Saturday, August 18, 2012

Prayers to Ethiopia... from a Teenage Heart

I know. It has been months since my last update. I am sorry! Life has just been crazy! I will try to get you up to speed as best I can. Brace yourself... It might be quite long!

Several months ago, God threw a slight course change at us. It looked like He was leading us to move! (just houses, not towns) We had not planned on or even considered the possibility until the option was just sat in front of us. A friend of ours was moving out of state, and looking for someone to buy her house, which is located smack dab in the middle of town. At the time, we were living in the country about 15 minutes out of town.  We loved the country, but it was getting very inconvenient. We basically spent all our time in town, and were making 5 or more trips back and forth every day between the two of us. It was getting expensive and tiring! So when the option came up to move to town, we kind of jumped on it.

The house was perfect. It was located in a quiet neighborhood under lots of tree coverage. It sat right off the main road, but was in such a spot that it didn't get much traffic or noise. 3 bedroom, 2 bath: perfect for our growing family. Big fenced backyard: also perfect. Open floor plan: a MUST for me. Sun room, nice kitchen, 2 car garage... And the list goes on. But the best part is that it had been recently completely remodeled. Everything was brand new! I had said that if we ever moved to a new house, it would not be a fixer-upper. I just don't have the time or desire to deal with that! And alas, the price was amazing. So basically... We were sold. Of course we prayed about it a lot, and everything pointed to the new house.  But the real SIGN came up while talking to the seller.  Her daughter had been on a mission trip to Ethiopia in the last year, and had gained a great compassion for the people there.  Our friend said (referring to her daughter's bedroom), "I guarantee you, a whole lot of prayers for Africa have gone up from that room."  Once again... Sold.

We moved almost immediately! We've been there for about 3 months now, and have absolutely LOVED it. I can already see some of God's reasons behind moving us. It's amazing how God will lead your life when you let him drive.  Oh, and I like to think that while our friend's daughter was praying for Ethiopia, she was unknowingly praying for our future baby... who would someday live in her bedroom :)

SO! The point of all this! We had to put our adoption on hold for a little bit. Since we moved locations, our homestudy had to be pushed back. Now that we are settled in and life is somewhat back to normal, we've officially started the process again. We should have a date for our home visit within the next few weeks!

At first, I was really sad about postponing our adoption. I just want to get it done as fast as possible! But God's timing often doesn't mesh with ours. I soon realized there was a reason for our wait. I like to think that God didn't plan on having our child conceived just yet, and therefore slowed down our process in order to wait for him/her! We praise God for His meticulous planning and timing.

Just to throw in some more craziness that's been going on. A little before we heard about the house, I was informed that my bank's branch was being shut down. I was gonna lose my job in September. Well when we got the news we were moving we decided for me to go ahead and quit so that I could spend time packing and unpacking. So my last day was the exact day we signed on the house. I just keep being in awe of the big guy's timing!

Oh, and we got a puppy whose name is Maeby.

Well that gives you a small look into the goings on of the Gerralds! At least the big goings on. Please keep praying for us and our journey to our baby!!!

Love you all.

--- I'd like to shout out to my "cousins", Jason and Kate Clayton, who will soon be heading to Taiwan to bring home their baby boy.  I have enjoyed her store, The Adopt Shoppe, which they have used as a fundraiser to bring them to Mia and Maddox.  Although I will miss buying Kate's beautiful jewelry, I'm so happy that her store was such a success to help aid their journey to their children!  She will be closing her store on August 25, 2012, so make sure you go buy out the rest of her inventory before then!  {I already bought my last two pieces, as pictured below} Congrats and God speed to these wonderful friends!  --Keep up with the Clayton's here: Kate's Blog

   








P.S. There is a problem with my fundraising website... the link to which is on the side of my blog.  I will let you know when I get it fixed!