Hello! If anyone is still checking this blog we would like to redirect you to our two new blogs which will host all future postings for our family. David's blog is http://thegreatinversion.blogspot.com and Becky's blog is http://withunveiledface.blogspot.com We look forward to your visits and comments on both of our blogs! Love, David and Becky

More Pictures of Caleb's Birth...



















Praise the Lord with us for such a sweet blessing!

Caleb Joseph Reeves May He be bold and faithful for the Lord's glory all the days of His life! Caleb means "bold and faithful". He is such a precious gift from the Lord and we are humbled more than ever by His grace towards us, in giving us another beautiful child. Who are we, Lord, that you would be so loving towards us? God has made us His own children and delights in giving us good gifts. How overwhelming is His goodness and sweetness!

Caleb was born at 11:41 pm on Wednesday, August 23, 2006. He was 7 lbs. 14 ozs. and 19.5 inches long. He has very intense, alert eyes and has been examining everything around him from his first moments after birth!

My (Becky's) labor was induced at 4pm on Wednesday. The doctor broke my water when I was about 4 centimeters dialated. Approximately 2 gallons of fluid rushed out and was met with incredulous responses by both the doctor and nurse. Dave said my tummy visibly deflated as the water poured out! The doctor did an exam and felt Caleb's head and hand engaged in the birth canal. The following few minutes were some of the post painful as the doctor reached in and did his best to push Caleb's head back and maneuver his hand out of the birth canal. He eventually succeeded and I endured contractions with only 1 minute breaks in between until 10:30pm when I asked for an epidural. I had the shakes so bad at that point that it was very difficult to hold still for the epidural to be put in. I've never had any kind of drugs in my other three childrens' births so I was a bit wary. But after talking with the nurse she felt my labor would probably progress faster with the pitocin if I couldn't feel as much pain. She was right and I went from 5 centimeters dialated at 10:30pm to being a full 10 centimeters dialated by 11:30pm! I could still feel some pain and the urge to push and after 4 or 5 tries at pushing, Caleb was born! He was healthy, nursed hard and well right away and had no problems. I was so very humbled by God's grace to me in this that I had trouble not crying almost constantly the first couple of days home from the hospital. My sister, Sarah, had come around the time I got the epidural to bring some things from home we forgot and said she would like to stay until Caleb was born, so we said she was welcome to stay and watch the birth. It was special to have her there and she said it was neat to see a birth from an observer's perspective versus being the one who is actually giving birth. I've never seen it from the other side either!

Hannah, Gabe, and especially Elijah are enamoured with their new little brother. "Baby Caleb is so cute!" is the popular phrase coming from each of their mouths over the last 5 days. Grandmommy, Granddaddy, Great Grammy, and Aunt Sarah, Uncle Tim, and Andrew all have similar reactions and have enjoyed holding and cuddling him! Elijah is always wanting to hold him and will hold him for long periods of time, talking to him and smiling at him. He's always wanting to help and is precious with his adoring love for his little brother.

We are blessed and praise the Lord for sweet little Caleb Joseph!

The Lord is My Sustainer...
Caleb Joseph Reeves Has Arrived!

Unless the Lord had helped me, I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave. I cried out, "I am slipping!" but your unfailing love, O LORD, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer...the LORD is my fortress; my God is the mighty rock where I hide. Psalm 94:17

This verse has been the embodiment of my walk with the Lord over the past few months. It has become dear to me because it is such a beautiful picture of the Lord's sustaining love. He has revealed Himself to me in different ways and names through different times in my life, especially in the momentous occasions of pregnancy and birth. With Hannah He was my Creator. With Elijah He was my Provider. With Gabriel He was my Strength. With Caleb He has been my Sustainer. Through bed rest, some bleeding, re-occuring contractions, pre-term labor, a much longer wait for his birth than I would have imagined months ago, doubts about coming back to the states, the "precipicy" (on the edge) feeling of physically not having enough to continue on that I had often in our last days in Togo and first days here in the states - He has been My Sustainer. He has sustained me physically, emotionally, and most of all spiritually.

