Homeward Bound

  We have some very exciting-- and sudden-- news to share! In just 8 days (July 5), we will be getting on a plane and making the 20+ hour trip back to the States! 

As you know, our newest addition to the family is due to arrive around August 25. We have tried and tried to find a hospital that has a private labor room (as opposed to a group of women all laboring in the same room) or that will allow John or my mother to be with me during the labor.  Unfortunately, the hospitals here simply don’t allow either of these circumstances, and a home birth is considered risky due to my previous Caesarean delivery with Lincoln. (Sorry men for boring you, but I know the ladies here will understand!)  After exhausting every option, we have finally decided that it makes the most sense for us to return to the States a few months early (we were scheduled to fly back in December). 

  Here’s another surprise: We are going to return to the Philippines for another 2 year term! This was a very big decision for us, and we spent a lot of time in prayer. We really had to count the cost, because our kids are getting older and we will be sacrificing even more time with our precious, patient family members in America. But John and I both feel that God isn’t finished with us here. We’ve already spent one year and seven months building relationships with the children at Happy Horizons, and they have become a part of us. We know that we will never take the place of their “real” parents, but if God can use us to care for them and love them, we are willing to be used. The kids are thrilled that we are coming back!!

  While we are in America, we will be living in Olive Branch, Mississippi (just outside of Memphis, Tennessee) and renting a house from my parents.  We will spend our time building up the financial support needed to spend another 2 years here. Some of our monthly supporters have had to stop or reduce their giving, and we also need to raise some cash to pay for plane tickets back to the Philippines. Our house right now is about 800 square feet with one bathroom and one bedroom, split in half with a makeshift plywood wall. We are hoping to raise enough cash to add on another bedroom and bathroom (5 people and one bathroom gets a little crowded!). 

  If you would like to be a part of the ministry that God has entrusted us with, please let me know! And if you already are giving, would you mind sending me a message to let us know if you plan on continuing your financial support? We are going to have to move fast to raise the money we need before January, but we know that God is our Provider. So I am not going to worry... too much! :)
   Also, while we are in the States we will still be living off of the monthly support that we currently receive.  So if you are already giving towards our current 2 year term, please DON’T STOP! Thank you guys, and we hope to see you very SOON!