In the USA

We've now been in Nate's hometown for 3 weeks and we're working on setting up a house which we'll be renting for the next few months. Many people from our church here have offered various pieces of furniture and baby things for us to borrow while we're here and we feel very blessed as we see God providing for us. It looks like we'll be able to move in in the next few days.

As you may have guessed, we received my immigrant visa at the end of June so we could finally cross the border and I became a permanent resident of the US. Up until now we've been staying with Nate's mom and catching up with people around here and doing all the errands involved in moving me to a new country.

We're getting very excited about our baby coming--the due date is only 6 weeks away now! We have a great midwife and have been through the childbirth classes at the hospital. Grandma Kidder has been collecting baby girl clothes and we've received some beautiful gifts. We're excited to get settled in our house and get things set up for the baby.

Plans for the next few weeks: We're starting to make plans to share in various churches in the area, as we continue to prepare to return to Sudan in January. Please pray that the Lord will provide the remaining financial and prayer support that we need. We're really thankful for the new people and churches that have joined our support team in recent weeks as well as the many who have continued to support us throughout our home assignment.

Please pray for us as we make the big transition into parenthood in just a few weeks!

Happy Anniversary Sweetheart!

Today, July 5th, Nate and I are celebrating our 1st anniversary! I can't believe we've been married for a year already! We've had a wonderful year, a year of learning and growth, laughter and tears, joys and challenges. I calculated that we've called 9 different houses or apartments home during our first year or marriage, in Kenya, Canada, and the United States. Sometimes it's been for 3 months, sometimes for 3 weeks. It hasn't always been easy and neither of us prefers such a transient lifestyle but I think we've learned to be "home" for each other in a unique way, a way that we'll need during our years in Africa. All year I've carried around in my suitcase a framed wedding picture of us, which I take out and put by our bedside when we get settled at each location. That has also created a little bit of home for me, wanting to remember our main reason for being in North America this year, and that is to build a strong marriage before we return to Sudan to begin a new ministry.

The beginning of July also marks a different anniversary for me--2 years ago I arrived in Nairobi for the first time on July 1st as a new missionary to Sudan. As a single missionary, I believed God had me in that position in life for His own purposes, to glorify Himself through my life. I felt fulfilled in Him and enjoyed my early days of learning in Sudan. However, it didn't take me long to begin sensing that the Lord wanted to do a new thing in my life, and that that might involve marriage. The more I interacted with Sudanese mothers and children, the more He gave me a deep desire to minister to them as a wife and mother myself. I waited...

I didn't need to wait long! I met my wonderful husband Nate on an airstrip in Sudan at the end of that October. If you'd like to read the whole story, see my posts from Oct. 23rd, 2008 and following, written a year after the exciting events!

So here we are, married a year and expecting our first baby in about 8 weeks! I believe the Lord has given us to each other and wants to glorify Himself through our marriage and our family. When you pray for us, please pray for His blessing and protection over our marriage and our little baby as we get ready to return to Sudan.