Obadiah Robert Fox

Yesterday morning at 8:10, we were pleased to welcome our son Obadiah into this world!  

He is 8 lbs. 4 oz. and 20.5 inches long.  He is a great joy to us! 

Thanks for all of your prayers and support!

I will tell the birth story later, but I am doing well and the three of us are so glad to be home.

Real Brothers

Around here students are thinking about the end of the semester as exams are quickly approaching. Because of this our Bible studies are ending for the semester. It seems like they just started. Kyle wanted to reward the guys that consistently showed up for Bible study this semester by having them over for hamburgers. 

After church on Sunday 12 guys piled into our car and came over for burgers. Kyle gave them a little tutorial on how to put a burger together and eat it. Kyle insisted on them having "double-doubles" so he spent Saturday afternoon making 37 patties while I cut up fruit and napped.  We had fruit and potato chips along with lunch, it was a regular summer BBQ. 

These guys can eat, each one piled their plate so high and then continued to eat whatever we would put in front of them!

I think out of the 14 guys we had over only 3 of them had eaten a burger before. 

This group of guys are great and we were glad to get them all in our home. They are very polite and expressed so much thankfulness for lunch. It is so funny to me that when we bring up that our baby is coming soon they all bust out in nervous laughter for Kyle. It is clear that they think he has a tough job ahead of him as he supports me through labor, I think it is so cute that they are kinda worried for him. 

I had to include this picture of their "gangster pose" Kyle is really into it.

On Giving Birth in Uganda

Many of our American friends have questions for us about delivering our baby in Uganda. We have been asked; "Are you giving birth in a hospital?" "What is the hospital like?" "Are their good doctors there?" and several others. We have been asked many questions that make us feel cared for as people are concerned that we will receive good care here. We will be taken very good care of, in a private hospital with a British midwife and a Ugandan doctor to watch over us. While, we have a few less pain relief options here than we do in the states, most days I feel ready for the challenge and I have accepted that we are going to go through this with the help of Tylenol, laughing gas, and of course the Lord. 

As I think about giving birth in this more "all natural" approach in a country like Uganda, it can make me feel pretty hard core. But all I have to do, is look at any of my Ugandan friends that are moms and remember what I have seen of the clinics and public hospitals. I am surrounded by tough moms that gave birth in some crazy situations, so I am not that hard core. One time, I drove a friend to a clinic to deliver her baby and upon arrival the nurses yelled at her for not carrying her own personal items properly, and then she gave birth 20 minutes later. Oh, and she was home in time for supper.  Most of our Ugandan friends have had to bring their own plastic gloves, gauze, bleach, wash basin, and syringes (just in case) to the clinic/hospital to give birth. The hospital we are going to provides everything we need, except for pillows. 

In addition to this, a few days ago I heard about a AIM missionary in Chad who gave birth to their daughter in a hospital/clinic that had no electricity OR running water.  Because the electricity was out, the doctor was holding a flashlight between his teeth so he could see the birth of the baby.  To make matters worse, the guy who delivers water to the clinic was late, so they even had to wait until AFTER the girl was born for the water to get there. We have it pretty easy compared to many situations around the world that babies are born into.  

Don't get me wrong, we still covet your prayers for safety for Obadiah and me and also for Kyle as we get closer and closer to delivery. I just thought I would share with you a bit of our perspective to give you a better idea of how to view the event when this little miracle comes into the world, any day now, or any week now if I am honest with myself :)

The new building!

UCF has been raising funds for a permanent building for several years now and this last Sunday we made history as we met for the first time in UCF's permanent structure. 

In 2001 UCF was meeting in a hotel, then was able to purchase land in 2004 where they constructed a tent that served the congregation faithfully for many years. Seen here:

The dream was to have a permeant structure that would withstand the heavy rains that Kampala gets and one that would last for generations. Last Easter, UCF held its final Sunday service in the original tent and we have spent the last year worshiping in a makeshift tent on the basketball courts at church. The goal was to be in the new building for this Easter but there were some setbacks that kept us out until this Sunday. Two weeks ago we were unsure if we were going to have a covered place to meet at all because heavy rains caused part of our temporary structure to collapse.  Seen here:

So this last Sunday there was much excitement to be meeting in our new, permanent building. 

As you can see there is much more construction to be done... we only have one of the four walls completed. Even still, there is much excitement. 

Over the years the Lord has provided the finances and provisions for this project in many ways. People in the states sacrificed and gave finances and so did the congregation of UCF. To many, this seemed like an impossible task and maybe some still think it will not get finished. We know that the Lord has done a mighty work here and will continue to work here at UCF. Thank you to those who prayed for this project and even gave to this project, the Lord has used you! 

37 Weeks!

I guess this comes with every pregnancy but the excitement and anxiousness is really settling in! Obadiah continues poke me in the ribs and occasionally punch his father in the face as Kyle talks to him. I really am starting to feel like he has no more room to grow in his current home, but what do I know. We could not be more excited to hold our son and are trying to practice patience because we know that he will only come in the Lord's timing, not ours.  Making it to this 37 week point seems like quite the milestone, now we just wait.