Joy is coming!

                                                     Ben and I at our Training Graduation


Many are asking what we're doing next. First of all, you should all know that we are expecting our first baby September 29th! Yep, that's right! We are going to be parents. Finding out we were pregnant didn't change anything, but it definately was a big day when we found out! Actually, there is a great story to the whole idea of being ready to have children.

Ben and I both decided to wait until we had been married for about 5 years before trying for children. When a speaker came to London, Don Price, our hearts changed. He was speaking on the Father heart of God and when he prayed for us later that day, he began praying about us and our future children and being pregnant and how much of a blessing children are. It made me (Tara) think. So I ha a chat with Ben and nervously told him that I felt ready to have children. I was afraid he would not be on the same page as me. To my surprise, Ben said that he was ready too. God changed both of our hearts on the matter within the same day! Very cool.

As our time in the discipleship training school continued, there were four separate speakers on four separate occasions that didn't  know us or our present situation but began to pray that "Joy is coming. Joy is coming". We thought, "Ok, God. That's awesome! You're going to bring joy into our marriage. We don't have a problem with that!". The 3rd time someone prayed that over us, our 2 friends were standing in the back of the room and each of them had a vision of a little girl behind us...named joy. It was a lot to take in.

                                       Picture taken as we saw our first ultrasound of the baby!


About 1 1/2 months later we find out we are expecting. Expecting JOY! When we told our outreach leader she prayed for us. And guess what she prayed? That JOY was coming! Oh its so amazing. Ben and I have decided that whether its a boy or girl, the name will have a meaning of Joy. We have some girl names picked out, but no boy ones yet. ;)

We told our families and they were ecstatic. I was about 10 weeks when we had to fly to the US from London. I was nervous, because they say to avoid flying in the first trimester, but I trusted God and when made it to NYC safe and sound! After a day in NYC, we took a train to Virginia where our Aunt and Uncle picked us up.

We are staying with Ben's parents until June. His Dad is having both of his knees replaced (one has already been replaced and he is doing really well!). We were able to visit with my (Tara's) family in Hendersonville for 2 weeks. Since my Mom is an OB/GYN Nurse, she asked her boss, a doctor, to do a quick ultrasound for me since I hadn't seen the baby yet. He agreed and I am so glad he did! So at 12 weeks, we FINALLY got to see our baby and the heartbeat. I'll add a photo here but all you can see is the baby's head. On facebook I have uploaded a video of the ultrasound and our baby moves around a lot!

                                            There's peanut at 12 weeks prego! Very big, smart, head :)

During our stay in Hendersonville, we met with our old employers and had fun time with friends and family. I (Tara) kept feeling the tug in my heart to come back to Hendersonville for awhile but I wasn't sure if it was the pregnancy hormones or just God speaking to me.

Our original plan was to go to Harpenden, England in June as staff. We would be there for a minimum of two years. Actually, we have already sent in our application and everything. We just continued to pray for God to give us a definite yes or no about moving back near London. But God didn't give us a definite yes or no. He told us to just make our own decision and He will be with us and for us either way.

Which leads us to our decision...to live in Hendersonville, TN for awhile. My (Tara's) parents are going to finish up the garage into a cute little apartment for us. Our previous jobs are available for us. (Well, maybe not the cleaning for Tara unless she can talk her boss into it that its totally safe for her to be cleaning). The honest truth is that we want to try and really hit our student loans hard and get those off our backs. Tara and Ben both have a desire to become health advisors or nutritionists as well. Maybe there's some schooling in the near future. Eventually, it would be ideal to have our home base somewhere (Hendersonville? Nashville?), be free of student loan debt, and be financially able to pack up and go do short term outreaches in the summer. Africa for 3 months? India? Now that we have connections with YWAM (Youth with a Mission) and several other missionaries, the possibilities are endless.

In the end, our heart is to "refine soil" no matter where we are. To minister to people. To hear and seek God and encourage others to do so. To be missionaries no matter where we are. After a long talk with a married couple of ours, they thanked us and told us how therapeutic our conversation was to their marriage. They simply needed some encouragement and affirmation that they're not the only ones being attacked by the enemy as a couple. I was reminded at that moment how God works in and through everything and everywhere.

So that's where we are now. Moving, yet again, to Hendersonville TN in June (when those annoying Cicadas will be here!) and having our first baby in September. We really don't have anything to worry about. We know that JOY IS COMING!

