The Dyrud's Great Adventure

Tammi Lynne and Rodney Kent Dyrud had a baby boy last night Sun Sept 28,2008 at 11:46pm. His name is Justice Kent Dyrud; he is 8 lbs, 20 1/2 inches long and so far the health baby we (Tammi and I) have been praying for. Thank you for all of your prayers. Here is one of his first pictures. I am currently working on getting a video posted.

Hello everyone. We are officially one week away from Baby's due date :) Rodney and I have spent the last several weekends cleaning and re-organizing the apartment to make room for all of Baby's things.... pretty amazing how much stuff comes when a baby is due! We are excited to meet our child and feel blessed that God has given us this little miracle. As always, Rodney and I appreciate your prayers; we look forward to sharing and celebrating with you once Baby arrives! I wanted to share a story about Rodney and the Baby. Last night, Rodney was singing to my tummy and all of a sudden, the Baby moved from one side of my stomach to the other in order to be closer to where Rodney was singing :) I'm glad that the Baby knows Rodney's voice and that they've started bonding even before Baby is born.

http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories/ktvbn-sep0808-haiti_relief_mission.59361c92.html Hello family and friends. Above is a link to a story that a news station in Nampa, Idaho aired about MAF helping with the relief effort in Haiti. It gives a good look into what MAF does and how the fuel crisis is affecting their ability to fly in certain countries. Hopefully the link still works and you can take a few minutes to watch this clip. Have a great week!

As many of you know, I have been a nanny for the last 8 months and today was my last day working with Laelia. It is a bittersweet time because I will miss seeing her every day, but I will also have my own baby to care for in a few weeks. Laelia was born October 3rd, 2007 and she was diagnosed with a condition called arthrogyposis. The doctors weren't sure that she would ever move her arms or legs, but today, she has progressed to the point of holding objects with her hands and being able to reach across her body to grab something. I have enjoyed watching her reach physical milestones and seeing how the Lord has chosen to heal her in His own way and time. I have posted two pictures; one was taken shortly after her birth last year and one was taken just a few weeks ago. The physical changes are incredible and I thank God for the work that He has done and will continue to do in her life!

Well, I am 37 weeks pregnant and we are getting super excited about meeting our baby in a few short weeks! My friend Alexis threw me a wonderful shower last weekend and I received so many nice gifts. Rodney and I are spending the weekends resting and getting the apartment ready for baby's arrival (hence the picture of the socks drying). We feel honored that God has entrusted this little life to us and we pray that we will raise this child to serve the Lord with his or her life. Thanks for keeping up with us :)

While I (Rodney) was thinking back over my time in Tennessee training and my flight eval in Idaho, I realized that I was discouraged, wondering if I was still going in the direction God had called me. It is interesting how hardship can cloud ones mind, but now that I passed, it all seems so clear that I am still in God's will for my life. I am being cautious now because I know that emotional lows often come right after a high. Here is a picture of Tammi and me standing in front of one of MAF's Cessna 206s in Nampa, Idaho.

After a week of flight evaluation with MAF, Rodney found out at 10am this morning that he passed! We are so excited and thankful for this wonderful news. Rodney and I are grateful for all of you who have partnered with us, both financially and in prayer as we pursue the passion that God has placed in our hearts for missionary aviation. Our next step is to return in January to Candidacy School. So for now life will return to normal. I (Rodney) will go back to work at Southern Cal until Jan, and Tammi will continue to work as a nanny until a couple of weeks before her due date...then life will change dramatically forever when we add a new member to our family!! Oh, yes we also have a lot of homework to do before January; MAF keeps you working:) Thank you so much for your support; Thank you for believing in me (Rodney) enough to pray and financially support us.