On Sunday morning at 6:42am, our son Adam and daughter-in-law Sofia welcomed Joanna Grace into the world.

She weighed in at 6 lbs, 5 oz, 19.5 inches long, and had an unusually easy entry into the world, nearly two weeks before her due date. Adam and Sofia stayed at home until 5am, then went to the birthing center and Joanna was born about an hour later. She and Sofia are both doing well, and Adam is loving holding and caring for his new baby girl.

Adam, Sofia, and Joanna will spend the next couple months getting to know each other and adjusting to their new life together. Then they will head to the country of Georgia in Eastern Europe for an eight month missionary training school with Radical Ministries.

God’s hand has been on Adam’s family each step of the way, finishing their academic pursuits, aligning them with a great mission organization, providing financially and giving them the partners they need to fulfill their mission endeavors, and now bringing Joanna Grace into the world safely and well. We celebrate God’s gift of life, and praise the Lord for His grace and goodness in the arrival of our first grandbaby. We continue to pray God will make this young family’s paths straight as they trust in the Lord. Here is my prayer I shared with them yesterday:

Our gracious heavenly Father, we thank you and praise you for the precious gift of life you have given Adam and Sofia in the person of Joanna Grace. Thank you for your kindness in a smooth delivery. Thank you that she is healthy and has been blessed with two people who will be wonderful parents for her. May you grant wisdom, courage, and grace to Adam and Sofia to raise Joanna well, and may she place her faith in you at an early age and follow you all the days of her life. Bind this young family together under your Holy Spirit, protecting them from all enemy attack, and strengthening them for the calling you have given them. In the name of King Jesus we pray, Amen.