Visit to NTBI and Albion

  Last week we had a wonderful time reconnecting with some old friends as well as meeting some new ones during our visit to Albion and Jackson, Michigan.

NTBI Volunteer Week:
  A few months ago, Malachi was in contact with the PPD (maintenance department) at New Tribes Bible Institute (NTBI) in Jackson, MI.Several of the guys working on PPD are being transferred elsewhere or retiring, which means there is a huge need for maintenance guys there. They wanted Malachi to come down and volunteer for a week to see if his skill set was what they needed to fill in some of the gaps. So we prayed about it and decided that we needed to be open to the possibility of going there to work for several years before going  to Missions Training Center (MTC) in the fall if that was where the Lord wanted us. We won't hear anything for a few weeks as some of the staff are on vacation right now, but we are praying that when we do hear back from the staff that God will make it clear whether we are to continue to try to go to MTC this fall or whether we should apply as associate missionaries with New Tribes Mission so that Malachi can help out at NTBI for a few years first. Please pray!!!

Asher with our good friends Wooh-ah and Enoch

  While we were there, we had some great opportunities to get to know some of the new students at NTBI as well as see some old and very dear friends. We loved being able to spend some time with TJ (Kara's brother, who is a senior at NTBI right now) and hear how he is doing and what God is teaching him.

Malachi and "Uncle TJ" Playing "catch" with Shiloh, her favorite game

 We also had the opportunity to go to church, at First Baptist in Albion MI and to catch up with our friends there! We enjoyed going to a date night hosted by our church on Valentines and the opportunity to spend time with friends!

Our Kiddos:
  Shiloh is 19 months old, and a little stinker!She loves to make people laugh, to visit people and to get into mischief. She is cutting her 4 canines right now and also fighting an ear infection, but even though she is miserable, she was chasing Malachi around the house yesterday yelling like a little banshee. She wants to help us with everything we are doing and doesn't miss anything that goes on.

Shiloh "reading" books to Asher

  Asher is 4 months old on Wednesday and is a very chunky, happy baby. He smiles as soon as Malachi or Shiloh comes into sight and whenever he's laying on the ground he's constantly kicking and squirming. He has just started to take an interest in grabbing things, he loves to pull my hair and grab at toys.

We will keep you posted! Thanks for praying!
Malachi, Karalise, Shiloh, and Asher Pratt

a little "break"

  These past few months have been crazy for the Pratt family. Malachi working a ton trying to get ahead before a slow winter. Karalise stuck in bed for half the summer trying to make it to full term before she had Asher; then having him and trying to chase after Shiloh and recover from labor. Plus all the work we have been doing on our house so that it will be ready to sell by the time we leave for MTC next summer...etc. Needless to say, tension has been building in our household. So this weekend we decided to take a vacation. Malachi took Monday and Tuesday off from work and we headed south to Indiana for a couple of days with our church family and friends from First Baptist of Mentone, Indiana, for some much needed reconnecting and fellowship. On Wednesday however it is back to the daily grind. With this comes good news though; the winter season is upon us, and as a lawn and landscape professional there won't be as much on Malachi's plate in the coming weeks. He will be doing some plow driving this winter and since he will have some more time he will finally be able to get back to his internship at our church. We are hoping to make a few trips this winter and hope to get a chance to see all of you. For now we will leave you with just a little update on the kids.

Shiloh: Shi is growing like a weed. She's up and running now and has been for months. She is beautiful like her mom and a bit on the fiery side like her daddy,which should make for some rather interesting years to come. She is on the verge of talking on a more than just "mama" and "dada" basis, and is becoming quite the little helper, filling her role as big sister quite well.

Asher: Ash is a brute. He is already half  his sisters size at almost 22 inches and right around 10 lbs. He has held his head up since the day he came home from the hospital. His physical size and resilience come in handy as his big sister is still wrestling with how to handle him. Sometimes she wants to kiss him and other times she tries to hit him. All and all he is a great baby, he sleeps fairly well and he is for the most part quiet and content. We are looking forward to getting to see a little more of his personality in coming months.

Much love from the Pratts

Asher Malachi Pratt

Hey guys sorry for the serious lack of posts in the past few months but we are still working on getting internet hooked up at our house.  however we are at the hospital for the moment and so i figure i better update you as to our currant  situation.  first i would like to let you all know that our beautiful baby boy came to see the world on Saturday the 20th  at 11.15 am.  The labor yet again reminds me that my wife is one tough cookie as it went so fast she almost had him before the nurses could get an epidural ordered. That said. Asher Malachi Pratt, 8lbs 3.6oz, 21 inches long. He is a little brick. He can already lift his head up =).

