Pictures of Silas

A New Direction

This past year and a half has been a wild ride. When we first left the United States to go to South Asia we had a picture in our minds of how our first term overseas would go. We pictured moving into a new city, making new friends, learning a new language, learning a different culture, and striving to make an impact in the lives of others. We were expecting to serve our entire first term in South Asia. Our first term has not quite worked out like we expected it to and it seems that our Father has other plans for us. Instead of returning to South Asia we will be moving to Europe. Once we decided that our Father was not leading us to return to South Asia, we had to decide which direction our Father wanted us to go in. We still felt called to serve overseas, so going back to the United States was out of the question. We started to look at our options. We considered the possibility of working in several different countries. While looking at all these different options, we still felt that our Father was calling us to work with SA people. We started looking at assignments where we could live outside SA and still work with SA people. Two doors opened up for us. After several weeks of agonizing in yarper and research, we felt led to accept a position in Europe. Within Europe there is a large population of SA people. Many of these people leave SA and move to the Europe in the hope of expanding a business or providing a better life for their family. We will be moving to Europe to tell these people about the hope that is found in the g*spel. We never thought in a million years that we would end up moving to Europe in the middle of our first term. I am still not sure if I understand why our Father has allowed these circumstances to enter into our lives, but I do know that He knows what is best for us. He has been faithful to bless us and to teach us. Many of the lessons that He has taught us this first term have been extremely difficult. I can better understand the words of Paul now when he said, "We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself." He goes on to say, "He delivered us from such a deadly peril...On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again." Lena and I can boldly testify that our Father has delivered our family from a deadly peril. Not only has He delivered us but He has taught us lessons that we will kept with us the rest of our lives. He has taught us about love and compassion. He has taught us what it means to depend on Him. Our Father has truly blessed us and we are so very thankful. Silas continues to grow and become healthier every week. Last time he went to the doctor he weighed 12 pounds. He still has to take supplements to help him grow, but overall he is doing great. We are really enjoying being the parents of this little boy.

Yarper Requests

1. Silas' Health

a. That he would continue to gain weight and develop properly

b. That his intestines would continue to absorb the nutrition that his body needs

c. That the scar tissue in his stomach would not develop fibrosis and block his intestines

d. That he would be protected from sickness

2. Our Transition to the Europe

a. For access to a good pediatrician for Silas

b. That our Father would begin preparing peoples' hearts to hear the good news

c. That we would develop healthy relationships with our future co-workers

d. That we would be able to return to SA, pack up our possessions, and ship them to Europe without incident

e. That we would be able to find proper housing quickly in Europe so that we can hit the ground running

f. That we find ourselves in a healthy environment for learning Hindi