Many have e-mailed us to ask if our baby has arrived yet. Much to our chagrin, the answer is no. Although he wasn’t “officially” scheduled to arrive until this Sunday, had we remained in Spain, our doctor had planned to take him out by cesarean a few weeks early. Here, the doctor has chosen to allow nature to run its course, at least for another week or so before intervening. All signs are good so far, so we wait…
Fortunately, we are busy enough that we aren’t sitting around waiting for the first contraction to hit. We have been running around West Flanders buying furniture for the house we’ll move into next Thursday (Jan. 27), trying to get our ID cards, getting registered for enculturation and language classes, and team strategizing as to what we hope to accomplish this year in Belgium, including renting a facility for a ministry center, devising programs to touch the community and bring them to Christ, growing our small groups, etc.
Our greatest joy since we have been here in Belgium is working with the Latino group which meets each Wednesday for a time of prayer and Bible study followed by a midnight buffet! (Okay, so it’s more like 10 p.m., but here, that’s a really late dinner!) We have had good attendance, and each week someone new joins the group. Since there are only 4 Christians in the group, for the past several weeks we’ve been talking about what is means to be born again. We are seeing the Holy Spirit move in the hearts of several people and trust that it won’t be long before they give their hearts to Jesus, too—including a few of the Belgian spouses!
Please continue to pray for the Latino group, that the Spirit would continue to move and that they would grow spiritually and numerically. Pray for us for wisdom and guidance as we teach and lead them, and as we are confronted each week with difficult questions of eternal consequences.
Pray for Carrie’s father as he arrives in Belgium today amidst the East coast snow storms. Remember us in your prayers as we anxiously await the arrival of our son, that he will arrive quickly and safely. Pray also for the move, as Carrie may very likely be in the hospital and may not be able to oversee it.
Lastly, pray that we are “online” soon and are able to get our support shored up for 2011. Since we have not had regular internet access for the past two months, we have not been able to gather commitment information for this year. If you or your church plans to support us this year with your finances, please consider dropping us a line and letting us know how much you anticipate giving during 2011. This would save us a considerable amount of time and energy, as we are required to report those figures to the home office soon!
Thanks so much for your prayers and support, and for seeing us through this exciting but hectic time of transition into a completely new life in Belgium! As soon as our little one arrives, we’ll let you know!
Blessings,
Michael and Carrie (Caty) Hamley
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