For me it started with the scare we faced the day before Liana was born, when my doctor detected that her little heart was beating way too fast without calming down. We were all concerned about the potential stress she was under, and the possibility of needing an emergency C-section. But in the midst of much crying, we prayed (on the way to an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist), that the Lord would slow her heart beat and that the specialist would find nothing wrong with her heart. The Lord knew my heart´s desire to have a natural birth; He knew the worry we were experiencing about the health of our little baby, and He heard our prayers. He answered them with a healthy baby girl, born the next day in an unexpected, but very natural home birth.
After that, I began to think to myself. What am I worried about? The Lord is taking care of us, hearing our payers, and even providing things we need and didn´t even know to pray for. The gospel of Matthew tells us that Jesus said:
I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,[a] or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?....Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’....But strive first for the kingdom of God[l] and his[m] righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6: 25 - 34
Maybe you might be surprised to hear that a missionary could forget to trust God. But the truth is, trusting God, His goodness and provision for my life has always been a challenge for me. The Lord has been faithful in providing so much, but in the midst of the mundane challenges of life, it has been easy to forget that God cares for every part of our lives. Thanks be to God though, He is transforming me and helping me to grow in faith.
After Liana´s birth, when things have been crazy with two little ones, and Cristian and I have been tired and irritable, we realized that what we really need to do was "strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness." So we started to pray, and pray about everything: asking God to put his spirit in us, to give us more grace with each other, to protect our kids, to help us find someone to help us more at home, to heal Lauren´s feet that had been aching since Liana´s birth, and about a thousand other little things, too. And you know what? The Lord is faithful and good. He is working out his spirit in us, helping us to have more grace with each other, helping us know how to parent two little ones, providing for our everyday needs - showing us more and more the importance of this time of prayer together.
As we are learning how important prayer really is, we would love for you join us in prayer each month for things that are going on in our family, work and ministry life.
Prayer requests for July:
- For the last four years we have been attending a small church which is an annex church of a large church here in Lima. We have really loved being part of a smaller congregation, but due to several issues (including the loss of our leased worship space), the main church leaders decided to close the annex. We know that God is in control of all things, but we are still very saddened by this news. Last week was our last service as the annex congregation, and this next Sunday we are supposed to join the services at the big main church. Please pray that the Lord would allow us to still maintain contact with the people from the smaller congregation, that He would help us and especially Caleb make the transition to going to a new Sunday service, and that the Lord would provide a way for the annex to be reopened soon.
- This last week Caleb has had a terrible flu/ cold, and now it looks like Liana is sick too. Please pray that the Lord would heal both their little bodies soon and that Cristian and I would maintain our health
- In May, the Lord blessed us with finding someone who could help us out with our home, cooking and childcare when I am at work. Her name is Esther. Praise that God has brought her into our home, and we pray that while she is with us God will touch her life as well.
- Pray that the Lord would provide the extra funding that we need for Lauren´s ministry work with FH-Peru
In the months to come we will continue to update you on our prayer requests and praises. We would also love to hear from you - how we can be praying for you and your family?
Bendiciones/blessings
Lauren, Cristian, Caleb and Liana
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