Christmas was relatively quiet at our house but the new year started off busy and with much excitement.
The sound of a baby's cry, gunshots, and teens having fun were part of the month of January 2010 for us.
On New Year's Eve we picked up a new arrival from the hospital. She weighed only 5 lbs., a very tiny little thing. A young unwed woman gave birth to her then told the doctor she could not care for her and her family would not treat the baby well so she did not intend to take her home. The Pro-Life Ministry was asked to find a place for the baby so we were called. We have named her Sarah and she is a sweet cuddly baby who is now 8 lbs. and 18.5". We pray that she will soon be placed with an adoptive couple.
The first week of January we attended our missions Spiritual Life Conference. We were blessed by the speaker and enjoyed some time of rest and relaxation with our fellow SIM missionaries. The theme for the week was "Press On", which was a very timely reminder and challenge to us in light of all that we would experience in just one week.
Jacob had friends over often during the school break so there were many boys here off and on eating, playing Xbox, and eating some more.
Just as school had started again a new crisis broke out in the city of Jos.
We returned home from church on Jan. 17 and later in the afternoon began to hear gunshots. By evening we could see smoke in the sky from homes, churches, and mosques that had been set on fire. This new crisis kept us home most of the week and things are just now getting back to a sense of 'normal', with a curfew and military presence still in place.
We are praying that February will be a bit less eventful.
