We need your prayers

This is a picture from our ultrasound of little Lily Ruth Kongaika. She is a girl. Eryn was the only one who guessed right (okay and you Kelly =) ). We all thought she would be a boy. We had our ultrasound almost two weeks ago and at the ultrasound we found out that our sweet baby has serious complications. She has spina bifida. This is a neural tube defect that happens in about one in one thousand babies in the U.S. There are varying degrees and hers appears pretty severe. The opening in her spine is large. Because of the spina bifida she is also suffering from hydrocephalus or water on the brain. The brain is being pulled down in the back and fluid is pooling there. Another complication from the open spine is that she has clubbed feet. This is due to the lack of nerve activity going to her legs and feet. We were told in the ultrasound that this is considered a high-risk pregnancy and will have to be closely monitored. I will most likely have to have a c-section close to my due-date (Dec. 23rd) and the baby will have to go directly into surgery.

We have felt very humbled by all of the news of our baby girl. We want so badly for her to have a chance at life with the fullest possible mental and physical capacities. And at this time we feel completely and deeply dependent on the Lord.

I had felt a certain urgency and spiritual prompting to have this child and before deciding to have her we fasted and prayed together to be sure it was right. After receiving an answer we felt sure it was what the Lord wanted for our family at this time. Considering all of this now we feel sure that the Lord is in charge and that He is going to guide our footsteps through this difficult time.

We feel so grateful to have so many friends and family members supporting us through prayer and fasting. I hope that we can continue to count on all of you for your support through your faith and prayers. We will try to give updates as time goes on.