Melanie and I are a good way through a nice Sunday. We don’t normally “do business” on Sundays however with this being Mother’s Day and my desire to make Sundays in general, and this one specifically, special, she had Mexican (her choice) carryout for lunch. I ordered from a new semi-fast, authentic place that “had the best fajitas in Kansas City” the order taker said (not quite). But, Melanie liked her tacos and thanked me for having them go light on the cilantro!

We’re reading a George Muller biography together. We’ve just gotten to the part where he’s saved and committed himself as a missionary. We’re desiring to learn about prayer through this and looking forward to being challenged by his life.

Its funny, the cleaning crew very carefully cleans the tv each day. We’ve laughed about how that’s one thing we’d never know if it were grimy or not. We’ve wondered how many other rooms here don’t have the constant noise and filth spewing forth - probably not very many. For us, that’s a result of our commitment to “come out and be ye separate.” Sadly, weekend nights are movie nights for most in the US- including Christians. I wonder if people driving by your house (or walking past your room as in our case ) will see the flash and glow of a TV or the lack of all that that comes from a family spending quality time together in the Bible. What light/Light is shining in your home?

Nathan

“For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb” (Psalms 139:13). 

Waiting.

Waiting.

Time goes by.

Resting in our Savior,
All the Maxwells

Another night has passed. The more time goes by the more we realize we don’t fit the “norm.” Water breaks, we get to the hospital and the hard contractions stop. So, we’re waiting, and waiting. Time is now measured in days as opposed to weeks. We’re grateful the dr’s are willing to monitor and let Melanie’s body, along with BabyMax, signal when its time for real labor.

It’s funny, we had just started to let ourselves make plans for more than a day or two out. We have each of our siblings over for a birthday dinner after their birthdays (sometimes months after due to schedules). My sister Sarah’s dinner was to be last night. That didn’t happen. The funny thing is that Melanie’s sister Anna’s dinner was to be the evening of our first hospitalization. Maybe we should quit planning these birthday dinners…

We read Psalm 27 and 34 last night. We love the word picture of the Angel of God encamping around those who fear Him. This is what we’re praying for BabyMax. Psalm 27 has the challenge to seek the face of our Lord, not on our own initiative but as a directive from Him. It concludes with “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”

Nathan

Melanie’s water broke early this morning but hard labor hasn’t followed. We are back at the hospital. Once again we have no idea when anything will happen, but for now things are relatively quiet. Dr’s are content to watch/wait. At this point Baby will probably come sooner rather than later but that’s all we know.

Thank you for your prayer support of BabyMax and Melanie. I remember picking up a book from a popular Christian author (I’ll leave the name out) at a book store 10+ years ago and flipping through it to see what it was about. One line stood out and stuck in my memory, something like “No, we can’t do that yet, the saints are not praying yet!” Driving in to the hospital this morning, that line was running through my head. It is a blessing to have prayer support!

Nathan

We received a call from Melanie about 4:30 a.m. saying that her water had broken, and they were in the car headed to the hospital. She said her contractions had definately picked up. She is at 33 weeks so they are back at the hospital where Susannah Joy was born. She would have had to be 34 weeks to go to the hospital they were planning to deliver at. The good news is that they are familiar with the hospital and staff. The difficult part, in addition to it being so early for this baby to be born, is that this is the exact week in pregnancy that Susannah Joy was born. Thank you for your continued prayers. We will update as we have news.

In Christ Jesus, Steve and Teri

Still Resting 

I’m a bit late on a post - sorry! Things continue to be pretty quiet, still at home and still waiting. We are noticing an increase in contractions, whether that is regular pregnancy progression or other things we don’t know. But, Melanie is now almost to week 33 - something we’re very grateful for.

