Gibson going ons

When I started this blog I promise to share our life's goings on so here is the scoop!

Theresa- I am still in CA helping out around the house and my main job is to bug Aunt Phyllis (we all know I am good at this). I have a current project started which is painting the new guest room. Once it is finished I will try to post a picture so you can see it.

Ray is home in Tunis and working away. Our household goods and air freight has arrived in country and part of it will be delivered on Friday just in time for the long weekend of Edi (Ramadan). With any luck it will all have a home before I get there :)

Christopher is volunteering at the International school as a teacher's aide and has applied for a teacher's assistant job. While he is keeping up with that he is a full time online student waiting to transfer to Pepperdine or Hope in January. He is applying to both and we are praying for the best path for God to guide him. Either way we are proud of him and all he has accomplished over the last six months. If you didn't know already he was baptised into Christ last July right before we moved to Tunis and is working side by side with us to build the foundation of a home church.

Sarah in her owns words is "beyond happy" and we are so glad. She is a senior and made the volleyball team! This is her first year playing volleyball and so making any team is good news for a beginner. Grades are excellent and friends are even better LOL nothing like having good friends to hang with as you learn about a new place and find your place as well.
Look for her blog coming soon....

Jared aka JJ or Skateboard king is doing well. Making new friends and socializing has become easier this time around. He is swimming, skate boarding and doing his homework most of the time :) the school is looking to jump him a grade if he puts his head down and does the A work they are expecting him to do. He is definitely learning it's up to him on how he gets where he needs to be. (Jump from 8 to 9th)

Meghan loves Shanghai and everybody there. This is going on week two and her classes start soon. She is already dreading coming home at the end of the year LOL Her suite mates are wonderful and their room is called the "Beijing room" all the suites are named after cities in China. She was also voted to be the Shanghai Spiritual Life Advisor or the Shanghai SLA. What that means if I understand it correctly is she is in charge of arranging devos and bible studies and helping anyone who needs to talk. I think she is perfect for this and what an opportunity to have the chance to serve God in this way.
She is working on getting her blog up too.

For us this is a brief summary of how we are all doing. Remember start your blog, send me the link and lets get our family communicating!

God bless you always and know I love you,
Theresa

Remembering our Zah Zah

So much has happened over the last few weeks but I want to focus on one day.



On September fourth we laid to rest our Zah Zah. He is now on his heavenly journey and one we will join when our time comes. It's never easy to say goodbye to someone you love and your life has been wrapped up in. It is forever a work in progress. Each day, each prayer and each memory we have takes us closer to making it OK to go forward. We, in Christ, have a promise we can believe in. The promise that one, our Savior Jesus Christ, has gone before us having conquered death to prepare a place we will spend our eternal life. This promise gives us hope when we feel we have been left behind. Left behind because our work on this earth is not finished yet. It is an honor and privilege to be a soldier for Christ. What a wonderful earthly family we have and now the celebration of Zah Zah's earthly death has lifted us towards celebrating his heavenly homecoming. We were a part of his life on earth and he has helped us find our way towards Christ and claiming our heavenly home too! Just stop for a minute and think of all our family prayers, singing with a joy that never ended, the laughter, the lessons, but most of all the love. The love we each were given as though we were the only one in this whole big world. God knew just what he was doing when he gave us our grandfather. The end hasn't come with Zah Zah's death but has only began as his life lives through us and the love he shared with God that was showered on us.



God was the center of his world and because of his faithfulness he is where he should be-with God.

Zah Zah often said, "Each day I wake up I try to a better person than I was yesterday." Are you? Are you listening to the scriptures as a map for your life? Your life is set in motion but it is up to you to steer it in the right direction. You have a destiny. Only you know how your living your life and only you are in charge of your direction. I challenge you to look at your life and if you see one thing that is not as God would have it, stop and pray about it, repent of your action, change your action and do what is right. If you need prayers or help finding your way-your family is here and we are believers in prayer. Do what makes your heart feel at peace and let's walk the path to heaven together.



When I think of Zah Zah and grandma Vernie I think of God and you.



God bless you and keep you close to His side.

Love, T

Operation Staying Connected to our Family

Our family has a wonderful story and we have to keep it going. It used to be if you wanted to send a message to someone who lived some distance from you, (in writing), you wrote it down, put it in an envelope, addressed it and dropped it in the mailbox. Time was involved. Time it took to get from point A to point B. I remember running to the mailbox hoping and excited that there might be mail for me. I never got mail really except on my birthday. Every year on or about Nov 15 there would be two birthday cards I knew would always be there. One from grandma Dottie and one from grandpa and grandma Vernie. I also knew in the card from grandma Dottie there would be a twenty dollar bill and in grandpa and grandma's there would always be a check for $25. Have you ever heard of "cloud 9"? Well, that was what I walked on for days after my birthday. First of all knowing it was all about me right then and second trying to figure out what I could spend my money on. LOL Those day ended several years ago when my grandma Dottie passed away, 1992 and when grandma had her stroke in 2001. But the joy I remember when I think back every Nov 15th of running to the mailbox comforts me in a way nothing else can. There are other memories and other people who bring me great joy and love and that is why in this day and age of technology I have set out to connect with my extended family. By passing hoopla of the "snail mail" and getting instant gratification without running to the mailbox-who knows I may fall down and get hurt at my age. hahahaha There is also the excitement tied to "you've got mail" and the idea that indeed there is still someone out there thinking of me and I don't have to have another birthday to have that happen.
So I ask you to join me in, "Operation Staying Connected to our Family", post your prayer request, blessings, random thoughts, life updates, pictures, and videos and join me in while my family sets up our new home in Africa, Chris applies to college, Meghan goes to ShangHai for her study abroad, Sarah's senoir year and Jared's dream of being the only child coming true this summer!

From my heart to yours- I love you!