Church Picnic

One of the things we have discovered during our time here in Bolivia is the difficulty in getting to know people in church. This is due to the current church culture which means that people arrive to the service anything up to an hour and a half after it has started (or later) and leave as soon as its finished, providing very little opportunity to even get to know a persons name.

One of the things we appreciated when we first arrived at the church was the beginning of a parenting group which meant we were able to begin to put some names to faces. From this group we enjoyed a couple of saturday socail events at a local park.

Since then the parenting group has finished, however, last month it was decided to reinstate the picnic at the park, only this time it was opened up to the wider congregtion. After a number of weeks of non-stop rain I think everyone was a little apprehansive as to how it would all pass off, however, God was very good and graced us with the one and only warm sunny day in weeks.

The sunshine encouraged a number of the congregation to venture out and join us. It was a great day that provided many opportunities for getting to know a cross section of people who we always see but never have opportunity to talk to. Everybody even joined in the games that had been organised and it wasn't long before everybody was laughing and having fun.

We now look forward to the next one, to build upon those relationships already begun. Some faces whom finally after two years we can now put a name and happy memories of a shared experience.

Moulding Chronicles March 2011

Dear Friends,

We praise God for the safe arrival of Isaiah John on Sunday 27th February at 21:25, weighing 7lb 5oz. All went smoothly and rather quickly with a swift labour of just 1hr and 25 mins. In less than 24 hours from when contractions began he had arrived and we were all settled back at home. Since then we have been adjusting to life as a family of 4 and the obvious demands of a little one. We now have the fun part of getting all of the appropriate paper work sorted.

Other good news is that our landlady finally signed our contract extension so we now have until June in order to find somewhere else to live and move.

Our financial situation has also improved since the last time of writing with an increase in support and a decrease in our expenditure, however we still have a small shortfall so if you feel God guiding you to be a part of our financial team then do let us know

Having taken time off over the birth of our son, Ed has since launched back into the swing of things with renewed vigor and enthusiasm for organizing the Latin American regional conference to be held in May in Cochabamba, as well as with Sarah becoming more involved with the development of member care at a global level.

For Sarah, roles have changed once again as she takes the time enjoying caring for another baby. With all the changes her desire is to seek God as to how and in what way she becomes involved with FH in the future, as well as outside of FH.

Whilst we have been celebrating our new arrival we have been mindful of thousands of La Paz residents who are currently homeless due to major landslides that occurred last month destroying a number of whole communities. FH is currently meeting with the local government and other organizations to see how best to help in the long term needs. Please pray for wisdom in the decisions that need to be made.

Thank God for:

A fast and safe arrival of Isaiah John
An extension on our house contract
The help we have received in starting to get the appropriate paper work sorted out

Ask God for:

A good adjustment to being a family of 4
Provision of somewhere else to live come June
Clear direction of roles in this new season of life

Much Love

Ed, Sarah, Alana & Isaiah

Sleeping babes

Just too much excitement this week...

Isaiah John Moulding

Just a week ago today we became a family of 4 as Isaiah John Moulding entered our world and was born. It has been a long wait and a journey that has tested our faith and trust at many stages along the way. Today we can stand in testimony of Gods goodness and faithfulness to us as we hold in our arms our little miracle Isaiah.

In the end I think he was as eager to enter our world as we were to finally see him and hold him in our arms. Mild contractions began last Sunday morning and steadily continued throughout the afternoon occurring every 10 minutes. We decided to send Alana off to a friends house for the night just in case things should progress further and were very glad that we did so, as at 8pm Sarah's waters decided to explode which were then followed by contractions that were really strong. At this point we called family back home, then our Dr who arranged to meet us at the clinic, which thankfully was literally just around the corner from where we live.

Upon arrival we had just a short wait whilst they took our details and got a room sorted, by the time we were installed our Dr arrived and was very suprised to discover Sarah was already well on the way (which by now was about 8.45pm) it seemed like just minutes after that that she was already feeling the need to push (about 9pm). Upon further examination everything went crazy as they realized that Isaiah was indeed on the way and crowning, so then between contractions Sarah was rushed into the delivery room as orders were shouted out left right and centre to get the right people and things in place. With just 4 pushes and a flurry of activity he was there with us born at 9.25pm.

After that then things moved at a somewhat calmer pace as Sarah was taken back to her room and as we awaited the arrival of our son, who was later brought in by a nurse so bundled up you could only just see his face. After a brief visit from our Dr and the pediatrician checking that all was well, we were left in peace for the night, most of which was spent just gazing at the amazing little miracle in the cot beside us.

By 10.15am the following morning we were back home and began settling into our new life as a family of 4.