The Sweetest Surprise

I'm sure most of you have heard from our families, friends, or facebook, but Josh and I are thrilled to announce that we are having our first baby!

To fill you in on all the details, I'll share a journal entry from the day we found out we are expecting..

Lord, I don't know if I can find the words to praise You. I certainly cannot find the words to express how I feel. We're pregnant! A baby certainly wasn't in our plans for the Philippines, but all the while we've been praying for Your will and trusting Your sovereignty. And we trust You still today, Lord. We believe You'll provide every physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental thing that we need for this new addition to our family. Lord, the way You worked out all of the circumstances is incredibly perfect. After 3 negative at-home pregnancy tests last month, we were beginning to wonder what exactly was going on in my body. As we waited for the mission team trip to end, our (especially my) anxiety built. Today after my prayer and not a few tears, we decided to go to Premiere Hospital in Baler. We prayed for effective communication skills and an answer. We vowed to trust You. With every meter that the tricycle got closer to the hospital, my heart beat harder. I was nervous in so many ways. What if something is really wrong with me? What if I'm pregnant?! After navigating our way around the hospital, I took the test and waited for the longest 10 minutes ever. Then we heard, "Congratulations, mam. It's positive." Josh and I just laughed and looked at each other in shock as the Filipinos around us all sheepishly grinned. We had to have been a sight to see. 
God, You truly gave us the Tagalog vocab to communicate our needs. Thank You. Next, we visited a home-based maternity clinic and discovered that I am 8 weeks and we can expect a baby in late February. Again, you gave us the Tagalog to communicate and gave her the English to express medical terms. What a blessing. We were given some instructions and an appointment next month and we were on our way. Josh took us to celebrate with lunch on the beach and we overwhelmed ourselves with questions and decisions and laughter at the reality that just didn't seem real! Lord, thank You for blessing us today and for trusting us with a precious baby. 

"I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your books were written, every one of them, the days that were numbered for me when as yet there was none of them." Psalm 139:13-16

Thanks to everyone for the congratulations and well wishes and prayers. It seems like the news has finally sunk in for us. We love reading about how the baby is developing. It's truly been a worshipful experience. I can't wait to feel the baby move, to name it, and ultimately to have it here with us. In many ways I am humbled that the Lord has chosen this time for us to begin our family as I feel so underprepared. But I know He equips His children and I'm excited to see the transformation in myself as I become ready to be a mama.

Join us in praising God for this little one's life and praying for a safe and healthy pregnancy and delivery. We will remain in the Philippines to have our baby as the Lord has not directed us otherwise, so pray for wisdom and discernment on decisions that are specific for here. Thank you all for loving us and reading along with our blog!

 

the daily grind

Josh made this really neat looking chart of our 'schedule' to send in past newsletter as an answer to the common question "so what does a normal day our week look like for you?" I wanted to put that pretty chart on here, but I just don't seem to have enough computer skills to figure it out. But nonetheless, I'll try to fill you all in on what our daily life is like. It's a nearly impossible task since no one day really looks like another, but isn't that true for most people? And since we have a new Boren entering the picture in about 5 weeks, none of this will be accurate for a while :) Nonetheless, for those of you who wonder, here's what happens more often that not:

