Daniel's Health and Citizenship

As we mentioned in our last letter, Daniel's Crohn's disease has been getting worse throughout the year. In August, things took a severe turn for the worse and Daniel was hospitalized for 10 days shortly after his citizenship interview. It was a very scary and difficult time for us as we faced big decisions about our future as well as Daniel's serious health condition. Fortunately, he finally started to get better and has been on a slow road to recovery this past month. He has started taking a new medication, Humira, and the doctors are very hopeful that this could really be a game changer for him.

We are so grateful as we testify to God's faithfulness in Daniel's citizenship interview. In spite of being quite sick, his interview went very smoothly and he passed with flying colors! He was told that his citizenship ceremony would be scheduled sometime in the 2 months following his interview. He asked the officer for a delay in the ceremony, and although the man was very understanding and said he'd see if he could do anything, he wasn't able to give any guarantees about it. So, although we have not yet been notified of a ceremony date, we must assume that it will likely happen in the next few weeks. Because we are required to leave the country within 45 days of the ceremony and because of the impending due date of our little girl (11/23), our lawyer strongly recommended that we should plan to go to Mexico while I (Cassandra) can still travel. 

Mexico, Here we Come!

With so many different and difficult situations going on and a lot of unknowns, it has been very hard for us to decide about what to do in regards to Mexico and where to have this baby. However, as we've prayed, sought the Lord, and sought the wisdom and advice of others, we've felt God asking us to take a step of faith and trust Him to make the way clear for us to go to Mexico. There are many details that we're still working out (where to live, who will deliver our baby, how Daniel will get his medicine in Mexico, etc.), so we're really asking for your prayer support as we take this step of faith. What we DO know is that Lydia and I will leave on Oct. 19th and Daniel will meet us on the 29th (due to some complications in getting his medicine refill). We will be living a couple hours outside of Mazatlan, up in the mountains of Durango. We will give birth there, work with the YWAM base in Durango, and continue to serve Vietnam in the same way we have in the States primarily through translation work. Please pray for us as we make this huge transition and trust the Lord for so many details to be worked out.

Going Away Party Fundraiser

Before we leave, we want to have a going away party in order to see as many people as possible. This will be a multipurpose party - goodbye party, baby shower for baby girl #2, and fundraiser. As we go to Mexico, we will have a lot of big expenses that we were not expecting. We are trying to raise $5000 to help cover these expenses: $2000 for giving birth, $2000 for medicine/medical bills (since we won't have insurance while we're there), $800 for plane tickets, and $200 for a double stroller and baby expenses. We are also looking to increase our monthly support as our family grows. We are asking all of you to prayerfully consider giving either a one-time donation or committing to support us monthly to help us be able to continue in missions and do all that the Lord has called us to do (details about how to give are at the bottom of this email). You can also check out our GoFundMe page HERE.

DATE: October 16th, 2021
TIME: 2-5pm
LOCATION: 4588 Bloomberg Ln, Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076
RSVP to Cassandra at 763-339-6705 or gsprincess88@yahoo.com