The winter brought lots of wonderful things: holidays, ministry opportunities, and a new baby! I am so happy that we have been able to serve the Lord here in Perm as a family and with YWAM and King’s Kids. Lena and I have truly many many gifts and things to be thankful for. Our financial and prayer supporters are slowly growing, and our family and ministry is also slowly growing. I hope we can continue to see the Lord work in amazing ways this year!
MINISTRY
Base Life – In January we had a wonderful Christmas program with our Kid’s Club! We were able to bless many families with gifts and have a time to share Christ with the neighborhood. Since then we have had several new kids join our Saturday Kid’s club. Also many volunteers and teams have been coming to our YWAM base, also a DTS school and SBS school are both underway. The base is packed with people! But thank God we have new mattresses and no more bugs! But still I am happy we have our own apartment. I hope to invite people over this spring and play scrabble and show off my new baby girl, it has been great growing in friendship with new staff and friends here in the city.
King’s Kids Events – We are preparing a special cultural tour to South Africa, this will be in 1 year, January 2010. I hope we can truly bless some of youth with a fun and exciting trip to a very different world. This is an exclusive trip with a limited number of slots. I pray the Lord brings everything into plan. We are also preparing for our summer outreach, we have the opportunity to go to Siberia with a King’s Kids team from Spain, however also a King’s Kids team from El Paso is going to Ukraine and we have an opportunity to Join them in ministry as well. I am praying with Lena right now and hope to make our final decision soon. In what ever we do, we need to be prepared and surrendered to the Lord. Lastly I am in high hopes to prepare a Spring Retreat for our teens and church youth in Perm, I hope this to be a very fun and worship filled time, maybe at the YWAM base or a sanitarium. It would be great to spend a few days with youth, worshiping God, hearing great speakers, praying for the nations, and simply having fun!
FAMILY
On Feb 1st 2011 our first baby – Josephine Olivia Villarreal was born! Praise God for a healthy and safe delivery. I am learning how to be a dad, and to me there is no more beautiful wonderful treasure in all the world than my little girl! I was in high hopes to be with Lena during the delivery, to encourage her and cut the cord, but it didn’t work out that way. The city was under a flu quarantine, and I had to leave the hospital. It was a disappointing time and a long wait for Lena and Josie to come home, but finally they are here. Below is a story I wrote to describe to friends and family what was happening during those days.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
- BABY TIME
How it went down from my point of view, it was electric.
“About 2:00pm Jan 31st Lena started having contractions, she was a sea of calm and I was an electric storm of emotion. About midnight the contractions become very intense, Lena’s voice would snap like a turtle, “don’t talk to me right now.” So . . . we started to prepare for the hospital. We tried to sleep, we ate, I slept a little, Lena walked around the apartment cleaning, then called a taxi. At 4am Feb 1st we drove to the Hospital, it was cold! We got there about 5am and woke up the security guard to open the door, then we woke up the nurse, who then went to wake up the doctor.
They took Lena into an examination room and said I had to wait in the other room, hence the name of the room, waiting room. My eyes were heavy, but I told myself it’s going to be a long day and Lena needs you! But Lena came to me a few minutes later, tears in her eyes. She said, “The doctors say you have to leave. The hospital is in quarantine. You can’t be here.”
After some hugs, tears, confusion, more hugs, and a kiss, I left. Knocking outside on the window I said my last goodbye, Lena smiled at me then the nurse took her out of the room and up the stairs. I was alone, she was alone, I felt guilty and worried, so worried. I walked to the bus stop . . . and went home. I hated myself for thinking some terrible things, but God’s grace and presence was with me, friends prayers, your prayers. But more so our prayers were with Lena, the Lord was with Lena.
That morning my life was a dull depressing cold pressure cooker, boiling on the inside and steel on the outside (does that make sense?). That day Lena’s mother and brother came by train at 2:00pm. My friend Jon gave me a ride to go pick them up and bring them to my home. On the way Lena called!
“Congratulations Daddy” Her voice was a soft exhausted one, with a joy that sounded like ice cream if your ears could taste ice cream. The pressure cooker let loose, I jumped in my seat laughing and screaming the words “I love you” over and over, Jon smiling at me all the while. As the described image of my daughter came through the phone and into my mind, my heart melted at the following words. “Josephine is here, she is so beautiful Milan! She has long dark hair, dark skin, she looks like you but a girl. She is 51cm long and 3.37kg. She is healthy, 9 out of 10 points.”
I had too many questions and she had not enough time, she needed to rest, the doctor came to see her, I had to meet mom at the train station, answers had to come later. Lena will continue to be in the hospital for the next 4 days. I hope to visit her and see my daughter through a glass window, but Lord willing this quarantine will come down soon. I will post pictures as soon as I have some!
Love you all!
Congratulations world, Josephine Olivia Villarreal is here to bless you all with her presence!”
