New addition and new plans

We know that it has been far too long since we posted. So much has happened over the past weeks that we have wanted to share with you though. First, some very joyful news. WE'RE PREGNANT!!! We are absolutely thrilled and can't wait for this little boy to join us in December. :)

When we first found out that we were expecting, we prayed about and discussed our plans to go to Japan for 2 years. We spoke with MTW and planned to simply move our departure date back to when the baby would be 2-3 months old. This appeared to be the best plan as our desire to move to Japan and help the team spread the Gospel has not diminished but we did want to have our son here near family and in familiar surroundings. 

Since the beginning of July everything has begun to change and we have both felt that the Lord is calling us to end our current journey towards joining the team in Chiba. We have been incredibly blessed by all of you during the months since we were officially approved by MTW and are saddened to see this time come to an end. We have met with many wonderful people and have loved sharing our heart for seeing the Gospel spread to the people of Japan. But we know that God's ways are not ours and now know that His plan for having us travel this path has not been to ultimately lead to joining the MTW team in Chiba. We are disappointed, but know that he works everything together for good. Even though we will not be going for the two year time frame we have been planning for, we still have a strong desire to help with the church planting efforts in Japan.

We want to thank you all for your love and support, prayerfully and financially, since we began this journey. We want you to know that God used you to encourage us and hope that you have also been blessed. Please continue to keep us updated on your prayer requests and know that we want to keep in touch with each of you.

Around the end of July, Jonathan traveled with a small team to go to Japan for 2 weeks to assist with relief efforts in Ishinomaki, one of the areas strongly affected by the Tsunami in March.  Please pray for the Japanese who are still recovering from the disaster, as well as those who continue to minister to them on a daily basis. The team mainly worked on demolition on a house that was flooded and needed the drywall and other items stripped out before it could be repaired.  We'll post a separate update with information and pictures sometime soon.