Last Day of 'Nathaniel's Blog' & Brief Life Update

​Nathaniel's Blogspot: Day 5

TODAY IS A GREAT DAY!!!!  Mommy and Daddy are home and I'm back at my own house, my own bed, with my brother Zeke, and everything!  They hugged and hugged me! :-)

Vacation is finally over.  I made it. (Whew!)

Today is a great day.  Thank You, Jesus.  Amen.

I hope you enjoyed these guest posts by Judy Norman - thank you 'Iya'!!!

Jason and I had a great time climbing Mt. Cameroon and enjoying a day at the beach in Limbe as well! We found out just a few days before we were to leave for our trip that we are expecting another little Axt!! This of course brought many emotions - joy, excitement, fear, worry, anticipation... We weren't sure whether to cancel our trip since Mt. Cameroon is almost 14,000 ft elevation and many doctors don't recommend traveling above 12,000 ft when pregnant. We had been planning the trip for a while and it had taken a lot of work and planning to make everything happen at just the right time. This was our only window to climb the highest peak during this time in Cameroon, due to the rainy season beginning and us returning to America in November. We wanted to go, but we also wanted to use wisdom and care well for me and the baby. So Jason and I talked and prayed and talked and prayed some more. We didn't want to share our news about the baby until we had a confirmatory ultrasound and we wanted to tell our families first. We finally decided that we would go on the trip, but that we would take things slowly and that we would change our planned route so that I would only climb to 'hut 2', around 9,000 ft elevation. Jason would then continue to the peak the following morning and then climb back down to hut 2, where I would have been resting and relaxing for half a day. 

The plan worked perfectly. I still got to enjoy a good hike and beautiful views (although I will admit that it was quite a tough climb at parts), and Jason got a harder core work-out with the extra mileage and elevation added to his experience. We hiked the rest of the way down on the second day, so Jason surprised me with two nights and a day at the beach! We had gorgeous weather the entire trip, which was such a blessing. We had a chance to rest, talk, read, pray, and just be together - SO wonderful after months of hard and busy work. 

The travel days to and from Mbingo were challenging. 'Morning sickness' had started for me and it made the travel on public transit buses quite difficult. In addition, the late start and frequent stops of the buses made the normally 7 hour trip much longer. We made it though! God gave much grace and we returned to our baby boys with our spirit's lifted, despite the soreness and tiredness of our bodies. :) (Did I mention that Mt. Cameroon is quite a hike? Even if you don't go to the top...)

We strategically showed pictures and talked about our trip. No one knew about the pregnancy until a couple weeks later when we had an ultrasound, told our families, and then told the 'full story' of our hike.

So maybe now you can see why there were no posts on this blog in May... Nausea, vomiting, and extreme fatigue hit hard after we returned from Mt. Cameroon and are just starting to lift a bit (I'm now 12 weeks along). Keeping up with my busy boys and just doing daily life has taken all my energy these past few weeks. Jason is a saint and is keeping up with his workload at the hospital and with the residents, while picking up the slack at home on the days I just barely make it. Overall, we are hanging in there and trying to learn to live one day at a time!

Thank you all for your kind comments, thoughts, and prayers about the new baby and about God's work here. The support and love of family and friends is SO encouraging to us. We desperately need the prayers as this season of pregnancy, cross-cultural living, and upcoming transitions can either threaten our walk with the Lord and each other, or strengthen it. We are praying for God to be strong in the midst of our weaknesses and to continue to accomplish HIS purposes!

Much love,
     Meridith