• Most mornings look the same. They include waking up, spending time in prayer and the Word together as husband and wife, eating breakfast, watering plants (if I remember), and personal time with the Lord. A few days a week we do some sort of exercise- jogging, walking, bike riding before I got preggo, workout dvds, stretching, etc. The exception is Tuesday morning when all of the pastors of the local outreaches come over for breakfast, fellowship, ministry updates, and prayer. Those morning meetings usually last until 11 or so. 
• SUNDAY: Worship service at 10am. FAT Group (see previous post for more info on FAT Group) from 4pm- 6:30ish. Once a month this group also eats dinner together. We spend the time between church and FAT Group resting and preparing. 
• MONDAY: Plans come and go on Mondays. But one consistent thing is that between 4 and 5pm the elementary kids in our neighborhood come home from school. We gather them for games, a Bible story, songs, and crafts. 
• TUESDAY: After the morning pastors' meeting we eat lunch. At 3pm we meet with some other leaders to prepare and pray for our ministry at Calabuanan High School. We leave for that school at 4pm and return home around 5:30. While there we facilitate small groups into discovering God's Word. Every other Tuesday night we skype Chris White for accountability and updates within Trek-X.
• WEDNESDAY: Wednesday is our Sabbath Day and we attend the prayer meeting at our church at 7pm.
• THURSDAY: Thursdays look basically the same as Mondays- randomness and afternoon with the kids. 
• FRIDAY: Our Fridays are currently pretty open. We try to use that time to catch up on things around the house, planning for ministry, etc. Friday afternoon/evening is designated as "Family Night" which might consist of a movie on our computer, a dinner date in Baler, a walk, etc.
• SATURDAY: I used to get tired just thinking about Saturdays. We had a kids' ministry at 9am, a family Bible study at 10 am, Bible study with a high school girl at 2pm, and another kids' ministry at 4pm. Whew. However, we've recently seen some leaders emerge and prayers answered and we've been able to hand off most of these. The two kids' ministries are now (as of this week actually) being led by girls in those communities. The high school girl moved. And the family is now (we pray) doing Discovery Bible Study on their own. This is great because it's the initial goal- Filipinos ministering to Filipinos. It also freed us up for this new baby. God's timing is good.

Just as in all of your lives, we also have unexpected events that take up much of our time. For example, an elderly lady comes over to ask for financial help and I end up having coffee and talking with her for over an hour. Or a colony of ants decides they want to move in our home and we spend a couple of hours chasing them out and cleaning up behind them. Sometimes (like this week) we're joined by a mission team from the States and most usual plans are put on hold as we join in with them. We also have a house to keep clean, family and friends to keep up with, and food to cook. The food thing takes a lot more time here than in America. We also spend a good deal of our time preparing for our ministry opportunities, reading/studying, visiting friends and neighbors, shopping at the market, going to prenatal check-ups, and exploring this beautiful island we live on!

This is one of the groups at Calabuanan National High School

Sweet kiddos 

Short-term mission team fun

One of many unexpected events

Cultivating relationships and enjoying the island 

Beautiful view on one of our walks

 

 I hope this gives you a better clue of what exactly our island life looks like. Hopefully it will also help you to pray for us more specifically. Thanks for reading!

Mission Team

Last week we had a mission team here in the province with us. It was another group from First Baptist Church of the Island, Barry and Lilia’s church in Savannah, GA. Having a short-term mission team around provides a good opportunity for a heart check. Is our current ministry worthwhile and eternal in value? How can we best benefit from this short-term mission? How can I better cultivate a servant’s heart? Etc. Nonetheless, I am encouraged by FBCI’s faithfulness to return again and again to Maria Aurora. This was their 16^th trip! They really do seek to see the church here thrive and for Jesus to be made known. 

This month’s trip was similar to their time here in January in that we visited church members at each local outreach and encouraged them to remain faithful. We also took the opportunity to share the Gospel with any lost family members, friends, or neighbors. The team also gave out toothbrushes and toothpaste as a way to meet physical needs in the communities. They were also able to do some neat ‘first-time’ things such as paint the interior of Malupa Baptist Church (it has color and life on the interior walls now), paint a mural at one of the outreach churches, teach art at Sta. Lucia Elementary School, put on a "Junk to Funk" fashion show, and ride a caribou (water buffalo). It was a very fun and equally tiring 10 days as we continued our normal scheduled trainings and ministries as well as joined their team when we were free. In addition to some wonderfully sweet visits and having a few of the team members join us for some of our normal weekly ministry, some of the highlights of the trip for me were: not having to cook a single thing for 10 days, southern sweet tea and other American snacks, a heart-to-heart conversation I had with a Filipina friend, performing a skit with the mission school students at church, seeing a friend’s baby for the first time, being able to translate a little bit of Tagalog for the visitors, and getting a haircut from one of the sweet team members!