I am overwhelmed by His grace towards me and sweetness to delight in giving me good gifts, the most precious of late being our sweet little boy, Caleb Joseph. Check the next post for all of the details of his birth! Thank you, Lord, for your sustaining love!

Basketball Belly

Here is a little photo shoot David begrudgingly undertook of my quickly growing belly at 31 weeks. When I take pictures I like to have an appropriate background and the lighting to be right and Dave wanted to know why I would want to get so "formal" to take a picture of my tummy. I wanted him to get the right angle so I could remember how big I was with 2 months still left until my due date, hoping I make it until then. I didn't feel like the "normal" pose gave my large belly justice, so I suggested that I lean against a tree. That was too extravagent for him and he made some smart comment about these not being senior pictures with an amused and "oh brother!" look. Of course, his animations cracked me up as usual and I found myself laughing hysterically against the tree as he snapped the picture and declared that the photo shoot was over. (He had better things to do, like read his latest novel!) I liked the picture anyway and decided it gave a nice view of my funny ball-shaped belly! I've now had 5 different people comment that it looks like I've stuck a basketball under my shirt and am walking around claiming I'm pregnant. If I have the guts and the cooperation of my "senior picture shooting photographer/husband", I might post a shot of the inevitable beachball belly that will evolve near the end of August.

I'm officially due August 31st and am very thankful that the Lord has been willing to bring us to this point in this pregnancy. He is my Sustainer! I've continued to have contractions to different degrees and frequencies since my 16th week along with some bleeding. My doctor has officially classified my status as pre-term labor, but hopefully with little activity and lots of sitting this pregnancy will continue to full term. David has been an incredible help and God's vessel for daily blessing to me as he helps with daily tasks and taking care of our 3 children. (And making me laugh now and then!)

Praise the Lord with us for the many ways He's sustained my body and the body of this little one inside me over the course of this pregnancy. When He chooses to bless me in ways I have no right or claim to, I am humbled and amazed at His over-the-top gracious love for me.

In John 12:24 Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." A seed alone is hard and generally small. To simply look at it, one might not see the power that is within the hard exterior shell. However, that power can only be tapped into when the seed is placed in the ground and is allowed to soften and literally rot. The soil is watered and in that soft, moist soil the seed dies so that something else can live. A new and beautiful plant developes from the interior of the seed and from that plant many seeds or fruit are produced. However, that production or reproduction is only possible when the seed dies. There are mutiple applications that come out of this picture that Jesus painted for us. The first of two applications that I would like to share is the seed being in the hand of the sower. Seeds are meant to be planted. They were never meant to remain in the hand of the sower or in a packet that is never opened and used. The cottonwood tree comes to mind when I think of this truth. The tree produces it seed pods which when the time is right pop open and the seeds are released to be blown by the wind wherever it pleases. The tree does not have a choice whether to release the seeds or not but it simply happens because that is the way the creator designed it. God designed the Gospel to be a seed for sowing. It it sown through our words and deeds and with the Spirits power, like the wind in the cottonwood, it is taken and planted where it needs to be planted. There the seed produces new and abundant life. However, we must be willing to sow the seed as the Lord intended for us to do and realize that it is the Lord who causes the growth. The second application that I believe we can find in this passage is that we are the seed. We must be willing to die and be used by the sower to produce fruit. God himself is the planter and decides when and where to plant. The seed cannot decide that it does not want to be planted, so why do we so often tell God no when He desires to plant us in a specific soil. If we realize that we are in the hand of God and are willing to be planted, and die, then God can use us to grow his Kingdom. In dying, the hard and inpenetrable shell of our lives falls away and the soft inside is exposed for God to use as he wills. May he help us to give up our lives by being willing to sow and be sown for His glorification and for the enlargement of his Kingdom.

