10 July 2014
One week before the date on this
letter, we rejoiced in the birth of LaDonna Elizabeth (7 pounds / 9 ounces, 20
inches long). She was born at 9:14 a.m. on July 3rd at Woman's Hospital in
Baton Rouge. Just two days after we
brought LaDonna home to my in-laws house, we were back at the hospital
overnight to get treatment for her jaundice. Sabrina and our new girl are doing
well now. All of her siblings are excited, including Noah, even though it means
he's not the baby of the family anymore.
With the opportunity I had at the
end of March to preach a conference at mine and Sabrina's alma mater and the
church of our mission board, we scheduled our furlough six weeks earlier than
previously planned; this extra time gave us a unique chance to travel in the
U.S. as a family a little more than usual before Sabrina needed to stay near
her doctor in preparation for the baby.
The beginning of May saw us taking a two-week Midwest trip where the
schedule included two missions conferences at supporting churches, a full day
at the Creation Museum [pictured left], Sabrina's "debut" as a mother/daughter banquet
speaker, and (for our three older kids) a first-ever ice skate outing [pictured above]. In June,
along with several other good meetings, I had the honor of speaking eight times
during our mission board's candidate school for new missionaries.
In prayer letters leading up to our
furlough, I had made requests for a phone and a vehicle. A full-service handset (courtesy of a good man
in our sending church) and a new Kia Sorrento were waiting for us when our
family arrived in Louisiana; one of my father-in-law's sisters wanted to make
sure with the Kia that Sabrina would be comfortable whenever I travel solo (with
me using the Taurus that was given to us to own during our previous
furlough). A special friend of our
family (whose children took piano lessons from my wife while we were served on our
sending church's staff before deputation) allowed us to use her Suburban for
our almost 3000 mile Midwest excursion in May. By the end of May, my father's
sister gave us her Trail Blazer to use for the duration of our furlough. The
Lord has more than adequately provided for our needs (and wants) through dear
friends and family members.
In the middle of May, I made a trip
from Charleston, South Carolina to Chicago in a 24-foot Budget truck for the
purpose of bringing Bibles and personal items for a container to Nigeria. There's
much effort from many people that goes into such an important shipment. I wish
to thank the printing ministry of Faith Baptist Church in Tacoma, Washington
for donating over 10,000 Bibles, New Testaments, and John/Romans. Bible
Education And Missionary Service (BEAMS) in Gulfport (MS) and Community Baptist
Church in Lodge (SC) helped tremendously with the storage and loading of the
materials (the church also paid for the truck and fuel). Several students and staff from Hyles-Anderson
college helped me unload the truck once I reached Chicago. Our friend John
Camiola (servinginnigeria.com) would appreciate your prayers as he has the
responsibility of shipping and clearing the container in August. Finally, we are
deeply indebted to Evangelist Don Wattenbarger [pictured below] and Liberty Baptist Church in
Crossville, TN for raising funds toward the whole process.
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