On her due date of Friday, July 27th at 8:52 in the morning we welcomed Elaina Joy Long into the world! At 20 inches long and weighing 8 lbs, she was bigger than we all expected but happy, healthy, and beautiful nonetheless! It was a long, hard 26 hours of labor, but meeting this little soul the Lord has entrusted to us made it all worth it. “Elaina” means “bright, shining light.” Our prayer is that she would grow to have a heart for Jesus that shines so brightly that anyone who meets her can’t help but desire to know Christ too. “Joy” means “delight; great happiness.” The moment she was born, the entire hospital room celebrated- the joy filling the room was palpable! I could see the smiles on the nurses and midwives' faces as they laid her in my arms for the first time. For Jake and I, meeting Lainey in her first moments of life outside the womb was so sweet that the middle name “Joy” seemed a perfect match (and I was also so joyful that labor was finally over!). We have loved learning about Elaina and getting to know her in her first few weeks of life. She loves snuggles, being held, and looking into our eyes. We are so thankful for this gift God has blessed us with, and can’t wait to watch her fall in love with her Creator. I have been asked many times what ministry this year will look like now that we’ve welcomed little Elaina into the world. The reality is that many of our students come from broken homes and families that do not know Christ. They didn’t grow up seeing what Biblical marriage or Biblical parenthood look like. What an opportunity then for me to be able to model Biblical motherhood to these young women who will one day be mothers themselves! I won’t do it perfectly, but I am excited to show them what it looks like to live a Christ-centered life while teaching a child to do the same. I am passionate about discipleship, helping women fall in love with the Bible, and pouring into students’ lives by doing life alongside them and can’t wait to continue doing this work God has called me to (and now with a little one in tow): reaching the college campus so that every student knows somebody who truly follow Jesus and raising our daughter to love Christ deeply for a lifetime.
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