Just a little taste of everyday scenery here

One of the families I visited just received 'free flow' water!

We had a picnic at the river including fresh grilled tuna

We crammed 20+ people in the jeepney

This is the beginning of MBC's Extreme Makeover

The mural reflects this stained glass

"Junk to Funk" Fashion Show..the dresses are from trash!

Josh and I in our "trashion" show attire

This group of people were baptized during the week

My first haircut in 10 months!

Soon after the team left, Maria Aurora's town fiesta began. This is one of my favorite things about provincial Philippines. It includes street dancing, a talent show, a pageant, and loads of vendors from all over the area. There are snacks, arts and crafts, and tons of other cheap finds. We really enjoy going with our friends here. So to say the least, life has been full and fun lately!

Continuous Refining

Most of the time I stray from really sharing the depths of my heart on here. For a few reasons, I think. One, missionary women are supposed to be like super-women right? I can’t let the world know the petty things I struggle with. Two, when I start sharing I feel like writing turns fluffy- like I’m trying to be a professional blogger or something (does anyone else secretly wish they were as eloquent as Kisses From Katie??). Three, it’s kind of weird to sharing the ugliness of my heart on cyberspace. Nonetheless, I find encouragement through other believers’ blogs often and I pray the Lord can use my ramblings to do the same. Besides, it’s a truly beautiful things to look back on the places God has brought us from. One of my favorite thigns to do is read through old journal entries. I could spend an entire day reading them. Sometimes I’m brought to my knees, filled with gratitude for the Lord’s grace. Sometiems I’m ashamed that I’m really still struggling with the same stupid sin. But overall it’s like seeing my own story of redemption unfold before my eyes. So, I’ve come to the conclusion that this blog can have much the same effect when I Josh and look back at old posts months down the road and see how far the Lord has taken us. So for memory’s sake, I’m sharing these things the Lord has taught me recently.

He’s taught me so much lately I really don’t know if I can keep up! I’ve heard and read that the more mature a Christ-follower becomes the farther they see themselves from the Christ they’re following. Surely this must be true. Lately it is as if I have been seeing my sin through a magnifying glass. Do I really even love Jesus? Of course only after I’ve acted like a child and shown my true colors do I allow myself to feel the Spirit’s conviction and repent. Before my eyes are opened to my sinfulness, I can only see how wrong is every other person. It’s dreadful, really, to see your sin in all it’s glory. To see how incredibly vast is the gap that stands between me and my Creator. But in those moments when I really see my sinfulness, I can also see the size of the cross. It becomes magnified above all else. My shameful sin is covered in the blood of Jesus. It no longer separates my from my Father. My shame has been taken! And then I find myself rejoicing. These are the moments when the Word of God comes alive in my life. Instead of drowning in the despair of ‘what-ifs’ and complaining about my current situation, the simple words in the Bible turn the direction of my heart. I’ve found myself worrying about some headaches and other weird health problems I’ve experienced lately. What if it’s dengue fever? What if I have to visit a hospital here? But yesterday as I read how sweet Mary gave birth to the Savior in a manger for crying out loud, I was reminded that there are no what-ifs in God’s Kingdom. Jesus was born in a stable, probably not Mary’s first choice of location, and His story is perfect in every way. God’s plans are perfect. They are good and cannot be thwarted. I found a new sense of trust in Him. The next day I cried over a messed up flower bed. “Our house isn’t homey” I cried as Josh was working out front. And to me he was only making it worse. Ridiculous, I know. But in the moment I felt like my very womanhood was at stake. But God reminded me that marriage, ministry, homemaking, even one day motherhood; they’re all fleeting. But Jesus is a sure foundation. I can’t look any further than His face for real fulfillment.

O how my Savior refines me. It seems like an endless cycle, this life of self-centered sin followed by repentace and growth. He uses headaches, a dengue fever scare, a messed up little flower bed, and every little detail of my life to refine me. He replaces worry with hope, despair with joy, frustration with peace. His mercies are new every day.

"Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 
Hebrews 12:1-2

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."
Philippians 1:6

Love, Autumn