Other than that  things are going well. i have spent the summer remodeling one of my mothers houses in return for staying there rent free. we are almost finished. just a few more things on the inside and we will be ready to jump on the exterior in the spring.  also i am working for a small lawn and landscape company, and keeping myself real busy. Kara has had her hands full this summer as well. she has been staying at home with shiloh, keeping a garden, attempting to learn to can and preserve, all the while she has been brewing up the little guy. This hasnt been the easiest task as she spent a good portion of the summer on bed rest and a few more weeks on limited activity. so needless to say she is glad that Asher is hear for more than just the fact that he is adorable.

Please be in prayer for us in the coming months as we start to look forward and plan for our next step. we are still planning on  attending the New Tribes Mission's MTC (Missionary Training Center)  August of 2013. However some potential ministry opportunities have been brought to our attention as of late that would allow us more time to grow  as a family as well as for me to gain some more much needed experience, before heading over seas. pray that the LORD would direct our path clearly so that we wont let good distract us from the best.

much love from the Pratts

Malachi, Karalise, Shiloh, and Baby Asher.

We are gonna have a boy!

Baby Boy:
We were so excited to find out yesterday that we are going to have a baby boy arriving in mid-october! His due date is October 16th and we will be nameing him Asher Malachi. Asher means "to smile/happiness" and Malachi means "Messenger of God". We were a bit shocked to find out a few months ago that I was pregnant again, but as the time gets closer and things are a bit less overwhelming with Shiloh, we are really getting excited about our little guy!
Please pray that he will continue to stay healthy and grow and that I won't have as many contractions so early on. (I'm 21 weeks along now)

Shiloh:
Shiloh is now 10 months old (everyone told me time would fly and it definitely has) and still brings so much joy to Malachi and I! She is now crawling everywhere and is attempting to walk and climb whenever she can get something to hang onto. She still has an instant smile, which we love as it just brightens up the day. Shiloh can now say "dada", "mama", and "mmm mmm"(more food, please) and has a constant little baby babble throughout the day.
Please pray for us as we continue to train her that we will have patience, wisdom, and consistency. Also, Shiloh seems to have some allergy and eczema problems. We have not been able to track down any triggers for her discomforts yet, so hopefully we can figure those soon to giver her some relief. Besides that, she is a very healthy and happy baby, so we are very thankful!

Moving, Again?!?
Yes, we have just moved once again. We are now (as of this week) living in the tiny town of Casnovia, Michigan. Its about 7 miles from our old house, so we are now even closer to family and our church. We were planning on going to Missouri to finish our training with New Tribes Mission this August, however we had a change of plans. Malachi met with the leadership of our church here at Kent City Baptist and they highly recommended that we stay in the area for 1 more year. They thought it would be best for our family with having another baby coming so soon and for us to continue to have more time to build relationships with the people at our church. They also would really like to see Malachi get some more teaching experience and to really develop that skill. Since we've been here he has done quite a bit of teaching, but mostly just for the kids and hasn't been able to teach the adults (mostly my fault, he pulled out of a lot when I was first pregnant because the morning sickness was so bad).

Please continue to pray for our family with the new adjustments to moving (including all the remodeling that needs done before we can unpack), as we train our children, and that we will use our time wisely.
Love,
The Pratts: Mac, Kara, Shiloh, and baby Asher

a busy-ish fall

so its been a rather jam packed fall. youth retreats, counseling sessions, family stuff...etc. so i will begin by stating that i (malachi) started a new job in early November, working at a recycling center in Grand rapids. i strip electronics down to plastic, metal, and computer chips. it is an amazing blessing. i have a believing boss who actually lets his faith have an impact on his daily life. this has been a great encouragment to me. also this is allowing us financially to begin looking toward the future and saving for the MTC. praise the Lord for this provision. Shiloh is growing like a weed, and has recently begun the exciting adventure that is teething. this has been a challenge for Kara. however she has also begun to interact with us a lot more and that makes being parents much more fun.

for the last few months i have been interning @ Kent City Baptist church. this has been a great time of growth for as i now have accountability and assignments to keep me reading books as well as in the word.

well its thanksgiving and our guests just arrived and ill have to finish later.

happy thanksgiving all