Is this a real pony Daddy?

Christmas Picture

 
Well, although it's late in posting, here is our Christmas picture we took the other day. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!
Celebrating Christ's birth,
Ben, Becky, (Noah) & Caleb.

Courage

Are you sure I can touch it Daddy?

At the zoo during "Winter"

Can you believe it? December 18th, 2008, wearing shorts. What a beautiful climate to live in! When are you coming to visit? :-)

Please Pray

Hi folks. Don't know how many of you follow this, but I figured we'd ask you to pray.
Thursday we went to see the doctor again, for Becky's hip bone and cartilage inflammation issues. After meeting with him, we could tell he was stumped. He admitted that this is the worse case he's ever seen with her condition (he thinks it's Osteitis Pubis). He basically said, "Well, keep not doing what you're not doing (meaning, stay on bedrest as much as possible), and come back and see me in three months."
As you can imagine, that's not a good enough answer for us. Becky's therapist even said we should begin looking outside of Columbia, and maybe outside of the State of South Carolina for more help. So, we're asking you to pray with us that we'll find someone who has specific knowledge and experience with this condition, and that we'll be able to see him/her soon.

Through all of this, it has been discouraging for both of us, yes. It flat out is discouraging, and we struggle with depression sometimes. But, this is nothing new to us...God has been faithful in the past, and I've got a feeling he's not about ready to "let go" of us anytime soon. :-) We keep praying, crying, and trusting God to do His work in us and through us. We hope you'll pray alongside us too as we wait on Him.

This disease has changed life for us, quite a bit. It's changed how I think (Ben), and it's changed my priorities in a good way. I have learned many lessons and continue to learn much about serving, about humility, about trust, and ultimately, about Heaven. Once we get to Heaven, we'll be made whole...and I can't wait! We'll see Jesus face to face, and we'll also get to be reunited with Noah.

So, in summary, would you please pray for healing for Becky's hips? Would you pray that God would lead us and direct us, and that He'll continue to give us peace, patience, and the ability to continue to trust in Him? We would appreciate it.

You know that line that goes: "God is good, all the time. And all the time, God is good." Well, it's still true. It just makes you rethink your own theology of pain and suffering.

In His Unfailing Love,
Ben (for Becky & Caleb).

Caleb riding the "horse"

We went to Uncle Jeff & Aunt Laura's in Greenville, SC, the other day, and Caleb had plenty of fun...just watch this video!

Nice kitty...

Here's Caleb having fun at the zoo...
"Mommy, can I take it home?" :-)

Hillcrest Baptist Church

Today we went to Hillcrest Baptist Church, in Gaston, SC. I (Ben) had the privilege of preaching there this morning, and getting to know the folks down there. Becky, Caleb and I enjoyed our short visit, and hope to go back again. The pastor was feeling pretty sick, and I was able to fill in for him--thankfully I had been preaching at our church (St. Andrews Evangelical Church, http://www.saec.org) these last couple of months a couple of times, and was able to fill in on short-notice. What a blessing it was for us to meet some more brothers and sisters in Christ.

November Letter

Hey folks, here's our prayer letter if you haven't received it. Let us know and we'll send our following ones to you! Thanks for your prayers.

Caleb's Crawl

Caleb started this a couple of months ago, thought we'd show ya! It is hilarious! He doesn't do it as much now...

Caleb having fun with Aunt Joy!

Nana Smith came too!

Visits

It was Caleb's 1 year old Birthday on October 12th, so Nana Bacheller, Grandpa, and Aunt Joy came to visit! It was so much fun to spend time with them!

Watching the Lorikeet

He loves animals

We went to the zoo again, and Caleb had a blast! Can you tell?

Brothers

We always keep a picture of Noah on our kitchen table. We have
been amazed how much Caleb is starting to look like Noah. We are so
thankful for our boys.

Meal-time giggles

Caleb is so funny in his highchair. He loves to make funny faces and he
keeps us laughing during meals.

Mud Run Fun

Last weekend Ben and three of his friends from church ran the 4.2 mile Marine Corp Mud Run. Caleb got so tired watching Daddy race that he fell fast asleep. No, Ben didn't ride on the stretcher because he was tired, no one else volunteered so he got to enjoy the ride :-)

Long time due.....

Sorry it's been a while since we gave an update...the school semester has started, and we're in full swing! Even so, we want to share some pictures with you. So, enjoy! Send us an email or make a comment on a picture to get in touch!

Update on Becky - As we mentioned in our last prayer letter, Becky is still having hip problems related to Caleb's delivery 11 and 1/2 months ago. She went back to the doctor this past week and the X-ray showed that the bones are still inflamed and there has been little to no healing. She has to get more steroid injections and not walk around or lift anything heavy (including Caleb). Please continue to pray for her healing and that God would encourage us all during this time. Please also pray for Caleb to walk soon and to adjust well with the changes.

Campng Trip

Two weeks ago we went with our church on a camping trip to the mountains of NC. We shared a camp site with our good friends Jeff & Laura Hopkins and Brock & Nicole Mathison with their little guy Nathan. Caleb and Nathan had lots of fun getting dirty and swimming in the icy cold water. It was a wonderful time to fellowship and relax.