We continue to be so grateful for the prayer support. Here are some of the things we’re praying about:

• Baby’s protection, both physically and spiritually, from any harm.
• Baby’s strength- we’re asking that whenever Baby Max shows up, that he/she is ready for life and doesn’t need medical support/assistance. When Melanie was hospitalized, one of our nurses, who previously took care of Melanie when she carried Susannah, said, “I just know you’re going to take this baby home.” Her comment about taking this baby home caught us off guard. But, we realized that is what this is all about, giving Baby Max as much time to get strong as possible because we want to take this little one home and raise/care for him/her.
• Labor/Delivery - that both Melanie and Baby would come through it fine. Melanie can be a little apprehensive after a traumatic birth with Susannah and the strength/stamina loss due to weeks of bedrest.
• Hospital Arrival - that Baby Max gives us enough heads up on his/her arrival to make it to a hospital.

Nathan

Nathan and Melanie and BabyMax

We praise the Lord for another week that Baby Max has not come. We are extremely grateful for the prayers: truly, our Heavenly Father is so gracious.

Joseph and John have been working hard to build the deck for the new house while the weather is cool. There definitely were some challenges they faced, but they persevered, and after a week and a half, the deck is in the final stages. The building inspector came out, and he was quite complimentary of their work.

As some may have heard, severe storms affected the Midwest Thursday evening. Around 1:45 a.m. Friday morning, we were awakened by and watched the violent downpour, ferocious wind, and constant lightning. We were surprised that the tornado sirens didn’t go off, since there were several tornados in north Kansas City.

May each of us look to our Lord Jesus this coming week and be filled with His joy. “Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all” (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

Only for Jesus,
Sarah for the rest

The good news is that we have little new to report. That is a blessing - bed-rest is continuing, Melanie is being a good sport, and days are passing. It’s great having my family back. They returned right as Melanie’s family came down with illnesses. We enjoyed having different members of my family “pop” over for brief visits today. Anna and Mary worked on weeding some of our front flower beds, Dad looked at a trim issue I was having around my door, Mom was over a number of times and on one of her visits put together our lunch for tomorrow, Sarah was over this morning - don’t remember why, the guys stopped by to say hi as they came and went - it was very nice.

To make this post more interesting, I thought I’d post some pictures from our time at the hospital.

Nathan

Pictures from when Melanie spent 2 weeks in the hospital

Melanie opening a small gift from a friend.

One of our cups in the foreground, with Melanie reading e-mail in the background.

Nathan in hospital room. Air-mattress in background.

Fixing wet hair. Showers were something to look forward to at the hospital.

Hospital bedrest.

Chiplet is doing very well in his temporary “home”. Here is a little background on how Chiplet was found. Christopher and Sarah were on a walk on Thursday and discovered a little squirrel sitting solemnly in the easement next to the sidewalk. They stopped and looked, interested in the fact that it was so little, but he didn’t move. They assumed that the little guy was hurt so they called the Jesse and me to ride over on our bikes and pick him up. When we arrived on the scene he was still lying there gravely blinking at the world. I got my gloves on and carefully went to pick up the little “wayfaring stranger”. He, of course, was a little disturbed at the attempt to pick him up and tried to run. I noticed that something was a little strange in that when he tried to run he was on his side and was pushing himself along the ground. I put him into the box I had prepared and returned home.

Chiplet currently resides inside a cardboard box filled with wood chips. Since we didn’t know what was wrong with him we bought some special puppy milk (because cows’ milk will make him sick) and fed him. The sad part is that when I picked him up later that day I discovered that he was deformed. Chiplet is missing his limbs on the right side. It appears Chiplet was born this way. Since we cannot raise Chiplet to go wild, we have learned that by law he has to be given to the ”humane society” since he is not able to live on his own in the wild. It is sad that he won’t have a “normal” squirrel life, but since sin entered, this world is no longer perfect. It is amazing that Jesus cares for the little sparrow, and he certainly cares for little Chiplet. We have really enjoyed our time with him.

