It has been so long since we have updated this page. Generally, things have been great and we have learned and grown so much as God has continued to take us on this everchanging journey called life! Thank you so much for praying, at the top of the page you can see how God has literally answered every one of those prayers with a YES and AMEN. Its good to remember what he has done.
Currently I (Aaron) have found myself under an immense amount of stress regarding Sofia’s condition. The situation is simply this; My wife has cystic fibrosis, a genetic condition that year over year deteriorates her lung function to the point of eventually death. As a result, she is constantly undergoing treatment to stem the tide of the worst of this condition. In the fall of 2019, a drug was approved by the FDA in the US that for the first time in CF history, reverses the effects of deterioration and actually heals her lungs, giving her increased capacity and stops deterioration from occurring. This is nothing short of a miracle. Now the problem is this: there is realistically very little hope of her receiving this treatment in Canada. In fact, we have no idea when it will be made available. Of all modern first world countries including : England, Australia, Germany, the US, etc. Canada is the least willing/has the least legislative allowances to actually get this drug to people suffering from CF.
So that’s what’s been really weighing down on us. God does give us sustained peace, but at worst it feels like a living nightmare. Knowing Sofia’s condition could turn around today if she could start the drug but waiting on what seems like something that is impossible to change.
BUT we know God is Bigger. And that’s what we are asking you to pray for today. God is working for the good of all those who trust him. We do trust him, and he has never let us down. So, we ask you guys kindly to pray with us and for this mountain to move. He has been so faithful in our lives already.
Finally, on a lighter note, I think its appropriate to fill you guys in on the nuts and bolts of what has been going on in the last three years (WOW).
The answer: LOTS AND LOTS… of blessings and freedom and hope and peace. We had our daughter, and although the pregnancy itself was difficult the labor and birth went off without a hitch and was short and allowed our daughter to be brought into the world. (Yes it’s a girl!). Born March 7th her name is Audry Perpetua Carroll, and she is now almost three years old! She is a big strong girl with a great sense of humor and a huge amount of energy to face life with, she is smart and strong willed and loves dinosaurs. We were also able to buy a house in this season with money that was meant for school, but we used it this way. The home was a huge blessing and provided us with a stable living situation as we learned how to be a young family. When Audry was 8 months old we decided to visit Istanbul Turkey to see if that’s where God wanted us. Although we decided not to stay, we found a renewed identity of what it means to be a child of God. To be loved by him and to love those around you, no matter what your circle of influence is. It was nice 😊
Sofia’s condition continued to decline through early 2019 until it reached a certain point, then while God was teaching us what it means to trust physicians and the GREAT physician, medicine took hold and Sofia basically came back from the brink to grow in healthiness exponentially (Which is very rare for CF patients) Her condition vastly improved, and by the end of 2019 she was as healthy as she was 4 years prior before her pregnancy with Audry.
Now in 2020, we are currently living in Kelowna BC as I attend Okanagan College to become a Water Engineer. As I write this, I am currently applying for multiple COOP opportunities all throughout BC. It has been a very transitionary time for us, new city, new possibilities for future, new possibilities for Sofia’s health to flourish. When your day to day and routines change so rapidly it can be a very “un-tethering” thing to undergo as an individual. With all this I can firmly say that every time things get so “up in the air” God becomes our anchor all the more.
We are learning to say no to fear, say no to anxiety, say no to thinking life will punish us.
I thank you guys so much for standing with us in praying these few years. This website is a testimony to God saying yes.
Love you all so much and may God continue to bless you in your lives!
Amen!
Happy New Year!
January 1, 2017
The Lord has taken us through such an unimaginable year! Carrying us along, showing us faithfully more and more of His infinite all-satisfying beauty. His yoke is easy and His burden is light! He has destroyed the sting of death!
We have many abundant blessings to praise God for right now! One is that after a long time of decline in the health of my lungs, they have finally started to improve! I can’t tell you how wonderful it feels to be able to breath easier again, and the strain that it has relieved! Another is that our baby is doing SO well right now, and everyone involved medically is always praising the little babe for being so healthy. We know it’s only been the hand of the Lord though, and both these good results are completely against what everyone has been telling us to anticipate. For so long we’ve been sternly pressed to be concerned and worried, and the battle of balancing between wisdom and reacting due to fear has at times completely over whelmed and tossed us sideways. To be where we are right now in terms of health is a huge reminder and assurance of His sovereign care and love for us. He does not react to our works and our right or wrong decisions, He just says I am the way the truth and the light, and we trust in Him. Everything we need in this life is already available through the Son of God.
One thing we would ask for your prayers in is delivery time! They discovered this week that my cervix is very shallow and therefore going into labour early is even more potential to happen than before. I have just started my third trimester, I am 28 weeks pregnant, and to be allowed to deliver locally and not in vancouver, I must be at least 32 weeks. We want our baby to be safe and as healthy as possible and we would LOVE to deliver at home on the island. It isn’t a reason to be afraid (though the enemy tempts us) but it IS a gifted opportunity for God to wean our hearts from trying to control our circumstances.
This has been our whole year. A beautiful and grace filled season of the Lord taking hold of the most tender and well protected corners in our hearts and saying “even this is not enough for you, but I am”. I am going to be everything to you, I am going to be your joy, I am going to be your protector, I am going to be your teacher, I am going to be the skip in your step, I am going to be YOU so you don’t have to be you. Every short-coming, every fault, every regret and mistake, it’s no longer ours, it’s His. He has taken on everything! We are liberated from ourselves, and our only burden (and an intensely sticky one), is to remember we are no longer identified by our works, but instead we now have the person of Jesus Christ claiming us and giving us life through FAITH! No act, no work, no striving. Give up the bitter search for worth in YOURSELF and instead lay hold of a complete, perfect, full holiness from GOD himself, for you. Holy Spirit, let us see Jesus more and more clearly. It is His work, His will, His gift of faith & righteousness and all for His glory!
