Our New Baby

In May of this year,
we were surprised
by God's Grace.

We were all so excited about this pregnancy,

and were filled with hope over this new life and soul being knit together for God's glory.

 We had no idea that this was going to be

the beginning of a trial for our family.

Two months into the pregnancy, I began hemorrhaging heavily, and found myself in the emergency room. 

And despite everything that happened with Baby Joshua's pregnancy, I was certain that we had lost this baby. 

This time...


I was the one

who was wrong.

I was diagnosed with another subchorionic hematoma, and given a 50/50 chance of carrying the baby to term. 

The clot was as big as the baby, and I found that when I stood up or walked around for any length of time,

I began to bleed heavily - so I stayed down. 

Any of you who have experienced this condition know that the amount of blood loss that comes with it simply makes it hard to believe that a baby would be capable of surviving it.  

During this time, our Bible reading group happened to be focused on Luke 8. I took so much comfort in reading the account of the hemorrhaging woman who was healed in an instant.  

 I was spending so much time laying down, unable to get up and mother my children in the way I am used to, and I just kept closing my eyes and reaching for the hem of His garment.

As sick as I was those first few months,

I was strengthened in knowing that Jesus not only saw but ORDAINED my affliction, and that the outcome was in His hands.

After 27 weeks of waiting,

we saw our collective prayers answered.

The clot had entirely dissapeared.  

The baby has continued to grow,
and by God's grace...  

we are now 34 weeks pregnant!

We have no idea what the gender is, either!

We are overjoyed - but in retrospect - this has been the hardest season of our lives as a family.

And yet everything we have experienced this year has been a reminder that we live in a fallen world, broken by sin and suffering, and that all of creation is groaning for our Savior's return. (Romans 8:22)

Each and every one of us has broken God's Law, given in the Ten Commandments, and by God's standards we will fall short.

The entire creation is fallen, and we need a Savior - because the wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23)

And so He came, wrapped Himself in flesh, lived a sinless life, and willingly died the death we deserved (John 1:14), bearing our sins upon Himself. 

He rose again, defeating death, so that He can offer us the greatest gift that has ever been given... 

...a full pardon from all of our sins, given freely
when we call upon the name of the Lord in repentance, trusting Him alone for salvation.
  (Mark 1:15)

Friends, the baby who was born in that stable
is not a baby anymore.

He is the Risen King, ruling at the right hand of God in Heaven, and He is coming back to judge us by our own righteousness (and the Bible says we all fall short) or by His own perfectly imparted righteousness.

We need to take cover in the Cross.
(1 Corinthians 15)

In this crumbling world where babies die, children are abandoned by their parents, and everything spins out of our control - God has given us a refuge in the Gospel...

and a promise to make all things new.

A star pierces the darkness, 
lighting the way to the Savior.

The weary world rejoices...

Our family wishes each of you
a Merry Christmas.

If we can pray for you, let us know: MRoepnack@gmail.com. 

Local friends - all the pretty pictures were taken by our dear friend at Alyssa Fenty Photography:
alyssafentyphotography@gmail.com

Check out this short video from Living Waters about the true meaning of Christmas:

Related posts: 

Baby Joshua

Christmas Nativity 2014

- Missy

Update on the May Family

We want to thank those who shared Cody and Kimberly's story here, here, and here.  Kimberly and the children were also featured in several news reports, including this video interview.   

Cody was an evangelist and a missionary to our country, and he left a huge impact on his children. 

This week, they traveled to stand in their father's shoes in Texas, where a bill has been introduced that would abolish abortion in that state. Most of you already know that Cody was dedicated to this cause.  

Cody's testimony has impacted so many people beyond his own 7 arrows, and I know Kimberly cherishes hearing those stories. 

 There is no way to measure that impact this side of the Kingdom, but we do have an update on the monthly commitments.  

At this point, donors have committed to a total of around $1,500 a month.  ($18,000 annually).

  I am asking everyone to keep sharing, and to pray about becoming a donor and a prayer warrior for this family.  Cody was an evangelist, and it a great privilege of the Body to care for evangelists, widows, and orphans.  I want to leave you with this passage from Matthew 25:  

"Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink?  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and cloth you?  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 

'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least 

of these my brothers, you did it to me.'"

Matthew 25:37-40

THREE WAYS TO HELP CODY'S FAMILY:

1.  Click here to read and share Cody's story.

2.  Click here to sponsor Kimberly May and her children 
with monthly, recurring donations.

3.  Click here to give a one-time donation. 

"Truly, Truly, I say unto you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, 
it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit."
John 12:24

Though He Slay Me

(Email me directly at MRoepnack@gmail.com with any questions about supporting this family or the fund)

Last month, our friend Cody May drowned in a lake within sight of his wife Kimberly 

and their seven children.

This world has lost a man of which it was not worthy, 

and my dear friend Kimberly and her children are mourning this loss deeply.

Cody was an open-air evangelist and an abortion abolitionist.  His life was BUILT around making Jesus known, defending the fatherless 

and speaking up for the voiceless.  

This life - wordly things - Cody counted it all loss 

for the eternal worth of knowing Jesus Christ.

Cody was also an adoptive father to children 

from Connecticut, DRC, and Ethiopia.

  He is survived by these precious children - 
six of whom just experienced the loss of their father for the SECOND TIME.  

The May family had just moved to Texas a few days prior to Cody's death.  

Several of their children have special needs, 

and they were looking for a fresh start and new opportunities. 

Cody was transitioning between jobs, 

and at this moment in time - he had no life insurance.   

As a larger adoptive community, 

we have learned that family PRESERVATION is right there in James 1:27, 

and that sponsoring endangered children in other countries is such a crucial part of orphan care.  

Orphan prevention and family preservation 

ARE widow and orphan care.  

Inspired by other child sponsorship programs, 

we have set up a special tax-deductible fund through a 501c for Kimberly and her children through Bethesda Family Ministries. 

We are asking people to prayerfully consider 

becoming MONTHLY SPONSORS for Kimberly and the children by until adulthood, 

or until no longer needed. 

In terms of impact, no gift is too small.  Consider this:

A $10/month commitment over the next 15 years 

could buy college books for Cody's boys. 

A $20/month commitment over the next 15 years would be $3600 invested in the future of these children and the preservation of this family!!!

200 people committed to just $5/month equals $1,000 of reliable income.  

Four of our children were brought home 

by mostly small donations from people all over the world - it adds up!

Unlike other sponsorship programs, a massive 95% of your contribution (or more, depending on which form of payment  you choose) will go directly to Kimberly and the children.  The best child sponsorship programs normally run at about 80% down to as low as 50% of direct-to-program costs, so this fund is truly exceptional. 

Additionally, the person administrating this fund has been a local, trusted, and personal friend of my family for many years.  

  

I believe that knowing that there was a dependable amount of support coming in monthly would be such a blessing to Kimberly.  

It will enable her to make plans as she faces the future 

without her best friend and her earthly provider.   

Please pray about this, and consider committing to the May family.  We talk so much about supporting widows and orphans - we treasure this cause because God always has.  

We love because He first loved us.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~THREE WAYS YOU CAN HELP~~~

1) SHARE  

We are counting on the community to do the advertising, 

so please SHARE this post on Facebook 

or SHARE this fundraiser link.

2)  GIVE  

For MONTHLY Sponsorship or ONE TIME GIFTS, 

Click HERE 

 

3)  SPEAK UP  

We are looking for 20+ bloggers to feature this post as a guest post.  

Please contact me directly at MRoepnack@gmail.com 

with any questions.