Ben's Surgery

On Thursday, December 13th Ben had right shoulder surgery. His surgeon told us later that Ben had more going on than they had originally thought. Thankfully they were still able to do the surgery arthroscopically. Thank you for your prayers. Ben is still in pain but has started therapy. He will need to wear his sling for 6 weeks and hopefully get back to normal in 4-6 months. Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for his quick recovery and that he will be dedicated with physical therapy.

Caleb at School

Caleb: "Oh, oh! Teacher, pick me! Pick me!"
Teacher keeps talking...
Caleb: "Oh, oh! Pick me teacher!"
Teacher keeps on talking...
Caleb: "Oh, oh! Teacher, please pick me!"
Teacher finally calls on Caleb, saying:
"Yes, Caleb?"
Caleb: "ZZzzzzzzZZZZ.....

Patiently waiting...

See her in the picture? Bela (our cat) has grown quite attached to Caleb, can you tell? She's our "dog"...you would agree if you met her, believe me...she's more like a dog than a cat, a very faithful friend to the Bacheller family.

Brothers, for sure!

Can you tell which son is which? The two on the left are Noah, the two on the right are Caleb! So much fun! These were taken at about 4 weeks for each of the boys.

Been thinking...

Here's something I've been thinking about (Ben) lately...it's from a book called "Spiritual Leadership", by Blackaby & Blackaby:

• “Spiritual leaders who develop their own visions, no matter how extensive, rather than understanding God’s will, are settling for their best thinking instead of God’s plans. It’s a sure way to shortchange their followers.”
  (Blackaby, 67)

What do you think? Have you seen this? Maybe done this? I want to make sure I don't...may God give us the grace to follow HIS plans, not our own.

LOVE ME :-)

Looking adorable makes me so sleepy

More pictures of Caleb!

Here are some more pictures of the last 4 weeks of Caleb's life at home! Click on this link to see them! http://picasaweb.google.com/bbbacheller/CalebSFirst4Weeks

Caleb helps dad...study??

Uncle Josh Smith

Thanks for visiting me Uncle Josh! Sorry I missed most of your time here...I was sleeping... :-)

Nana, Grandpa & Aunt Joy Bacheller's Visit

My Nana, Grandpa and Aunt Joy Bacheller all came to visit me! It was soo much fun! Look how happy I was to see them! :-)

Yawn...

Yeah! It feels SOOOO good to sleep 20 hours a day!

Nana & Grandpa Smith

Nana and Grandpa Smith came to visit Caleb! They had so much fun seeing their 2nd grandson!

Thanks for coming to visit Nana and Grandpa!

Here's my personal tanning bed!

Caleb's Guardians

Here are two of our best friends, Jeff & Laura Hopkins. They were Noah's legal guardians and they are also Caleb's legal guardians.

First Visitors

Here are Caleb's first visitors in the hospital! Brock & Nicole Mathison (top left), Alex & Ana Hernandez (top right), Owen & Hannah McCullough (lower left), Evelyn DiCenso (lower right). My goodness, Caleb has friends!

Those that helped Caleb arrive safely!

These are the folks that helped Caleb arrive safely on October 12, 2007. Two of Becky's doctors (top left), a friend from church (also a nurse) who helped us with Noah as well as Caleb to nurse well (top right), Caleb and Becky's nurse (bottom left), and of course, Caleb's himself...since he's a big, strong guy!

Do you have a personal tanning bed?

This here is Caleb's personal tanning bed! Just like Noah, he came home and had jaundice soon after. Now he's got his own personal tanning bed to break down the extra hemoglobin that causes the jaundice.
We got home two days ago, and the first night was pretty rough. Last night was better, he ate and slept, versus the previous night where he ate, sometime, and did not sleep (us either).

Thank you for praying for all of us.

Going home

Here we are, leaving the hospital with Caleb on Sunday, October 14th! Whooohooo!

Caleb's got great lungs!!

Listen to this guy! Praise God for Caleb!

Here's Caleb!

Here's Caleb Nehemiah Bacheller! He was born today, October 12th, 2007, at 2:45 pm EST! What a blessing! Click on this link to go look at more pictures of Caleb (http://picasaweb.google.com/bbbacheller/CalebSArrival). Thank you for your prayers, all of you! We're all doing well and healthy! By the way, Caleb weighed in at 11 lbs. 7.3 ounces!!! We're setting records! Wow! He was 21 1/4 inches long. And my, does he have lungs!

Praise God with us!!

Any day now...

Hi folks, here's Becky and our next son... She went to the doctor today and the doctor said it could be any day (or night, for that matter) now!
We are excited for our next son to be born, Noah's younger brother, but we're also nervous, understandably so. Would you pray for us during this time? Pray for a safe delivery and a healthy baby.

In His Unfailing Love,
Ben for all of us.

Gone hunting...

