What have you been doing?

I can't believe it's already mid-April! This year is flying by so fast for us. Only about 7 weeks until our baby is due and we are so excited!!

March was a very busy month for us. I thought that I'd update you on some of the things that filled our calendar in case anyone is interested. =)

We started attending Childbirth Classes once a week in March and we will finish with them in April. We've learned some good things and had our eyes opened to some of the realities of giving birth. Yikes! =)

We were involved with our first missions conference at First Baptist Church of Sebewa. This was a great time for us. While we didn't speak at the conference, we were sort of highlighted as missionaries there (since FBC Sebewa is our sending church). We were very encouraged by the other missionaries who were there and shared about their ministries.

During the same weekend as the missions conference, we took a day to help out with Word of Life's Teens Involved. We served as judges for two different events. Jake judged preaching and Erin judged puppets. If you're not familiar with Teens Involved, it's a way to get teens involved in ministry. They work on a particular "thing" (like a sermon, a puppet show or a drama) and practice it over and over again. They then 'perform' it at Teens Involved where they are judged (by people like us) and given advice and encouragement on what they did. It's really a neat way to get teens to not only think about ministry, but a way to actually do it.

Speaking of kids, we continued to lead the kids program on Wednesday nights at Sebewa. We were supposed to end the program at the end of March, but actually we'll be ending this week (4/14). I'll write more about that in another update!

The last Sunday in March, we were able to present our ministry to the people at FBC Sebewa. Yes, this is our sending church and they do already know what we're about and what we're doing, but they were so gracious to let us use them as guinea pigs! So, we practiced our presentation to a live congregation in a real Sunday morning service! We'll make a few adjustments, but with that under our belts, we are (we think) ready to branch out to present this ministry to other churches.

Some of you may know that for the last 7 months or so, Erin has been babysitting for a friend of hers. Jennifer has twin boys who just turned two years old. At the end of March, Erin had to stop babysitting for the boys because of her big pregnant belly, lower energy level and an increased energy level of 2-year-old twin boys! =) She really enjoyed the time with them and watching them grow. She also learned some good tips on parenting. Thanks, Jen! =)

Erin continues to see the doctor every two weeks to check on her and the baby. Things continue to go well and we are so thankful! It's amazing that there hasn't been any sickness or complications or even too much discomfort so far with this pregnancy. We are truly thankful to the Lord for these things!! Pray with us that things will continue to go well. We're also praying for a safe, healthy and relatively quick delivery! =)

Thanks for taking the time to read our update. March sure was busy for us. April is looking a little more calm but we know that things won't stay that way for long!