Bienvenidos al Mundo

Welcome to the world, Samuel Jose Duran. On Monday at 7:19 PM Samuel made his entrance in this (out-utero) world. He weighed in at 6 pounds 13 ounces and measured in at 19.5 inches long. He has some dark hair and is such a miracle. Papa, Mama, Big Sister and Baby are doing well. I will post the story later, but a little bit behind the name... We have always really loved the name Samuel (we are pronouncing it the Spanish way -- Sam-well) because of its significance in the Bible. In the book of I Samuel Hannah pleads with the Lord for a child and He gives her Samuel, whom she then dedicates back to God and His service. She says, "For this boy I have prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him" in I Samuel 27. This is definitely the beat in our heart for our Samuel as well. Then, a few chapters later, Eli's sons are disobedient and the Lord calls upon Samuel to tell Eli what is going to happen to his sons because of their behavior. Eli's response is something that we have striven to replicate, a response of utter trust in what the Lord has planned, "It is the Lord, let Him do what seems good to Him." (I Samuel 3:18) With each miscarriage between Katrina and Samuel we have pursued this attitude, "It is the Lord, let Him do as He sees fit." So, that is why we have chosen Samuel for our son's first name. Then, onto Jose. Panchito's middle name is Jose, which is Joseph in Spanish for those of you who don't know. This year both Panchito and I are reading through the Bible and we have both again been impressed by the life and attitudes of Joseph as he was wrongly treated by so many people and situations. At the end of Genesis after Joseph and his brothers have reconciled, Joseph says to them, "As for me, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result." (Genesis 50:20) Our hearts echo this as well. Through the course of this "journey" (trying for another baby, losing three after Katrina, dealing with the diagnosis of a clotting disorder and receiving treatment for that during this pregnancy) we could have easily believed that only "evil" would come from it and yet we stand firm on the truth that what the world and Satan meant for evil, God meant for good to bring about this present result. We are exclaiming again, "Great is Thy faithfulness!"