I guess it is officially time to announce to the blog realm that I am pregnant...especially since I have been that way for 5 months now. I can't believe that time is passing by so quickly. This year has brought with it so many changes to my personal life, it has been so fulfilling in my marriage to Mark, and in out time of service in Honduras. It is hard to know where to start, or which stories to share since I have been away from the blog for so long. It seems that the world of social media has pulled away from the newsletter style of the blog and moved more toward instant updates via Facebook, Twitter and my personal favorite - Instagram (these go to my Facebook page also). So if you are wondering what I have been up to since the last blog click on any of the links above to get more up to date updates, lol.
At the beginning of this year, Mark and I set off on our journey toward parenthood. Little did we know that Younger + Stewart = very fertile soil. We conceived in February and were able to make the announcement to family and friends 12 weeks later. Try keeping that a secret for 3 months - who comes up with these rules anyway! Now, there are more things to think about. Not only do you have to think about fitting a newborn into your life, but literally how to fit the child and its stuff into a 1 room apartment. Good thing we have until November to figure all of that out!
I am so glad God designed parenthood to be a process - not just an instant event. He is a good planner. ;-)
So, now I do life and ministry with another person on board. And now that he - yep, it's a boy! - is moving around all of the time, I definitely know there is someone in there. If you look close enough you can even see him kicking and punching me - don't worry...I will spank him real good once he gets out.
We have had an amazing summer serving with Dr. Martin and Wendy. This year, we actually had 4 interns during the summer (which I am convinced God sent since I can't do what I used to do), and 1 of them, Tabitha Heirs (RN), will stay on until November and another one, Zach Gray (pre-med), will stay until May 2013. This is the first year we started off the season with Intern Handbooks, Volunteer Manuals, a devotional book written by Jack Dyer, and even a Missions Training workbook!!! I am so grateful to have materials to pass on to our volunteers now, thanks to Healing Place Church and Bay Community Church for sharing their resources with HHGlobal, so we could make a jungle version of these oh-so-important documents. We sill have a little way to go for things to be perfectly laid out, and once we get there I am sure we will learn some more things and want to change it up a bit. Don't want to get stagnant, ya know? So those manuals, were a giant step towards fulling Martin and Wendy's vision to create model that can be replicated in other Third World countries. Hooray!!!
We are also getting a little more tech-y with fiber-optic internet, internal document sharing networks, and back-up servers. Yeah, I just said that stuff like I know what it means! I am so grateful for my Do-Anything-He-Puts-His-Mind-To-Husband and others like Phillip Leblanc, James Gardner, Josh Foster, Dr. Cheri Leblanc, Tony Austin and all those that have helped us piece together the little bits of technology at the hospital. We really feel like we are taking steps to make the Jungle Hospital a cutting edge medical center.
On top of all of that, Dr. John and Mrs. Ana Tucher have joined the battle and are volunteering a year of their lives to help see patients at the Jungle Hospital so we don't have to close the doors when we are away doing community outreaches. And since Dr. John is an OBGYN, he will be instrumental in developing the Labor and Delivery ward of the hospital.
Mark has grown so much this year. He has become what Dr. Martin calls his "favorite APP" aka All Purpose Person. I know it makes Mark feel good that Dr. Martin trusts him to take care of things for him, and to make sure the hospital is safe and runs well in his absence. I really love and respect my husband, and I am so grateful that God saw fit for us to be together. AND I can't wait to see him become a dad...that is going to be so cool! Now he will have a fishing buddy for life!
Well, I had better cut this thing off! There is no way I can catch you up on everything that has happened in the 6 months we have been apart. I love you guys, and pray that you are hanging close to God!
Remember to check out those other social media links to have more frequent updates, if you so desire.
