Another change came at the beginning of this year. We had been meeting in the town hall every Sunday afternoon for a Bible study time. It seemed that God was beginning to lead us in a different direction.We hadn't seen anyone come to our Bible studies for many months, so we began to pray about what God would have us do. Continue with the Bible study group or rent a building and begin holding traditional services?
Right around the corner from where we live there was a laundrette, or as we know it, a drycleaners. It has sat empty for as long as we've been here. Don inquired about it and found the owners were willing to let us rent it at a very reasonable rate. It was not ready for immediate use though. It's seems that God kept it for us. It had been sitting empty since they had purchased it, some years ago. At one time they had plans to make the rooms into an apartment, but they never got around to it.
We have a sign up, and some work has been done. A carpet still needs to be laid, a wall built, a bathroom installed and two doors need to be put up. Hopefully this work will be done by the end of July.
There has been some waiting with plans needing to be approved, etc. We are getting there and looking forward to beginning holding services at Moray Coast Baptist Church.
Don has also been involved in two one-on-one Bibles studies during the week. It will be exciting and interesting to see what God does with these two men he has been meeting with.
We are also holding Bible studies in Inverness (about an hour away) every two weeks with a few families. This is simply an extension of our ministry here. Our ultimate goal and desire is to see a church established here in Lossiemouth.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Delivery in Unfamiliar Territory
One of the biggest changes this past year was our little family of five growing to be a family of six! I enjoyed an uneventful pregnancy. For the most part I saw a midwife, but since I was going to have a repeat c-section I had to see a consultant at the hospital in Elgin, only 10 minutes away.
The planned c-section was set for November 19, 2014. Due to some concerns the doctor decided it would be best to move it up two weeks. This did not go with the plans we had made! My mom was going to arrive on the 14th and be with us for two weeks. Now she would arrive 8 days after Lilly was born.
Who would watch the kids while Don went with me to the hospital? How would he handle three young children on his own for 3-4 days? Why was this happening?
"Neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord." Is 55:8b God's plans are more perfect than ours. There was a family we had become friends with that were able to watch the kids that day. Don did great with the kids. Everyone was ready to have mom back, but they were okay. Home could function without me for a few days. I think God was letting us know that even when things don't go as we plan, His will is perfect and even being many miles away from family and the familiar, we could depend on Him to care for us and provide for us.
And so, little Lillian Joy joined us on November 5, 2014. She weighed 8 lbs 15 oz and was 20 inches long! Delivery went well. My hospital experience was a good one. I was actually very impressed with the care I was given. I was expecting things to be a bit more backward (for whatever reason), but I think it was comparable to my deliveries in the US.
We hadn't found out what we were having, but I had a feeling all along it was a girl. Harry was a little disappointed, but I'd have to say, he is her favorite! She smiles at her sisters, but her face really lights up when Harry is near!
My mom arrived 8 days later and it was a good time for her to come. I was getting to where I wanted to do more. I love my husband, but he's a man and the house needed some extra care. :) I saw things that needed to be done, but I could only do so much. Then my mom arrived and did what moms do. She helped me do some deep cleaning that needed to be done and told me to sit and take it easy.
I loved having her here and showing her around this place we now call home. We really missed having my dad here with her.
Fast forward to today. Lilly turned seven months recently. She is such a big girl. Sleeps about 8-10 hours at night. She's a pretty good girl. Yes, she does have times when she doesn't want to nap and is very crabby. If nothing is bothering her she is content. We love having Lilly as part of our family!
The planned c-section was set for November 19, 2014. Due to some concerns the doctor decided it would be best to move it up two weeks. This did not go with the plans we had made! My mom was going to arrive on the 14th and be with us for two weeks. Now she would arrive 8 days after Lilly was born.
Who would watch the kids while Don went with me to the hospital? How would he handle three young children on his own for 3-4 days? Why was this happening?
"Neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord." Is 55:8b God's plans are more perfect than ours. There was a family we had become friends with that were able to watch the kids that day. Don did great with the kids. Everyone was ready to have mom back, but they were okay. Home could function without me for a few days. I think God was letting us know that even when things don't go as we plan, His will is perfect and even being many miles away from family and the familiar, we could depend on Him to care for us and provide for us.
