We covet your prayers for our move to Ethiopia and transition as missionaries. We are trusting in the Lord's leading in our lives and hope that you will join us in following us on this adventure!
Peace and blessings!
Friday, January 1, 2016
apeaceofourlife.com
If you happen to still check up on us here, we have moved over to apeaceofourlife.com. Please join us there as we are praying and preparing daily for our move to Soddo, Ethiopia in the Fall of this year. You can find out more information about our journey ahead, as well as see what we are up to in our day to day lives by visiting our Instagram link, instagram.com/apeaceofourlife.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Alexandria Claire
Our beautiful redheaded, blue eyed babe was born today. Our third girl to firmly outnumber our boys. Laid back and sweet, she has been a joyful addition to our family. Our hearts are overwhelmed with love for her, and thank God for so sweetly putting this family of six together.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Top Secret!
Last week we found out some exciting news! At 18 weeks, I went in for the sonogram of our sweet new baby on the way. We asked the tech to put the gender pictures in a sealed envelope so we could find out together that night with Brian as a family.
The kids were so great during my midwives' appointment and the sonogram appointment, so we went out for lunch and had a sweet treat afterward. So thankful for their patience and good behavior!
Once we got home, we had several hours to wait for Brian. So hard to do with such big news so close at hand!! It was a good lesson in patience for everyone!
There was so much anticipation as we waited...
And waited some more!!
Brian ended up working later than we had hoped, and after waiting an hour past bedtime, I ended up having to put the kids to bed. We were expecting to have to wait another day until we could find out together when I got a text from Brian that he was on his way home. I got the kids back up and we excitedly waited a few more minutes...
until we could find out together that we are having another...
GIRL!!!
We are so thankful the Lord has chosen to add another sweet little girl to our family! We are thankful for her health and pray that she continues to grow and develop into a beautiful little girl. We cannot wait to meet her and see what richness she adds to our lives. Now we try our best to wait patiently until she arrives in June!!
Thursday, January 1, 2015
A New Year
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23
Lamentations 3:22-23
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| Fitton Green, Corvallis, Oregon |
As a new year unfolds, we are anxious at all that it holds for us. Six months of residency and then we begin biding our time until we move our family to Soddo, Ethiopia. We have been reflecting on all that God has done for us as one year slipped away and a new one has taken its place: the beautiful place we have been able to call home for the last four and a half years, the training Brian has received that is preparing him to serve at Soddo Christian Hospital, the friends we have been so blessed to have shared these last few years with, the growing of our family, the stretching of our faith that has brought us to a deeper level of trust in the One who has made all of these things possible. We feel like we are on the downhill slope of this phase of life before we head to a year of level plain where the Lord has spoken rest and refreshment over us in preparation for Soddo.
A lot will change for us in the next year or so. A lot of that time is still uncertain. We will be welcoming a new baby, moving from Oregon, Brian will be starting his first year as an attending, and we will be preparing to move to the other side of the world. So many details are uncertain, but what we are sure of is the Lord has laid out a plan for us and we are ready and willing to follow. His faithfulness on the journey is always the most beautiful sight. We wait with anticipation for all that He has yet to show us.
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| Soddo, Ethiopia |
Monday, December 15, 2014
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
Highlights of 2014
February - Brian traveled to Africa to the country of Ethiopia for 3 weeks where God confirmed the call for our family to move there indefinitely in the Fall of 2016 to work at Soddo Christian Hospital. God has been stirring in our hearts for the last several years, and we are excited to be preparing to serve there!
Abigail celebrated her 4th birthday this month too!
March & April - We temporarily moved to Visalia, California for 8 weeks to be with Brian while he did his sports medicine rotation. It was also a wonderful bonding experience for 5 people in a very small apartment! We had so much fun!
Elisabeth also turned 7 while we were there, and Brian and Autumn celebrated 9 years of marriage!
June - We got to be in Texas for the birth of our nephew/cousin! It was definitely a highlight of our year!
July - Brian started his 5th and LAST year of residency!! We are so proud of his hard work and dedication since beginning medical school almost 9 years ago!! It has been a long road, but we know it is God’s calling placed on his life and we love to hear how God uses him in so many people’s lives on a daily basis. And we are excited for God to use his skill as we move to Ethiopia to help the people there who are so in need of physicians.
September - Brian and Autumn traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina to interview with Samaritan’s Purse and their World Medical Mission ministry’s two year Post-Residency Program, and we were accepted!! It is a program for physicians just completing residency to serve at a mission hospital with other experienced missionary physicians. They are such a great organization! Ethiopia requires that he work in the states for one year after residency before he can obtain a medical license there, so we will be heading to the mission field once he has completed that task in the Fall of 2016. We have more information about serving in Ethiopia on our family blog at apeaceofourlife.blogspot.com.
Elisabeth started 2nd grade this month (we are still homeschooling and LOVE it!) and Abigail and John are having a lot of fun with preschool!
October - John turned 3!
Brian and Autumn got to go back to North Carolina to Asheville to the Prescription for Renewal medical missions conference. We were very encouraged to meet with so many experienced missionary physicians and their spouses. It was our second time attending this conference, and it has been a pivotal experience for us both times.
We also traveled to Texas and got to meet two of our nephews/cousins home from Uganda! Such a sweet and FUN time to be with them after the long wait to join their family! We are blessed to be an extended part of that family!
