06.01.07

Posted in General News at 1058 by SeismicMike

I realize that some of you are very much in the loop while others are somewhat not in the loop, so I’m going to try to cover all bases. We have not produced an official prayer letter in a while because of how crazy everything is. I think the last thing we sent out was a very general “We got back from the Philippines” note. I still intend to send out more personalized thank-yous to those who financially supported us, but that won’t happen until Liz sends us the list.

So, I’ll start a while back. While we were on the trip, we discovered that Mandie is pregnant. This is very exciting for us, but is going to make life very crazy - and it already has. Life continued pretty much normally until May hit. Now, everyone here told us that May is the busiest month, but I’m not quite sure if I can accurately evaluate that statement, because a lot of what has happened in our May has been abnormal - non routine. It started with my appendectomy very early on - which put me a bit behind on my work. Then I got home and back to work and such and then last Tuesday (a week and three days ago), Mandie discovered that she was bleeding. I took her to the hospital and they said that the placenta had begun to separate from her uteris - which was not an actual miscarriage, but has put the pregnancy in danger. They ordered her to bed rest and that was that - until this Tuesday when she started bleeding again - this time more so. The doctors say that the tear has advanced - though the baby is still ok at the moment. So they admitted her to the hospital on a provisional basis to make sure she heals up.

So that’s where we stand. She’s coming home today, which is good news. Needless to say, my life has become extremely busy in the last few weeks. Through it all though, the Lord has shown His blessings. He has placed us in a vibrant community of believers who have rallied around us in love and support. Not an hour goes by that someone doesn’t ask how we’re doing and if they can help, and they have helped! The news of Mandie’s initial bed rest was about two hours old when I was told that meals were being organized for us, and people have done laundry and such for us.

Please pray for us. This summer is going to be extremely stressful. My job is going to be changing significantly. I’m going to be given much more responsibility next year. Also, we’re supposed to be moving - and I have no idea when exactly this is going to happen. We think Mandie may very well be on bed rest for the duration of the pregnancy. Please pray for our baby. We are trusting God’s Sovereign care and Providence. I think that this may be one of the most intense trials I’ve experienced in my walk with Christ. Please pray for our spiritual growth. We know that without God’s provision and blessing this whole thing can’t happen. We’re trusting Him that if He gave us this miracle He won’t take it away, but even if He does it’s for our good. Thank you all for your love support and prayers.

Other than that, things have been pretty good. I spoke in chapel on the 16th and it went really well. I spoke from Colossians 3 on living for our Master, Jesus. I have posted a rough transcript of what I said on my blog. The students responded pretty well. I don’t always have the best way of knowing what their responses are because I don’t interact directly with them very often. I was able to build relationships with them on the mission trip and through church, but that’s only with a select few.

Several of our students were baptized a few weeks ago, and another one delivered the sermon on Youth Night at our church this past Sunday. Please continue to pray for the spiritual growth of our students. We have some that are very apathetic, but there are those select few who really stand out.

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