Dearest Friends and Family,

The big news of the new year is… we’re pregnant! We’re overjoyed with the anticipation of our first child, and this baby is such a blessing to us already. For detailed, week-by-week updates on our pregnancy, May has created an online journal on our Pregnancy Journal page. But to answer some of the questions you may have, here’s a brief summary. On Sunday, February 9th, we will be entering our 10th week of pregnancy, with an estimated due date of September 15th. We were completely excited to find out about our pregnancy and have been praying for this little one since preconception. Mom and baby seem to be quite healthy so far, and the morning sickness has been quite minimal - mild queasiness, but no vomiting, and lots of fatigue. May feels like she’s eating around the clock (every couple of hours to be more precise) but she’s not showing yet. We are both reading a lot about pregnancy and baby care, and learning a lot from our neighbors who have one toddler and a newborn (just two weeks old). The spiritual and emotional support from friends at the seminary has been an incredible blessing to us. In May’s seminary wives’ bible study, two girls just gave birth recently, and two others are also pregnant, so there’s definitely a community of women going through the same stage in life (not to mention the number of new dads that Ivan is able to relate to). God’s faithful provision continues to be so clear to us. We would appreciate your prayers for a healthy, developing baby, as well as for purposeful preparation for us as we look forward to becoming parents.

For the past month, we have been attending a church called Trinity Fellowship Church, and we have enjoyed it immensely. It’s a more traditional, conservative church and we have been blessed with a worshipful service, excellent preaching and wonderful fellowship there. If you’re curious, their website is www.trinityfellowship.org. Please continue to pray with us that God would make it clear whether or not He has called us there to worship and serve.

Over the past couple of months, we have enjoyed a busy holiday season. Our visit back home to California was too short, but sweet nonetheless. We spent part of the visit in Las Vegas with May’s family and then headed back to Texas. Since returning to Dallas, Ivan completed a winter-session Christian Counseling course, started to learn programming, began a research project for a paper to be published by his Greek professor, and began his spring semester classes. May isn’t able to audit a class with him, but we know that God worked that out according to His plan since she’s tired already from pregnancy, working full-time, attending a weekly wives’ bible study, a weekly DTS spiritual formation group, and a weekly church community group. It’s going to continue to be a busy and challenging year, but we are grateful for where God has us and how He continues to show His grace and love toward us.

Love in Christ,
Ivan and May

March 2003
Update

Dearest Friends and Family,

It has been an exciting winter here in Dallas. We experienced our very first ice storm last month and it was an incredible few days. We had a couple of days of sleet and freezing rain as the precipitation came down and instantly froze onto the roadways. There were two inches of a thick sheet of ice on the roads – hardly safe to drive on. Schools were closed and most people stayed home from work (May included). It was nice to be locked in at home during the middle of the week, just to enjoy each other’s company. The Lord timed this rest period perfectly as May was probably at the height of exhaustion from the pregnancy during that time.

Since then, the weather has warmed up again (currently in the 70s) and May’s exhaustion is subsiding. The queasy feelings are pretty much gone, and the second trimester has begun. It’s amazing to know that our little baby has grown to over 4 inches in length. It was so exciting to hear how strong his/her heartbeat is, and record it for our families to hear. We have about six weeks to go until the ultrasound, when we will hopefully find out if it’s a boy or a girl. The popular question these days seems to be, “Is May showing yet?” And the answer is probably best stated, “Almost.” She’s still in her regular clothes and we can definitely feel her growing belly, but it’s still difficult for the outside world to tell.

Attending church at Trinity Fellowship has been such a blessing for both of us. Week after week, we have been impressed with the worship service in how much they glorify and magnify God above all else. We have been learning so much, from the preaching of the Word, to the wisdom of the elders and the fellowship of our peers. Ivan has been able to meet with both the pastor and the associate pastor on different occasions, and we have been impressed, not only by their solid doctrine and caring natures, but also by the time that they are willing to invest in their congregation. We definitely sense God’s calling in bringing us to Trinity and His confirmation as we continue to learn more about the church.

In the next few weeks, Ivan will begin volunteering time for NeedHim ministries, which intentionally shares the gospel with people seeking to know more about Jesus via phone. These people normally hear about the toll-free phone number, 1-888-NEEDHIM, through a variety of different sources, including the radio, the Jesus Film, gospel tracts, and the Billy Graham telecasts. And we can take the phone calls right here at home! Praise God for this opportunity to serve Him.

