1 job left
59.25 hours spent behind the windshield of a Chrysler Town and Country
5000 miles driven
14 states seen at varying miles per hour
4 churches/organizations visited to discuss our mission work in Cameroon
15 homeschool lessons from a hotel room, back seat of the van, or a picnic table
1 house sold
1 son that turned 11
1 van repair done
Innumerable amount of memories shared with family and friends.
I look at this list and realize why I feel as though our world, is not completely upside down, but definitely at a sideways slant. We have slept on beds with varying degrees of comfort. Had our ups and downs emotionally. We have spent hours in the company of those we love so much and have missed spending time with. We have met new people, and have been encouraged by them that we are on the right path to serve God to our fullest. We have shed tears saying goodbye to those we hold dear with hearts breaking. Then step back with heavy hearts and realize that this is only the beginning of the goodbyes to come in the next 3 months.
The first part of our journey led us to a place we call our spiritual home Warren, OH. We spent time with our church family there and were able to present our mission work to them at St John the Baptist. We were delighted to hear all about the lives of those we have missed so much and to be able to reconnect with them.
We left OH and drove to St Augustine,FL. Upon arriving we were amazed to learn that the beginging of our nations history was there to be seen after just learning about it in the previous 2 weeks of homeschooling. It was a real life touching, seeing, and smelling history lesson! We were also able to meet with OCMC regarding the mission works they are doing around the world and were able to share some of our vision with them as well regarding our calling as a family for the future.
We then drove to Sarasota and were able to spend 2 days with my brother and his family. We attended church with them and heard a message from Roberts Liardon about leaving everything and following Christ just as Abraham did. What an amazing message and encouragement it was for us! That evening my brother and wife shared about their lives and the things God is doing for them. I was thankful that again I was shown that if you are willing to serve, God will use you to do his work. Before we left they prayed for us and my oldest niece Carmen prayed for us as well. It was truly the most beautiful prayer I have ever heard.
We then climbed back into the van to travel back to Kansas City to close on the sell of our home. We arrived safely and exhausted. Once there we had cleaning, papers to sign, tears to shed, and goodbyes to say. This part of the past 30 days was probably the hardest. My children both said goodbye to their best friends and cried and grieved for the past memories and future time that has been lost in their minds. How was I to truly explain that the call to missions is one for the entire family and that they will be changed forever by this life in ways they could never imagine? The answer I am finding is that I cannot. I can only love them and support them and allow that sadness and grief for a time. I then try to show them Christ any way I can by reading scripture and discussing it, praying with them, or just holding them when they need held.
As soon as the house sale was over we were off to Branson to play on the water and spend time with Chris's parents. We went to Tablerock Lake and were enjoying the day until we pulled into a cove where Chris, Micah, and Caja went out to some small cliffs to jump off into the water. While they were swimming over to the cliffs we heard a bump......bump..........bump. My mother-in-law and I looked off the side of the boat and saw that there was a large tree limb or stump in the water hitting the boat. My father-in-law started the engine and began moving the boat to get away from the tree, but found that the anchor was stuck. Let me tell you one thing..... We were going nowhere fast! He shifted to the the left and to the the right and then tried again and again. We were stuck. He then tried to pull the anchor up, and it stayed unmoving in the same place. Meanwhile the kids and Chris had a blast leaping into the water. They completed their cliff jumping and swam back to the boat and climbed aboard. I took the kids below deck to make sandwiches and to get them out from underfoot. My father-in-law worked and worked. At this time it had been about 30 minutes and as I was below deck I could hear creaking and popping sounds that were concerning to say the least. I said, "God, we really need this boat to be freed from this tree. We need to keep the anchor and not have any damage to this boat. Please Lord help us. Amen." There was a course agreement of "Amen" from Micah and Caja. Within the next 15 sec we heard a "clunk" and the boat began moving freely! God set the boat free with the anchor attached and no damage to the boat! How amazing is that? It may seem like a small thing, but this was a real life example of God's power at work for my children to see first hand. Awe---some!!! We then left that cove in a rush and did not return there to play anymore.
After a couple of days our extended family went back home and we stayed in the Ozark's to have a couple of days together. We relaxed, canoed, swam, and did some homeschooling also. Sunday we drove to Springfield and attended church there at St Thomas. We saw some familiar faces and were also able to meet some new people. We then drove to Kansas City to grab the last of our things from our friends garage, and then made it finally to our resting place for the next 2 months in Wichita, KS with our family.
Overall we are doing well and have learned a lot about ourselves, others, American History, and about the nature of Christ. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue on this journey to Cameroon. A few things you can pray for us about
-Our visa applications go through without any issues.
-Our faith and trust in Christ will continue to be unwavering.
-That Micah and Micaja will thrive in their homeschooling.
-That I will have the patience and ability to teach them.
-That Chris will be safe in this travels for work as he is still working in MO.
As always we would love to hear from you and would love to pray for you about anything we can.
In Christ,
The Gifford Family
"The Will of God will not Take you where the Grace of God cannot Protect you."
