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A New Baby!
We Have Good News Friends: We’re pregnant (again)! Well, actually, again, again. Our newest child is expected to join us in the outside world in mid-January.
We are thanking God for this precious gift of new life. And, for our family, it is an especially poignant gift at this time. We haven't shared widely yet, but in March we found out we were pregnant, miscarried nearly immediately and then two weeks later ended up in emergent surgery after discovering it was actually an ectopic pregnancy (the baby, already dead, was lodged in Kashmira's falopian tube instead of her uterus and needed to be surgically removed, along with the falopian tube).
God then whispered to Kashmira through a dream just two weeks after the surgery that another baby was on its way, and sure enough, two weeks after that a positive pregnancy test confirmed what God had already told her.
This has not been an easy ride emotionally. Anticipation, grief, pain, fear, peace, anxiety, peace, joy, trust. And again, out of death new life comes. It's been a crazy few months for our hearts, and you can find the fuller story HERE on our blog.
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The God Who Sees
P’ Maam has been part of our streets probably for years before we got here. Several times we have had conversations with her in passing, and she has shared bits of stories from her life, but never very deeply. Three months ago, during the monthly ECB outreach partnering on our streets, a group of volunteers met Maam, and things started to change.
P’ Maam opened up that just that week she had received a double diagnosis of two unrelated, and both likely fatal illnesses. Her spirit and heart were soft in ways we rarely see in our neighbors. Following the initial contact with our ECB friends Iven went to visit her several times, and made several attempts to provide assistance navigating the medical system, but Maam was at times hesitant to return to the doctor, and at other times seemed to be able to go on her own. He left an easy to read New Testament with her, and she was very responsive to prayer each time they met.
Several weeks later Kashmira visited with her, with some of the friends from the initial ECB outreach team that had met her the previous month. Maam explained that she had read the entire New Testament and that when she was reading it she felt peace in her heart. Kashmira asked her if she knew that Jesus could live inside of her and give her that peace all of the time, and she was attentive and excited at the possibility. Maam prayed a super simple prayer after Kashmira, inviting Jesus to live in her heart, fill and cleanse her, and show her His love. Then Kashmira explained that God speaks through the Bible but also sometimes speaks directly to our hearts – she asked Maam to be quiet for a moment and ask Jesus if He wanted to say anything to her. After a minute she opened her eyes and explained that she saw a picture of Jesus holding an open, golden book in front of her – she couldn’t read the words but wanted to. The outreach team prayed over her that her eyes and ears would be open and asked God to give her clarity of what she was to do with this picture. With her eyes closed, she began “reading” out loud what she saw – that Jesus was asking her to begin and end each day in a position of reverence and honor, bowing down to Him three times.
Now, this is not something we would ever counsel a new Christian to do as a first act of devotion, but we are not the One who made Maam, and we believe that the living God who was speaking to her knows exactly what she needs to hear to journey in her life of devotion with Him. Later that week Kashmira went back to visit with her, and Maam was delighted to report that she has been doing what Jesus asked her to do, every morning and every night.
That same morning Kashmira had been praying for her and felt a nudge that she should share the story of Hagar with her (Genesis 16). She thought about how to tell it in simple Thai, and after asking Maam if she was interested, told her the story of Hagar, Sarai’s servant, whom had been given to Abram to have a child on Sarai’s behalf, but was then mistreated to the point that Hagar ran away, expecting to die. God met her, cared for her needs, and promised to be with her even as she returned to her mistress. Hagar gives God the name, “the One who sees me”.
After sharing the story, Kashmira asked Maam some simple questions to help her think about it. Eventually (a little on a limb) she asked if there was anything in this story that made her think of her own life. “Of course,” Maam answered confidently. “I feel sad for this woman, Hagar, but her life is a lot like mine. I am a second (minor) wife right now, and I live outside with no one to care for me. I wanted to die and expected to die, but then your husband came and gave me this book, and I met God and now I know Him and He gives me peace. I don’t think about dying anymore.” Wow. The God that sees her.
Pray with us for P’Maam. She has since traveled to her home province seeking more accessible medical care, and we haven’t seen her in more than a month now. We hope and expect our relationship with her is far from over, but wherever she is and ends up, we know that God will be with her, and continue to pour out His love and care upon her. It’s such a privilege to be used as a drop in the bucket of His love for her.
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Coming Soon...
This is pretty long already (hmm...), so in a few days we’ll share part 2, about a New Building, our first "event" held there, and God reminding us (again) that He is the One who draws people to Himself.
Much Love,
Iven, Kashmira, Izayla, Elian, Kyin and a little Avacado-sized person in the tummy
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