Introducing Sam

The past few weeks have involved much watching & waiting…so, it’s great to finally be able to introduce our new arrival Samuel James Carswell. He arrived on Monday morning (20/7/09) at 11.28am (NZ time) following a 13 1/2 hr labour & an emergency C-section.

Jen & Sam are both doing well & we are thankful to God for his safe arrival and the good health of both he and his mum.

For those interested, he was named Samuel James for several reasons – we like the names, Jen’s dad is named Samuel, we liked the Biblical name links & both names were those of great Yorkshire missionaries of yesteryear – Samuel Marsden, first missionary to NZ & James Hudson Taylor, found of the China Inland Mission, now OMF.

There are more photos from day 1 & 2 since his arrival with us here and here, but for now, let me leave you with two or three of my favourites.

^{Psalm 139: 13-16}

¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
¹⁶ You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.