For now he slurps his puppy milk down at regular intervals, and he likes being carried around the house. He has gained a lot of strength since Thursday, and is amazingly active and can function and move very well for what he has to work with. We are blessed to have found little Chiplet before he was found by an animal, and it will be very difficult to turn him over as required. 

John 

08/09/2006:

5/12/2007:

And now this morning:

A little abandoned squirrel was found. We’ve named him Chiplet. We’re giving him puppy milk through a syringe, and he has started taking it.

Three years in a row! Hmmmm!!!

Sarah

The past two days have been spent settling back into life at home and working at catching up on things.

There is always a lot of mail to sort through, and the below picture doesn’t show all that we had (not to mention what we had sent to us on the road - thanks G&G ).

Sunday night, below, you’ll see some of the family happily chatting with Grandad and Grandma (and some were happily chatting with Nathan and Melanie over at their house!).

Honey was glad to have us home. Grandad and Grandma took good care of her. Mary was organizing book table tubs Monday, and Honey laid down amidst the mess.

It was quite a major task to unload the bus: and thank you to John, Anna, Jesse, and Mary who spent time unloading it!

Lawns to be mowed…

Green grass and beautiful flowers were almost surreal after seeing brown so long!

A VERY big thank you to Anna for taking most of these photos! Plus, she is our “behind the scenes” girl who picks out pictures for each blog post, works on them to make them the correct size and resolution. She is a blessing: thanks, Annie!

Sarah for the rest

We just finished up the last conference of this month-long trip. Set up for the MACHE conference began Thursday afternoon, so we drove a short distance to the convention center to begin our final set up for the trip. Jesse didn’t have to hand-truck in as many items, since we had shipped books ahead.

Set up was uneventful, and then we had a nice family evening. At one point, several of us needed to go back to the convention center, and the rest went on a walk along the lake and get pictures.

(Jesse with Lake Superior in the background.)

(Anna and Mary.)

(A drawbridge near the hotel and convention center.)

Friday and Saturday. Dad and Mom’s sessions went very well. At least one or two of the boys went with Dad and Mom to each session to help them set up and then stayed in the session. There wasn’t always all nine of us at the book tables, sometimes several of the family would wander around, chatting with other exhibitors and conference attendees. During the weekend, people often came to the booth and asked questions of Dad and Mom, and we all thoroughly enjoyed our interactions with so many different families.

(Dad talking to several fathers.)

(Dad and Mom giving Keeping Our Children’s Hearts.)

We saw more babies at this conference then we ever remember seeing at others. Since we know Baby Max may come early, we were especially interested in several preemie babies that had been born early, realizing Baby Max might be that tiny!

 
As we reflect back over the last month, we are so grateful for all the blessings the Lord has given us. From our travel safety, to many hearts that were touched, to having so much time together each day, to even Baby Max staying put .

Joyfully His,
Sarah for the rest of the family

My last few posts have been rather heavy so it’s a relief to have some happier news to report this time. After a routine ultra-sound on Friday, the doctor turned to Melanie and asked, “Want to go home?” Melanie was caught totally off guard and managed to say, “Yes.” The Dr. then smiled and said, “Get out of here!” So, we’re home! Mid-way through 30 weeks and home!

The longer version of this is that ever since Melanie was permanently hospitalized, we knew that 34 weeks was the earliest they would consider releasing her. Yes, she could have left anytime (we were told it wasn’t a prison , but the pregnancy was fragile and we trusted our Dr’s opinions. If they felt it was dangerous for her to leave the hospital, we were committed to honoring that. However, we also prayed. We prayed that if God wanted us else-where, that He would impress that on the Dr’s hearts, and that they would be the ones to tell us that - without us asking! So, when the Dr. asked Melanie if she wanted to leave, we saw it as God’s clear direction.

So, Melanie’s mom packed up the hospital room in record time, and they waited and waited for me to finish work. It was only about 1.5 hours, but it seemed like forever to my wife, sitting now unnecessarily in a hospital room.

