Well, I decided to start a new blog at blogspot, our server on the mac has been down since arriving from America. I apologize for not being able to keep you posted on life in Thailand other than through Facebook. I know many of you don't participate in Facebook. We love each and every one of you and thank you for all of your prayers and support.
God has been so good to us and has blessed us with the most wonderful blessing, another child. Moriah Marie Lovorn ('God is my Teacher'), was born on April 24 at 10:45 pm here in our own home. I had virtually no pain, as it was definitely a supernatural childbirth. My midwife was to come in from Bangkok and was to arrive at about 11:00-11:30 pm. Moriah decided to come on without anyone around but me. John and Madaline were downstairs picking up the house, as we had company that night. The boys were already in bed asleep. I was in my bedroom getting ready to finish the backstitching on Moriah's quilt. I had some wonderful worship music playing by Sarah McMillan and was walking around during contractions, which I had decided were going to continue for maybe another week. They were not very painful and I had talked to several other mothers who said, 'with each child you have contractions weeks before delivery'. I had called my midwife earlier that morning to let her know I was still having contractions, as I had been having them 4 days before. I told her I felt like a first time mom, because I didn't know if Moriah was coming or not. To make a very exciting and long story short, I had to use the restroom, went, and out Moriah came!!! I began yelling for John to help. Madaline came in first, as John was slowly on his way. Madaline ran to tell John that she was already here, John thought she was only joking, until he walked up the steps and heard her crying!! What a blessing!!! I am so thankful for the speedy and pain-less delivery!! God is good! He knows exactly what we need and I definitely needed this!!
This was by far the most difficult pregnancy I have experienced. We arrived in America on July 24th or something like that. Then I found out I was pregnant within the first month of us being there. We were so busy and living with family and I was trying to homeschool during this time. I struggled with high blood pressure, borderline gestational diabetes, and exhaustion. So.... God knew I needed a speedy delivery. I will always praise Him and thank Him, and especially for this delivery.
Please continue to pray for our family as it is an adjustment adding another arrow to the quiver. John and I are both extremely busy with the children and it seems there is never a down moment. God is helping us figure out how to work in our 'personal time' with Him and our 'personal time' with each other. It is good, but also very challenging. I struggle with peace a lot, as it seems there is never any quiet time and I am pulled in so many directions ALL day long. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has called us to our family and children and I can see Him working ALL the time in our lives, but still that does not make it easier. I have great days and then it seems I have many more challenging days. Please pray that in the midst of the noise, happy faces, dirty floors, dirty diapers, laundry, broken things, dinner, and all the rest, that the peace of God would flood over me, that I would experience supernatural peace and serenity and joy!!
The children are doing great! They are all so in love with Moriah and want to play, hold, bathe, change, etc... her all the time. Gabriel seems to really miss his mommy time, so we are really working on making sure that is fit in. Fit in with them all actually, making sure we get little snippets of personal time with them all, it can also be quite challenging. Lake seems to be the one who is having the least difficult time right now. He is just soooo happy! Madaline has been really missing her friends in America, so please pray for her. As we speak, she is downstairs with her two thai friends, Bowl and Ham, I just went in and she said, 'we are laughing a lot mommy, I am speaking thai a lot better with them'. So, again, Praise the Lord. Also, my mother and her cousin Abigail will arrive in Thailand on June 11th. Madaline, and all of us are really looking forward to that!! I can only imagine what she is going through. Friends are such a huge part of our lives, many of you reading this were my playmates growing up. It has got to be so difficult for her to not feel a 'part' of any girls lives around here. But, as I told her, God called us here and He knows exactly what we need in life! He will take care of us all! We will head to Bangkok on Wednesday to take the van back to the airport for our friends to get when they get off the plane. We will take one or both of these little girls with us, as we feel this will help connect them even more, and help Madaline with her language so that she can play better!
Many other things are going on here. We are going to start an after-school program for the children in our area as soon as the storefront buildings are complete. They have been under construction since before we left for America. Please pray for this outreach!! God is truly blessing it and has provided so much for it already!!! He has given us such a vision for the children and we are eager to get this started. All in His timing!!
John will start teaching English at a local highschool on May 12th. He will only work part-time in order to leave time for evangelism and the after-school program. This is a huge blessing for us as it is enabling us to get a Visa where we will not have to leave the country every 3 months or have to return to America every 15 months! PTL-- now we will only come to America as God tells us and it won't be something we must do in order to stay here.
We have also been blessed to use our friend's van while they were in America for 3 months and also a thai family let us use their car while they travelled to Indonesia for a month!! What a blessing! I, for the first time, drove Madaline, Moriah, and I to the grocery store! I cannot tell you how wonderful this felt! I was also able to put Moriah in a car seat!!! Boy, I felt safer than ever since moving here. Usually, and still, I plead the blood over us at ever push of the peddle or the start of the motorcycle! Thank you Jesus for a break in stress over these last 3 months! That leads me to tell you that we ARE actively raising support for a vehicle. We are looking at used vehicles. We have found out WE ARE able to buy a vehicle in our own name!! I know this will also happen in His perfect timing. Thank you for your prayers and support and please continue to lift this up in prayer as well!!
Here is our address in America and also in Thailand:
Fire in the Night Ministries, Inc.
PO Box 642
Milan, TN 38358
John and Sandy Lovorn
229/4 Moo 6 T. Joho A. Muang
Homegardenville 1
Soi 9
Korat, Thailand 30310