And so, little Lillian Joy joined us on November 5, 2014. She weighed 8 lbs 15 oz and was 20 inches long! Delivery went well. My hospital experience was a good one. I was actually very impressed with the care I was given. I was expecting things to be a bit more backward (for whatever reason), but I think it was comparable to my deliveries in the US.
We hadn't found out what we were having, but I had a feeling all along it was a girl. Harry was a little disappointed, but I'd have to say, he is her favorite! She smiles at her sisters, but her face really lights up when Harry is near!
My mom arrived 8 days later and it was a good time for her to come. I was getting to where I wanted to do more. I love my husband, but he's a man and the house needed some extra care. :) I saw things that needed to be done, but I could only do so much. Then my mom arrived and did what moms do. She helped me do some deep cleaning that needed to be done and told me to sit and take it easy.
I loved having her here and showing her around this place we now call home. We really missed having my dad here with her.
Fast forward to today. Lilly turned seven months recently. She is such a big girl. Sleeps about 8-10 hours at night. She's a pretty good girl. Yes, she does have times when she doesn't want to nap and is very crabby. If nothing is bothering her she is content. We love having Lilly as part of our family!
Thursday, June 11, 2015
It's been a looonnnggg time! :)
I'm back and going to make a huge attempt to blog at least once a week. Things are beginning to happen around here and life is getting busy. Well, it already has been busy, but I feel like now there are many things to blog about. So many things have happened in the last year! Here's a quick run down:
Lilly joined us two weeks early on November 5, 2014. She a little chunker, even now at 7 months. She loves her brother and sisters!! Harry, though a little disappointed at first, loves her completely. They both get along really well and he was the first one who made her laugh.
We stopped meeting at the town hall this March and are currently renovating a small storefront. The building is right around the corner from our house. We're looking forward to finishing the work and beginning services.
Don is involved in two one-on-one Bible studies. We are also meeting two other families in Inverness every other Sunday. Needless to say he is enjoying having these ministry opportunities!
We are about to finish our second year homeschooling. I will share more about what we're doing this next year. I am really excited about the curriculum we will be using! Kathy has really improved in the last 4 months. Her letters and numbers are not perfect, but they are finally recognisable! I am really proud of what she's done. Harry has done really well this year. He's ready to be finished though! :) Throughout the summer I will try keeping them busy. I would like to keep their math, reading and writing skills fresh. It also works much better and makes the day run smoother (less fighting) if they have some sort of structure.
Summer has slowly begun to arrive here in Scotland. We've had 60-65 degrees, and yes, that's pretty much summer for us! It will get up to 70-75, but not much warmer than that.
We've seen God bless so much and I may share some of His blessings in the next couple of weeks!
Lilly joined us two weeks early on November 5, 2014. She a little chunker, even now at 7 months. She loves her brother and sisters!! Harry, though a little disappointed at first, loves her completely. They both get along really well and he was the first one who made her laugh.
We stopped meeting at the town hall this March and are currently renovating a small storefront. The building is right around the corner from our house. We're looking forward to finishing the work and beginning services.
Don is involved in two one-on-one Bible studies. We are also meeting two other families in Inverness every other Sunday. Needless to say he is enjoying having these ministry opportunities!
We are about to finish our second year homeschooling. I will share more about what we're doing this next year. I am really excited about the curriculum we will be using! Kathy has really improved in the last 4 months. Her letters and numbers are not perfect, but they are finally recognisable! I am really proud of what she's done. Harry has done really well this year. He's ready to be finished though! :) Throughout the summer I will try keeping them busy. I would like to keep their math, reading and writing skills fresh. It also works much better and makes the day run smoother (less fighting) if they have some sort of structure.
Summer has slowly begun to arrive here in Scotland. We've had 60-65 degrees, and yes, that's pretty much summer for us! It will get up to 70-75, but not much warmer than that.
We've seen God bless so much and I may share some of His blessings in the next couple of weeks!
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