Just a quick note...

In the midst of new parent sleep deprivation- please excuse any serious typos! I'm sure there will be many!

Well we are parents now! Peter Franklin Olson was born Monday March 28 at 5:09 PM. He weighed in at 6 lbs 7 oz and measured just under 19 inches. Not bad for 3 weeks early!

We ended up having a c-section for several reasons and are thankful for the excellent medical care and wise decisions of our doctor.

I'm healing very very well and head back for a check up next week.

Pete is doing great too! He's getting into the swing of life-eating, sleeping and pooping with gusto. He's a sweetheart and while he didn't get my dimples, he did get David's crooked pinkies:)

David is an excellent Papá, doing so much for Pete- especially since I can't pick him up yet. I think they are bonding very well! David's smiling percentage has risen significantly- if that were possible!

Please be praying for us:

1) Obviously as we rejoice and adjust to all this newness! That we will be wise parents that seek the Lord first in all things.

2) For upcoming logistical work associated with several of our SC churches and their trips.

3) Our wonderful tenants back in our house in VA are moving out of state. We are sad to lose such great renters. Please pray that God will provide new renters by August and that we will not doubt but trust in Him.

Thanks to you all ! We love you

Good Morning!

A quick update for all of you to be praying for!

It seems little Pete is anxious to get going on life "outside"! My appointment Thursday was exciting with some fetal monitoring which showed him super healthy- and a lot of contractions I didn't know I was having...

But he's dropped and engaged and I'm at 2 cms already... so it could be any minute now.

My doc has me on meds and bed rest trying to make it to Monday which marks 37 weeks and the safe zone. Thankfully, my "mature" placenta seems to be functioning just fine which is great.

So be praying for us all, that Pete will stay healthy, that I will be patient and calm, and that David will stop staring at me like I might have the baby any second now!

We have a houseguest as well right now- Rolando. Pray that we can still be hospitable in light of the circumstances.

Hopefully my next post will me as a parent:) Love to you all~

Hey!

Things are going just fine here in Lima, Peru! Its a HOT summer here in La Molina- where the sun always shines (and the dust makes you really really wish for rain...).

I'm 34 weeks along - so a month and a half to go (according to Hoyle). Pete is baking nicely and pleasing us with a strong heartbeat. He is not pleasing my doctor who thinks he may be large. But I also learned that to him, anything over 6lbs is large. We are a small people here in Peru.

He has also caused me to graduate to wearing David's t-shirts because I don't have anything comfortable that fits. Hope I don't stretch em out too far!

David is out this week with a vision/medical/vbs/evangelism trip. Sound complicated? Good thats what I was shooting for! He has taken this team from Columbia, SC to the Huallaga Quechua of Huanuco, seeking the potential of a new Strategy Coordinator Church Partner.

They headed out yesterday and return Friday. Teammate Tommy Smith drove over from his digs in Huaraz to help out. They've got 5 great translators with them. And several members of JAWCA (a Christian quechua group who promotes literacy and Biblical training in the quechua language). There will most likely be a lot of 3 way translating going on this week- English to Spanish to Quechua.

Please pray for them this week:

Safety in travel to and from the villages each day. Protection from mudslides.

Organized and efficient ministry- this is a large team of about 21 total- thats a lot of coordinating to do...

Open hearts and honest responses to the gospel

Mutual encouragement through the medical and vbs opportunities

Guidance and leadership for the team from SC in a future partnership

Sensitivity to cultural differences (on both sides!)

Energy and clarity for translators

And most importantly- that God will be glorified. That the team will become less and He will become more.

Thank you so much for your prayers! We are as always desperate for them. We'd love to be praying for you - please send us some updates and requests so that we can specifically lift you up before the Father.

cameronanddave905@yahoo.com

Please be praying for David as he travels this week. He is taking a team from Asheville, NC on a vision trip to a segment of the Lauricocha quechua in Huanuco.

Pray for safety in travel, especially from mudslides which are always a threat this time of year. Please also pray for direction and guidance for the team as they pray through several options this week for ministry. Pray that God will show them clearly where He desires that they minister. Jeremy & Crystal Nelson and girls have flown in from the jungle for Jeremy to accompany David on the trip and drive the 2nd truck. Crystal the girls and I are holding down the fort here. Its really great to have some company while David is gone and Crystal is a wealth of knowledge for having babies in Peru- what a great resource!

