Praise the Lord!

Once upon a time... I was organized! I found our CDs! They were in our filing cabinet in a folder called DELL... imagine that! Why didn't I look there first? Anyway, yea! Thanks for any prayers you said for me to find them! =0)

Now hopefully I will be able to load them & then get our info back into the programs where it belongs (like our contacts in outlook, etc.). You might lift up a prayer for me to figure this out.

Since I'm posting on the blog again, you may have guessed we got the computer back... another praise! And since internet explorer is part of the operating system that JAARS loaded back on for us, I am able to go online. Yea! So now I can check my e-mail from home again. Yea! I still don't have all the e-mails, home addresses, phone numbers, etc. until I can figure out the whole thing of importing my data on the external hard drive to the new hard drive. If I can't figure it out, I know the folks at JAARS will be able to help me!

This is one of the great services JAARS provides Wycliffe Bible Translators missionaries and volunteers, like us! They ordered us the new hard drive we needed, installed it, and reloaded Windows XP for us... all for under $70! Yea!

BTW, in case you are wondering... Emma is all better! She was almost 100% on Saturday night/Sunday morning, so we took her to church with us but kept her with us during Sunday school and church so as not to expose any more children to whatever was already going around in case she was still able to pass anything on. We spoke in a young married class so to have a preschooler in there with us was something they were used to (we were told)! =0) So, they definitely saw that we were REAL! =0) Another praise is that no one else in our family got sick! Yea!

Well, blah, blah, blah... I will let you go. I've got lots of programs to put on the computer... some from CDs and some from the internet.

Hope you are well. I'd love to hear from you!

Love,
Melinda =0)

There's No Place Like Home

Although this is true, it doesn't have the same meaning as it used to. Ever since we left Texas, it seems like we don't have a home. This is not a reflection of our friends or churches in Ohio or South Carolina. Actually, it is much more shallow than that. I am just talking about our house. Since we've entered full-time missions, we've been renting. This has given us a less than permanent feeling in life. This really is a good thing. This earth is not our home. We're only here for a while until we go to our eternal home... amen?

Anyway, previously when we'd travel and we'd come "home" to our house in Jacksonville, FL or our house in Arlington, TX it always felt GREAT to be home. Now, it is kind of ugh! =0) Okay, this is just really shallow. I probably shouldn't post this, but this is REAL. I miss living in NEW construction. I miss new showers with water pressure. I miss new flooring and carpet. I miss the walls being painted the colors I want them to be painted.

So, I guess I need your prayers to be content again. We are so blessed to be where we are. God has blessed us with a great house for our family... it just isn't ours. But what truly is OURS in life? Don't we need to always keep in mind that our time here is temporary?

That is my prayer. Lord, help me stay focused on the eternal. Help me keep my eyes on you and YOUR GLORY. Father, you take such awesome care of me. Thank you. Thank you for meeting the needs of my family. Father, we could not ask for more! Forgive me for my lack of contentment! I love you, Lord.

Well, we are back home in the Carolinas. We got home last night. We had an incredible time in Florida! Thank you for praying! It was great to see all we saw. Unfortunately we didn't get to see everyone we'd hoped to.

I don't have time to type more. I'm at the library & about to be kicked off the computer. Our computer is still dead. Please pray it will be alive soon!

Love,
Melinda =0)

Please Pray for Emma

We've been having a great time here in Florida. The weather has been great (hot & muggy) but great! =0) We've gotten to see lots of people (but of course, time will run out before we see everyone... boo hoo). We had a wonderful time at the beach. I hope to put a post up about that. Another day we went back to St. Augustine to visit the Fort. The kids (well at least Olivia & Derek) loved it! It was a school day for them. We learned a LOT! We're doing a Florida study while we're here.

I want you to please pray for Emma & the rest of us! She is runny a low grade fever, so we're keeping her away from other kiddos today. Today is the BIG day of the missions conference, so this has changed the plans a bit. Dano & I are going to tag team so that we can still participate. Thankfully our host home is not too far from the church so that makes it easier. I've even had a friend here volunteer to keep Emma this afternoon, and we might take her up on this so that we can both go to the dinner tonight (we were doing a skit/activity) with the audience.

SO, please pray for Emma to be HEALED immediately so that she'll be 100% before tomorrow. (She's playing now, but has that little bitty fever.) Please pray that no one else in our family will get sick. Also, please pray for the rest of the church to stay well. There were some other kids who came down with something after church on Wednesday night... so some sort of virus is circulating! Ugh! Germs!

Blessings (and prayers for those in Texas),
Melinda and family

I Might Be Getting Old

Well, we made it safe and sound on Friday evening to Jacksonville, FL. Praise the Lord, "Hanna" did not hit here. I think it has hit up in the Carolinas. We haven't gotten any phone calls, so we think our "homefront" is fine there in Lancaster! (We live about 3 hours inland, so surely all is well.)

