October 4th, 2005

Although summer is a down time here in La Paz due to the oppressive heat and humidity, God has been working overtime. . .

In baby news, yesterday I had my 7 month appointment. 7 months already!!! Mark and I are trying to comprehend the fact that Lord willing, in 8-10 weeks we will have a daughter! I had two ultrasounds done – a level I and a level II. The level II ultrasound showed a clearer picture of Emma as it looked at the circulation of the blood throughout her body. It reminded us of a weather map that shows patches of color corresponding to weather patterns. In Emma’s case, we saw red/orange waves throughout her major arteries including her brain, her heart, and her carotid arteries. We also saw her liver, her stomach, her pancreas, and her spinal cord. We are excited to announce that we have a very healthy little baby. We were also able to hear her heart beat for the first time! It sounded like a herd of horses galloping away as her heart beat 150 times per minute! When we got a closer look at her face, we could see her perfect little nose and her perfect little lips and her perfect little eyes. She had one arm resting on her forehead and her little chin resting on her other hand which was closed like a fist. I said to the doctor, “Ella esta pensando”, (she is thinking), and he agreed. Once again, she had her little legs crossed, but from what we could see all fingers and toes were accounted for. All of her readings indicated that she is growing and developing into a very normal and healthy baby girl. Definitely a girl. 4 hours after the level II ultrasound, we had our routine level I ultrasound. We got to say hello to Emma twice in one day. Again, everything looked great. My doctor also had the opportunity to meet my doula, Susan, at this visit, and she was able to describe her role in our lives. He responded positively to her participation in my pregnancy and delivery. Our next job within the next 2 months is to choose a pediatrician for Emma. We plan on meeting with a few recommended doctors to determine who will be the best fit for our family.

Mark and I have planned a necessary trip to the States for the 3rd week in October. We will be spending a few days in Los Angeles taking advantage of the 50% off deal Aero California Airlines was offering last week. The longest you can get a visa for another country is 180 days. After that time you must renew your visa in order to continue staying in the country. Since we arrived in June, our visas will expire in December. I will not be able to travel in December, so we have to renew early. Our other option is to drive 8 hours up the Baja to the nearest consulate and drive 8 hours back. I can barely sit comfortably in a car for 1 hour let alone 8. I have to admit, we are looking forward to some American conveniences. We also hope to do some baby shopping at this time.

Last Monday, we had an opportunity to attend a Marcos Vidal Concert here in La Paz. Marcos Vidal is a Mexican Christian singer whose music is jazz-like. We had one of his CDs from last year, and we really enjoy his music. The First Baptist Church in La Paz organized the concert on a huge faith budget. They had to sell 300 tickets to break even. The day of the concert we had terrible weather – it rained hard for over an hour flooding all of the streets. We weren’t even sure if we were going to make it at one point. Many folks from Crossroads were planning on attending, and we invited Mary and Raul to come with us. Finally, about an hour before the concert, the rain stopped. We all made it there, and not only did First Baptist Church break even, but the concert was sold out with over 1,000 people in attendance! It was a very powerful concert and the praise band from First Baptist was the opening band! It was an incredible night.

On September 16th, we celebrated the Mexican Independence Day, complete with fireworks. We celebrated with the First Baptist Church who had a party at the seminary. Men and women dressed in authentic Mexican attire for a contest, and our very own Carolina and Ruben won first and second prizes respectively. They celebrated with fellowship, skits, and of course food. The entire congregation sang the Mexican National Anthem, then shouted their support for their government, their love for their country (“Viva Mexico!”), and ended with a shout of, “Cristo Vive!” (Christ Lives!).

The construction of Mary and Raul’s house was put on hold temporarily as Raul tended to an injured knee. His doctor told him he was not allowed to work for a week to see if the pain and swelling would subside. We tried to convince Raul to allow us to continue working on their house, but he would not hear of it. If he can’t work right along side us…no one works. David, Mark, and Raul resumed work last week with the help of our friend Dave, who runs a local bed and breakfast (Flor de Cardon) with his wife Jean and daughter Crissy.

The Crossroads Christian Fellowship has been taking the past couple of weeks to talk about the mission and vision that God would have for this ministry. Every Sunday after services the core group of the fellowship has been meeting in order to discern what God is doing in our community, and how we can best join Him in what He is doing. It is awesome to watch God stretch and grow this unique ministry.

The youth group continues to grow! We have now added several other missionary kids to the mix. We average about 12 kids each week between the ages of 11 and 18. They have been working very hard at putting together a worship service for the end of November. The group is planning the entire worship service, including music, video, teaching, etc. It will be interesting to be a part of the finished product!

We hope this update finds you all well. We miss you and continue to pray for you!