Last week we had a fun time with our friends Edmin and Maura from Panao. They along with their 5 mo old son Caleb came to visit for about 5 days. They were fun to have here and tired us out in a good way! We took them to the beach (their first time to visit the beach, and Maura's first time seeing the ocean), the zoo, taught them about the washing machine, electric stove, and garage door opener! They are so sweet! They actually came in for Edmin to dub the Jesus film into his dialect of Quechua. He was the narrator and it took 2 days of hard work to get it down! We really enjoyed having them and it also pushed us to use our spanish all week. Whew- quiet a workout!

We had a healthy report from our ultrasound- Pete is growing according to plan and everything is normal. We also had our first lamaze class last week- 1 down 6 more to go ! It was challenging to keep up with such rapid and technical spanish- but all in all I think it went well and they people were very kind and the teacher is very very qualified.

Thank you all so much for praying for us! Please let us know if we can be praying for you specifically!

Hello all! 3 months later...Wow- I've fallen very much behind. Thank you for your patience!

We are doing great! We just got back to Lima after 5 wonderful weeks at home over Christmas. We enjoyed time with our families and friends, traveled to Phoenix, Columbia SC, Asheville NC, and Nashville, hit some of our old haunts, and ate. And ate. And ate. I had a doctor's appointment when the day after we got back to Peru and my doctor called me chubby. You know you live in a foreign country when your doctor is allowed to call you chubby.

Pregnancy-wise things are progressing well. Pete is growing like crazy and consequently so am I! He is kicking and moving a whole lot. We've got about 11 more weeks to go (hopefully). We have another 4D ultrasound coming up hopefully next week so we'll get to see how he's changed. We also are trying to get started on childbirth classes soon. In spanish. Pray for us.

Its summer-time here in Peru- and Lima is a whole new place! Sunny, warm, blooming and dusty. Ok- its always dusty. But its hard to describe Lima without saying dusty. The annual, national gender battle of water balloons is coming soon (though I suspect in Huanuco it has already begun). Kids are out of school and enjoying their freedom.

We've got a lot coming up for you to be praying about! David is taking out 2 vision trips in the next few months. He is traveling with a church from Asheville, NC mid Feb. He will also take a group from Columbia, SC out in early March. Apart from a few other day trips, after that he's grounded! Staying home til the baby comes:) Please be praying as our team continues to adjust to changes in the IMB. Pray that we will be effective and joyful in our work and continue to seek God's guidance and direction. Pray that we will continue to have opportunities to share Christ with those around us.

We love ya'll and we'd like to hear how we can be praying for you!

I know I've been remiss in updating- but we've had several slow weeks here and I'm not too good about writing without subject matter:)

We are doing good and enjoying spring time here in Lima. As I said things have been slow...until this past week. When it rains it pours- except that we live in a desert now and it never rains...anyway.

We had our monthly check up last Wed. And things are looking good- the baby's heartbeat was good and strong and no problems with my health. The doctor fussed because I haven't gained very much weight yet- and then lectured me on eating healthy. I hate to tell him, but with my metabolism, I ain't going to get fat on salad. We go for a 4D ultrasound the day after Thanksgiving and should be able to determine the sex of the baby then! Yay!

The rest of the week we spent in meetings with leadership talking about upcoming changes in our team and method of work. We dont' have a lot of definate answers- but we know change is coming and that God will provide what we need to do what He wants us to do. Saturday we had a crazy morning involving a power outage which made for some creative problem solving. We had two teams to meet that morning and accompany one of them to their destination to cart stuff and some folks. Except that our truck was stuck at home b/c without power we couldn't open the gate:) We figured out an alternate plan and drove the team to their ministry spot about 5 hours from Lima. It was so good to get out of the city and see some countryside again. We didn't get back until that night and then early the next morning we met our home church and saw them off for their week-long ministry trip. It was good to be working hard and getting some things done. We are planning on going on a research trip to the jungle next week with our boss Jeff to do some research and right after Thanksgiving we are driving up the coast to find some beaches! More stories and photos to come!

Tomorrow David hits the road again. Please be praying for him as he travels with a couple from Southside Baptist Church to the Tarma area. They will be in the Tarma area until next Wednesday. Pray for a sucessful trip with ample opportunities to share the gospel and to disciple growing believers in the towns.

Please pray for me as I stay home once again.

We had our 12 wk check up yesterday and everything is going fine. This baby has grown!!! I go back next week to have an ultrasound to check for Downs.

Please keep praying for us as we continue to adjust to all the changes.

Thanks to you all!