The last update I made was on 31st August and much has been going on since then in our lives. I think I made reference in a previous update to some things going on in our life which I could not yet publicize and that situation has now changed and I am in a place where I can communicate what was going on.

It is hard to believe that we are already almost in the middle of September. Where did the summer go - I really feel like summer 2005 has just passed us by in a flash. Between the birth of Eva and mission trips and the visit of Stevie, it just feels like there was no summer - but there was. In fact I have to say that this summer just passed was one of the most amazing, fruitful and memorable in my life for all the same reason that made it fly by so quickly.

And then now, right on the end of it all we have had to watch the horrid scenes of lives that have lost everything to the effects and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The pictures and footage that we have seen on our televisions over the last week or so have been gut-wrenching to say the least. To see citizens of the biggest and richest country in the world literally walking through their own waste to get to the very little aid that has been provided for them is not a pretty sight. Rumblings are being made about the absence of federal and state help in the affected areas and these complaints would seem to be justified. If anything good is coming out of all of the atrocity it is the evident spirit within people to help others in their time of need. Stories of the journeys people have made to bring water and diapers and canned food, tales of the millions of dollars that have flooded in to help those that are in need have done nothing but encourage me. Our own church has gathered many items and thousands of dollars to bring aid to some of the affected areas - we will also be making arrangements to take a group of missionaries into the situation in November to see what we can do. While the federal and state officials sit around scratching their arses, wondering what to do - the people of the USA are united in their efforts to relieve suffering. It strikes me that as people of faith this is an opportunity to put into action what Jesus commanded us to do - to go and relieve suffering - to clothe the naked, to feed the hungry, to house the homeless. This is a time to show the people who have lost faith or who consider what we believe to be a crutch or some kind of club that we mindlessly belong to that this is a heart felt faith and that we put our money where our mouth is in terms of our actions.

Anyway, enough about the disaster. Personally, our lives have been okay - I have been sick for the last week with some kind of chesty/throaty/nasaly/sinusy bug type thing that has made me into a walking coughing heap. Last week and over the weekend it just felt horrible to be in my body. Thankfully though it is now clearing up and is on its way out - hopefully I will be able to return to full activity and functioning. We are also extremely thankful that my germs did not pass to Margaret or Eva - they both seem to have come through it unscathed - I would hate either of them to have to go through what I was going through over the last number of days.

Our big news that I mentioned in paragraph one is regarding our immediate future after our visa expires. When we left Northern Ireland just over two years ago, we were granted a three year visa which would take us through until march 2006. As we have walked through this leg of the journey it has always been our intention to apply for an extension to that visa for another couple of years. Right up until a few weeks back this was still our intention. However, as we approached the end of our third year we thought we ought to continue praying and seeking wisdom. Part of this process was to ask some friends at home to pray and get back to us with what they felt God was saying. The came back to us and said that we ought to be mindful of the fact that Margaret still has her job right up until May 2006 and that if we returned home she would be able to work and I would be able to think about going to Bible College for a degree in theology. To put this in a bit of perspective for those of you who don't know me that well - I am a bum. I dropped out of teacher training in the third year out of four to seek employment in youth ministry. That was back in 1998 and since then I have never had the desire to study until I moved to America. Over the last couple of years I have tried many times to get into different courses in different institutions and all to no avail. Each time the door was closed on me it really felt as if a burden had been lifted and that the time was not actually right to go back to school. When Margaret and I started to talk about this, we actually found ourselves talking about it in terms of it actually happening. We went to bed that night and slept well and woke up the next day and just kind of knew that this was a God thing and that we would have to face the prospect of coming home next year. We let the decision rest with us for a couple of weeks before telling people and felt nothing but more confirmation that this is the right step for us to take. One of the confirmations is the sheer peace and excitement I have about studying - I have never ever had this - not even when I was at school and uni before (especially not then)

We told John and Renee of our plans and though they were upset at our having to leave, they were also understanding of the reasons and the call in this direction for us. They know that studying will be good for me. Renee in turn informed the SPPR committee at church of my thoughts and plans and they were also understanding and saddened to hear of our going. The hardest moment in all of this was last Thursday night when we had to break the news to our youth group. This news came out of the blue for Margaret and I so you can imagine how it was for our wonderful group of teens. I think the words shock and heartbreak come to mind as I consider what their response was. Over the last couple of years we have worked so hard at getting close to these kids and they have learned to love us and trust us and they have grown so much in their faith journeys and for us to tell them that in six short months we would be leaving them was literally stunning for them. There were a lot of tears and a lot of hugs and there will be a lot more in the coming months as well as private conversations with those who need to talk with us. The prayers of Margaret and I both is that we can communicate to our youth how much this decision has broken our hearts as well as how much we really feel that this is God's call on our lives for now and that we must follow. I guess we have spent two years trying to teach them that following God is the single most important thing in life. Ultimately now the biggest lesson in that will maybe come from us actually doing that in our own lives - even though it means separation from those we are teaching. Following and serving God is the most rewarding and important thing we can do in life - it is never easy though and it is always sacrificial. Our sacrifice is to move away from the most loving and amazing bunch of teens I had had the honour to work with.

Eva just continues to amaze us and we continue to notice the very small things that she grows in daily. This week she showed us that she can recognize things with her eyes and hit them with her hands. She is also now able to hold her head up on her own. We find her to be extremely social - she loves to be in conversation with people and have people talking to her. She love to be sung to and her favourite songs are, Somewhere Over The Rainbow sung by Margaret and, Old MacDonald sung by me - she loves anything on the guitar. We have also noticed that she loves to be able to see everything that is going on - everytime we go somewhere, she is always looking around and trying her best to take everything in. She has developed a loving relationship with the TV - we know this from the way she gazes at it. This is also to the chagrin of Margaret who can frequently be heard saying, "Stop watching TV Eva!!".

All in all she is amazing. This weekend sees our fourth wedding anniversary and Eva is the best gift we could ever have given each other.

Blessings