We made it!

After quite the adventure, we made it to Germany and had a wonderfully warm welcome! 

The three of us are sick, so we're going to bed now, but just wanted to let you know we're here safe. THANKS for all of your prayers!

Departure May 25th!

Our departure date is set for May 25th!

We've been focusing on saying our last good-byes and packing, sorting, and all those little last-minute details....seems like we get somewhere on our To-do list and then more keeps popping up.

We'd really appreciate prayers for strength and endurance. We're both pretty stressed, Samuel is teething and grumpy, and I (Heike) am really struggling with morning sickness.

We are still VERY excited about getting to Germany, but right now, all those 'little' details are demanding lots of attention.

Our tickets are stand-by, so it will be interesting to see how God takes care of us as we travel with a toddler and 2 cats onto each airplane!

More travels and God's Protection

As a family, we were able to take a couple days off and went to the mountains. We found a cheap cabin to stay in for 2 nights, and enjoyed focusing on God and one another. We prayed a lot and rested and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Sadly I hardly got any pictures, except for a few of Samuel enjoying the cabin's bed.

A few days later, on our way to NC, Heike was driving. All of a sudden, we heard a loud noise....like the car was falling apart. Pieces of tire were flying up in the air and hitting the windshield. Thanks be to God we managed to slow the car down and pull over. This is what we saw when we got out...

Major blow out!

We are so thankful that God kept us safe! 


After a lovely time with friends in Fleetwood, N.C., we saw some family in Lexington, N.C.

Samuel has loved making new friends-and they love him!

 Then it was on to Charlotte to see more dear people:

We're back in Greenville for a couple days, then we'll head back down to Columbia to see a few more friends and family. Our support is close to 100% now (of the minimal amount that we need) so we are excited and hoping to leave in the next couple weeks. We are waiting on Cadence to clear us to go--they need to make sure our support is consistent/stable enough to send us.

Please continue to pray for strength for us and good health for Heike (the morning sickness has come back) and wisdom as we plan to leave and say goodbyes.

Quick update

God has brought our support up to 98%! That means we only need about $120 more a month before we are cleared to go. We are excited and hoping that this means that we can leave by the end of May.

We've had some great time visiting with friends and family!

Samuel once again did well on our travels, except when he got hungry ;)

[There are a few more pictures on facebook in the album April 2012]

The next couple days we are heading to the mountains to spend Monday and Tuesday night just as a family--to get away from packing, internet, etc. [the many distractions of life] and focus on God. We would appreciate prayer for this time as we try to rest and enjoy God's creation as well as hear from the Lord. If you want to pray that Samuel sleeps in till 11AM we would appreciate that too!  ;)

We are so thankful for our precious son!

SO thankful for all of you who have prayed and given! We would not be this far without you!

Support update and some Easter pictures

Our days have been really busy visiting with people and saying our goodbyes. We still don't have an exact departure date, but we are getting ready to go so that when we are at 100% we'll be ready to get on that plane. Currently we are at 95% so we are excited!

Making sugar cookies 

Dyeing Easter eggs

Easter bunny?

Samuel preferred throwing the eggs

Even super cute Easter bunnies get hungry

Sorting and packing

Lining up his animals-what Samuel does while we pack =) 

The last four weeks or so we've been busy sorting through our stuff, and packing up what will stay here with Doug's parents and what will go to Germany. Thankfully, our 'give away' pile has grown too!

We've also done some traveling and saying goodbyes. Cadence is hoping we can get to Germany by April 26th, so that's our target date and that's what we're planning for!

Currently, we still need some one-time gifts and our monthly support is at about 90%. We can't buy tickets until we are 100% but we are packing in faith, knowing God will get us there in HIS time.

19 months old!

A nice long visit from family

Dear friends and family,

I've still been struggling some with my health, but things have been much better then they were. We are so thankful as we continue to work on support raising! Doug is also still working some and we are sorting through belongings, trying to figure out what to take. So many decisions!

The main event in February was Doug's brother, Keith, his wife, Sarah, and their three boys coming for a visit for 10 days. They normally live in Boston, and this was our chance to see each other before we leave for Germany.

Samuel and Aaron playing together

Sarah and I made maultaschen, my favorite German dish

Walking in the woods

The boys watching Sesame Street before bedtime

One of our dear friends from St. Andrews, Amy Hamilton, came and took some family pictures for us. Here is just a couple, we put a few more favorites in our update letter: 

Such a happy boy!

Happy Grandparents
We are so thankful for them and how much they help with Samuel!

Another favorite picture of Samuel

Amy's blog is: http://photographybyajhamilton.blogspot.com/ in case you want to see more of her wonderful pictures!