I got her home and we both rejoiced at God’s leading. To be honest, it was a little scary. The pregnancy is still fragile, the future unknown, and there are plenty of “what-ifs” hanging around. However, we have confidence in God’s direction and felt we could do nothing but follow it. So, whether we’re home for 2 days or 2 months, we’re going to enjoy what time we do have. Little things like being able to walk around in one’s socks and having a refrigerator that you can put things in - there are many blessings related to being home! The staff at the hospital was wonderful, but being able to sleep past 6:00 a.m. without someone coming in was great!

We continue to covet prayer support for this little life. We’re praying that whenever Baby does come, that he/she wouldn’t need significant medical care. We’re also praying for Baby’s protection from anything physically or spiritually that might harm him/her. There are many other concerns/burdens that we have, but these are the key ones!

Nathan

One of the joys for us of our traveling is seeing “old” friends. Two years ago, when we spoke at the Washington state convention, we met Andy Bradrick, who had come from Minnesota to help his family with the convention. Last night, there was a familiar face in the group, and it was Andy. We also had the privilege of meeting his wife and children, whom we hadn’t met previously.

(Andy Bradrick Family)

At the end of our evening conferences, we almost always sing two songs accompanied by our instruments. Last night we had a first-time occurrence with that. The group wanted an encore. Steve questioned them because we were already a few minutes over our 9:30 dismissal time, but they indicated they wanted another song.

The group that invited us to speak in Fargo, provided us with a wonderful dinner before the conference. After the sessions, when we were packed up and loading the bus, the organizers invited us to join them at a nearby Dairy Queen. We were treated to ice cream sundaes and a time of fellowship with two families.

Trusting in Jesus,
Teri

Uriah definitely needed to be washed. So, we took him to a Blue Beacon truck wash.

You know it’s windy when…

Today we’ve been driving from Fargo, ND, to Duluth, MN. Minnesota - the “land of ten thousand lakes” is pretty, although the winter scenery isn’t very colorful.

Spring seems to arrive a little later here in the north; many of the lakes are still frozen! Although the temperature has been a pleasant 62 degrees as we have been driving.

I took a break from my computer work and borrowed Joseph’s camera to take a few photos. At that same time we started the lunch sandwich process. Unfortunately, the new bag of bread had not been taken out of the freezer, so those that were having bread (instead of tortillas) for their sandwich had to individually defrost their pieces of bread. I put mine in the sun by the front windshield and let it defrost as I was taking pictures.

Playing with shutter speeds and motion blur while photographing vehicles that are passing us heading the opposite direction on the interstate. (too fast of a shutter speed freezes all of the motion in the picture, a slow shutter speed without panning results in everything being blurred, whereas a slow shutter speed and panning along with the passing vehicle results in a sharp vehicle and a blurred background)

Coming up to pass (yet another) semi-truck. As we passed one semi-truck driver this morning he waved at as, and Dad (and others) waved back. But the truck driver seemed to be signaling something with his hand. At first we thought he was indicating that we were too close to him and needed to move over, but truckers would usually hit their horn in such a situation. After we had passed the truck Dad inspected the bus as best he could in the mirrors and noticed one of the rear engine side compartment doors was open. When we came to a flat and straight section of the Interstate Dad pulled over and Joseph ran back (avoiding the dead raccoon that was laying in the grass) to close the compartment.

Anna working on her “laptop” computer? One of our cash registers died on this trip and we had to purchase a new one. Anna has been working on learning the new register and programming the various products into it.

Because there is no easy (read as: interstate) route from Fargo to Duluth, we’ve had to travel a fair distance on two-lane roads. We’ve seen a lot of picturesque farms and small towns.

I enjoy seeing the various streams as we travel…

And there are plenty of trees!

In Christ,
Christopher

(Update: We are now safely in Fargo, North Dakota.) 

Mountains we saw after we left Red Deer.

