The Expectations of Life

The Expectations of Life

We are finally back home at school! Gerald and I are still studying at the Missionary training Center here in Missouri and have about a year left before we finish. It feels so good to be back in our normal routine and classes that we know are so important in preparing us for the life ahead of us overseas. 

I just wanted to spend a little bit of time updating everyone on our summer, what life has looked like since the last school year, and what the Lord is teaching me right now through life and classes.

First things first...

Earlier this spring Gerald and I found out that we were expecting!!! We also know that it is a little girl! We could not be more excited for this little life to come this Thanksgiving. Now that we are back in our apartment we have been able to set up her nursery, and it has been such a humbling time to think that in a few short months we are going to be parents and responsible for the love and care of this precious gift from the Lord. 

I titled this blog post the expectations of life, because life seems to always hold so many surprises for us. Sometimes they seem big and exciting, but other times life brings along some challenges that we could see as a terrible thing and yet the Lord is so faithful in those times to show us His goodness. For instance, when I first found out I was expecting, I was researching insurance providers that I could switch to here in Missouri, and it turned out none of them would cover me. I am a type 1 diabetic, and with all of my specific medical needs, and because it is a pre-existing condition I was not able to switch to a different plan. This was a big stressor for Gerald and I at first, thinking, "How are we going to be able to have this little one and complete our studies when we have to keep my Ohio insurance?" But the Lord is so faithful!!…He knew exactly where we were at and what we were going to need.

We have not only had an amazing staff at school that has approved us taking classes in Ohio for the two weeks before our baby is born and after for a week or two until we can travel, but it looks like we will also have a place to stay in Ohio for a few weeks while we are there...I mean how faithful is our God to provide just what we need? SO FAIHFUL! 

The other big unexpected life issue that came up this summer was during one of my doctor's appointments. Since I am under Ohio insurance we have been making trips all summer once a month to Ohio for all of my doctor's appointments. I have an endocrinologist that I see every six months for routine check-ups and adjustments as a type one diabetic. We found out at this appointment that she will not take pregnant diabetics and that I will be needing to find another doctor, which is definitely a big project. She was also quite harsh and rude with us because of our decision to use a midwife. Many diabetic doctors tend to panic when they are dealing with type 1 diabetic pregnant mothers. They will typically tell you that you will not only need an endocrinologist that can handle pregnancy, but that you will also need a high risk pregnancy doctor and an OBGYN. At that appointment with my endocrinologist she told us, "I would seriously rethink your life choices about using a midwife" and "You realize that during the second trimester of your pregnancy you as a type one diabetic have a 50% chance of loosing your child." 

Talk about life's expectations not going how I want them to go...but again, God is so, so faithful. My midwife has worked with lots of type 1 diabetics and believes that there is no reason for a diabetic to have to be considered high risk unless they are not handling their numbers and taking care of themselves. I talked to her about what my doctor said to us and she was completely horrified that she would say such things to us, and went back to what a healthy pregnancy looks like and what has been proven to be true again and again. After thinking through our reasons for going with a midwife, Gerald and I decided what we were doing was what we believed to be best for me and our little girl and that we were going to continue on this path and not live in fear over all these things being told us by other people or doctors. Thankfully my pregnancy has gone absolutely amazing so far! I am now at 25 weeks, and my midwife said that if problems would have arisen that they probably would have presented themselves by now. My numbers have been amazing, and other than morning sickness in the beginning, and back pain(which is normal for me anyway ;) ) I could not be more pleased with how things are going. This was just a huge answer to prayer!!

SUMMER:

So over the summer Gerald and I worked in Michigan and lived with his parents. It was really nice to be able to catch up with family and our home church there. Gerald was doing construction and I was working from home on my Etsy Shop (KeepingtheClassicsCo.). We travelled back and forth to Ohio for appointments and then right before we drove down to school, we stopped by my family in Ohio for a few days to visit and catch up with people. We were also able to meet our two new nephews over the summer since Gerald's sister had a little boy (Wyatt) in June, and my sister had a little boy (August or Auggie) in July...what cuties!!

School:

We have just started back in classes last week and it has been such an encouragement to see old friends and new students back on campus. Every time a new class joins, it just makes my heart well up with joy knowing that new young individuals are coming to learn how to be servants in the realm of missions and to know that some of them may be our co-workers on the field one day! It is also such a blessing to be able to have people back in our home and to meet with friends and be able to catch up, talk about the Lord, classes, etc...

Right now we have been taking our phonetics 2 course which is basically teaching us how to hear, write, and produce accurately the different sounds languages can make. Not every language will have all of the sound possibilities that different languages make, but the places we will be going to will have lots of different sounds that we have never even heard before since they are not made in our language, and we need to know how to accurately identify them and produce them so that we are able to sound as native and natural as possible. Phonetics 2 is a class that I really enjoy, but at the same time it is so humbling because I realize the weightiness of trying to learn another language with this much accuracy and just how hard it will be. At the same time however, I also realize that we have these tools so that over time we can get to a place of being really good speakers in a language in order to communicate the things of the Lord, and I feel so blessed that our Father has allowed us to be here to learn these things. 

