The Final Countdown

We are officially 36 weeks along in pregnancy. Only a month to go until our world is completely rocked...again! Thanks to everyone who knew about my hip pain and prayed. I was having difficulty walking (even across the room) in spite of all I was trying to do. God started working a miracle before I was able to see the physical therapist. Within a few days, I was back to normal and able to do all of my regular activities. Praise God! In most pregnancies, pain like this does not just disappear. 

It is definitely different this time around. We are way more tired and a bit overwhelmed at what we know is coming. However, because we know what it is like to love our first born, we are so excited for the additional love on the way. My due date is June 19th. The bag is packed and the tentative plan is in place for the logistics of the big day! My mom, Roxanne, arrived yesterday and will be here until early July. She will pass the grandmother baton to Blake's mom, Suzanne, who will arrive at the end of June and stay until mid July. We are so thankful that our family is able to be close to us during this exciting and exhausting time. 

Please be in prayer for myself and baby - for a healthy rest of the pregnancy and smooth delivery. Please also pray for Blake and Eden to get good rest, bonding time, and are ready for our new little guy. Lastly, if anyone is in the mood to somehow air mail me some Chick fil a or a snowball (for everyone not in the South - snow cone), that would be the most awesome thing ever. 

Waiting For Our Visa

We've had SO many people asking us about our visa situation. Just to let you know, we have not heard anything back from Immigration. Our visas officially expired yesterday. Here's the good news...this is exactly what happened last year (minus the initial rejection). 

How it went down in 2015:

• We sent our request to reapply in February. 
• As our expiration date approached I emailed and called everyone I could in immigration. (It's surprisingly difficult to contact them.) They all said the same thing. "Your documents are being processed. There's nothing you can do. Just wait until you hear back."
• We finally got the reply approving our request one week after our visas expired. 

I'll be honest with you. I thought our visa expired a few days from now, so I didn't do any preemptive communication to immigration. Taking into account their response from last year, I think we're fine. Here's why we're not worried.

• God is in control.
• When we got rejected in February of this year the reply letter came within two weeks. We have now been waiting well over two months since we sent our appeal letter.
• We received a letter a few weeks ago from immigration saying they received our docs and they will be reviewed. We received the same letter last year and were approved a month or two later.

We will let you know as soon as we hear back from immigration regarding our visa. We hope it's sooner rather than later, but either way, we trust God. Thank you so much for all your prayers and support, specifically in this area.

Some days it feels scary. Some days we're not worried. Everyday, regardless of how we feel, God is in control.

5 Summer Prayers

1. Please pray for Rachel.
   • Rachel will be helping us with the kids so both Katy and I can get out to do more ministry. Eden has already connected with her wonderfully. Let's pray for Rachel as she goes through cultural adjustment away from family.
2. Please pray for students in Carlow and Dublin.
   • As we enter into the summer months, let's pray for them to remain focused on what God has been doing in their lives. Let's also pray for next year's leaders. Much training will be done this summer in preparation for the Autumn semester. 
3. Please pray for CONNECT.
   • CONNECT is our annual summer training conference. We look to be taking as many as six students from Carlow and Dublin! This is such an important trip for these students as they receive practical training, bond together with like-minded students, and hear from God. Let's pray for God to speak clearly and provide safe travels.
4. Please pray for our new baby.
   • Every scan and doctor appointment points to a perfectly healthy baby and healthy momma. We are so grateful, especially coming off a miscarriage last summer. We cannot wait to meet this new little boy, and Eden is excited to be a big brother. (He has no idea how much his life will be disrupted. Ha.)
5. Please pray for our visa.
   • At the time of writing this we still have no word regarding our visa. We are confident that God is paving the way for our journey here. Please pray for us to remain confident and for the immigration officer who has received our case. We pray blessing on her/him regardless of the decision made.

Thanks you so much for your prayers and support. Together, we are striving to bless the university students of Dublin, Carlow, and Ireland.