08.07.07
August Prayer Letter
This is the same as the prayer letter we sent out via e-mail, so if you read that you can skip this . . .
Dear family and friends,
Thank you for praying for me while I was on bed-rest during May and June. Things are looking much better now, and my last two doctor’s visits have both gone very well. I have been approved by my doctors to go back to school this fall, so I will be able to teach for one more semester before the little one joins us. On my July ultrasound, the doctor couldn’t even tell there had been a problem! Praise the Lord! Yesterday, they looked closely at the baby’s brain and heart, both of which were normal, and checked several different measurements to make sure he’s growing properly. Everything looks good. We also found out that we are expecting a boy.
Mike has been keeping busy all summer, so “back to school” doesn’t seem like that big of a change for him. (Except that the summer work day starts at 9:30 and the school-year work day starts at 7:30). I’ve been keeping busy around the house since being allowed out of bed, and have just started to FINALLY get into a pattern of keeping the house clean and just maintaining the status quo instead of trying to play catch-up all the time. The challenge will be to see if I can keep it up now that school is starting up again. We also stayed busy at church - I am teaching Sunday School for ages 3 to 8 and we taught Children’s church (ages 4 to 10) together during the month of July. Mike also taught an adult Sunday School class during the summer.
Look back over 12 months in Korea, and remembering some of our concerns as we left the US, we are amazed at all the blessings God has given us:
- a warm and loving church family
- good friends
- Mike loves Korean food!
- Mandie survived her first year teaching, and actually had many students sign-up for a second year with her. (The classes she teaches are all optional).
- opportunities to minister outside of school in the areas for which we have burdens and talents (music, children’s minestry)
- opportunities to build relationships with students
- financial provision
- ability to keep in touch with our families - mostly for free
- a wonderful land-lady who is very good at charades for our first apartment in Korea
- free beginning Korean language classes
- Ohio State beat Michigan in football
- the Philippines trip
- protection through health problems
- the coming baby
- an opportunity to move into a bigger, nicer, apartment
And that is just the beginning.
We are excited to see what the next year will bring. Classes start on August 16th. I will be teaching Spanish I and II, Algebra II, Precalculas, and a Middle-School Girls Bible class. Mike will be working as the school’s business manager. We hope to welcome our little one in December (due date: December 8th). After that, I will transition into being a stay-at-home mom. God provided tickets for my Mom to come from Ecuador and visit us for a few weeks in December. She will be here for my birthday, the baby’s birth (if everything goes right), and stay until just before Christmas. We are looking forward to her visit.
Thank you so much to everyone for your prayers, encouragement, and support. Several people have sent us e-mails asking what kinds of things we need, since we will be unable to return home for a baby shower. If you are one of those, the rest of this letter is for you. I also included a few ideas for Christmas, since the baby is coming at that time of year.
- Mandie Lewis (and Mike and baby)
Soli Deo Gloria