As far as prayer requests go, we ask that you would continue to lift up our baby and his/her development, as well as May’s health and pregnancy. We are continuing to develop in our roles as parents, and we ask for your supplication as the Lord refines us and molds us into a father and mother after His own heart. Also, we will be flying out to Washington, D.C. to visit Jeremy and see some sights during the weekend of March 21st to March 24th, so please pray that we would have safe travels and that God would protect us and baby in the midst of these troubling times for our nation.

Love in Christ,
Ivan and May

April-May 2003
Update

Dearest Friends and Family,

We’re having a BOY! We thought that we would go ahead and say it first thing. It has been an exciting month as we were able to finally see our growing baby through ultrasound. We had an amazing time watching our little one kick his tiny feet and wave his arms freely – he seemed to enjoy all of the space he currently has in the womb. He was very active during the ultrasound and the technician and radiologist both confirmed a healthy baby boy. Since the baby’s measurements were on target, our doctor has decided to keep our original estimated due date of September 6, 2003, and we look forward to meeting our baby face to face.

It is a joy to feel the baby kicking! He is now kicking hard enough for Ivan to feel him. The first time he felt the baby kick, he had been depressed by a Lakers loss to the San Antonio Spurs, but as soon as he felt the baby his frustration was rightly replaced by overwhelming joy. He compared it to feeling a fish bite, but he explained later that he meant feeling a fish bite “on the fishing line”!

May is doing really well physically – no real pregnancy symptoms except her slowly expanding belly. She is very thankful for her good health and easy pregnancy. We’re now praying for an easy labor as well! We have experienced a lot of encouragement from our Trinity Fellowship Church family as well as our friends at the seminary. The Lord has truly surrounded us with His love through brothers and sisters in Christ who are at our same stage in life (or a couple of steps ahead to show us the ropes)!

Ivan just finished his spring semester and his summer semester will begin soon. He studied hard for finals and is now preparing for two classes this summer. It certainly will not be an easy time, but this will allow him to take a light load in the fall in anticipation of the birth of our bundle of joy. Praise God that Ivan continues to thoroughly enjoy his studies – he even reads books in his free time! It has been an edifying and affirming first year of seminary for us all. Please pray that God would be honored and glorified through Ivan’s studies.

This summer, Ivan will be looking for a part-time job with health benefits, so please keep us in your prayers. It will certainly be difficult for him to be a brand new father, go to school full-time and work 20+ hours a week, so he knows that he will have to depend fully on God for strength and provision. May will be leaving her full-time paralegal job to stay at home and care for our baby. She is currently making arrangements with her boss to be able to do some work from home, so that will be a great opportunity as well. We know that having a family during seminary years will be tough, but we have faith that the Lord will show us His provision in mighty ways.

We excitedly look forward to seeing many of you in southern California at the end of this month as we will be back for one week from May 23rd to June 1st. Praise God that we were able to find inexpensive airfare! This will be our last traveling opportunity before the baby comes, and we hope to spend a lot of quality time with our dear family and friends. We continue to thank God for your prayers and general support – it means so much to us knowing that our fellow co-runners are fighting the good fight with us. May the Lord continue to watch over you and your household, and may He be glorified in all that you do.

Love in Christ,
Ivan and May

June-July 2003
Update

Dearest Friends and Family,

It has been an exciting and busy last two months, and as we enter the final weeks of our pregnancy, things are certain to get even more exciting. Currently in our 8th month of pregnancy, we are gearing up in anticipation of the arrival of our baby boy. May is feeling great and really enjoying the wonder of carrying our child in her womb. She has not had any complications or swelling, even as the temperature hovers around 100 degrees. Please pray that as the day draws near, May would be physically and emotionally prepared for labor, and that the labor and delivery would go smoothly, quickly and without complications. In addition, we would appreciate your prayers for our baby boy, that he would be healthy and strong, and that he would grow up to know Christ as his Lord and Savior.