Our other course that we are in right now is called Practical spirituality. This course has been one that really engages your mind and knowledge of the Scriptures and one that promotes good thoughtful conversation with other students after class. We have talked about the ways that we as believers make decisions, and pondering how many of those decisions are objectively based, and subjectively based, and what the pros and cons of both of those can be. Obviously our decisions need to be based on the truth of God's Word (objective), but there is so much freedom as well that the Lord gives us in making decisions as good stewards of what He has given us, and a lot of this will come down to convictions and what we believe to be wise, and even things such as our likes and dislikes (subjective). It was challenging though to think through how we make decisions now, such as how we decided to go into this specific realm of missions, and what field we decide to move to one day, etc...but also how we will make decisions on the field that will impact our life and ministry, yet may not be laid out definitively from Scripture. 

Another part of this class was on the topic of prayer and how we view it and interact with the Lord, and then we had a few lectures on the aspect of God's character being light, and what that means for us in our daily walk with Him. All in all, it was a very encouraging and challenging class. 

Prayer:
I want to end this post with just a few things that I would love prayer for in the next few weeks and months coming up...

1.)There is a lady named Jenny Davis that all of us here at school have been praying for. She used to be on staff here, and while I don't know exactly what they have been doing since they were on staff, I know that they are here in Missouri currently. She has a husband, and two daughters about 10 and 12yrs. old. Jenny was told that she has a major brain tumor, and only has two months to live unless she has immediate surgery. She goes in at 6am. tomorrow and her husband and two daughters will not be able to see her or really know how things have gone until Friday. They were told that even if she does have this surgery and lives, she may have a lot of seizers afterward, she may not be able to move one of the sides of her body, and she may not even be able to speak....All of our hearts are going out to them as I know she is afraid, and her husband and daughters are broken and afraid thinking their mother and wife may not come back to them. Please pray for rest tonight for them, for good time as a family, and time with the Lord before surgery. Please pray for good doctors tomorrow, and a healthy problem free recovery.

2.) Gerald and I still have a lot to get done before this little one comes, and I would love prayers just for peace, faith, and endurance. I need to find a new endocrinologist, I need to get our baby on our insurance plan, finalize where we will be living in Ohio during the birth as well as research local hospitals covered under our insurance plan in case something were to go wrong during the home birth, and a few other time consuming projects ;) I know it will all get done, but sometimes with a busy schedule I can get a little overwhelmed...

3.) Focus in classes. Always a prayer, because with so many classes that fly by so quickly, it can feel hard to soak all of the material in, but we truly want to be good stewards of the time we have here, so I just pray the Lord will help us to soak in and apply as much as is humanly possible.

Bible Study:

Thank you all for your prayers and support! It really means a lot to know that you all are praying for us, and just to hear from you as well. You are definitely an encouragement to us, and as the Lord brings many of you to mind, I want you to know we are praying for you as well.

Recently I finished the book of James, and have started reading through Hebrews...it had been a while since I have sat down to study this book, and I forgot how much I loved it! There are so many verses that are packed with amazing truth that I forgot even came from this book. Chapter 2 I found especially impactful. It talks about how God has made Christ subject to all things so that nothing is not subject to Him, and we will see this completed in His second coming when everything is clearly laid out at His feet where it should be. It then goes on to ponder why it is that God cares for us; men, human beings, nothing special, and yet God says He cares for us. So much so, He sent His own Son. Verses 9-13 talk about the suffering of Christ and us being called His children as believers. Verse nine tells us that Christ suffered death and was crowned with honor and glory because of it, and then verse ten says that since God saw it fit tp bring many sons to glory through the suffering of Christ, that He has made suffering the source of perfecting our salvation (sanctification). I just thought this thought was amazing and honorable. If God saw it fit for Christ to suffer to bring to perfect that which was broken and imperfect, how much of an honor should it be that we get to suffer in order to become more like our Father in a way that Christ has already exhibited perfectly to us. Verses 11-13 tell us that Christ is now not ashamed to call us brothers and we are now the children of God through Christ's work and salvation through Him! Finally in verses 14-18 we are told to turn to Christ, because He is our High Priest and became man so that that He could become a High Priest that is faithful and merciful and can help us perfectly in our need. 

My Brothers

My brothers come to me for I am here

I know your pains

I know your longings

I know your worries of this world

My brothers come to me, for I am faithful and merciful

I suffered, I died,

but it was all worth it 

because you are now by my side

I know at times you worry what if I don't care

but in suffering we share

You are my special creatures,

the ones I call my beloved,

the ones I call my children,

the ones I call my brothers

Through my suffering and death I perfected the broken

Now you the broken will be perfected to me through suffering

My brothers come to me for I am here

I am The High Priest who knows your every need

and understands your suffering

It is clear I have chosen you

So now please choose me

My children

My brothers

Come to me