Bounce House, Bricks and Babies – oh my!
Hooray, it's fall! Even thought there is a projected high of 83 degrees today in Philadelphia, the acorn & butternut squash are roasting in the oven, and we are excited for this season to be upon us! After a hot and busy summer, the cool temperatures and the generally more subdued mood on the block are a welcome reprieve.
We've had so many chances this summer, and especially in recent weeks, to enjoy time outside in our lot with friends and neighbors. Several years ago a visiting mission team brought and left for us a "bounce house," so pretty much any dry day of the week we can host a mini-carnival in the yard. What a fun way to celebrate a birthday on the block, or to just give the kids a way to jump off some energy after school! We've also gotten to host a few events with friends from our church which has been awesome for us. In the past, the size and layout of our house has kept us from being able to host anything indoors, but now we can offer our yard as a regular spot for the church play group. Frank got to host some of the guys from the church's married men's group for a cookout last weekend as well. When we think back at the process and work involved in buying and fixing the space, it still has the "pinch-me-I'm-dreaming" wonder about it. God is so good to us!
Frank has stayed busy trying tie up loose ends on many different projects around the house, yard & block in these past weeks. At one point he had a borrowed chainsaw, grinder and hammer drill from several ongoing unfinished projects. After spending a full day in the neighbors tree with the chainsaw, many days using the hammer drill to prepare a foundation for a shed (got to keep the moon bounce somewhere, and my dining room ain't it!) and way too many days grinding out the mortar joints in the brick on the back of our house, he's thankfully been able to return all those tools. Now our only borrowed "tool" is the scaffolding on the back of the house that he is using while he re-points all of the brick joints with mortar. Again, having the shed is awesome for this, because you've got to keep your cement tools, sand and mortar somewhere (and my kitchen ain't it!). He's hoping to finish the brick job up as soon as possible before the cold weather sets in. We're really hoping that this makes a difference in the temperature of the back part of our house this winter.
Beside the new brick joints, we've decided to make the leap and replace 6 of the worst windows in our house. While our kitchen and bathroom are as basically functional as we need them to be, they leave a lot to be desired. Frank decided late one night in May to just go ahead and start gutting the kitchen. Oh my. There is so much that needs to be done, and so many aspects are depending upon another to where complete overhaul is really the only option. The one project that could be teased out from the rest of the mess is the windows, so come October 16th, our home will have 6 new ones to boast.
When people have asked us what the plan was for the kitchen & bathroom, the best we could say is "wait for a miracle!" While we've never financed anything before, we pursued financing for these windows in order to ease the impact of the cost, and had peace about doing so. As we waited to hear back from the bank, we started to think that maybe the answer for the bigger project was to one day finance the whole mess of it. We thought that the experience of financing a small project just may prepare us for financing a bigger project one day in the not too distant future. Maybe we wouldn't have to "wait for a miracle!"
Well, yesterday we heard back from the bank, and the loan that we thought was a given based on our great credit score was, in fact, denied. While we will be able to pay outright for these windows from our savings, we saw the hope of one day financing a bigger project vanish before our eyes. So, we are back to Plan A – Wait for a miracle! We're excited and at peace though, knowing that the God that we serve, who delights to take care of us, is a God of miracles. I mean, for goodness sake, I bought this house for $5000, paid in full, cash, at age 25! We purchased the lot next door for $6000 with our water cooler bottle full of quarters, nickels and dimes and the generous gifts of friends of supporters. We have been able to make it into an urban paradise because of the of generous grant that AIM received. The God who has done these things for us has a plan. In coming months we are going to assess the details of the job, and boldly begin asking for some help in seeing the project completed. In the meantime, if you feel a nudge towards bringing some expertise or skilled labor to the project, please be in touch with Frank about it.
Okay, enough about tools and construction …. babies!!!
I (Elizabeth) had the profound honor of being a part of 3 different births this past month. While it was really special to be a part of a birth for some friends from church, there was nothing to compare with the privilege it was to support a girl from the neighborhood who I've knowing since my very first summer here in Philadelphia. She was 6 at the time, and now as a 20 year old having her first baby, staring down life as a single mom, she's given me the opportunity to do exactly what I feel God has called me here for. I loved her and taught her Bible verses as a little girl, and now as a young woman, I got to drip my tears of joy on her arm as I watched her birth and hold her baby for the first time.
I warn all of the moms-to-be that I work with that I WILL cry on them. The beauty of birth and motherhood is just too much for me to experience with a completely professional approach. This last birth that I attended just a week ago was the first exception. When it was time for the typical tears of joy to overflow, I was already all cried out. Earlier that morning, around the same time that this mom called to let me know that she was in labor, I received some heartbreakingly devastating news. One of my dearest friends in Ohio who had been in labor since the day before sent me a message. I was eagerly expecting a joyful birth announcement, but instead got a message telling me that they had to both welcome and say goodbye to their precious newborn baby boy in the same hour. We have ached, cried and prayed for this couple every day since. Please join us in praying for them, for God's goodness to carry them through this difficult time and to outweigh their pain with hope daily.
In light of my friend's pain, it feels small to ask for prayer for myself, but I will ask that as well. This last birth felt like going through the motions, lacking the spark of joy that I usually feel. I trust it will return, and in all likelihood, I've experienced something secondhand that I may very well have to see firsthand if I stay in this game long enough. I feel like God is trying to prepare me to assist mothers in extremely difficult situations, such as expecting a baby that is not likely to survive, or assisting birth mothers who have made an adoption plan for their baby. There is a a greater sensitivity, fortitude and faith that I am going to need to pursue this, and I pray that God will grant it to me.
Of course, we covet your prayers as we expect our own baby girl pretty much any week now. Callum & Selah were both born in my 38th week, and I'm exactly 36 1/2 weeks today. Oh my! At Callum's 18 month checkup yesterday, I told the doctor who asked if we were ready for #3, "Well, we've got a bed for everyone, we've got diapers, and we don't mind too much if we lose our sanity." I guess that's as ready as we can be! Please pray for a healthy and blessed delivery. I'll vulnerably share too that I have struggled in the past with postpartum anxiety, which tends to intensify with each birth. We're praying and taking steps, hoping for a much better postpartum season this time around.
God has given us a precious name for our girl, which is a secret per usual, but which we hope to joyfully announce to you when she arrives. Hopefully that will be the next email update coming your way in a couple weeks!
With love and great hope,
Frank, Elizabeth, Selah & Callum
