July 18

For I will proclaim Yahweh´s name.  

Declare the greatness of our God! 

The Rock - His work is perfect; 

all His ways are entirely just. 

A faithful God, without prejudice, 

He is righteous and true.  

Deut. 32:3-4  

God´s works are wonderful indeed!  One of the best evidences: newborn babies!  While July had us in suspense to see when he´d make his appearance, Malakai Joseph arrived on Saturday, July 21st at 5:01 am.  Praise God it was a fast and safe delivery.    

One of my prayers during pregnancy was that God would ordain the timing for Malakai's birth.  Check out how He answered that prayer (and many others): Grandpa and Grandma Rimelspach flew in the day he was born, having bought their tickets weeks before.  His "official" due date was the 31st.

(For all you number people:) 

Baby weighed in at 6 lbs. 13 oz. and was 20 in.  long

Time from when contractions started until delivery: 3.5 hours.

It was just enough time to drop Liam off at Xau's parents' and get to the hospital.  Even the time of day was just right since our car doesn’t circulate (traffic/pollution laws) after 5 am on certain Saturdays.  Plus, we didn't have to worry about time on the parking meter. 

  

What a miracle to now have two healthy baby boys :) Big boy Liam is having a blast with Grandpa and Grandma, and I'm pretty sure it's therapeutic for them as well.  ; )

Praise you, Jesus, for this precious gift of life and time together!

This month, before Malakai´s arrival, Xau had the honor of preaching at this church´s eight-year anniversary.  He spoke on Paul´s challenge to be "steadfast, immovable and always excelling in the Lord´s work." (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Much of the month (while I was mostly "nesting") Xaume has been planning and coordinating: Twist Kids' Club, a youth conference we're hosting in August, and the kids' conference at church.  For the kids' conference, we're expecting over 700 kids, so it's a big job with lots of logistics.  The theme this year is using our talents and abilities to worship the Great I Am.  

Please pray for wisdom for us as well as the leaders and volunteers, efficiency, more collaborators, and above all, that the Holy Spirit would move powerfully in the life of each child.   We're also fundraising so that 60 kids from Twist Kids' Club can come! 

Far left: Isaac and Lala, the children's leaders at Conquering Frontiers

Here (below) Xau and Dad are working on one of the elements for the "Infinity challenge" workshop. There will be six workshops, each with a different focus:  sports, cooking, music, dance, art, and science; Xaume and I are the workshop coordinators.

Also this month... Xaume got to teach one of the sessions at this children's volunteer training held at Conquering Frontiers Chimalhuacán (a church plant of our home church). May God's heart for the next generations continue to flourish in His people! 

Thanks for reading!  And thank you all for your prayers, both for Malakai´s arrival and in general.   Praise God for the incredible gift of our new son and the privilege it is to have him as part of our family.  Please pray for God´s strength and direction in every step ahead, especially with the upcoming kids' conference (Aug.13-15) and the youth conference we're planning (Aug.11-12).  

Thank you for being part of this story.  May the Father continue to surprise you with His love! 

- Xaume, Anna, Liam and Malakai! 

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