In case any of you are wondering how our preparations for missions are going, well, this is your answer! They're not, haha!
Our missions trip has been temporarily put on hold. We found out about a month ago that we are expecting our first child! We are so thrilled to be so blessed by God, even though it wasn't in our plan!
The doctor says, "No traveling to malaria-riddled countries!" So we will be waiting to go to PNG, but are still in good contact with PBT, and maintaining some wonderful friendships there, particularly with Nathan Davenport and his family. They have been and continue to be such an enormous blessing to us!
Nicholas is interviewing for a full-time position at his job at Best-Buy today. We are praying that God will choose to bless us in this way, as it would give us otherwise unobtainable insurance and family benefits, not to mention more hours for Nicholas! Please join us in prayer for God's breakthrough financially and especially with insurance.
Part of what this means is that the name of this blog will be changing! We will now be called "Unexpectedly Expecting." (: Thank you, Sarah Hoobyar.
Joy has her first ultrasound on Feb. 3, as the doctor has been unable to pin down a due date as of yet. We are guessing that Joy is ending her first trimester, beginning her second, based on the way she feels, the dissipation of morning sickness, and energy and tummy size increasing. :) It looks like we will be having a late July or early August baby! Please pray that this goes well, and that we have a healthy baby boy or girl!
Joy is planning to stretch her last full-time semester at school into two part-time semesters, as she would like to be able to be home with the baby as much as possible. A schedule that is as fast-paced as a full-time semester so quickly after delivery may be detrimental to her health, in addition.
We will be looking for a place to live this summer, shortly after school gets out, as the baby will clearly not fit where we live now. (If you've seen it, you'll understand.) We are praying for an affordable house to rent in the suburbs, so that we can commute to the city if we need to, and also have a real house and a yard.
As an additional prayer request, we ask that you would keep our friends Jess and Micah in your prayers. They are leaving for a week in Haiti, working, evangelizing, and providing medical attention after the terrible happenings there. They will be there during the first week of February. They are an amazing couple, on fire for the Lord, and full of zeal for His house! The most important thing in the world to them is others' salvation. They are in need of $400 each, and need to raise it all in the next week. Please pray that God provides for their needs!
Thank you all so much for partnering with us this far, and we pray that you will continue to partner with us as we embark on the adventure that is parenthood! We are still planning on going to PNG with PBT, but it will be a few years, now, before we are able. Please continue to pray for us, as we are new to all of this parenting business and are trying to do it in a way that is God-honoring.
Much love to you all, and may God bless you!