God Bless you all, praise the Lord for He is everything!
We get to rely on Him
October 14, 2016
Hello Everyone, here we are posting again.
Before we begin with more details to help you pray specifically for us, we have to thank you for all the support we received regarding our last update. Jesus heard! We felt very distinctly the day and even evening after posting that the Lord was with us, we have still argued since then, and have had struggles, but over all the Lord has been with us. And has unified us closer in his light. We were truly helped and encouraged by all of you. The Lord was ministered to us through you, so thank the Lord.
We know he is good, we know he is all we need.
At this time, we would like to ask for specific prayer regarding Sofia’s health. Currently, Sofia has been on IV antibiotics (Meaning antibiotics that are hooked up through her arm) for three weeks. This medicine is safe for the baby. Unfortunately over the course of these antibiotics there has not been healing but actually a worsening of her sickness.
CF is a genetic condition that affects the way her body does a lot of things but one of the things it effects is how her body sorts out salts and liquids resulting in thick mucus. Because it is thick it builds up in her lungs, this provides a breeding ground for bacteria, and over time much bacteria has set in. Because of the mucus and the condition of her lungs, bacteria which every person normally caries have the opportunity to run rampant and cause lots of problems. Currently its manifesting itself in lots of coughing and not being able to breath well at all, and because of this being exerted from simple tasks like walking, cleaning, sleeping at night, etc.
What became particularly clear to me (Aaron) today in our doctors appointment was that the antibiotics we treat Sofia with cannot cure her of the bacteria, they can only calm them down. Currently they are not. After the appointment me and Sofia were actually encouraged in seeing the absolute need for Gods hand in preserving Sofia, because even the doctors can only offer a best chance.
So quite simply we are asking prayer for healing! But more than that, we are asking for freedom and life in Christ, we are asking for an increased desire to have him and know him, and yes TRUST him.
WE know that even if Sofia passes from this God is good, but we want to live with this peace no matter the outcome. Yes we are asking for health and healing, but more than that we want peace, and the giver of all life — God.
We are thankful for Sofia’s illness and this trial, as a chance to rely on God in it, as a chance for him to prove to us his goodness even in this. And to learn the blessed joy of daily looking to the father for everything.
So please partner with us.
Pray also for me to not worry, and for us to have the simple faith of relying on God.
Pray also for our little Baby, that it would be safe and grow healthily and know Jesus :)
Pray for Sofia not to worry about her lack of health
Thank you all so much again and God bless you.
Below is a picture of Sofia’s belly from a few weeks ago, she is currently 17 weeks and is blowing up like a balloon now!
Help Us See Jesus
September 24, 2016
When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.
Hello Again, and thank you again for building us in prayer.
We need your prayers, and we need the Lord to overwhelm us. At this moment and in this season Sofia an I are overwhelmed in many ways. The first is with medical issues. As you know Sofia has the chronic illness; Cystic Fibrosis, and as a result our pregnancy is considered high-risk. This, compounding upon her regular medical schedule (visiting doctors at least once every three months when healthy) has put us on quite the regime of doctors and appointments. Not to mention the daily routine of checking blood sugars, doing insulin, and changing IV antibiotic bags.
Initially, I was undecided if Sofia should even follow through with this medical attention (I wasn’t sure if my conviction was spiritual, or simply a response of laziness to the work required for medical things) but none the less this caused tension and stress and most obviously DIS-unity between Sofia and I. Through prayer and in clear conscious we have decided to indeed go ahead with the medical things and now are in full swing and obeying our doctors.
Though our decision has been made it seems that our disunity has continued. I can speak for myself personally that the last week or so has been very hard between us with many arguments and feelings of animosity toward Sofia. I know this isn’t the type of thing that maybe most people would write on an exciting pregnancy blog, but I am a sinful person.
The passage posted above (Psalm 73:21,22) describes our situation well, although the Lord does meet us and encourage us, in general our experience is very much embitterment and brutishness. We also have a very real enemy that discourages us in many ways.
So please pray for our victory, and to taste the refreshing sweetness of Jesus our life giving water. Help us get to the end of the Psalm.
Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.
In our experience it seems that we are far from him and perishing, that we are being destroyed for our lack of seeing Christ. We are unfaithful, but that is the Gospel isn’t it? We need Christ to bring us to our God.
Quite honestly me and Sofia have felt quite low and are having somewhat of a crisis of faith, we need to see Jesus and we need prayer that we would even desire him to begin with, it is hard. I hope this message has conveyed what we are going through, we need to be rid of ourselves and see Christ. Sometimes words don’t express hearts clearly but anyway please pray for:
Our Unity
Our Desire to want Christ to grow
Our Belief in Christ as the Only Relief
AND YES — Healing and health for Sofia and the Baby!
Also pray that I (Aaron) could have the Lord and make some sick music for him, that it wouldn't be about music but about Him
Thank you Again,
Love
Aaron & Sofia
The News
September 12, 2016
The Lord has blessed us in a way that will change our lives forever this spring. Praise the Lord! we have a baby coming!!We would love to ask now from all our friends and family, to partner with us in prayer through-out this season of pregnancy. The Lord is our sufficient Hope, to His hand we look.