Yea!! I just figured out how to put pictures on our blog, so I thought I'd publish one of the house we've recently moved into in Togo. The house we lived in for the first 5 and a half years in Kara, Togo was literally close to falling down, so we prayed for the Lord to provide us with another place to live and He was so very gracious to make this house available at just the right time. The house itself is quite a bit smaller, but the yard is much bigger and our children have enjoyed riding bikes and exploring in their own little mini park. We are in the states right now awaiting the birth of our fourth child, and miss many things about Togo... our Kabiye friends, brothers and sisters, teammates, and even our house. It is a home for us but is much more significant in its symbolic reminder of God's constant and sweet providence for our every need. He provides for all of our needs according to His riches in glory... How incredible it is that He loves us in every part of our lives!

What does it take to be evangelistic? From where does the drive come to share the good news of Jesus Christ with our family, friends or neighbors? It seems to me that this is a most challenging struggle for Christians all over the world. This challenge comes to us from many different directions. For some it is simply the fear factor. For others it is not knowing what to teach or how to begin. For others still it is not knowing where to go or who to teach. These complications are the same regardless of where you live. Christians the world over have struggled with sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. In the past two weeks, I have spent evenings in the villages of Sanda Te and Po Wayi teaching seminars on evangelism. While the individual struggles are unique in each place, the basic struggle is the same. Having the courage and strength to go. Isn't it amazing that one of the clearest commands in scripture is also one of the hardest for us to obey. That's right, obey. There is only one correct response to the command that Jesus gives during his last moment here on earth and that is to obey. In Acts 1:8 he tells his disciples to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and to all parts of the world and that they will receive power from the Holy Spirit to accomplish this great task. For the Christians in Sanda Te and Po Wayi this was a needed reminder. The one and only place that they will find courage and strength to do the command of God is through the Spirit of God that lives in each one of them. In Luke 24:45-49 Jesus again tells his disciple to be witnesses to the world about all the wonders they had seen him perform and the sacrifice that he gave for all who believe. He tells them that they will receive power from on high when they receive the promise of the Father. What is that promise? The promise is the Holy Spirit. In John 7:37-39 Jesus stood up and said that if we are thirsty we should come to Him and drink. If we do drink, we will have rivers of living water flow from within us. Then we are informed that the abundance of life he is refering to is actually his Spirit welling up within us and pouring out of us. I believe, and I shared this with the Christians in Sanda Te and Po Wayi, that we are slow to obey the command of Jesus because we view the work as our own and see that we must have what it takes to get it done. What a lie that is from our enemy! Jesus himself tells us in Matthew 28:20 that he is going with us! We are not alone and he is pouring himself into us in the form of his Spirit so that we are filled to overflowing and can therefore pour ourselves into the lives of those we come in contact with. When we obey and go the power of God goes before us and it works through us to share the Word of God and touch lives. We do not do this work! God does it through us and he will not fail. Will we alway see the results? No. However, God promises us in Isaiah that when we put ourselves out there in service to him there will always be results somewhere along the way. The work we do never returns empty. We must have faith! We must have courage! And we must obey! Please pray for the Christians in Sanda Te and Po Wayi that they will put their faith in God and have courage to obey the call of God to share His word with the people around them. And may we have that faith and courage as well.

Welcome to our blog! As the first posting on this site, I simply want to let each of you know that this site will be used to communicate news about our family, the work among the Kabiye and any thoughts or ideas that might come to mind so that we can bounce ideas back and forth. I will readily admit that I am not the foremost writer so don't expect anything grand or certainly not always grammatically correct. I don't have the time to worry about those things. I will also quickly admit that I was refusing to get into the blogging scene. However, I can see the benefits of using this tool for communication with and spiritual enrichment from those I know. Becky and I both will be using this site, so you can expect views and news from both of our perspectives from time to time. Please do not expect to view daily entries, but when something of significance takes place we will certainly try to give you the news here. For those of you who know about our Kabiye Team News, this will also help to supplement stories that we cannot fully express in that letter. To view that letter each week you can go to www.harvestfields.net and find the link there. Also, feel free to reply to any blog that you read here and we look forward to reading your reactions and thoughts. Well, God bless each of you.