Baby Ellie Has Arrived!

That's right! Our family has now officially increased by one new member, and the world has been afflicted with one more Hauck!  =) Eliana ("Ellie") Joan Hauck was born on Saturday morning (7/25, easy to remember: 7 = 2 + 5!) at 02:23 am, weighing in at 7 lbs 2 oz (3.23 Kg), and measuring 20.5 in (52 cm).

Her name Eliana means "God has responded". This pregnancy has kept us on our knees from beginning to end, and God has taught us time and again of his utter faithfulness and abundance. He doesn't just provide, he abounds in kindness to us through Jesus Christ, because of his death and resurrection for us. Every request we made for this child has been answered; many times as there was no other possible way. We finished moving out on Thursday, Sanny got a good rest on Thursday night, we got to meet up with friends we were planning on for a while Friday night, and then shortly thereafter went into labor! This provides me an extra week with my new daughter and with Sanny to help more with the transition. We are speechless and yet filled with praise to God. He is amazing in his kindness toward undeserved sinners like us.

Her middle name Joan is a tribute to my Mom, who had the same middle name. We hope that our daughter will indeed carry after her wonderful and beloved grandmother.

Details for those who are interested:

This time was way different from Micah's birth. On Wednesday, Sanny's doctor had made a passing comment that maybe the baby would be born Saturday. We were very happy to hear that, but a little skeptical since the due date was 7/31. Friday morning Sanny was not dilated at all and so made an appointment to see the doctor next Wednesday as regular, needless to say, a little bummed. So Friday night came around, and we were at a friend's house for dinner. Sanny was starting to feel contractions regularly but they weren't very painful. By the time we had driven home (9:15 or so), it was starting to get more painful. We started tracking them at 10, and then went on for an hour at about a minute long, 3-7 minutes apart. We called the doctor and he hesitantly told us to go into the hospital and get checked out. (The hospital is actually in San Francisco, so it takes about 45 min to get there)

So, we called Junny, she came over, we left and got to the hospital a little past midnight. They checked Sanny out and she was already at 7 cm! By the time they finished some paperwork, set up an IV, got us to the room we were going to give birth in, and got the Epidural (anesthetic) in, it was around 2 am, and she was fully dilated (10 cm) and ready to start pushing! Ellie was born much shortly thereafter. Sanny had virtually gone through the whole delivery without Epidural, since it came so late and hardly had time to take effect. She did an absolutely wonderful job and is getting some rest now. It was a super speedy delivery, especially compared to the marathon last time. =)

Yesterday I took Sanny's mom and Micah to go see Sanny last night and we ate dinner together. Micah seemed pretty happy to see his baby sister, and he kept saying "baby". He was very gentle, wanting to kiss her a lot and rub her head gently; this coming from the boy who often bangs on walls and on bowls—Sanny and I were very impressed! =D Hopefully he takes well to his sister!

We love you all very much. We are thankful for your continued love and support! =)

. . . and now for the pictures:

Ship Ahoy!

This post is probably a little belated for many, but I suppose it is important to make the news official and also for those who we have not been able to notify yet. (Don't feel less important, life has just been crazy lately!)

Sanny and I, and the kids of course, are heading back to Taiwan pretty soon. I will be returning to pastor the church plant there that our church here in Berkeley started a few years ago. Yes, this does mean my seminary education will be put on hold, but the church there is in need; plans changed other than we had anticipated, and it turned out to be us to head back there. I hope to continue my studies (maybe one class a quarter) in the meantime on my own, yet I do hope that in the future I will be able to finish. . .I just don't know when that would be.

There is no time limit to our stay this time. This will be the fourth change in leadership this church will have had in six years, and we hope it to be the last until one of the brother's there is ready to take it over.

It is a daunting task. I am very excited and sobered at the same time.

We will definitely miss all our family and friends in the States. We will miss our church, miss the close friends we have there, as close even as brothers and sisters because of Christ. We will miss our family dearly, especially now that we have kids, we grieve to take them away from them. Yet the call of Christ is greater than our temporal comfort, and though we must now part, we hope to have left an impact in your lives as you have in ours.

