Gone but not Forever

Dear Friends,

These past few weeks have been an especially tumultuous time for us, as the pregnancy has progressed and has given us some increasing concern. We weighed so many options, I tried to stay on bed rest as much as possible, and we prayed...a lot. While we continue to put our trust in God, we have been asking ourselves if we should be doing more. With that in mind, and after consulting with our mission agency, we have decided that it is in everybody's best interest if we return to the States for the birth of our baby. We will be returning February 10th.

After the baby's birth, we plan to return to Nicaragua for the remaining of our term (July 2010).

This decision was not made lightly; indeed, although we are excited to see family and friends in the States, we are going through so many feelings: a tremendous sadness and grief in leaving our "family" and friends here, nervousness about adapting to the American lifestyle once again, and wonder, how will we ever handle the cold?! Remember, we haven't felt anything below 50 in almost 2 years! We also face the uncertainty of a premature birth, and all the stress and changes that go along with it.

Please pray that:
-Our travels would go smoothly
-Our adjustment could go smoothly
-We would have patience with ourselves, with family and with friends
-Our family and friends would have patience with us!
-The doctors would have wisdom in treating Colleen and the baby
-Colleen will be able to rest (and handle bed-rest with grace!)
-Strength for Steve and his parents as they take care of two very rambunctious boys
-We could have a full-term and healthy baby, without complications
-God's will would be done

We plan on staying with Steve's parents until we return to Nicaragua.

So we are sorry to say that our blog will no longer chronicle our adventures in Nicaragua. But we do plan on posting updates on our pregnancy and our continuing adventures in the States.

We thank you for all your prayers and support!