Kayla Alexia Berryman was born on June 18, 2008. She was 3 kilos 150 grams (6.95 pounds) and 52 centimeters (19.5 inches). Karina and I could not be happier or prouder. Kayla was born fairly skinny but since then she has started to beef up a bit. She is very healthy and happy.
The hospital we used was great and so were the nurses. Karina went in to the hospital in the early afternoon because our doctor had decided to induce labor. After about 6 to 7 hours of trying to induce labor it became apparent that Karina’s pelvic area was not wide enough for the baby to pass for natural labor so we went to a c-section. This lasted for about thirty minutes!
Seeing my child for the first time was, of course, an indescribable and surreal experience. We are so thankful to God that Kayla is doing great in every way. Karina is recovering very quickly from the surgery as well. I think she was incredible during the whole process, and, though she still experiences some pain, she is walking quite a bit.
We are hoping that most of you reading this will get a chance to meet Kayla! She already likes outings and the voices of lots of people talking (it looks like she already takes after her mom in that respect).
WHAT'S NEW LATELY
Despite having Kayla, we still have not been able to move into our new apartment due to construction delays. This has been quite frustrating for us on many levels, but thanks to God we have been able to at least move our stuff into the apartment (the apartment is finished but lacks electricity and gas). Getting an adequate place to live this year has been complicated for us, but God has been faithful in so many ways.
We would like to introduce you to Adrian, Romina, Micaela and Carolina (we owe you the picture for next time) This family is what we consider our new co-workers in Christ to help plant our church. They are not full time missionaries, but they are people that love God and are willing to help us out when they can. We are thankful for them as during this transitory time without a house we had our group in their home for several weeks. Romina even hosted a small baby shower for Karina in their apartment as well.
Please pray for this family as lately they have had a high level of stress due to many different complications. Adrian is a small business owner and that always carries with it its complications, as well as other family issues and health issues. In addition, we’d like to ask prayer especially for Micaela who has had a headache for several weeks now. The doctors say that it is a migraine for now, but they are running several different tests to be on the safe side.
During this period of moving to a new place, God has opened several new doors for us in so many ways. We are living on the other side of the city, and time after time, God has given us new people that are open to listening to the gospel on one level or another. We have spent a lot of our time visiting these people as most of them are not ready to make a commitment to attend a small group or church. One of our new friends is very open and Karina has started meeting with her periodically to study the bible. Her name is Jessica and she has several complications and sadness in her life. It’s difficult to say the right thing, but the only comfort we can offer her is the news that she can have a full life if she gives her life to Jesus. Jessica was a coworker of Karina’s seven years ago, but until now she did not have true interest in making a commitment.
Others are not as ready as Jessica for something so direct and are certainly not ready to commit to a small group, but pray that God will continue to work in their lives. In the back of my mind I always pray to God that somehow we will form another small group with some of these people in some way, even if it means a small group of three or four. Please pray for all of these people.
We have also been looking for more ways to serve people and speak the gospel through our actions. This takes time, work, and discipline; but many times is much more powerful than any words we might say. Pray that God will grow our spiritual gifts involved with service.
Jacquie Mitchell has been having a rough time lately. When she was traveling in her car she lost her short-term memory and forgot where she was. Poor Karen, her daughter, called us in a state of shock. It turns out that Jackie had amnesia for a little while and couldn’t really remember much at all (then of course her memory came back). This type of amnesia can only happen once in a lifetime, and it is normally due to stress. Jacquie is waiting on some tests to make sure things are okay, but this is most likely what the problem is. Jacquie has been under a lot of pressure lately due to a lot of different things, so if you could remember her in your prayers it would be good. She seems to be a doing a lot better now, and right now she is travelling with her daughter Karen to the states.
We got to meet with Jacquie recently and she spoke to us about the church in Cordoba. They are having their share of difficulties, but we know that God is faithful. We didn’t have enough funds to travel to Cordoba this year, but we have already started talking about a retreat in March with the church there with Jacquie.
TRAVEL PLANS
We would like to inform everyone that we have bought tickets to go to the U.S. on September 16. We will be staying in the U.S. until December 29th, so we should have time to introduce Kayla to some of you that read this blog. On our trip we’ll be visiting supporting churches, family, prospects for long term workers, and friends. We are looking for long-term workers still. Also, on this trip we’ll be asking friends or anyone interested to commit to contribute to our support for one year. We are looking for monthly supporters for the work in Argentina for 2009. Any amount is useful. As little as 10 or 15 dollars a month is useful to us in the coming year. Please let us know if you’re interested.
Finally, if you think your church might be willing to support this ministry by sending missionaries or financially, please also let us know.
We are happy new parents and we are adjusting pretty well to this little new member in our family. Our schedule has been a little crazy so far, but we are getting back to normal. Many of you are parents, I'm sure you know what I am talking about.
We are looking forward to seeing everyone in the US! God bless you all
