Open Doors

Those of you who have walked this journey with us know that we have a short list of items that we asked God to handle for us to confirm that this was where He was leading us.  The last open door we have been waiting for is our house to sell or rent.  After trying to sell it since July with little success we decided to pursue the rental option.  This would require a refinance to get our costs in line with what we could rent the house for.  We started the process in early November and waited, and waited, and waited.  The mortgage company was so backed up with requests that the appraisal wasn't completed until December 23rd.  In the meantime the foreclosures were piling up around us.  Just before we left in December the house next door to the right sold for 65k less than our mortgage balance.  On the other side of us two of the next four houses are in forclosure and for sale.  We needed an appraisal that showed a 90% LTV ratio for the refinance to be approved. All in all it wasn't looking so hot for the Steeds - unless God had a plan.  This past Monday night around 8:30pm we finally got the call, approved! Tuesday we listed the house for rent and in the past 5 days we have shown the house 7 times and we now have a renter pending an application approval.  What a difference a week can make! Thank you Father for your faithfulness, open doors and your perfect timing.  Now to begin walking through these open doors...

On a Farewell Tour

We left the day after Christmas to travel north to visit some old friends, meet some new friends, and spend a few days with family.  At the end of each visit we've had to say goodbye.  And the next couple of weeks will be full of goodbyes.  It's just plain sad. There are so many people in our life that we see on a regular basis and it's hard now knowing when we will see them again.  It's hard to let go of them (you).

One of the reasons for our trip (to travel by car 15+ hours away from home with 3 'spirited' boys) was to visit a church in New Jersey. I will be honest and say I was not all that excited about the drive (going so far and being stuck in such a small space with the above boys).  I love to share what God is doing in our lives but preferably closer to home where we can get a babysitter.  The pastor and his wife are friends from way back that we had lost touch with and now God has crossed our paths again.  I really did not have any expectations of our visit other than to share our hearts and  be worn out keeping our boys in line.  What we got was overwhelming love and encouragement from our friends and a church of people we have never met.  It was overwhelming to say the least. It was an amazing 4 days and at the end we didn't want to leave. I love that God knows what we need and He meets them in ways we never expect.

Now we are in a full run to get alot done in the next 3 weeks.  We have to get rid of our furniture, find homes for 4 cats, get the paperwork all set to bring our dog (Pete) with us, say goodbye, pack our belongings, sell our van, rent our house, get shots, say more goodbyes, buy plane tickets, get our life's paperwork in order, travel to South Florida to ship our belongings and visit with friends and family for more goodbyes.  We need prayer for all of these things to happen and for the time to be peaceful.

Target Date of Departure - February 1st

The waiting game is over it seems.  We are aiming to leave around the 1st of February.  We are in the process of putting our house up for rent.  All the doors are opening without our effort.  For example, Chris's car will be SOLD tomorrow.  Someone asked to buy it today and the amount they will pay is the exact amount we owe on it.  CRAZY!!  I love it when God goes beyond what we could ask or imagine.  We were imagining being lucky to not have to pay alot out of pocket when we put it up for sale, not to mention having to try to sell it.  This whole process of leaving and following God has been so effortless.  We live in a  world where so much depends on our efforts but when God leads us to follow Him, the effort is all His.  All we have to do is follow.  A neat example of that is found here.  There is a part that says "read the story here".  Click that and you will be blown away.  Through this journey we are learning how BIG God is.  I said that in church on Sunday and it seems like such a small word but it's the one that comes to mind when I think about what He is doing. He is bigger than any giant we can ever face in this life. 

What are we doing now?  Soaking in every second we have here with our friends and family and trying not to think about leaving them.  We will be traveling north to Philadelphia after Christmas to see old friends and visit a church who will be supporting us (another crazy, effortless story for later).  We are selling furniture and gathering things we will need to take with us.  I am looking forward to the day where I don't ever have to see another Rubbermaid tote bin. 

All is quiet...

Where are we in our journey?  Waiting....waiting for God's next big move and hoping/praying it involves our house and it's sale.  But waiting isn't so bad.  It's like Christmas Eve for us and getting to open one present before the big day.  Our present right now is the overflowing love and encouragement from our friends and family. People around us and people we haven't seen or talked to in years just pouring love on us.  It's overwhelming and humbling.  Makes me want to tell Him to stop but all good gifts come from Him and we will take every single one.  It's hard preparing to leave our life but God knows what we need as we wait and He never fails to provide.  For that we are thankful. 

God's Story

On this journey most everyone tells us how amazing we are and how great we are for following God and what He is leading us to do.  Encouragement is something we all need  but I have to say It's Not About Us!  It's not about what we are doing, it's about what God is doing.  He is BIG and doing things I can't even dream up - like moving me to another country.  :)

It's our journey but it's His story. The story of how He would take an ordinary family of five and lead them to a third world country to do His work.  Our journey is only the introduction to a thousand chapter book He is writing and we get to tell His story.

Why? That's a good question...

We get this alot obviously. Who wouldn't want to know why two 40 year-olds with 3 boys under the age of 11 would sell it all, leave their loved ones and move to a third world country to live in poverty?  It's crazy isn't it?  Yes, it is in a way but in another way it makes perfect sense.  All we can say is that God is leading us.  Not "calling" us as some people in ministry term it but for us it has been a leading.  Sort of a "Hey, come with me to Guatemala".  I love that God does not force us to do anything ever.  Our heart has always been in helping people and giving to people.  We have been praying for some time for God to show us how we can do that more and Guatemala popped up on the radar.  At first I (Holly) was completely against the idea.  Simply because I loved our comfortable life: our house, church, friends, family, etc.  My life was blessed and I was enjoying the blessings after a few years of many challenges.  By leaving all that, God was asking me to die to myself and live for Him and what He has planned for my life. That's really hard and I wasn't going down without a fight.  And by His grace He let me kick and scream and cry and try desperately to hold on to all that I held dear to me.  And by His grace I can let go of my plan for my life and follow His. Now here we are, ready to go. 
But aren't there plenty of people in America who need help?  Yes there are!  And our answer to that is - God doesn't limit us to the country we are born in.  He puts us where He wants us and we happen to be going to another country. 
Some of the things we look forward to are loving HIV orphans nobody wants, loving kids who live in abusive homes and being an example to them, helping with medical needs, spiritual needs, and basic physical needs like hygiene and food.  We have so much here in America.  We are going to be with people who literally have nothing.  You can't fully comprehend what that means or looks like unless you see it yourself. We are looking forward to alot of visitors from the US. Get a passport if you don't already have one and come visit us!!  :)    Thank you to everyone who has been with us in this process and prayed for us and encouraged us.  We love you!!!

The Letter is Out!!

Oh wow!  It's getting real now - we actually sent out a letter to inform our world what has been laid before us.  There isn't much on our blog yet - check back often as we will have more to share soon.  God is doing some crazy things and we can't wait to see what they are and share them with you.