"Guy-time"

Caleb and Nathan hang out on Tuesday afternoons every week! They have so much fun!

Caleb's friend, Josiah

This is Caleb and Josiah, our neighbor who just moved back up to Michigan...they were really good buddies! In fact, Josiah is Noah's buddy too! He's about a year younger than Noah. We miss having these friends around...Can't you tell Caleb and Josiah got along?

August Prayer Letter

Brazil in the Olympics

Have you watched much in the Olympics? We haven't either, but there are two sports we're following: swimming (had to cheer for Phelps), and soccer. For your information, Brazil is in the final game (women) against the USA! It will be this Thursday morning at 9am Eastern time. And the men's team is playing its biggest rival, Argentina, tomorrow, Tuesday morning, at 9am! Of course, we're cheering for the men to win so they can play the final and win an Olympic Gold on Saturday at midnight (yes, I, Ben, will probably be awake...or trying to stay awake), which they've kind of "avoided" it seems in the last couple Olympics...I guess they like to win World Cups more often?
Have fun!

Ever heard of a "Caleb in the Box"?

 

No, not Jack in the Box, but Caleb in the Box! He loved this, as you can tell!

Settling In...

So, now we're home, settling back into our own place, our own bed(s), our own food...etc. It's been nice to get here finally, start catching up with our local friends, our cat, Bela, and just be here. We've all heard it before, and it's soooo true: There's no place like home! Enjoy the Video below! Caleb gurggling for us all to laugh!

Almost home...

Today is Monday, it's 9:46 am, and we're in Philadelphia, PA. We're finally at the last leg of our month-long trip; and what a trip it's been! From Columbia, SC, to Greenville, SC, to a small town in KY, to Wheaton, IL, to Door County, WI, back to Wheaton, IL, to Hinsdale, NY, to Cortland, NY, to Nazareth, PA, to Philadelphia, today to Potomac, MD, then tomorrow we'll finally head home! Wow! I think we've almost forgotten what it's like to sleep in our own bed and live in our own home. We miss our friends back home, as well as our cat, Bela, but we also have enjoyed seeing so many of you on this summer trip. God has led the way, as always, and we're thankful to have spent some time with friends and family. Here is a picture of the extended Bacheller family while in Wisconsin.

Keep in touch!
Ben, Becky & Caleb.

We're IN!!!

Dear Praying Friends,

We got in! We got in for the orientation/training this week with TEAM! Praise God! It has already been a busy past week, and this week will be also. Please pray for us to have the energy, strength, and focus to get much out of this week here in Wheaton, Illinois.

As of this week, we can officially start raising our prayer and financial supporters for the work in Brazil (we know many of you already pray for us! Thank you!) Our goal is to return to Brazil by December 2009. Would you pray with us that God would make this happen? We'll share more about this later...in the meantime, keep praying, and please do share any prayer concerns with us too.

Excited for what God is doing!
Ben, Becky & Caleb Bacheller.

Update

Dear praying friends,

As of today, we have been accepted as Candidates with TEAM (The Evangelical Alliance Mission)! We are elated! Thank you for your prayers!

Now, we ask you to continue to pray with us. We are currently in Wheaton, IL, at the mission's headquarters, doing some preliminary interviews. There are a number of week-long orientations we need to do during this process of becoming missionaries with TEAM, the first of which will be July 14th through the 18th. However, we were told we would not likely make it in time for that specific orientation. As of today, it looks much more plausible that we will INDEED make it, as long as the preliminary interviews fall into place and go smoothly. So, would you please pray with us that it will indeed work out? It would save us from having to do the extra travelling in October later this year.

We also ask you to pray for our little (big) guy, Caleb, now 8 1/2 months old. He has developed croup again (he had it a few months ago), and we had to take him to the doctor today. We believe this recurrence of croup is due to his bad reflux. We ask that you pray for healing for both these illnesses.

We'll keep in touch as we know more details in the next week or so. Thanks again for your prayers!

In His Unfailing Love,
Ben, Becky, & Caleb Bacheller.

P.S.: If you did not receive our June prayer letter, it is on the next page of this blog...just scroll down on the right side of this window and click on previous posts.

Visit to New York

Caleb and I spent last week with my parents and sister in western New York. It was cold and rainy most of the time but we had a few sunny moments to get outside and enjoy splashing in the pond and seeing all the animals. Caleb especially loved playing with Pistol, the new puppy in the family. We are so thankful for our time to visit and make memories.

Look at me swim!

Caleb loves to swim and does a great job kicking his feet and moving his arms. Almost every day my dad took us to the local YMCA so we could all go swimming. It was one of the highlights of our trip.

Pistol Puppy, this is my toy!

Caleb enjoyed playing with Pistol who is a 6 month old Vizsla puppy. Pistol wanted to kiss his face whenever possible and she loved stealing his bibs and hiding them. she is so adorable and tons of energy.