Baby! Baby! Baby! Oh!

COMING SOON!!! In approximately 113 days, Christiana and I will be welcoming our baby girl into this world. We are excited beyond words for this exciting adventure in 2014! Things here progressing smoothly with both the pregnancy and the ministry God has called us to here in Taiwan.

However, none of this would be possible without your friendships, continued prayers, and the support we have received from all of you! Thank you so much for helping us embark on this life changing calling in 2013 and for continuing to follow us into 2013. We appreciate you!

Some of you have asked how you can help with the baby since we are far, far away. Obviously, we won't have the opportunity to have a traditional baby shower. If you could pray for Christiana's spirits to be lifted about this that would be great. We have been waiting so long for God to bless us with a child and we have so looked forward to sharing the baby with all of our friends and family that being far from home and not being able to celebrate the baby in some of the more traditional ways has been hard for Christiana.

So that's what this post is mostly about.

We are so thankful for the overwhelming love we have received from you all. We hope you have been enjoying our baby posts and pictures on Facebook and that you feel like you are a part of Baby Girl's coming. Can't wait for April!

Anyway, if you would like to send actual gifts we have registered at Babies R Us, Walmart, and Amazon. If gifts are ordered online they will be sent to Christiana's mom (Janice) and she will send them in a few large packages. Or if you would like to send items directly to us or Chrisitiana's mom just email or message us for the address you need. Please keep in mind that shipping things here is VERY EXPENSIVE so we do ask that you not order any large items for her mom to ship.

If you would rather send a financial gift there are a couple of options. #1 We have Ikea here and we can use gift cards purchased in the US. #2 We can use prepaid Mastercard or Visa giftcards also. #3 you can send money to Christiana's mom (please email or Facebook us for the address). Or #4 You can send money through Paypal. If you choose to send money it can also be used to help ship other gifts too.

Pic from our 23 Week Ultrasound

Thank you all again for all you have already done for our family. We are excited to welcome Baby Girl in April/May and we are beyond blessed by anything you may choose to do to help us celebrate this pure blessing in our lives. Please check below for direct links to our registries.

Jimmy!

Amazon.com	http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/baby/3GV11PHW8G7GC
Walmart.com	http://www.walmart.com/giftregistry/gr_detail.do?registryId=26773403111	Or find us in-store by name
Babiesrus.com	Registry #: 51175993	Or find us in-store by name

FOCUS #2 Pt 1: Building Relationships and Learning the Culture

Building relationships.  The core to any ministry whether is pastoring, music, missions, students is building relationships.  Which happens to be one of my best (and sometimes worse) strengths.  I "dont know a stranger" I "am friends with everyone" I "am too trusting".  Christiana on the other hand is "takes longer to open up".  So its no surprise that we have been able to build some close relationships already while here in Taichung.

Acts 8 tells the story of Phillip. Who God used to meet with and talk to a Ethiopian.  Never more in my life has this story been more real or meant more to me.  Verse 27 starts with Phillip got up and went.  He had no clue why The Lord sent him south.  He just went. There he was at the perfect place at the perfect time. The Lord used him for a purpose. It was no accident.

The people that The Lord have brought into our lives. The relationships we have built (which locals and foreigners) are of no accident.  It cant be. A year ago I never thought I would ever even leave the country.  So we are taking it very serious and very purposeful the people that God brings into our path.  Everyone from the guy we buy tea from (Jon) to the security guard at our building (Mr. Wan!). There are no accident.

So as we continue to get to know people.  We continue to pray for them.  We love them and they return to the love.  We love going to LAX Burger not just because the burgers are great because they are! But because we love and adore Jamie, Linus and Lily.  We are there as their friends and we love them. It goes both ways. When I was in the ER, Jamie came up and took care of us.  We desperately needed someone who spoke Chinese. Call me Phillip.

- Jimmy -

First Week of School

Hello! The first week of teaching has command gone and things continue to progress here in Taiwan. Today I have some pictures for you and a little update about each of our schools.

Jimmy's School

Jimmy is teaching at a buxiban (after school program) in a suburb of Taichung called Fungyuen (which we lovingly refer to as Funyun). He has several different age groups over the span of his classes and so far he especially enjoys his second grade class. Jimmy is working on getting to know all his students and his co-teachers, Sugar and Albee. He is doing very well at the school but it can be overwhelming at times. Pray for Jimmy that he will continue to build relationships, have safe travels everyday, and have fun teaching English at his school.

Christiana's School

This was also my first week of teaching. I am working for a well established, private school brand. I am enjoying my young learners but I sometimes feel out of my depth because of their limited English and high energy. At first I was intimidated because the school oversold my teaching experience to the students' parents to compensate for the teacher they had to fire after only one month (long story), but now I feel like I am starting to settle in. Pray for me that I will have patience and lots of love for my students and that I will continue to improve in my classroom management techniques. I am very thankful for my co-teacher, Connie, who is a certified Taiwanese teacher. I hope to learn a lot from here and to build a strong bond with her. She is very sweet.

Time with Tate #7 What About Healthcare

Six More Days

Jimmy and Tate talk about what health care is like in Taiwan.

Grace and Peace,

Christiana


To learn more about Jimmy's weight loss surgery visit Jimmy Goes Gastric.

Time with Tate #6 Will You Stand Out

One Week from Today We Leave America!

Jimmy and Tate talk about whether or not Jimmy will stand out from the crowd while we are in Taiwan.

Grace and Peace,

Christiana

Time with Tate #5 What Will You Miss Most

Jimmy and Tate has a good laugh as they talk about what Jimmy will miss most about America. Keep in mind these were filmed a while back and I think he may have discovered other things he will miss since filming this video. Still it's a good laugh!

Grace and Peace,

Christiana

Time with Tate #4: What's Your Biggest Fear and How Can We Pray for You?

Today Tate and Jimmy talk about our biggest fears (it should be interesting to see what Jimmy thinks I would say) and how you can pray for us.

Grace and Peace,

Christiana




For the most up to date prayer requests visit our About page where you can find specific requests for Jimmy, Christiana, or both.

Time with Tate #1: What Are You Most Looking Forward To?

When Jimmy was in Texas (back in May), he spent some time recording some basic interview questions with our friend Tate. I thought that you might like to see them as they provide some more answers to some of the basic things about our trip. Keep in mind these were recorded when we very first realized God was calling us to Taiwan so they won't go into detail about things that have developed later and some things may have changed since the initial recordings. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Grace and Peace, Christiana