                                                Joy is coming! My baby belly at 12 weeks

The End of the Beginning

                            We were doing face painting and I gave Ben a tattoo. Do you like it?




We have 5 more days in the UK before we come "home" to the U.S. for a few months. But before I get all sentimental on you, I think I should give you a little update on what has been happening in our last 2 weeks in Rotherham, England. Have you ever heard of Rotherham, England? Me neither...

                          The church building where we stayed. The people were so awesome!

Honestly, the last 2 weeks of outreach were the hardest for me. A lot of comfort that I take for granted (like hot showers, a bed, heat, etc.) were taken away in Rotherham. Once we arrived, they showed us where we would be staying: in the basement in the church. Without heat. On an air mattress. Ben and I actually got a good deal and slept in the flower closet! And there were a few heaters we were allowed to turn on at night, so things got a bit better in the comfort area. I also like to be clean...and the shower broke the first week we were there. I went 6 days without a shower! 6 DAYS!!! I ended up buying baby wipes the 3rd day because I was starting to feel hopless about the situation....

Now you see that people really DO suffer for Jesus in a country like England. You never know do you? Ok...now to get to the real stuff we did while we were there....

We had a crazy busy schedule and were involved in so many things  that my head felt like it was spinning most of the time we were there. We did dramas that we had prepared at several different places: Salvation Army, Kids Club, Church services, etc. There were lots of testimonies and preaching, etc. Actually...I preached for the first time in my life! Growing up, this wasn't something I was familiar with but I quite enjoyed it!

A favorite outreach moment in Rotherham
My favorite thing from the outreach was a conversation I had with a new friend, Paul. We met at Shiloh ministries, a feeding ministry for the poor/homeless. Paul had been sober for 3 days when I met him, and was seriously considering going back to the drugs/alcohol because his life was looking rough. No heat or electricity in his house, no food, that sort of thing. He has several piercings and tattoos. Maybe some would have been fearful to talk to him but the moment I saw him I knew that me and my friend Andrea would be a good team to talk with him.

Lucky for us, the Lord had already been working this past week in Paul's life and speaking to him. Some others had already planted some seeds in his life. I love it when the harvest is ready! When I meet someone that desperately needs the Lord but someone else has already done the hard work. Its refreshing, isn't it? Because usually we are the ones moving rocks, pulling weeds, getting the soil ready to receive the truth. Ahhh....love it!

Paul shared his life story with us and Andrea was able to relate to him with her testimony. He sat and listened to every word, which surprised me. I really felt the Lord telling me to give him a specific verse in Galatians so I told him about it. He was really astounded. So much that he said, "Wow, I really need to read my Bible. There's some good stuff in there". Anyway, it was really encouraging and I ask you to be in prayer for Paul. We also reminded him of Paul in the Bible and his story....which he really related to!

What now?
Now we have arrived back in London for our last week before graduating from our training. Friday night is graduation night! Whoo hooo! On Monday we will be flying to Iceland and then to NJ. We decided to spend the 2 nights in the hotel near the airport in NJ to rest (yay for some points I had earned for free hotel stays! What a blessing.) If we feel up to it, we might take the train into NYC for the afternoon since Ben hasn't ever seen NYC. We will take the Amtrack train on Wednesday from NJ to VA where Ben's parents will pick us up. We'll be in VA until the end of May and hopefully coming back to the UK in June. We will be coming to Nashville March 15-24 so mark your calendars! And I get to go see my sister in Venezuala (again...thank you frequent flyer miles!) on my birthday which will be fun. We have a more concrete idea about what we will be doing but are still waiting on some things to be confirmed. We'll keep you updated....

Things you can pray about
* our friend Paul in Rotherham. Pray he stays sober and that God continues to speak to him and he realizes it is God and not just coincidence.
* clarity and confirmation on what we will be doing after our few months in the U.S.
* Safe travels on Monday to the U.S. and safe travels from NJ to VA on the train on Wednesday. We are traveling with 5 pieces of luggage and our carry on so it will be interesting...


Important announcement!
Since we are coming back to the states for a few months we will be changing our Paypal back to our personal account. This means if you give us a donation the next few months it will not be tax deductible. We'll let you know when it changes back (probably in June). SEE YOU SOON!