We also found out that we are expecting Baby #4!!! We are so anxious to welcome him or her in mid-June! Such a sweet gift to our family!!
November - We had a fun homeschool month of learning all about the Pilgrims and the first settlers of our country as we led up to Thanksgiving. We celebrated by hosting Thanksgiving with old friends and new here in Oregon! It has become one of our favorite traditions while living here!
December - This month has been full of Christmas music, a freshly cut tree, lights, decorations, and yummy treats! It is one of our favorite times of year as celebrate the hope we have because Christ came for us! We are looking forward to spending a cold, sunny Christmas with family in Texas for the first time since 2009!
We hope and pray you are well! We are so blessed that you are part of our life!
Love, The Hodges
Brian, Autumn, Elisabeth, Abigail, John, and Baby
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Walk for Water Ethiopia
Today we were able to participate in a 5k event called Walk for Water Ethiopia. The event was an effort to support drilling wells for clean water in our town's sister city of Gondar, Ethiopia. We walked about the same distance that the people of Gondar walk each day to find water and haul it back to their homes. We are humbled by the new perspective we've been given, and so thankful for the ability to help in some small way.
We were also able to learn more about water through different experiments, taste injera (an Ethiopian flatbread) for the first time, listen to Ethiopian music, meet new friends, and learn more about Ethiopia. We had a great morning learning more about the country we will soon call home.
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Moving Forward
Brian and I received an email last week that we have been chosen to move forward and take the next steps in the application process for World Medical Mission's Post Residency Program!
We will be flying to North Carolina to do two 50 minute interviews on September 5th, and we pray that that will lead to acceptance into the program!
As always, we would be most grateful for your prayers as we pursue what God is leading us to do.
We are so excited to go and serve Him by serving the people in Soddo, Ethiopia,
and pray that we will be able to do that through being a part of the Post Residency Program!
Friday, July 4, 2014
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Ethiopia
Brian has been home from Ethiopia for just over a month now. About four days after he got home we left for California, where he will be working until May. Blogging about Ethiopia was put on the back burner as we packed up for our two month trip here and have tried our best to adjust and figure out a good routine here. Although we've been so busy and haven't yet blogged about his trip, his time in Ethiopia has been on the forefront of our hearts and minds.
Brian's time in Ethiopia was amazing and it did confirm for us that the Lord wants us there. His time at the hospital was eye opening and tugged at his heart. He enjoyed everyone he worked with, as well as all of the patients. Everyone was so friendly and kind. The spiritual environment is something he has longed for as a doctor. To have Christ in the center of everything that was done at the hospital was like finding an oasis in the desert. His job in the States can be incredibly spiritually dry, so to have the freedom to practice medicine the way he desires was amazing.
Below are pictures (LOTS of them!!) from his trip. Most of the ones he took were surgery pictures, but I have spared you those! The pictures below give a great idea of what it was like there. He cannot wait to go back. We are all anxious to go. In fact, we have officially applied for the Samaritan's Purse World Medical Mission Post-Residency Program. We will be hearing back from them in the next few months as to whether or not we have been accepted. We have complete peace about God leading us to Ethiopia and how and when He will get us there. We are excited about the Post-Residency Program though and can't wait to hear back from them!
In about a year and a half the kids and I will be able to see all these places with Brian first hand. We can't wait!!
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| On the way through Addis Ababa from the airport, heading to Soddo. |
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| Scenery from Addis Ababa to Soddo. |
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| Taxis...called a "bajaj" |
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| A traditional Ethiopian home. |
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| A young girl driving a cart with fresh water. |
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| Getting closer to Soddo. It is very green there. |
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| More traditional homes. |
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| Front gate of the hospital. |
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| Entering the hospital gates. |
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| The hospital grounds on the way to his housing. |
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| Some of the housing for the Soddo missionaries and their families. |
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| Dr. and Mrs. Anderson. Dr. Anderson is Soddo's only Orthopaedic Surgeon. |
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| Lots of banana trees! |
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| Brian with some of the residents from the hospital in Addis Ababa, and another man visiting from Norway. |
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| The view from the missionary homes on the hospital grounds. |
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| Brian had a great time connecting with this little boy that he took care of! |
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| Feisty and fun! |
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| One of the hospital hallways. |
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| Patients waiting to be treated. |
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| Patient rooms. |
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| Missionary housing within the hospital gates. |
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| The playground shared by the missionary families. |
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| Playground |
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| View from the missionary homes. |
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| Wednesday morning Chapel attended by all hospital staff. |
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| Nurses posing for a picture with one of their patients. |
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| Thursday morning Bible Study with operating room and clinic staff. |
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| Brian with the operating room nurses and scrub techs. |
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| The ER waiting room. |
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| View from the hospital grounds. |
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| Brian's ride to the airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital city. |
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| I Belong to JESUS! |
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| Brian's driver to Addis Ababa. |
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| Marketplace on the way to Addis Ababa. |
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| Herds of animals were all over the roadsides, and not uncommonly in the road. The vans just swerve around them and keep going! |
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| Horse or donkey cart taxis were a popular mode of transportation. |
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| Night lights in Addis Ababa. |
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| Brian operating with a headlight...he loved his time working in Soddo!! |
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