April's Update

We have been in Rockville, Virginia for almost two months now. Wow. A lot has happened in that time. It truly has been a roller coaster for us of emotions and waiting to see if we would still be able to go to Madagascar. We found out very surprisingly 3 days before we came here that we were expecting a baby. We were excited, yet concerned, but trusting God to take care of us. It was scary, but we knew God had brought us this far and would continue to put our steps into place. For a little while we weren’t sure if they would still even send us with the time taken out for having a baby. We have had several ups and downs with uncertainty whether or not we could go to Madagascar.

On one of those days where we didn’t think we would be able to go, the teaching in our class that day was on spiritual warfare. It was just what we needed to hear. One of the discussions was about no matter what problems come our way, we need not be caught up in the whys of it all, but focused on Jesus, His Word, prayer, glorifying Him and sharing Him with others. These are our responsibilities always and don’t change in the light of adversity. They are meant to draw us nearer to Him. The verse that stood out to us most that day was 2 Chronicles 20:12, which says, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. “ God truly gave us what we needed for that day.

It was only a few days later that we found out the baby had no heartbeat, which was very painful for us. The ups and downs we experienced were more painful since they seemed now to be for no reason at all. But my memory verses for that day were told us that “we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-4). Adam and I repeated this over and over as we waited to talk to the doctor after we found out.

Perhaps it’s needless to say, but I did have a couple of days after that that I was very angry about why God had allowed all that to happen to us and then have the baby leave us. It was very hurtful and I couldn’t understand God’s reasoning, but He has brought much healing and given me peace. Still, I do not understand the whys, nor do I like it always. But I do not have to like it. What I do understand is that God is my Creator and Savior and I will worship Him in good times and bad, when I can understand and when I can’t. He has given us peace and grace to get through this. Yes, there are still hard moments, but He is bringing us through.

We have met some wonderful people here that have been awesome and supportive through this whole time. We share a quad with the other people going to different parts of Madagascar…The Hailes family (Adam, Suzie, Phoebe (12), Emma (10), and Baylee (7)), Doug, and Nathan. Jeremy is also in our quad; he is going to South Africa.

We have learned so much while being here. We have been reminded of sound doctrine and the importance of God’s Word in our lives. We have been reminded that God is already at work in the places we will go. He is already preparing people to know Him. We have been taught about putting things in cultural context, about church planting, bible storying, culture shock, conflict resolution, and about animist and Muslim religions. We have tried new foods and we have mostly enjoyed them.

Emma and Corinne have really have enjoyed being here and having so many new friends to play with and are thrilled to have the Hailes girls as our new family. They have really enjoyed their classes as well. Their teachers are wonderful and they have an awesome children’s library. The girls have been learning things about different cultures, other religions, Bible stories, sharing Jesus’ love and some academics as well. They both had a simulated “airport day” where they learned the importance of staying together and keeping up with things. Emma even took a packed bag and had a fake passport to keep up with. Emma has gone on field trips to the zoo and an international market to try different foods.

We are all getting excited and a little scared about leaving and actually getting to where God is leading us. There are so many unknowns, so many challenges ahead. We pray for God’s equipping for the task. We pray for His love to shine through us and for us to be able to learn the language quickly. We pray that we all would adapt well, but especially the girls. Please join us in praying for these things. We thank God so much for our family and friends and would love for you to pray with us for the Antankarana people of Madagascar as we seek to reach them with the Gospel.

--April