5 Minute Monthly: A Double Feature!

We’ve made it to the end of January, and it seems as though yesterday was Thanksgiving! These past two months have been filled with a great amount of newness and settling into our new routines. That’s of course because our son was born! He is the highlight of our month (and year!) and much of our lives in the past two months has revolved around situating ourselves in this new phase of life. But we’ve had a lot of other happenings too: the holidays were a wonderful time with family, time spent with our church family has been a blessing, and Aleah and I have even snuck in a Saturday date. We are so thankful for how the year ended and even more thankful for what we see the Lord actively working on in our lives!

Life happenings

I think I ought to start this section with the thing many people are eager to hear about: Our baby boy! Josiah Levi Mann was born on Christmas Day, at 6:23am. He was a very healthy birth with no complications, and Aleah was able to have Josiah according to our birth plan. We had talked for a few months leading up to his birth that being born on Christmas Day seems like it may be a hassle, but when Aleah went into labor at 9pm on Christmas Eve, we knew there was no way around it! It was especially funny considering she had a scheduled induction on the 26th, but I believe Josiah really just wanted to be an extra special Christmas gift for us this year. As we settled into our home and new life with a baby, things have been going quite well! The Lord is giving us lots of patience, and gracing us with a baby who only wakes once during the night. We are so fortunate to not need an income from Aleah, so she is able to stay home with the baby and give him her full attention. I love being able to come home from work and see his little smiles, read stories, sing songs, and enjoy just how cute he is! Josiah is such a blessing to us and we are beyond grateful to the Lord for giving us such wonderful gift.

We had some other really great things about these past two months too! Before Josiah was born, we had some quality time with Aleah’s family.We made a trip to Duluth to see Bentlyville, which was such a sight to see! It’s a really beautiful display of Christmas lights, and time with family is always great. My parents flew in to visit us over Christmas and it was really great that they came. We enjoyed some Christmas festivities with them, albeit there were some changes due to having a Christmas baby. It was really great to show them around Hayward, play games, and spend time talking together. It was really a unique year in that we got to see family from both sides on Christmas! We love our family and are so thankful for the time we got to spend with them.

Another exciting thing that’s been happening in our life is that we are growing in community with our local church. We are glad to be settling at Element Church in Hayward and thankful to be a part of this community. It is a good thing to gather together with other believers, and we really feel able to connect and be a part of the community at Element. We are really truly looking forward to what doing life together with this body of believers looks like!

Our ministry journey

Our endeavors in support raising during the month of December were a little scarce. Between the uncertainty of when our baby would arrive, holidays being so close, family being around, and most people being pretty busy, we had seldom time to make much progress. But we praise the Lord that January has been a really good month, with several new partnerships and goals being met. We had been a little hesitant to see how get-togethers might go once our baby was born, but Josiah has been great and hasn’t given us trouble. Which means we’re going on full-steam ahead! We’re so thankful for the new partnerships that have formed and look forward to more that will come!

I’ve been reading through Mark in my morning devotions, and have spent a little more time lately in Mark 11. Something that I have been dwelling on personally is what it looks like to “have faith in God,” especially according to how Jesus describes. Having faith in God that he will provide and supply our needs is to produce fruit that is used to glorify God. As I’ve considered this while we support-raise, I found that I have been relying on my own ability and making plans for what I can see. The problem with this is that my faith has not been in God in this area, but in my own proficiency. After admitting this to the Lord, I have been focusing on giving my plans and wishes up to God, that I would have faith and trust in his plans, whatever they may be.

Pray with us

Thank you for taking time to read our blog and keep up with us on our missionary journey. We are looking forward to leaving for the UK in August, and hope that you would join us in partnership if you are not already. Have a wonderful February!