The Journey Here
A year ago Ingrid and I were both diagnosed with a severe infertility conditions. Ingrid had what doctors call Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). PCOS causes small cysts to grow on the ovaries. Women with this condition has hormonal imbalances and metabolism problems that leads to infertility.
Terence on the other hand was diagnosed with Varicocele. Basically, some of his veins were so enlarged that it caused his temperature to be too warm to create healthy sperm. The veins were so enlarged that he needed emergency surgery to prevent him from having an hemorrhage. Many of you have seen the video of Terence’s recovery journey from this operation. Terence’s doctor said that this may have been caused by his extremely active lifestyle.
After finding out that we were both infertile, we were both devastated. Even though we were still newlyweds, it broke our hearts of the idea that we may never have children. But that didn’t stop us from trying. We did all prescribed exercise, diet and vitamins. We fought our condition one step at a time, but we ended up disappointed each month. Our doctor’s said to us, “There’s nothing we can do but pray for you.”
One day, God met us in one of our devotions in a very intimate way. That encounter with Him challenged us to look back and remember how He has been good and faithful. We were reminded that He called us and He is the One who is sending us. One of our team members in WMC who had known about our struggle challenged us to pray the prayer, “As we wait for God to gift us a child, may it be not a painful waiting but a joyful one.”
At that instance, we reached a point of surrender. The pain and challenges of waiting didn’t completely disappear but this time, our eyes were realigned and our hearts were at peace.
A week after we started our Home Assignment, we found out that we were expecting! Today, Ingrid is ten weeks pregnant! We laugh about it because this gift could not have come at the worst possible time as we spend months traveling and speaking at over 45 churches across the United States and Cebu. But God is good! If it was at our timing, we would have given the glory to ourselves. There is no one now to give the glory to but to the Lord! We have learned over and over again throughout our ministry that the timing that is most inconvenient for us is the most perfect for God.
However, going into our Home Assignment with this pregnancy caused a lot of anxiety. First of all, our missionary insurance only covers “accidental death and dismemberment.” We knew that a simple visit to a doctor here in the United States would be very expensive without any insurance. But God has proved over and over again that He is the Great Provider. A church in Newhall, California offered to help us pay for better insurance. A church in Redlands, California connected us with a pregnancy center that gave us a free ultrasound. A church in Kalispell, Montana connected us with a Christian doctor and paid for Ingrid’s bloodwork to make sure PCOS was not affecting the pregnancy. We are so humbled by all of the churches we have met along this Home Assignment.
So far our time in the west has been phenomenal. More and more people are joining our work in Southeast Asia. The love and support of the churches we have partnered with are overwhelming. And God is moving His people in such a special way and we are not even halfway through our Home Assignment!
Thank you for your constant support and prayers. We are so blessed to have partners and co-workers that loves our Lord so much.
Thank you to our new families in Newhall, the Camarillo congregations, Redlands, Mountain Home, the Nampa teens, Nyssa, Longview, Spokane, and Kalispell. There are so many stories to tell and pictures to share about these incredible communities. Perhaps in another newsletter. For now, thank you. Thank you so much.
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