Heather was induced because she was diagnosed with Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) and her OB did not want to going past her due date (because of increased risk of still birth). Here, I am helping Heather through a contraction (or sleeping...can't remember). The interns and residents thought her water had broken, but in reality, it hadn't. So after "laboring" for almost 24 hours, her OB "broke" the water, and real labor began...Jane was born 45 minutes later. Ahh, teaching hospitals!!
Jane was predicted to weigh less than 5-1/2 lb. God answered our prayers and she came in at 6 lbs, 14 oz. and perfectly healthy!! So much for this diagnosis of IUGR!
Levi, although he wanted a little brother, was so happy to meet Jane.
Poor Josie's face communicates the fact that she is no longer the queen. I love my girls!! Lord help me!
Two sets of grandparents. Thankful my parents were able to come and meet their 28th grandchild!
Levi, Emma and Claire on the first day of school at Veritas Preparatory Academy. I cannot tell you how thankful I am that my two teenage daughters have to wear uniforms!!! It curtails so much potential drama!
Jane is pretty much held all the time. I'm hoping she'll be quite well adjusted as an adult with all this love!
Fully content...
One of the unexpected blessings of this year will be more time with Jeremiah before his next phase of life (and because he is an awesome chef). He has applied to the US Naval Academy, and is currently working towards his congressional nominations. I am sure he would appreciate your prayers for God's provision and direction!
This picture captures Josie and her expressions around Jane ALL THE TIME. She continually giggles and shouts "Jane loves me!"
The recent Galat family events could surely be described in
one word: “newness.” In the last few
months, we transitioned Stateside for several months of Homeland Ministry
Assignment (HMA), graduated our oldest, Jeremiah, from RVA and got him settled
into classes at Arizona State University, had our 6th child,
beautifully healthy baby Jane Kathyrn Galat (her name meaning God’s pure and
gracious gift), and started our three middle children (Emma, Claire and Levi)
in a new school in Phoenix. Heather and
I feel like we live between two worlds (…or five) with our kids spanning such
varied ages and life experiences: college, high school, middle school, toddler
and newborn! This, all the while living literally between two worlds: Kenya and
the U.S. There are times when I wake in
the middle of the night, and it takes me a few seconds to recall exactly where
(and even who) I am. I remember my
mentor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Dr. Paul Hiebert, a long time
missionary to India, saying that the call to missions is like a call to cultural
schizophrenia. We can relate on multiple levels!
But even in all this blessed “newness,” God has been leading
us to pray for one thing for our family: “renewal.” Why? Because we came back from Kenya feeling
tired, disheartened, and worn, in large part because of all these major family
changes/stressors, but also secondary to the major events of the last two years
at Tenwek. God heard these prayers and,
as he often does, began to answer in mysterious and miraculous ways, drawing us
to drink more deeply from His word and seek Him more earnestly in prayer. When Heather returned to the States in June, concerned
about homeschooling our kids during this time of HMA, she made applications for
Emma, Claire and Levi to attend a relatively new classical charter school here
in Phoenix, just a few blocks from where we live. All summer long, all three kids were way high
on the wait list (more than 100), until (of course) the day Jane was born, when
we received an email that Claire had been accepted. The following day, we received a second email
that the school's offer had been rescinded because we did not respond in a timely
fashion. You can imagine our surprise
when we finally got around to checking our email again after returning from the
hospital!
Not wanting to miss a possible opportunity for our kids, I
called the school, and told them the reason we didn’t respond in a timely
fashion was because…well…we were having a baby (akin to “the dog ate my
homework”). They believed my story and
graciously reopened their offer for Claire.
Long story short, after Claire was accepted, Levi and Emma jumped to
number one on their respective class wait lists, and within a few days of
having a baby, all three were in school.
These events happened so quickly (and
around other major life events), that I struggled to process what all this
would mean for us as a family, and for our lives and ministry at Tenwek. But what God made clear though this
unexpected gift (especially for Heather having a new baby) was that we would
need to extend our HMA by a few months so that our kids could (at least) finish
this school year before heading back to Kenya.
Could be this the beginning of our prayers for renewal?
The state of orthopaedics at Tenwek is
such that the team needs me back yesterday, not next summer. And I struggle wanting to faithfully balance the needs of my family with these huge needs at Tenwek. However, we
believe that God is leading us into what we have been praying - a season of
renewal - so that we can go back to Kenya stronger, more compassionate, and
better equipped to love deeply. There
are still several unknowns. I would like to work while I am in the states to keep current with orthopaedic
technology and skills, and I am still praying for God to miraculously provide a
way for me to finish my board certification process. He knows the importance of such things. Would you please join us in praying for
renewal for our entire family, for strength and wisdom for Dr. Kiprono and Dr.
Dylan (who will be joining the team soon) and for God to provide the means by
which I can work and finish the board certification process? Thanks, and God bless you for your ongoing prayers and
support!
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