As many people ask, "What about Sanny's pregnancy?" Good question. I will be leaving 8/10, and Sanny is scheduled to give birth on 7/31. The plan is that I would be here for the first week and a half, and Sanny will stay in America for the first 5 weeks after delivery for recovery and for the baby. Don't worry, her mom will be with her to take care of her. The reason for the rush is that the visa of the guy who is currently there expires on 8/3. Just in case you were wondering why the rush, there is a method to the madness.

A truck just came to our place this morning to take away all our stuff which we've been frantically packing the last two weeks, to ship it to Taiwan (literally). I now sit in an empty apartment finally able to breathe and relax after the hectic packing.

::sigh of relief::

This sudden change has brought about many opportunities to talk to people about Christ and his universal, global call to repentance and life. I find that if I answer people, "I'm going to be a missionary," they will inevitably respond, "Good for you!" If I say, "I'm going because people need to repent and believe in Jesus or else they'll perish," the answer is not quite the same.

Others interpret our going as me "pursuing what I love." That's not what it is. If it was, it would be very selfish to ask my family to uproot and move just to do what I "really want to do"!

It is about the glory of Jesus Christ. It is about the salvation of souls. It is about the care and nurturing of his people at that church already. I am thrilled to be involved in such great work, but it's not about me, it's all about Christ.

If you know the Lord, please do petition on my behalf and for the church as well (EBCT, www.ebct.org.tw). If not, I hope you see the urgency and authority of the call to repent, and bow the knee to the King of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Taking Every Opportunity

Our son Micah just turned one year old this Saturday. Aunty Junny came over and we had a cupcake for Micah with a candle in it, and we sang Happy Birthday. It was really fun. We also bought a couple of cakes to bring to church the next day to share this event with our church. It was also fun. =)

It is amazing how much Micah has grown in the past year. It's hard to believe that we've only had him a year! January 24, 2008 seems so long ago. Micah has become more and more a part of our lives as he has become more and more "alive" (for lack of a better word). He has more and more personality, more of a will, more expressions, more of a say. He seems much more a member of our family now than he did then.

People ask me sometimes what it is like to be a father. I tell them that I didn't really do a whole lot at all for the first several months. When they're first born they just eat and sleep. Sanny is an at-home mom and so she does most of the work of taking care of Micah. I didn't have a whole lot of direct input into his life. Most of my ministry to him is indirect, via Sanny. It was my job to love her and minister to her, make sure she is well, and in turn I know Micah will then also be well.

Things have taken a bit of a turn lately, however. I was able to spend more time with Micah this winter break than I have ever, I think. Or at least, I feel a whole lot closer to Micah now than I ever have. There is a lot more direct involvement I have in his life, due to the fact that he is growing. It is a great journey, and I enjoy being a father very much. I long to be faithful in passing on the baton of faith, in leaving a legacy of faith, of utter dependance upon the Lord.

One thing I have been realizing lately is the need to take every opportunity available to love and teach Micah. This shouldn't have been a surprise to me if I knew Deut 6:4-9 better. But I am realizing that there are many opportunities to train and instruct which can easily be bypassed in the name of expediency. If he is grabbing at my Bible when he's on my lap, I can just move the Bible out of his reach, or I can tell him "No" and discipline him if he disobeys. If he is going into the closet, I can treat him like a pest and just close the closet door, or I can leave it open and tell him not to go in. There must be hundreds of such opportunities on a daily basis that parents have to instruct, teach, train their children, many of which are sadly bypassed, neglected, lost because of other "more important" things.

I am beginning to catch a glimpse of the tip of the iceburg that is parenting. It is daunting, and yet exciting. We have only just begun. (If you didn't know yet, Sanny and I are expecting a second child this July.) Please pray for Sanny and I to continue to love the Lord ourselves, and to take advantage of every opportunity, to redeem the time for the glory of Christ.

Please do continue to keep my family in prayer. We are in need of it as ever. Seminary is challenging and rigorous, but it is awesome. I love it. I love the subjects, I love the teachers, I love the students. It is like a feast. =D

Have a wonderful week in the Lord!