Twists, Turns, and Redirections
WE ARE MOVING TO ETHIOPIA …. NOW!!! I shared Part 1 with you here sitting at Panera and today I’m home-free, unemployed, and happier than I’ve ever been in my life! How is it possible to feel pure joy and massive butterflies inside doing exactly what God has called up our family to do? I love and serve a God who understands every single one of my strengths and weaknesses! Honestly, there were lots of days this past month, I didn’t think I would make it. It was too hard, too scary, too difficult, too crazy. Waiting for our home to close was challenging and tested me at every level spiritually, emotionally, and physically. We packed up our 5,000 sq. ft. home in less than two weeks, celebrated my son’s graduation and cheered him on in state finals at golf… all in the month of May. We’ve been busier than we’ve ever been in our lives, but the miracle never wavered … God sold our home and we made a decision to trust THAT promise through the storms. We officially closed on our home Friday, May 25!!
My hubby woke me up early on Mother’s Day saying, “Why are we waiting … let’s go NOW!!!!” I still had morning breath, but could have kissed him and hit him!! How in the world could I get us ready to go now in just a few weeks??!! I assumed it takes months to prepare a family to move to Ethiopia! Well, you know how crazy we roll as a family … we’re living home-free and now out of 4 bins & 4 duffles getting ready to LIVE in Ethiopia as a family June until mid September!!!!!!!!!!
The best part, over a year ago we dreamed of spending the summer in Ethiopia with our family during the time Roger and I both lead Visiting Orphans mission trips in June, July, and a special Man Up trip in August. We can’t believe God made our dreams come true in such a radical way. Change is never easy, but faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
So, here’s the nitty gritty …. I leave TODAY (with Hannah) and my best friend, Julie Neal leading an amazing Visiting Orphans team of 24 to Ethiopia and Uganda for 14 days. Roger, Zoie, and our happy helper, Dovie White will travel on June 16th and together we’ll spend the summer in Addis Ababa. Dovie will head back to the states in August and we will stay until mid-September. Our incredibly supportive son, Michael will start his freshman year at MSU!!!!!!!
(artwork: Kristen Welch We are THAT Family)
God redirected our steps to allow us to spend the summer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia working with the mission teams we love and ministries we want to serve long term. The best part, we’ll be able to take Mercy to her US Embassy appointment on June 25th and watch her miracle happen LIVE!!! We are working on the details to be able to send her to the United States immediately after receiving her medical visa and staying with a wonderful host family who knows and loves her until we return back to the states! God’s timing is always perfect, even when it doesn’t make sense and we are so thrilled to be a part of Mercy’s journey!
Our final BIG NEWS is the official launching of our non-profit, Simply Love. We have partnered with National Christian Foundation and raising our support as missionaries. You can join us on our mission adventure!!!!!! I will write a special blog post sharing the details behind this miracle!
How can you help?
- Pray for the Gibson family mission adventure to Ethiopia and Haiti this year
- Pray for our mission teams as they prepare to love big
- Support us this year through our brand new non-profit ministry, Simply Love.
- Help us raise funds to purchase Mercy’s flight to the USA and her expenses OPERATION: MERCY
For more information on the August Man Up trip (spots open!!!) to Ethiopia/Uganda- please email Mitch Hauschildt @ mgayscgukdt@missouristate.edu. This is the PERFECT time for you to come visit our family and love big, serve big with us!!!!
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