Baby Carsten has arrived!

Well, it took the arrival of our #3 baby to get me to update my blog. Pretty sad and pathetic I know...sorry about that for those of you who have actually been on here in the past few months. I made a commitment to be a better blogger, and it just didn't happen. Kind of like one of those New Years resolutions that you make, having every good intention of following through and by February 1st, you are kicking yourself for failure.

Anyway, we have a new baby boy! Carsten Timothy Myers was born December 2, 2006 (on Uncle Rick's birthday...hooray)! Carsten was 8 lbs. 13 oz, 22.5 inches, healthy and strong. After about 12 hours of labor, we found out that Carsten was brow presentation (facing the wrong direction). The midwife thought that he would be able to be born normally, however, the dialation process was not moving forward and that was a concern. At 5:00am, we decided to go ahead with a C-section to bring baby Carsten into the world. At 6:20am, we heard his first little cry and tears of our own quickly followed. Even with #3, the same wonderful emotions of joy and love excitement choke you up inside (and out for that matter).

Tasha and Carsten are both doing great! As we consider everything that has happened, we can see clearly the grace of God in every little thing! It is such a blessing to have that peace and confidence in a loving, caring, personal God. Thank you to so many of you for your prayers and support!

We are all so thrilled to have the new addition to the family! Kylea & Kaden couldn't wait to get to the hospital to meet him for the first time. I thought Kylea was going to burst with enthusiasm as she kept proclaiming to everyone, "I have a new baby brother!" You could almost feel the wonder of it all as you looked on the ear to ear grin on "Big Brother" Kaden's face. What an amazing and rewarding thing it all is!



We can't wait to introduce Baby Carsten to all of you sometime in the near future! Thanks again for your love, prayers and support...it means the world to us.

The Myers

The Start of Something Significant

I believe wholeheartedly that today was the beginning of something amazing!

I had the opportunity to visit a handful of homesteads in the Mvutjini (Em-foo-chee-nee) area this afternoon. It appears that God has begun to open a door for ministry in this area, as one of the Chief's council members has approached us at the International Church about starting a feeding center there for orphans and widows. Our response to the invitation was obviously in the affirmative, but with strong persuasion to allow us to greatly expand the vision. It is our desire to do far more than put a soup kitchen in this very needy area. We believe that God has given us a vision to develop a ministry center in Mvutjini that would not only feed orphans and widows, but provide education for the underprivileged, health care assistance for the needy, a safe haven for the abused, and most importantly, many opportunities for spiritual growth.

In the handful of homesteads we visited today, we found that there are many double orphans needing attention as well as some widow gogos (grannies). As we visited with in the homesteads, I was reminded of James 1:27 which states, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress..." I am confident that God has brought us to Swaziland to help meet this enormous need, and I believe that today was the start of something very significant!

Please be in prayer with us regarding this opportunity. Pray for favor, wisdom, resource, and especially for the very special people that God is reaching out to. One of the little orphan girls that I met today really grabbed my heart. Her name is Neliswa (Nel-ee-swa) which means to be content. She was the the sweetest little thing, about 5 or 6 years old, with the most precious little smile. I couldn't help but think and believe that though the enemy has stolen everything from this little jewel, God still has a great plan for her life!

Family

I have the greatest family in the world!

I know you think I’m biased, but I’m telling you the truth. I have the most beautiful wife ever who hasn’t yet realized that I never deserved anyone of her caliber. She is truly a Proverbs 31 woman, and I thank God for her! I have the most amazing kids a dad could ever ask for. Kylea is Daddy’s little princes. The only thing I dread about having this little angel is how I’m going to keep the boys away in the years to come (I have a few ideas though). Kaden is such a little stud muffin. I love wrestling with him and chasing him around the house trying to startle him into his joyous laughter at every blind corner possible. And now I have yet another precious jewel on the way. I can hardly wait for that overwhelming proud Daddy emotion to pump through my body as he (yes he, according to our first ultrasound) arrives to greet me for the first time, come December.

Not only do I have the most outstanding wife and kids, having just had the opportunity to spend a month with my Mom & Dad, am reminded how blessed I am to have them too! They were and are such a great encouragement to me. Such incredible role models they have been for me.

Wait, I’m just getting started! I’ve got a sister who continually amazes me with her love and faithfulness to her family and to her God. My brother, though I almost never get to hear his voice, is and always will be one of my best friends and heroes. Both my sister and my brother have the most wonderful families too!

In-laws are supposed to be annoying and hard to get along with right…Not mine. I have the most loving, generous and supportive in-laws you’ve ever met! My mother-in-law is so generous; she’s often likely to give the same gift twice, not being able to keep tabs on what she has previously given. What can I say about my father-in-law? I love that I can count on the fact that he prays sincerely for my family constantly. And then there’s my brother-in-law. If it weren’t for the distance that divides us, I would do my best to be around him and his wife as often as possible, as they are the kind of people that will sharpen you in just about every area of your life.

I can’t thank God enough for surrounding me with the greatest family in the world!
I can’t thank my family enough for being such a blessing to me!
I love you guys!

Recommitment to Blogging!

Wow... I have pretty much sucked at blogging thus far!

As I tried to sign onto my blog tonight, I couldn't even remember my password. Pathetic, I know. In the beginning, I really thought this would be a great tool for keeping everyone up to date on what was going on in the Myers family here in Swaziland. As you can see, shortly after beginning, I pretty much blew it. I kept telling myself I needed to update it. Then I just made excuses that Tasha was keeping her blog pretty well up to date, so I didn't need to worry about mine. After a while, I forgot I had even started this thing. Well, Tasha has been on here updating lately, and I realized I needed to do something about the old blogspot, so I've decided to recommit myself. I'm going to make this thing a priority, as I realize that one, I need a journal of sorts to look back on, and two, I really do need a way to keep friends and family abreast to what is going on in my life since I'm half the world away from most of them.

So here's to recommitment! Those of you who are close enough to harass me, please do so if I fail to keep this commitment. Lord knows I could use some accountability on this thing.