the team, for the people who have been devastated in Barbuda and Dominica, and ultimately for people to come to know Jesus Christ.

Again, thank you for your prayers and support over the years. May God bless each of you!

~ Charity & Seth