We are always grateful when we have a smooth, quick border crossing. Coming back into the US, there was no line at all, but the traffic into Canada was really backed up. We had to briefly pull into the inspection area while an agent came on the bus and asked a couple of questions about anything we had purchased in Canada. Then we were on our way again.

We drove through an area of the US we had never seen before when we came through northern Montana. We were especially impressed with the headwaters of the Missouri River and thought about how we often cross that same river, hundreds of miles away, as we drive from Leavenworth to Kansas City.  The Interstate went through the Little Belt Mountains with the Missouri River flowing along a beautiful valley beside it.

(We saw this house on the rock edge above the Missouri River. Very scenic.)

We can tell spring is arriving even in the northern parts of the country, where it still isn’t green, but the front of the bus and windshield is now covered with splattered bugs. We not only enjoy the beauty of God’s creation as we travel but all the mama and baby animals this time of year.

(Uriah is quite bug-splattered, but he’ll get a wash very soon!)

Steve has felt a bit lonely in his driving now that he is back on US Interstates. In Canada, on the two lane highways, the truckers all waved to each other, and they waved to Steve as well. He quickly picked up the friendly greeting, not only returning waves but initiating them as well. Steve is missing those waves.

Trusting in Jesus,
Teri

We saw several semis, such as the one below, transporting wrecked train cars. We wondered if we would actually see where the wreck was, and about an hour or two down the road, we saw where it had happened.

Motoring down the Interstate in Uriah.

We had a great weekend with the AHEA Convention in Red Deer, Alberta. With six of our family having come down with colds, we were in much prayer about the music session Friday night. The Lord Jesus showed Himself strong on our behalf and allowed voices to hold up through the music session plus the speaking sessions. Most are now over their colds.

Friday and Saturday were full of sessions, which were well attended. That says to us that those at the convention were interested in our messages. People who talked to us through out the weekend were positive, saying they were encouraged and challenged.

(Mary was straightening up the book table. After a “rush” of people come through, the tables need a bit of organizing!)

(Sarah took this photo as I was talking to a lady at the convention Saturday.)

We had more opportunity to talk with members of the AHEA board than we often have at conventions because of being included in a dinner with them on Thursday night. On Saturday evening our hostess and her family took us to a quiet restaurant where we could eat and relax after the busy weekend. The AHEA board took very good care of us during our time with them. We were blessed.

On this trip, we are making the transition to life on the road with one bathroom in which to get nine people ready for the day. When we traveled with the van and trailer, we had to have two hotel rooms which provided us with two bathrooms. Now with the boys sleeping in the bus, we only need one hotel room and that means only one bathroom. As you can imagine, we have quite a structured morning-bathroom-use schedule!

We rejoice each day that goes by without a call from Nathan and Melanie saying that Baby Max has arrived. When we started this trip 3 ½ weeks ago, with the doctors having put Melanie on bed rest and indicating the birth of Baby Max was likely to be soon, we could hardly imagine returning home with no baby’s arrival. Now having only a week left of our trip, we are hopeful that we will get home and be able to be part of the bed rest support team rather than the baby-in-the-NICU support team. Thank you, Jesus. We are grateful for your prayers for Nathan, Melanie, and baby Max.

As you pray, we would love for you to pray for the hearts of those who come to our sessions in Fargo, ND, Tuesday night and then at the Minnesota state convention this weekend and what the Lord wants to do in their lives.

Trusting in Jesus,
Teri

(These baskets were dropped off at our hotel Thursday as a gift from the AHEA board!)

I could have titled this post “no news is good news” but I’m kinda attached to the “BabyMax dot” format.   I guess my IT background sneaks in.

Melanie is still in the hospital but no baby has arrived. We are so grateful for God’s working. Back at week 26 it didn’t seem possible that we’d ever make it to 28 weeks, let alone part way through 29.

Melanie’s care has changed to more of long term ob. We’re praying that she will be released and not have to stay here till Baby comes. But, we also want what is best for this child and are seeking Gods direction.