Well, my friend Brock and I went hunting yesterday...Muzzleloader season opened up in SC! We came home with the back of the truck empty...but, with good reason. I had four deer walk straight at me, two does (skinny as could be!) and two fawns. I hadn't gotten a doe tag yet, so all I could shoot was bucks, and shooting a scrawny doe didn't excite me too much, though it would have been my first deer!!! The fawns were probably still nursing...and there's the rest of the Fall still. Hopefully, in the meantime those does will put on a bit more weight...better make room in our freezer! :-)

Do you like Venison? Got a good recipe for cooking some up? Let us know! Or, just come by and visit---hey, you could even meet our next son, Noah's little brother...another week or two and he'll probably be around!

Noah's Grave Site

This tree (below in the picture) is a very old cedar tree right beside Noah's grave. Personally, there is a lot of meaning having this solid tree beside his grave, since I really enjoy God's creation around the world. There is also much Scripture that talks of the righteous man being like a tree planted by rivers of water...whatever he does prospers. In the last 5 months (on the 21st it will be that long), God has shown Becky and I how He has used Noah as a missionary already. I had almost daily prayed for Noah in his crib after he had fallen asleep at night, asking God to make him a man that would put God first in his life, and seek to live for God with all his might and that he would make an impact in the world for Christ...little did I know how God would do so. Little did I know that God has answered my prayer already...Noah is being a witness to hundreds today in his physical death, reminding us all of where our priorities need to be.

May our Father continue to use Noah in many ways in and during our lives and those around us.

Decision made

Hello all!
Thank you for all your prayers! We want to let you know about how God has directed us in the last few weeks since we asked for your prayers.

After talking to many people we respect, as well as praying plenty about this decision, we feel that the best option for us right now is to remain in the US for the full school year, making use of the scholarship that God has provided. We have already talked with the American & Brazilian leadership in Brazil, as well as our local church, and they are all ok with us staying for the time being.

Regarding the financial support some of you have sent in for our trip to Brazil, we thank you! It will sit in the mission's account until we are ready to go. We appreciate you partnership with us!

We will be returning to Brazil at some point we believe, we're just not sure how soon yet. Through this decision making process, I (Ben) have also changed my degree from the M.A. Intercultural Studies to the Master of Divinity. This means that we will be staying in the US for another full year at least past what we had first thought. Instead of graduating in the Spring of 2008, it will be the Spring of 2009 at the earliest. As a few people have said, more preparation will only be beneficial in the long-term. I have always wanted to get schooling done with as quickly as possible, but as I'm growing and maturing, I am coming to realize that being hasty isn't the best thing...God will get us "there" when He's ready to use us, not when we think we're ready.

So we want to say thank you for your prayers during this time. Please continue to pray for the health of the next baby boy as well as Becky; the baby is due Oct. 19th, but he's a big one already we think!

We'll post some pictures of Noah's grave soon also.

In Christ's unfailing love,
Ben & Becky Bacheller.

Blasphemy?

Do you watch R rated movies? These guys interviewed a number of Christians on the street in Hollywood...asked them about watching movies that specifically use God's name in vain...how would you answer their questions? (http://www.hollywoodandgod.com/) What would I say? Interesting indeed to think about what we as Christians are supporting through watching our movies...70% of Hollywood's profits come from Christians, did you know that? I thought Christians were supposed to stand up for what's right, pure, true and holy..."think on such things" (Philippians 4:8) said Paul. The implication is that we shouldn't stand or meditate on that which is the opposite...Well, where do you stand?

Prayer Request from Ben & Becky

Dear Family and Friends,

 

            Greetings from VERY HOT South Carolina! We have had a busy summer traveling and have a few prayer requests to update you on.

            Our time in Brazil at the end of June was productive and we were able to renew our visas without a problem. Thank you for praying that God would give us strength to travel and meet people without Noah by our sides. It was an emotionally difficult trip but we saw God use our situation to encourage others to stay strong in their faith no matter what life may bring.

            Thank you also for praying for our safe travels as we visited family and supporters on the East Coast during the end of July. We loved visiting and catching up with so many of you on our trip. We were encouraged and refreshed learning that we have been in your prayers for the last few months. It was a joy for us to share memories of Noah with you and talk about our son. He is so much a part of us and always will be.

            Currently we are back in Columbia, preparing for the fall semester and our next son’s birth. We wanted to share with you some of our current prayer requests and ask that God would give us clear direction for the future year. We are scheduled to leave in January for 6 months to Brazil where Ben will be training Brazilian missionary candidates and teaching at a Bible school. Over the last few weeks we have learned that Ben has been given a full scholarship to school this year (including books). We are so thankful that God has provided in this way and it takes the pressure off Becky to look for a part time job. We are wondering now if it would be wise to postpone our trip to Brazil until the summer or possibly only go in January so that Ben can make use of his scholarship this next spring. We have already raised 75% of the support we need for the spring and are wondering what God wants us to do. We are excited about serving in Brazil and feel God calling us there full-time. We want to be wise stewards of our finances and of the support God has provided through you all. We ask that you partner with us in prayer as we explore the option of either waiting until next summer to go to Brazil, or going only for the month of January before the spring semester starts. Ben only has one full year of seminary left so if we stay in Columbia for the spring he will be able to graduate in May of 2008 without any school loans or debts to pay off.

