Dearest Friends,
It has been such a long time since we’ve formerly communicated with you, I’m not even sure where to begin. As you may be aware, we Bolivia Bakers are temporarily living Stateside. In October of last year, our youngest son, Luke (4 months old at the time), began having apneic seizures. After exhausting our available medical options, we abruptly left Bolivia in mid-November on Emergency Medical Leave, a decision we are now confident saved his life. Luke has since been diagnosed with Benign Temporal Lobe Epilepsy in infancy, a condition that is effectively being controlled with medication and one that he will most likely outgrow with time.
The past few months we have been settling into our new life in Kentucky where we will be residing until August. Our new contact information is as follows:
508a W. Main St.
Wilmore, KY 40390
(859) 699-9310 (Cingular)
E-mail:
andrea.baker@wordmadeflesh.com
The past 6 months have been marked with unprecedented stress for our family. As our most difficult life struggle to date, this time has been full of tremendous uncertainty and tension. We’ve resuscitated our infant son more times than we can count. We watched him suffer and fought for life with him. We suddenly and unexpectedly were uprooted from our home, our life and ministry in Bolivia, and immediately found ourselves struggling to build a new life from nothing. Not to mention our basic struggles of culture shock and readjustment to life in the States, as it has been 5 ½ years since we’ve spent any significant time here!
Now as we’re coming out of the fog, we can honestly say that God has been faithful and He has been good! We are overwhelmed by His thoughtful care and provision, His wisdom and patience. His infinite love.
And we’ve come to realize (and struggled to accept) that we have been asked to rest for a time and draw near to Him. So we are doing just that, taking time to renew our spirits, enjoy our family and grow as He leads. We would appreciate your continued prayers on our behalf as we work through all that the Lord desires to refine and rebuild. Pray that we would face the difficult questions courageously and that we would extend ourselves grace through the process.
And to many of you who have so generously, so selflessly, expressed your concern and cared for us, we are deeply humbled and grateful. We cannot find the words to return to you what you’ve given to us. In very practical ways you have been tangible expressions of His goodness. May you be blessed abundantly.
With much love,
Andrea, Andy, Elias & Luke
P.S. – We are technically not receiving salary for the remainder of our time in the U.S.; however, our support account is still open to receiving funds, and many of our expenses can be reimbursed from that account, such as personal development, administrative costs, travel and most importantly medical expenses. Our account is low for living costs in the States. Please continue giving as you can!