There are a lot of inconveniences associated with this hospital stay. But they pale in comparison with the benefit we believe this child is getting from these added weeks in the womb.

Praises:

• That Baby seems to be doing well. Monitors show a great heart rate and lots of movement.
• That Melanie continues to have a positive outlook and be accepting of her bedrest.
• That Melanie’s family continues to be available to help with keeping her company during the day.
• That baby’s position has changed to one that is much more conducive to birth! This is a direct answer to prayer!

Prayer:

• For Baby’s health, strength, and sustaining.
• That the contractions she has off and on will be more of the off than the on, and that they won’t progress labor.

In closing, thank you for your comments of encouragement and prayer support. We love this child and greatly desire the chance to raise and nurture him/her. We are working to give our fears to Jesus and trust Him. These days are not dark and scary, we’re content where He has us and looking to Him for daily direction.

Nathan, Melanie, and BabyMax

In order to remain in our host home in Cleardale and not have to move to a big-city hotel, we needed to locate high-speed Internet. With Melanie in the hospital on bed rest for her pregnancy, Sarah has to download orders and get them to Grandma at home to ship. The conference coordinator had secured permission from the local public school for Christopher and Sarah to use the library, but that didn’t work out. The coordinator then began searching for other alternatives and finally a business about twenty minutes away was located that would allow Christopher and Sarah to use their satellite Internet connection.

(We were able to get Internet Access!)

A truck garage near to our host home allowed Steve to bring the bus into one of their inside bays to do the necessary wheel rim work. The garage was just a few minutes from where we were staying, an amazing provision so far away from larger cities. Securing the additional parts that were needed to put the new rim on required a mornings’ worth of phone calls and a four-hour round trip drive. Tuesday two brothers-in-the-Lord replaced the studs (bolts that hold the wheels on) that were discovered to be broken when the rim had been replaced on Friday.

(Replacing the studs Tuesday morning.)

The time in Cleardale allowed me to get our laundry done, do some school work, and tour the farm. John loved time with the sons in the family helping with farm chores early in the morning and in the afternoons. We were able to spend an evening with the conference coordinator’s family, whom we had met when we were in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, two years ago.

As we left Cleardale on Wednesday morning, Steve thought it would be good to have the wheels torqued.  The place where we found the needed rim was on the road we were on as we headed toward Red Deer. When we pulled in the brother who had helped find the rim, was preparing to head out for his day’s work. His boss let him torque the bus wheels and wanted no payment.

(Getting the wheel torqued on our way out Wednesday morning.)

God’s continual provision in difficult situations gives us many opportunities to look to Him and rest in His solutions rather than our own ideas.

Trusting in Jesus,
Teri

Our hearts are overflowing after spending the last week with our brothers and sisters in the Lord in Cleardale, Alberta. This area is so remote that there isn’t even a hotel in Cleardale. We arrived there a week ago Thursday evening. We soon had a slight problem, though. Uriah’s tires were hot when we pulled in, and he settled too nicely into the snow-packed parking area at the family’s house we were staying at. So, Friday morning, we needed to move him, and the wheels were in a very icy depression, allowing free spinning of the wheels .

There were discussions about how to get Uriah out, including maybe using a powerful tractor. Dad decided to give it a little try first before using other options. After it was obvious Uriah wasn’t going any where, the mom of the family showed up on the porch with a bucketful of week-old ashes from the wood stove and suggested putting a few of these against the wheels. Hmmm. This was a new idea (we Kansas hicks have had no experience with using ashes to get a vehicle unstuck). Dad tried it, and Uriah was free! As we were about to leave for the conference to begin set up, a father in the fellowship had showed up. We had been hearing a slight strange noise ever since we’d been in Colorado. As Dad backed up, he asked the father to see if he could figure out what it was. He found that we had a large crack in one of the wheel rims! We decided to go to Hines Creek, where the conference would be held, and go directly to a place that was likely to have that rim. We’ll make a long story short, but even in a small town where we were at, the Lord provided the exact rim we needed. We are so grateful!!!

