June 29th

My apologies for not writing as soon as I had anticipated. . . Since we moved, we do not have internet connection, so I have to travel to send and receive messages now. So, to get you caught up. . .

My doctor’s appointment was surprisingly wonderful! Our friend Iza came with us, and was very much needed as the doctor although seems to understand English, did not speak a word of it. Iza translated the entire appointment. We had to wait 1 ½ hours for the doctor initially because he was at the hospital, but the waiting area was pleasant and very clean. Once, it was our turn, the nurse reviewed my medical history and weighed me (I only gained 3lbs so far!). Then, we met with our doctor – Dr. Eduardo Esponda Tort. He was very nice, very professional, and quite serious. He read my medical records page by page, and asked a few questions here and there. He got more specific medical history, and then it was time for the ultrasound! I watched the ultrasound on the monitor with the doctor as he pointed out what was what, and Mark and Iza watched it on a TV. set up in the room as Iza translated what the Dr. was describing. We made it clear to him that we did not want to know the sex of the baby, and he respected that but said it was too early to tell at 15 weeks anyway. The whole ultrasound took about 20 minutes. The Dr. measured the baby’s head, his/her arms, his/her femurs, we saw the little heart beating 148 times per minute (right in the middle of the normal range), we saw the whole spinal cord which was very straight, and we even tried to count fingers and toes, but the little fella had his/her legs crossed, so we couldn’t get a good count. The doctor said everything looks great, everything is healthy and normal. He’s putting me on an iron supplement in addition to my prenatal vitamins. Because I’ve always had low iron, he said the baby will demand more of my iron, and I can’t afford to lose any. My blood pressure is good, and the doctor had no concerns. He said keep walking (Joyce and I have been walking 45mins – 1hour every morning while Mark runs with Aaron and Oscar Montoya and sometimes David). He also recommended I join a pregnant women’s yoga group. Not sure about that one yet. . . I asked if they had any kind of Lamaze classes in La Paz, and he laughed at me. Anyway, I feel much better about being pregnant down here after that very positive visit, Oh, and they gave me a string of pictures of the ultrasound and a VHS video of the whole thing! We were so excited! I go back in 1 month for another visit and ultrasound. I wonder if I’ll get a video each month!

We got our own apartment, so we are officially on our own. We are 2 blocks from Casa Buena and less than a block from the bay of La Paz. We have a beautiful view of the bay and the marina, so I can sit at my kitchen table and watch the ships sail in. It’s a small place with a fairly large kitchen and bedroom and tiny bathroom. It came with a fridge and stove which is rare. It’s bright and perfect for the two of us (and big enough for another in 5 months). The best part is the roof. There’s a spiral staircase from outside of our kitchen leading up to a roof with a shade over it with the most beautiful view. I always wanted a home at the beach; I just never dreamed it would be in Mexico! For my ocean view home, the rent is only $330.00 month which includes all utilities except a.c. which is pay as you use it. In the states, this place would cost a couple thousand a week for the location! God is good.

In other baby news, let me share with you the story about the Andrade family. Ricky, his wife Michel (pronounced Michael), and their 2 children came to La Paz for a vacation I believe Friday, June 17th. At the time Michel was 7 months pregnant, and they wanted to have one last relaxing vacation before the baby came. To give you some background information, the Andrade family is from San Diego where Ricky is a worship pastor at a pretty progressive church. They were staying at one of the resorts, and the first day they were there, Michel was feeling some discomfort. They thought maybe it was the heat or the side effects of traveling. The next day, Ricky went for a run on the malecon and was pretty far into his run when something told him to turn back. He picked up the pace, and returned to the hotel only to find a wheelchair outside of his room and a rush of staff helping Michel. On their second day of vacation, at 7 months, Michel’s water broke and she was bleeding quite extensively. The hotel arranged for a van to pick her up and take her to the hospital. On the way, Ricky said, “what if this is it, and you’re having the baby”. Michel responded, “That would be my worst nightmare”. They remembered seeing a sign for Crossroads Christian Fellowship along their travels the day before and were planning on attending that Sunday, and Michel said, “Call that church we saw”. Ricky called, and David Reed called Jesus Cortez (a bilingual member of Crossroads) to come with him in case they needed help translating medical terminology. When David and Jesus arrived at the hospital, they found a very calm Ricky and were very surprised at his level of calmness. They soon found out that Ricky was a pastor and that his sense of calmness and peace was from God. They also realized that Jesus and Ricky knew each other since Jesus had accepted Christ at the same church in the states that Ricky was a pastor at some years ago! What are the odds?! Meanwhile, with Michel, the doctors were preparing her for an emergency c-section. The doctors at Fidepaz Hospital asked Michel, “Do you know Jesus, and do you have faith in him?” Michel responded, “Yes I do, and my faith is getting stronger and stronger every minute”. The doctors on call that night were all believers and they prayed with her laying hands on her unborn child. They performed the c-section, and although they were concerned about his lungs not being fully developed, the baby came out screaming! Having two girls already, having a son was an extra blessing. The baby’s lungs had some fluid in them, and the baby only weighed a little over 3lbs. Michel was released from the hospital the next day (after a c-section!), but the baby remains there. Now, a week and a half later, the baby who they named August (meaning: awesome) van Cortez (from Cortez) Andrade has been gaining about 30oz per day. He hasn’t been able to breastfeed though because he’s just too week. They have been using a syringe to feed him. They are now talking about releasing him from the hospital, but Ricky and Michel are concerned (and rightly so!) because they aren’t able to feed him consistently yet. Please keep this family in your prayers. Their 11 year old daughter returned to the states with Ricky’s mom last week, but they have an 18month old who is still here with them. Little Ani can’t understand why her mom can’t pick her up like she used to. It’s been a very stressful situation for the family as you can imagine. Not quite the relaxing vacation they had planned. While they are “stuck” in La Paz and staying at Casa Buena, Milton, Susu, David, & Joyce are taking good care of them. Michel has to go to the hospital every 3 hours to try to feed August. We are very much enjoying having them as Ricky has been blessing us with his gift of worship and has been giving us lessons in music, presentation, voice, and worship – he is so gifted as a worship leader!
I’m also enclosing pictures of the 4th Baptist Church’s Anniversary Celebration. This is Pastor Francisco’s church where Mary and Raul attend. Crossroads participated in the celebration by singing “I Love You, Lord” in English and in Spanish. The picture I’m sending is the 4th Baptist women singing their song to celebrate their anniversary.

We hope all is well with you! We so much appreciate your comments on our blog and your e-mails. Let me know if you have any questions or if you want to hear more about something that I’m missing in my entries. God Bless!

We attempted to add pictures, but the link is down - we will do our best to add them soon!