A new addition to the family

We have a baby on the way! Lívia and I are happy to announce a new addition to our family: Alice Pruitt. Lívia is nearing her 7th month in the pregnancy and we couldn’t be more excited. Everything is going well and it looks like we will have a big energetic baby pretty soon!

This past Saturday we had a wonderful time celebrating this gift from God! We had Alice’s baby/diaper shower (here we call it a ‘tea of diapers’, doesn’t sound appetizing!). Usually, it’s an event just for women, but we did something a little different and threw a lunch for family, friends and church members. Elba, my brother Justin’s wife, was the mastermind behind the decoration. We had around a hundred people attend. Some were friends from Lívia’s college, others were old friends of mine from High School, and most were from church. For many of our friends, this was their first contact with the church. So we were very excited to see unborn Alice bring so many people together and being used by God.

While we have so many reasons to be thankful, we would like to share with you a prayer request. Please keep in your prayers that God would protect Lívia and our baby, especially through these remaining three months of pregnancy. Our state of Pernambuco is currently in a state of emergency for a disease affecting newborn children: microcephaly (incomplete brain development). There have been 500 cases detected so far, and some expect it will hit the 2000 mark by the end of the year. This is unheard of in Brazil, and in any other country. All signs point to a virus transmitted through a mosquito – a virus that was brought over from Africa when we hosted the World Cup last year. A team of American doctors from the CDC came down last week to investigate. Please remember Lívia and other pregnant mothers in your prayers.