Welcome Baby Ioan

Ioan Michael Lewis was born, Friday afternoon, Dec. 7th at 4:25pm. He weighed right around 7Lbs. 3oz. and was about 20 inches long. Mother and Baby did wonderfully well. Daddy and Nana were allowed to both be in the delivery room and see the miracle of his arrival! What an incredible experience!

We brought them home from the hospital on Sunday morning, and have enjoyed having them here and taking care of them. This morning Mandie and Ioan both had a doctor's visit. Mandie is healing very well and got a good report from the doctor. Ioan is very healthy. He has gained a little more than a pound these last 4 days, so he seems to be thriving.

To be here in Korea with the kids, to see this amazing miracle and have the chance to be with Mandie has been a blessing beyond words.

Please keep Mandie and Mike in your prayers as they continue to adjust to this new life God has given them. Pray that Ioan keeps healthy and continues to grow stronger each day. Pray for Tony and Teddy as they are in Manta. Pray for Ashley and Lexi in the US. Both girls are finishing up Finals as this semester comes to a close.

God Bless each of you!
Joy
the new Nana! :-)

In Korea...

My trip to Korea went very well. My luggage was about a day behind me, but other than that I experienced no mishaps. I was very thankful that my luggage arrived and nothing was missing, although they had been a pretty big rip in one of the duffle bags that had been taped up.

I have enjoyed being with the kids and seeing where they live and meeting their friends. Their apartment is pretty old and very small. There are definitely some cultural issues that would be hard to adjust too, if you lived here all the time, but I am very proud of Mandie and Mike and how well they have adjusted to life here. It has been fun to learn my way around their neighborhood...actually I'm still working on that, and just to go out and see what is involved in their everyday life.

I am trying to learn some Korean... have "thank you" down pretty well, and I'm learning some other basic phrases to be able to get around some on my own... and also just to know... it is all very interesting. My husband is so good at languages, I'm sure he would be trying to read everything by now... I think I will stick to learning some basic polite phrases :-)

Sunday I enjoyed going to church with the kids. Mandie teaches the preschool Sunday School class and it was fun to help her out in her class. I also enjoyed the church service. It is such a blessing that no matter where in the world you go, you can feel at home and know that you are with brothers and sisters in Christ, worshiping God together.

We are still awaiting the arrival of baby Ioan. Please be praying for Mandie and the baby at this time. We all appreciate your prayers. Please keep Tony and Teddy in your prayers and the work in Manta. I miss them very much, but I'm so thankful for the opportunity the Lord has given me to be able to be here in Korea with Mike and Mandie at this time.

God Bless you as you serve Him this week!
Joy

Bags are Packed

Well, my bags are packed, and I'm about ready to go! My flight for Quito leaves Manta tomorrow about 2:00pm. That will be the start of my trip to get to Seoul, Korea. I am suppose to finally arrive in Seoul, Friday evening, (their time) around 8:40. I appreciate your prayers for my trip and for Mandie and baby Ioan. The reports from the doctor these days are that he could come anytime!

We had wonderful Thanksgiving. Full house and that is always fun! We enjoyed all the traditional favorites and even were able to enjoy "real" pumpkin pie (many years I make it out of carrots) "real sweet potato casserole" (that too has been made out of carrots in the past! LOL ) It was a great day of fellowship and sharing in the blessings that the Lord has given us.

Saturday afternoon, 17 ladies gathered at my house for an early Christmas party. We had a lot of fun. They made 2 Christmas ornaments, and I showed them how to make sugar cookies. Then Jane Mock, from Cayambe, shared a devotional with us that was a wonderful blessing to everyone. Of course not party would be complete without refreshments, and the ladies did a great job with that too.

Sunday was a good service at the church. Ben Mock preached and that was a blessing. We had 89 in church. I really did look for that "extra" person to make it 90, but I just couldn't find them, no matter how many times I did the count! ;-) Please be praying for those that will be stepping in and teaching while I'm away.

Thank you for your faithful prayers for the ministry here in Manta and for our family.

Love, Joy

Well, here it is Sunday afternoon again! We had a very good service this morning. We had 70 in Sunday School and 86 in Church. We had 3 visitors. It is exciting to see how the Lord is working in the lives of the believers here.

Everyone was very happy to have Tony back at church this morning. This coming Saturday we are having a ladies meeting. Please be praying with us that this is a blessing to the Ladies here and that the Lord is honored and glorified.

This week is Thanksgiving! Can you believe it? We are looking forward to a big turkey dinner and sharing some time with good friends.

Have a wonderful week.
Joy