(Working on changing out the rim Friday afternoon.)

We’ve never spoken at a conference where hearts were so hungry for the message. The large hall was packed. We were shocked at the size of the group considering the remoteness of the area. Just one week before the conference, the school that had been contracted with to use their facilities, cancelled. The coordinator found a location which was only available that one weekend. Praise the Lord for HIS provision. As registrations continued coming in at the last moment, it became apparent we never would have fit in the school. Our hearts were awed by what Jesus was doing during the weekend! Quite a few families drove up to five and six hours to come to the conference.

(A view from a walkway on Friday evening.)

Sunday we had an incredible day of fellowship with other believers. The singing, preaching, and testimonies were a time of refreshment.

Over and over again, these precious people ministered to us this week. We stayed at one family’s home who graciously provided many meals for us and gave up a portion of their home and even let us use their vehicle as we needed. May Jesus repay you all for your kindness to our family. As we drove away from Cleardale, our route took us near the coordinator’s family’s house. Imagine our surprise at what we saw below in the picture .

We are down to about a week and a half left of the trip. We are grateful for your prayers for our traveling and the conferences we’re doing. Please continue to lift up Nathan, Melanie, and Baby Max.

Serving Jesus,
Sarah for the rest

Below are some pictures taken last week as we drove up to Cleardale.

Mini-exercise time!

Beautiful mountain range we saw last Thursday driving up to Cleardale.

We stopped at a rest area, and I took this picture of Uriah.

Jesse, John, and Joseph are standing on about a 4 foot bank of snow!

Wow! We had never been on a 10% grade before .

The last blog post was delayed due to my family’s travels. Not much has changed. We continue to seek to discern God’s will for the many decisions. Melanie is permanently in the hospital, until the situation changes or baby comes. We’re praying for some of the pre-term labor to reverse itself. We’re also praying that Baby’s position will change so that if labor does ensue, a natural child-birth will be allowed. And lastly, if labor does kick in, based on Baby’s current position, we’re at a very high risk for some cord issues/complications.

I know all this sounds complicated and it is. We have committed this child to the Lord and are crying out for Baby’s protection and sustenance. There are no signs that baby is in any way struggling, for that we are grateful. It’s just the parents that get a little weary.
 
We do sense God’s blessing and directing in a number of areas. A small example… for some reason, Melanie prayed on Sunday that I wouldn’t have to buy dinner. I’d not complained about purchasing dinner, in fact a few days before I had commented to her about how reasonable the hospital cafeteria was. As I was leaving the room to head down to the cafeteria the nurse met me in the hallway with an extra tray of food. Melanie was thrilled to see me walk back in, followed by the nurse with the tray of food. She also enjoyed the fact that we both had the same salad, and since I had just encouraged her to eat hers, she got to suggest I not skip mine. I didn’t even know she had prayed.

The Lord also blessed the nursing home service Sunday. There have been a number of things we have experienced with this pro-longed hospital stay that allowed me to relate to the residents better. I desire to share from my heart with them when I preach and common/shared experiences help that.

God continues to bless in allowing Melanie’s spirits to remain up. Despite the uncertainty over the future, she remains cheerful. And, she’s enjoying the time with Baby Max, who tends to be an active little guy/gal. Her family is providing great support, even allowing me to keep up with my work.
 
We continue to be grateful for your prayer support. God is in control always, but situations like this make that fact very clear.
 
Nathan

Another quick update. Writing from a cell phone keeps me from being too long winded!

I wish we had good news to report. But, due to increased dilation and some other risk factors Melanie is staying on “inpatient” status for the time being. I would desperately love to have her anywhere but here, but it seems to us that God’s will is for her to be right here.

