Tuesday, April 7, 2015

New Direction



We welcomed baby Irene to the world February 20th.  She is big, little girl weighing in at 9 lbs, but I think their scale may have been off (there is no way she is bigger than her brother was).  Honora, Clare and Patrick are thrilled with their baby sister. Ryan and I seldom get to hold her when the older siblings are around.  Patrick has a "Big Brother" shirt and he has taken to wearing it all the time.  He is quite proud of his new title.

We spent two months in Tucson, AZ with Ryan's parents and sister and her family.  We had planned to have Irene there, and it was quite a blessing being together after the unexpected loss of Ryan's brother in January.  Children and grandparents have such a special relationship, and there was much healing and laughter in their time together.

Since the loss of Ryan's brother and the birth of our newest joy, we have been in a process of discernment.  We have felt the need to be present to family here, and we have recognized our own need for healing.  Through much prayer and struggle we have found God calling us to rest in His love.  There has been a great struggle to surrender our need to "do for God", and allow ourselves to just surrender to His loving presence.  Ultimately we recognize that we cannot share the Good News of His love, if we are not allowing ourselves to feel it.  This decision has been very painful for we no longer just consider one continent home, and there are so many people in Cameroon that we will miss.

Thank you so much for all your loving support and prayers over the last two years.  Despite the geographical distance, we always felt held by our family and friends here.  We are so grateful for all of you and we couldn't have done it without you.  This link will allow you to see images of the work you helped us do and the people you sent us to love: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nSxUK-ef0Y&feature=youtu.be  (copy and paste)


Thank you!

love,
The Martin Family
Ryan, Maura, Honora, Clare, Patrick and Irene

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