And the score is...

Sweden is teasing us with a few glimpses of sunlight and no rain...but it is to no avail. We are not fooled. We know better. The sun is only for that one day in July when it hits 70 degrees.

We are doing rather well. Samuel is sleeping better now after the mouse incident. That has been quite the ordeal. Laurie is still enjoying the stay-at-home mom thing, and we are starting to get into some parent-child activities in Alingsas, the nearest town.

The church is also doing well. It is amazing how easy it is when Jesus is the main focus, and how confusing it is when he isn't.

But as I try to remember what other news there is, I am coming up short. Probably because it is late and I should head off to bed. As soon as Laurie gets back on here things will be more interesting.

We love you all,
Andreas

The Toughest Little Guy We Know

Here are some pictures from before and after Samuel's surgery. He was amazing and woke up wanting to play. The hardest part for Andreas and I was when he fell asleep in my arms and then they took him right away into the surgery room. Leaving him there was like a knife to the heart. He looked so small and helpless. Even Andreas cried with me (I have only seen Andreas cry 3 times in our marriage). I felt a little more comfort when all the parents that left their children asleep that day came out crying (for once we may be normal).

After Samuel came home he only took some Tylenol and Motrin for two days. After those two days he stated, "I don't need medicine mommy, my penis is fine." What a funny little guy. He likes to touch the cut that the doctor made. They used a glue to keep it shut, so it has a cover to it. He thinks it's pretty funny. He likes to show it to me every night as he gets his p.j.s on. I don't think he really realized what they did, but that is okay. He has been amazing through this ordeal. It has been much harder on his parents than on himself.


Before..... love the hat.

Before..... he is not screaming, just making a face.

After. He received a (vintage) Fisher's Price parking garage for his bravery. He really loves playing with this one at a friends house and we found one for him. So now everyday we must play with his parking garage. After surgery it was really hard to keep him in the bed. He wanted me to hold him and so this was a close as I could get. But what he really wanted was for me to hold him so he could weasel his way to the floor and then on to the toy room!!!! However, for the surgery he was given something that was close to an epidural, so the poor guy couldn't walk for several hours. He was like a fawn on new legs. When we got home and he could walk, he proclaimed it loudly like he had been healed! He is such a drama king. We are very proud of our little guy. What an amazing boy the Lord has given us the privilege of parenting.

He is good!

Just a quick note to let all of you know that Samuel is out of surgery and doing fine. Everything went according to plan and now all of his body parts are where they are supposed to be. Always a good thing.
He did beautifully and didn't want to go home for all the toys in the waiting area at the hospital... Anyway, pray for Laurie as Sam has to take it easy for a couple of days. That might be the real challenge...

Thanl you for your concern and prayers. We cherished them as we wept...and later rejoiced. Thanks!

Andreas

Please Pray

To all,

First of all we miss you, secondly, we miss you and thirdly, we miss you. It is Sunday night and tomorrow Samuel has surgery for his hernia and undescended testicle. I am not worried about the surgery itself, but the fact that Samuel will be under anethesia. He has never been under anethesia and we don't know how he will react to it. This is always the biggest concern. So please pray with us. I think it will be harder on me than Samuel. He will be showered with love and attention.

We have just come back from spending a few days at Grebbestad. This is a little ocean town that Andreas's parents have a home. It was still winter and grey, but really good to get away. Andreas's mother came with us which is a blessing to all of us. Samuel gets time with her and Andreas and I get time to ourselves. Andreas's parents are extremely kind to us and allow us to use this home when we want to. Thank you mom and dad, you are very loved and appreciated.

Andreas's dad is still in India, he will be there until this next Thursday. He is going in an official capacity for the UMC missions board to check out a project that the UMC has been supporting. All seems to be going well. Please pray for dads safe return.

I hope to write good news tomorrow that all is well. Again, we miss you all.
Love,
Laurie

The TV thing

As some of you may know, I was on national TV Thursday night. To make a long story short, I wrote a piece in the local paper where I pastor about an "art" exhibit that was coming to town. It was extremely perverse and crude, and I simply thought it was disgusting. Thus, I wrote and said that shouldn´t we try to follow God´s rules instead of some little man with a little power to influence our lives with porn?
Well, the TV people read that and asked me to be on the show. It's a show called "Debate" and it is rather famous, similar but less influential as is Larry King Live in the States. I accepted knowing I would be in the minority. I just wanted to get a chance to witness about Christ. Well, I didn't get to speak about Christ much, the debate was about tax money paying for a porn exihibit. I did get to speak about God's purpose in creating our bodies though, which was good. And I got to witness to the curator of the exhibit which, perhaps, was the main reason I went...unknowingly to me.

Anyway, please continue to pray for us as we try to minister and serve Jesus in this land of iniquity.

Grace and love,
Andreas