Wow! It's already mid-September! So much has happened in the past two months since our last newsletter, with days and weeks packed full of family and fun. Our summer came to a close with me being part of a promotional video for our church's women's ministry (Favor Girl), Caleb and me getting away for a night to celebrate our anniversary, and Faith Academy's All Staff Retreat. Favor Girl Conference will be happening next Saturday, September 23rd and I'm so excited and expectant for what God is going to do! If you're interested in seeing the promotional video, click here.
It was such a gift to be able to go somewhere this year for All Staff Retreat. Because of Covid, this has been either virtual or on Faith's campus for our entire time serving here, so it was nice to experience a normal ASR. Once we got back from that, Caleb was fully in the classroom, getting settled in, working with his co-teacher, and making sure things were ready for the students to come back to school!
August seems like it came and went so quickly as we adjusted to Caleb being back in the classroom, and me having full responsibility of Paul again. On top of that, we're expecting Baby #2 in March 2024!! Pregnancy this time around has been harder than the first time, with morning sickness and exhaustion, but we've started to come out on the other side and I'm feeling much better.
Caleb is coaching soccer again this year and has enjoyed being on the field and getting to work with high schoolers again. The days are long with teaching, coaching, and parenting, but he handles it all like a champ and always seems to have energy for Paul when he gets home. Paul's personality continues to burst at the seams as he discovers his independence, his voice, his likes and dislikes, etc. He has become very picky with his foods and mostly eats bananas, PBJ, and crackers; but we've been able to get him to eat the occasional apple, meat, vegetable, etc. Paul is also very adventurous, as we have seen since he was very little -- he loves to climb and be thrown and anything that has the slightest bit of danger. He smiles and laughs a bunch, loves reading books, loves talking, and loooooovvvveesss the movie Cars.
I have started up learning Filipino Sign Language (FSL) this month through our church and am excited to be learning this new language. There is a great deaf ministry at Favor and I'm excited to be part of it, getting to know new people, and bridging the gap in communication. There is hope to become an interpreter one day, but that will take some time as I continue to learn the language and the culture. Overall, life is good and we are enjoying where God has us in this season. He is working in our hearts, both individually and together, drawing us closer and closer to Him.
Prayer Requests:
Caleb's co-teacher, Leo, is back in the States for the foreseeable future as his dad is very sick and doesn't seem to be getting any better. Please pray for Leo's family: (1) supernatural healing for his dad, (2) comfort and peace for Leo's immediate family, and (3) for his wife, Angela, and their 3 girls who are still here in the Philippines. Please also be praying for Caleb as he has taken on full responsibility of Grade 5.
Caleb and his parents are flying back to the States mid-October for Austin (Caleb's brother) and Sharina's wedding. Once Caleb gets back to the Philippines, he has less than 24 hours before hopping on another flight to Thailand for this year's ACSC soccer tournament. Pray for traveling mercies all around and pray for me and Paul as we navigate being on our own without Caleb for two weeks.
Pray for Baby #2! We are so excited that our family is growing again, but there are definitely nerves around what adding another kiddo to the bunch means. I am very happy with the doctor I have this time around and feel very informed and taken care of, which is a huge blessing.
With the addition of a new baby, we will be needing to increase our monthly support - please be praying as we prepare to make more asks in faith. We've also seen a "dip" in our First Love account as my insurance premium increased this year and we will have bigger expenses upcoming with labor and delivery being more expensive with this new doctor and hospital.
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