Life Update

The last three years have been trying and also amazing as we have grown as individuals, a couple, and most definitely a family. We have crammed a whole lot of wild living into the last three years, perhaps more than we even thought possible. Our hearts have broken and also exploded with joy. We have experienced the miraculous providence of God and learned to hear His voice and see through His eyes in new ways. Perhaps more than anything, we have asked God to align our hearts and desires with His and we have found ourselves desiring anything but conventional, risk-free living. Our eyes have been further opened to the deep, deep brokenness in this world and God’s desire to place His people in the gaps. We are not called, nor is it possible, for us to fill every gap. But we can be available and willing to be placed in gaps we may not have ever thought it was possible for us to fill. As we have prayed, grown, sought and listened together, we feel confident that God is going to use us and our children to fill even more gaps for children in need of loving homes, specifically children with complex medical needs and children who are needing someone to love them as they die.

Our next step in this calling was to purchase an obnoxiously large van. As of a few days ago, after much prayer and waiting, God provided a 15-passenger van to our family. This van will allow us to transport more than one wheelchair at a time and still have more than enough seats. We have discussed the possibility of a friend of ours moving in with us as a live-in nanny of sorts. Her presence would allow us to attend most medical appointments without searching for babysitters and also to have another heart and pair of hands to help out with the needs of our kids.

The next (very big!) step is house hunting. We know without a doubt that God is going to have to provide a house in a very non-conventional fashion. We are looking for a BIG house…as many bedrooms as we can get within our price range (which is pretty limited). An added bonus would be ability to be made handicap accessible to some extent. While this seems impossible, we know that all we are called to do is trust and keep taking one step at a time. God has always provided and finances have never stood in the way of His vision. It is important to us to be good stewards—to avoid large amounts of debt when possible, pay it off as soon as possible when debt does arise, and to be very wise in what we choose to spend our money on. We are currently looking for houses that would be options, trying to make the need for a unique home known, but also digging into preparing the house we have know as best we can to perhaps take another child. We would ideally like to move as soon as possible, but we must wait for the perfect home and providence beyond our own understanding and ability.

Here are some tangible things we are needing help with:

-Prayer for wisdom as far as timing, calling, and next steps

-Prayer for our current kiddos. Their world is often rocked. If we begin taking children who are terminal….WHEW. It’s going to be rough. We do NOT take this lightly and would not ask this of our children if it was not clear to us that God was calling us to.  Pray for God to guard their hearts and grow them in compassion. Pray for us as parents, that we would know when to step out and place them at risk and when to pull in and take time to steady their world.

-We ask that you still include us/invite us/reach out to us, even when the answer may be no. We don’t want to be completely isolated and we don’t want anyone to ever feel like they would be burdening with us with one more thing. The best thing to do would be to still just ask. We are still US!

-We need a house to move into. We would appreciate if you could make the need known if you have any connections with people who may have an idea of a house that would be a possibility.

Silas and Micah