We rejoice in the Lord as we announce to you all the arrival of another precious little one who joined our family. Nehemiah Emmanuel Lockwood was born on December 18, 2006 at 9:25 am. He weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and was 20 inches long. He has a head of dark hair (like mommy) and dimples (like daddy). Nehemiah means "God has comforted" and Emmanuel means "God with us".
We are so thankful too that the Lord touched his little body and healed him. Nehemiah was born with some respitory difficulties and was kept in an incubator and on an iv for 2 days. When we brought him home, he was very sleepy and wouldn't even wake up to eat. He hardly cried. At first, we didn't think too much of it, but he continued just sleeping and he wouldn't nurse or take a bottle. The only food he ate was the little we could inject into his mouth via a syringe. He continued like this for about 10 days.
We called our church prayer line as well as family and friends and asked them to pray. The following day, we took him back to the hospital and they ran tests and all came back fine. That afternoon, he became very alert and began eating. Within a day, he was acting like a healthy newborn baby...eating every couple of hours, crying, dirtying diapers, and having awake times during the day. We know it was God's hand upon him through the prayers of His saints that made little Nehemiah whole again.
All of his brothers and sisters love him to pieces and he always has someone wanting to hold him. The joy a new little one brings to the family is like none other. Thank you all for your prayers for me during the pregnancy and delivery. We had orignally planned on traveling back to the USA to deliver the baby. We had everything set up to that end, but the Lord had other plans. Through much prayer and the counsel of our pastors and parents, we felt led of the Lord to stay here in Mexico and deliver in the local hospital here again. I roomed with another lady who had a baby that same day and was able to share the gospel with her. She lives just a few streets down from us, and we look forward to visiting their family and talking more with them about their need for a Savior. Please pray for them. Her name is Patricia.
The day before Nehemiah was born, we had a special Christmas service for our church family. We began by singing all the Christmas hymns that we had learned this year. Then the children's choir sang a couple of songs they had learned. Daniel shared from his heart a Christmas mesage, and then we all had special candlelight christmas dinner. After the dinner and time of fellowship, we had a gift exchange...it gave everyone such joy to share a gift with someone else in the church and in turn receive something special as well. Our church, though small, is growing together in the Lord and growing closer to each other too.
The construction on our house has stopped for the past couple of weeks while the cement roof has been drying. It is scheduled to resume again on January 8th. We thank all of you who have prayed for and/or provided for this home. We are so excited to see it coming together and can hardly wait to be able to move in. Since Nehemiah's arrival and the addition of a bassinet into the trailer, Timothy, Elijah, and Benjamin gave up their beds and moved into a tent in the back yard....a tent which they affenctionately call "their bedroom". The family appreciates their sacrifice as it gives us the much needed room to sleep somewhat comfortably... although I think their "sacrifice" is more like a big "adventure" to them and I haven't heard them complain yet.