Amazingly, we haven't seen any rain here yet. Not even any afternoon thunderstorms. I was checking the weather for the next 10 days online (here at Angharad's house), and it looks like tomorrow is the last day of sunshine. It looks like the rest of our stay will be covered in thunderstorms. Bummer. Hopefully, they're wrong! With that forecast though, we're heading to the beach in the morning to enjoy a fun time there!

Well, on to the title... I Might Be Getting Old...

Okay, I know some of you think I'm a kid... ha ha. But I know some of you already know I'm getting old! But let me tell you how I KNOW I'm getting old!

Today we were privileged to worship at Mandarin Baptist (our church here in Jacksonville). Well, some of the "kids" I taught in 1st and 2nd grade Sunday school are now MARRIED and HAVE KIDS of their own! How can elementary kids I taught be old enough to have kids when I'm still having kids?!! Shocking!! =0) I think this is great! However, it is definitely confirmation that maybe I'm not as young as I used to be! =0)

Well, I'm still checking e-mail about every other day as I get a chance. The best time to check it is when the kids are napping or in bed at night, BUT Wesley is sleeping in the computer room... so that is NOT the best time to check it! =0) So, I'm checking the best I can.

I'll do my best to update through the blog as I can. We're trying to call some folks here in town using that old fashioned method of the phone book, but we're finding that everyone is not in it. My online e-mail doesn't have up-to-date e-mail addresses, so if you don't hear from me via e-mail or phone, please e-mail me with your contact info so I will have it.

Okay, we hope to see you at the Missions Conference here at Mandarin if you are in the area. It is Friday night, all day and night Saturday, and Sunday, too (Sept 12, 13, &14). Maybe I can post the particulars one day so that you can come! We'd love for you to participate in the conference even if you don't attend church at Mandarin!

Have a great day of worship & rest!

Love,
Melinda =0)

On the Road Again

Please keep us in your prayers.  We're leaving Dalton, GA (Thank you UJ & AC for a WONDERFUL time!).  We are heading to Atlanta to look at the Olympic Park there then we're going to spend the night in Tyrone, GA at the OM center (courtesy of some friends with OM).  Thank you T&H!!  Then on Friday we're heading to Jacksonville, FL for our mission conference at Mandarin Baptist.  We hope to see you there.  Call us at Angharad Jones' house if you know her.  Otherwise you can reach us on our mobile and maybe occasionally by e-mail!  

Love,

Melinda & family  

The Sweetest Sound

On Tuesday evening we heard the sweetest sound I know... or at least one of the sweetest sounds.  We heard the heartbeat of our new little baby beating strong from within my womb.  The whole family went so that we could all hear this beautiful sound!

We are excited to announce that sometime in March, we will be welcoming a new little baby into our family.  Yes, the Lord has chosen to bless us again with a precious little soul.  

So right now, I am about 13 weeks pregnant.  Since this pregnancy is so close to Seth's, I look like I am MUCH farther along than that.  

I know some of you may be concerned for our health, but I want to reassure you that all is well.  I am in perfect health for carrying a baby full-term and delivering without complications.  Also, I want to reassure you that the situation which caused Seth's death is nothing that could have been prevented and nothing that was caused by anything I did or didn't do.  I have been reassured by our midwife that we can resume life as normal, and this is not a high risk pregnancy.  

I will treat this pregnancy as I have all my others.  I will continue to love this child with all my heart and my actions while he/she is growing in my womb.  I will do everything within my power to protect this baby, but in the end, I have to trust in the sovereignty of God.  He is ultimately in control, and I am okay with that.  =0)  

Thank you for praying for a safe and healthy pregnancy and delivery.

Love,

Melinda and family   

Computer Crash

Well, our hard drive finally crashed.  Boo hoo.  So, while we're on the road, JAARS has our lap top replacing the hard drive for a very reasonable price.  Unfortunately, our computer won't be completely functional until I find all our CDs that came with our computer about 5 years ago... you know, when we lived in TX before we moved to OH, then moved in OH, then moved to SC!  So, it may be a while.  Apparently, I did not think about this scenario and the importance of knowing where those CDs were!  Ugh!  Now I know!  

Thankfully, (thanks to a generous partner) we have all our data backed up on an external hard drive... including everyone's contact info and our pictures, etc.  Unfortunately, I don't know when I'll have access to all of that since I don't know where all those other CDs are.  

So, in the meantime, I can still check my e-mail (from other places) since yahoo is a web based account.  However, I always used it through Outlook, so that is where all my up to date addresses are.  So, you may not hear from me via e-mail unless you send me an e-mail first.

As I'm able, I will give updates on our blog.  I'm sending this one from my aunt & uncle's in Dalton, GA.  

Please pray for our safe travels (and for me to find those CDs).  

Blessings,

Melinda  =0)