            We need to make a decision in the next couple of weeks, so we ask that you lift us up in prayer. As soon as we are able to, we will let you know how God has directed us. Thank you for your partnership in this ministry in Brazil.

 

In God’s unfailing love,

Ben & Becky Bacheller.

 

Noah's half birthday

Well, yesterday Noah turned a year and a half! Becky and I went to Lake Norman, north of Charlotte, NC, for the day with some friends...it was weird not having Noah at a familiar place...knowing he'd be playing in the sand and eating most of what he played with..swimming in the lake with us...playing with the 3 dogs that were there...it's been weird, for sure... Even so, the emptiness of his being gone makes us realize more and more the truth and reality of eternal life, of Heaven and Hell. We're so thankful we can be certain of where we will go if we die today, tonight: we will go to Heaven and meet Noah because of what Jesus Christ has done for me and Becky, and for you too, if you'll just accept Him into your life! Have you made that choice to follow Christ yet? If not, you've chosen to reject Him. I pray that you choose Christ...as we have been learning, there is nothing more important in this life, and there's nothing else worth holding on to...for life is temporary...but eternal life is forever!

Bacheller Bulletin--June 2007

Click on the letter to read it.

Wider View

This is the larger view of where Noah is buried. He's right under an old Cedar Tree, along with folks much older than he...they were all buried between the mid-1800's to mid-1900's.

Memorial Day

This past Memorial Day had a whole new meaning for us. Becky and I went to Noah's grave, and as you can see, we still don't have a headstone for it yet--this can take a while. We're still working on that. Even so, we still want his grave to look like him--fun! So here you go Noah, although you're with our Father now, this is in "memory" of you.

Thank You

Dear Friends & Family,


We would like to say thank you to all of those who have held us up in
prayer, for our emotional, physical and spiritual needs after the loss
of our son Noah. Thank you for your words of encouragement and care,
for the food, for the cards and gifts toward us as well as the youth
mission trip fund. Thank you for your love for us and for Noah. Words
cannot express how much we miss him, but it comforts us to know that
you are grieving with us. We don't know how we would have gotten
through this hard time without all of you. Thank you again, we
love you all so much. We ask that you not hesitate to talk about Noah anytime you feel like it. We also want to say thanks for calling us (if you have), or sending cards, and emails. We have read them and are so thankful for your love toward us, but we simply don't have the energy yet to answer these. We know you'll understand our delay in doing so. Even so, please do keep in touch.


Ben & Becky Bacheller.

Tribute to Noah

Hi folks. Just want to say thank you for praying for us, and grieving & mourning with us since we lost Noah...but really, it's an addition to Heaven. We know that Noah's smile and energy is bringing our Father in Heaven so much delight! If we enjoyed Noah while here, imagine what a joy he is to our Father! One day, we will see Noah again...and we can't wait! Enjoy the video we've uploaded about Noah's young, full life! It's a 12 minute video presentation of pictures,video, and sounds of Noah. We will always love him, our son, Noah, and will miss him until we see him face to face again, when we get to Heaven too. Click HERE to watch the video.
Ben & Becky Bacheller

True Joy

Two Saturdays ago, on April 21st, our son, Noah, went to be with our Savior. At some point during the middle of the night, he had a terminal seizure that caused heart failure--the coroner said that Noah probably did not suffer during the seizure. Even if we had known while it was occurring, there was nothing we could have done. When I (Ben) found him laying in bed Saturday morning, he had already been in eternity with Christ for "several hours". The following is in the program we made up for Noah's Funeral which was on this past Thursday (we titled it "Noah's Party--A Celebration of Noah's Life):

Noah was a beloved son, grandson, great-grandson, nephew, cousin, playmate and friend. Saturday morning he went home to Jesus at the young full age of 15 ½ months. Noah brought joy and laughter to everyone he met. He truly showed God’s love to us with his energetic passion for life and contagious smile. Noah will forever be missed. He was truly an amazing gift to us from God. We feel so blessed to have been entrusted by our Father to care for him during his joyous life. We praise the Lord that Noah is in Heaven now and that he is truly having a party, dancing and singing. We know that the prayers of many and our personal relationship with the Lord is the reason why we have such a peace during this difficult time. We have hope and we greatly anticipate the day we will see him again in glory.

Noah’s last week was filled with so many joyous memories. We are thankful that we can say that Noah lived life to the fullest, blessing us all with his laughter. We pray that when you think of Noah you will be reminded, as we are, to always be joyful.

We're sorry that some of you did not know about this yet, the past week has been busy and difficult for us so we couldn't contact everyone. Thank you for praying for us and our family.

We love you. Ben & Becky Bacheller.

Wrestling

OK, he's really getting beat-up by the older kid who's like three times his age--but he's tough! Is he going to be a wrestler like his Grandpa Bacheller (Bill) was? Check it out by clicking here!!

Soccer player?

I'll tell ya, when they're so young, you can only wonder what they'll be like when they grow up...But he sure likes his soccer ball!

Music lessons

Here Noah is getting lessons from Ken Crane, a friend and musician from NY state. Watch the video of this lesson by clicking on this link.