We have been busy attending various childbirth classes at Baylor University Medical Center (where we’ll be delivering). In addition, we have also been participating in a parenting class at our church with many other couples with children, led by our pastor and his wife. We have truly benefited from the scripture, parenting articles and life experiences of our fellow class members, and look forward to putting a lot of these principles into practice as we enter the journey of parenthood. We have also been busy preparing the nursery (formerly Ivan’s study), putting furniture together and organizing our apartment.

At the end of May, we were blessed by a week-long visit back to California to visit family and friends. We had a refreshing time there, not to mention great Asian food! It was wonderful to fellowship with so many of you, and share what the Lord has been doing in all of our lives. For Independence Day weekend, we drove down to Houston and did some sightseeing at the NASA Space Center and relaxing down by the ocean. We also got to hear Kenny Loggins and see a spectacular fireworks show at a festival in downtown Houston!

Ivan is in the middle of his second summer semester class in Greek, and he is currently studying Ephesians and learning how to do exegetical research. It’s been such a joy for him to study the New Testament in its original language. It has also been such an edifying time for May as she has been studying along side of him (in the English) and benefiting from Ivan’s class discussions.

As for work, May will be finishing up her full-time work at the end of August, and then will be taking a maternity leave for a couple of months. Afterwards, she will be able to work for her current boss part-time from home online. This opportunity is such a huge blessing from the Lord, as she will stay at home with the baby and still be able to contribute financially. Also, Ivan may have a great chance to use his computer skills at a respected local Christian company. Since we would like for him to be at home to support May when the baby’s born, he plans to start working sometime at the end of the fall semester or in January. Please pray that the opportunity would work out at the right time. Our biggest concern is health insurance, since our COBRA coverage will end in February, and we’ll need Ivan’s future job to provide health insurance for our family. We would appreciate your prayers and are trusting that the Lord will provide, for He knows all of our needs better than we can imagine.

Love in Christ,
Ivan and May

Christmas 2003
Update

Dearest Friends and Family,

What a year of blessing and change! At this time last year, we never would have imagined that such an amazing year of excitement, anticipation, surprise and joy was just around the corner. As you know, we found out we were pregnant in January and we spent nine months preparing for parenthood. We had the perfect pregnancy – no complications, no morning sickness, a healthy weight gain and just great marvel at the growing child inside of May’s growing belly. On September 5, 2003, our lives changed forever as we joyfully welcomed Karston Andrew into our world. In many ways we finally feel settled as a family. Ivan loves fatherhood and continues to pursue his passion at Dallas Seminary, with increasing opportunities to do research and write. May is at home full-time with Karston now – something she has been looking forward to for a long time. And Karston is constantly exploring new things and amazing his parents with cute sounds and adorable expressions. He is the most beautiful and precious gift from God.

Our great joy was also accompanied by an unexpected trial. As most of you know, Karston was born with birth defects called cleft lip and cleft palate. Because of this, we have experienced the most challenging time in both of our lives, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Suffering used to be largely unknown to us, something that was in theory but now is in experience. We did not ask for such a trial to fall upon our baby boy’s young shoulders, but we accept that God, in His sovereignty and goodness, is already using this circumstance to allow us to know Him better, in His own suffering and in His sacrificial love. And what better time than Christmas to reflect upon our great Savior, Jesus Christ, who was born to reconcile man to God, experiencing suffering here on earth while looking towards the greater purpose of bringing glory to God. As we ponder the incredible weight of that truth, we desire to live “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

This Christmas will be bittersweet for our family as we prepare for the first of Karston’s surgeries, which will be on December 23, 2003. We would appreciate your prayers for Karston’s health, the precision of his surgeon, Karston’s recovery and healing, and our emotional and physical well-being through it all. One of the most difficult aspects of his recovery time will be that Karston will not be allowed to drink from a bottle or suck on his fingers to soothe himself. We will be faced with feeding him using a syringe and keeping him in elbow restraints for ten days. We certainly are not looking forward to this time, but we trust that the Lord will carry us through with His love and comfort.

We are thankful that God has blessed us with supportive friends at seminary and at church. And we are blessed by the outpouring of love and prayers from our family and friends in California. Your words of encouragement and gifts of prayer and support mean so much to us, continually showing us how God has provided for us in every way. In the midst of this busy season, we encourage you to take time to cherish Jesus Christ with us, for He is the reason we can live today with a hope for tomorrow. May you live a life surrendered to God and passionate for His glory.

Love in Christ,
Ivan and May