Praises:

• The dr’s didn’t see a need to suggest magnesium! Those that have been on mag know just how much of a gracious gift of Him that is.
• Melanie is in good spirits. I’m thrilled her spirits have stayed up. I’m the one that’s been up and down.
• No baby yet, each day that goes by is a blessing.

Requests:

• That baby is born in God’s perfect timing. We believe this to be a number of weeks past now, but want His best.
• Wisdom in all the decisions. This is not the “smarts” to make good choices but rather seeking to know God’s will for each thing that comes up.
• That Melanie and I will trust Him. Playing what if games in our minds, especially in light of our experience with Susannah, gets overwhelming quickly. We are seeking to trust and take one day at a time.

Nathan, for Melanie and Baby Max

Melanie’s preterm labor has progressed so we’ve spent another night in the hospital for observation. She will either spend a number of more days as an inpatient or be released to a nearby hotel. Doctors aren’t comfortable with us being 45-60 minutes from the hospital when baby could come very quickly.

We are now in the province of British Columbia. Our drive up through Washington was uneventful, except for some portions of heavy traffic. We arrived at the border at 2:45 p.m.

Uriah barely squeezed in between the cement barriers as we pulled up to the immigrations station. It didn’t take too long for our family to be cleared, but the next step was to take the paperwork in (for the Titus2.com products) and get it processed.

Dad and I went into a large building, where we worked through the paperwork. It was nice having the background of crossing the border twice before and knowing what paperwork we needed to have ready. The paperwork went smoothly, and we were grateful for a fellow importer who graciously helped us with several questions as I did a form on the computer, and he even checked up on us at the end. The crossing only took 45 minutes from the time we pulled up to the time we pulled away. We are very grateful to the Lord Jesus for a smooth crossing.

We’ve had such beautiful scenery today. The snow-capped mountains, lush green valleys, cascading waterfalls, jagged rock mountain edges, bright-yellow daffodils, flowering cherry trees, and snow-frosted pine trees have been such an incredible sampling of God’s Creation. We enjoyed our view of spring, but we’re now leaving that for a taste of winter.

There are some hazards to eating in Uriah. Today, after Mom had made lunch for everyone, she contentedly munched on her sandwich. Part way through, an exclamation was heard. Much to her amusement, she discovered that she had eaten half of the “cheese paper”. “Cheese paper” (a term I just created!) is the paper that separates each piece of cheese. She had thought her sandwich was a little chewier than usual, and it was only after she had eaten half, did she discover she was eating the cheese paper. Sorry, Mom!

Thank you for continuing to pray for our trip. We’ll be in Canada until April 13th. This weekend we’ll be doing a small weekend conference in northern Alberta. Then, the next weekend, we’ll be at the AHEA Convention in Red Deer.

Joyfully His,
Sarah for the rest

Our evening conference in Bend, Oregon, was a good one. The attendance was higher than we expected, and the hearts were receptive. In Sarah’s girls’ and young ladies session, she said she had one of the most attentive groups yet. Some were even taking notes.

We were delighted to have a clear day to enjoy the beautiful drive from Redmond, Oregon, to McMinnville through the mountains. There was over a hundred and twenty inches of snow on the ground at the pass.

The conference in McMinnville was another one that exceeded our expectations concerning the number who came and open hearts to our message. The church provided us with dinner before the conference. We were happily surprised when the brother of friends of ours – retired school teachers – from Leavenworth, drove forty-five minutes to say hello.

With great joy, Steve was able to say in the Keeping Our Children’s Hearts session that the conservative church that was sponsoring the conference and in which it was being held, had no youth group. Seldom do we speak in a church with no youth group, and many families are looking for a church like that.

Today we move into Canada for weekend conferences the next two weekends. We are praying for a smooth border crossing both ways. Because of the books and materials we bring with us, there is a great amount of detailed paperwork that needs to be accurately completed.

Trusting in Jesus,
Teri