I meant to wake up at 7 to have
extra time to prepare for debrief- me, Chad and Jess had  been assigned to teach on addictions- but for
whatever reason, by the time I looked at the clock it was 5 till 8.  I ran in and tried to get some cereal before
the kitchen "closed" (I was the only one in the kitchen, because we're supposed
to be done with breakfast by 8).  Moments
after I poured my cereal, I heard a knock on the kitchen door and saw 7 year
old Alfredo, from our neighborhood, standing outside.  I went out and he told me, "My mom is about
to have a baby and she needs a ride to the hospital!"

What a way to start my morning… I
was still moving in slow motion as I went to get Jess, who knows the family
pretty well- we called Bob to make sure it was okay and took the van without
carpet in case her water broke on the way.  By the time we picked Vanessa up her
contractions were 4 minutes apart- her husband was at work, and so she had to
leave her 3 small children at home by themselves - Jess was driving, and we
were both practically frozen and at the same time running around like chickens
with our heads cut off- Jess left the keys in the outside of the door, we
almost got stuck in the mud and then we had to back up down the narrow road for
about ½ a mile to avoid that spot, etc.  We finally remembered to pray, and when I
asked Vanessa what she was going to name him, she said "Emmanuel"… God with
us.  What a cool reminder.  When we got there, we drove around for blocks
looking for the entrance to the emergency room, and when we finally found it we
just had to park our huge white van in the front where there wasn't exactly a
spot.  We went in, I carried the
suitcase, and when we tried to send it in with them, the security guard barked
at us about our parking job and told us she wasn't allowed to have anything in
the room with her- including clean clothes for herself and the baby.  We had to leave, which was incredibly
frustrating, but God kept pouring His peace on us, reminding us of His presence
and of His love for Vanessa.  We knew that
with Him, she was in good hands, even if the people she had to deal with were
less than helpful.

Please pray
for baby Emmanuel as he is born into this world today.  Please pray for
Vanessa and Emmanuel, Sr. as they raise their 4 children in rough circumstances. 
I don't think Vanessa has health insurance...her husband is working very hard-
I think he has 3 different jobs- to provide for them.  The hospital won't
release her until her bill is paid (about $200) so lift up the provision as
well. 

And I just wanted to thank you all for praying for my decisions last week.  Things have become much clearer, and I'm excited to see how God uses our team at the hospital.  Yesterday Jenny, Laura and I were able to have some "visioning" time for what it will look like this semester, and the overwhelming feeling was the reminder we find in Joshua 1:3- "I will give you every place you set your foot."  We feel that God has appointed us and given us His authority for the hospital, and so we can't wait to see how God's spirit moves in powerful and healing ways there.  You can pray for us, that we'll walk in that power.  Thanks friends!