I have a couple pieces of happy news to deliver. First, we have a new baby on the way! If all is healthy with this tiny, developing life he or she should make an entrance sometime in April. As always, the children are very excited. Several of them have been praying for a new sibling. I am privileged to be carrying this little human being as he gets his start in life.

The second piece of happy news is that our oldest daughter, Rebecca, has been approved to be a Missionary Associate with the OPC for a 4 month term with our team right here in Uruguay, starting this week. She just graduated from homeschool high school a few weeks ago. She could have left Uruguay for the US and started college right away, but she really wanted to stay here and give more to the ministry before leaving, since we have been here such a short time. So we have put together a schedule of work that includes doing some work with the church plant, and helping me with my domestic workload. It has actually worked out to be perfect timing, in God’s kind providence. The hardest part of having children for our family is the very difficult first trimesters that I experience. And as our children are anywhere from 21 months to 44 apart in age, it is hard to predict just when I will be suddenly out of commission for 3 months. So as it happened, her internship has started at just the time my sickness is getting debilitating. While all the family will have extra chores during this time, Rebecca will take over a good deal of my work, even preparing the house and meals for hospitality. As the Pastor and Bible commentator Matthew Henry has said, “He that sends mouths will send meat if we trust in Him.” We can attest that He doesn’t just provide financially, but for all of our needs.

I do believe this internship will be a good time for Rebecca to stretch and grow in her domestic abilities, as well as getting comfortable with shopping and what not in the community, and giving the new church some extra help administratively. She also hopes to hone her Spanish skills which are not as strong as she would like. Her internship with go through mid-December. She will then have Christmas with our family and then fly out (with Ray) to the US to start her new life in college.

We would ask that you pray for the health of our baby, and that we would find a good doctor that would allow us to have a natural birth. Also, we ask that you pray that Rebecca’s internship would be fruitful, and that the money she needs for it would come in (it will cost much less than a “normal” short term trip since she is already here, but there are still some costs). Thanks!