Time has really passed by quickly these last ten or so days. Steph is still doing well. She had some pain the first week, and it really flared up at one point, but she realized she was trying to do too much with them. She has backed off a good bit on pushing herself to use them, and they seem to be healing better now. The incisions look pretty good.
I’ve enjoyed being at home and taking care of the children, especially Willow. It has made me more aware again of how hard a mother’s job is. Steph does so well at taking care of our children without complaining, but getting up to feed the baby a couple times a night does make one tired the next day. I’ve also tried to keep on top of laundry and other items like that though our hosting family does a lot of the daily housekeeping things, so I haven’t needed to worry with that terribly much.
We celebrated both mine and Abbey’s birthdays with Steph’s family and with some friends. That was special. Abbey is looking forward to getting back to Peru and getting a bike for her birthday gift–that’s what everyone was getting this year for their birthdays. Thanks to everyone for making our days special.
In relation to my birthday, I received an email notification from Facebook saying I had a number of unread notifications. Sorry to whoever may have commented there, but I do not get on Facebook. If you want me to see anything that you say, you’ll be able to reach me at my email schmidt.shawn.david@gmail.com. Or if you’d like to talk to me, send me an email, and I can get you my phone number.
I sent out a message to our friends in Peru and let them know we do have tickets and plan to fly on October 1. They are all excited for our return. Both Percy and Rafael are asking to pick us up at the airport. I’m glad they are looking forward to having us back.
Rafael and I had a phone call the other day, and he says they are planning to have their wedding in November. He says they’ve gotten their paperwork worked on since we’ve been away. That is exciting to hear. We need to pray for them as they continue trying to obey God. We know it takes more than ticking a bunch or boxes to enter the kingdom of heaven, but it is a good thing that they want to obey God in what they understand. Pray that they will find Jesus as they seek truth.
In my own journey, it has been more difficult for me to be disciplined on this trip. I’ve struggled to make time for my Bible reading and prayer, and the unsurprising result is that my spiritual strength is flagging. I’ve seen it in my responses to my family and friends first of all, a lack of compassion replaced with criticism. But it has also been more difficult for me to keep my affections set “on things above.”
You could pray for me in that. I am working at disciplining myself again, even while here. I don’t want to be found wanting or lethargic upon our return to Peru because I became fat and lazy in spirit while traveling. It is always difficult for me to maintain personal discipline when my schedule is not regular, so I need to work extra hard on that.
Overall, the trip to the States has been a blessing and a help to us. We would have been glad to have been home sooner, but we are so thankful that we could get Stephanie’s surgery done. That will be a tremendous blessing to her and us in the coming years. Thanks for your continued thoughtful support.
Another item of prayer is for the extended family of Simon Slabaugh, our friend from Huaral. His sister passed away from an anuerysm earlier this week. Simon and Christine were able to fly to the States for the funeral, which I think is today. Simon’s sister leaves behind a husband and several children, a few of whom are still young and at home. These are painful times for them.
Juan David 