An adventure awaits...

As I begin this post, I'm reminded of a verse our pastor spoke of just recently:

"Lord, I know that people's lives are not their own;
it is not for them to direct their steps." (Jeremiah 10:23)

These are hard words for a control freak--well, let's admit it, a family of control freaks--to hear...much less follow and commit to.  Within the last two years, God has really been working on me, encouraging me to walk in faith, and to let Him guide my steps.  And He's been working within my family, too...

The Ganus Gang is getting prepared to embark on a wonderful adventure! 

But let me backtrack a little...

Four years ago, Michael and I spent the majority of a family reunion weekend visiting with my fabulous aunt and uncle who were at the time teaching in Indonesia.  We began to feel a little "tug" for international teaching--especially Michael.  We both agreed that this would be a fantastic opportunity for our family, but one that would need a tremendous amount of prayer.  We decided on a five year plan.  Five years to pray, to gain more experience in our teaching fields, and to get ourselves out of debt (after eight years of being a stay-at-home mom, we had accrued quite a lot of debt).  But we know our God is mighty, and if this was something He truly wanted us to do, then He would make it all work.

I can honestly say, I put this situation on the back burner.  I allowed my fear and my attachment to my cushy life to avoid making any decisions.  My husband, however, remained faithful and was ever confident that God would turn my attitude around and instill in me the same amount of excitement and enthusiasm that Michael had been experiencing from the beginning.

About two years ago, God started working on me heavily.  Reminding me that I am His and this life doesn't belong to me.  Michael and I genuinely began to pray about our situation and to truly work to get ourselves prepared for what we hoped God would have in store for us.

Last September, God let us know it was time to start making some serious moves.  Literally.  We began to discuss placing our house on the market.  Selling our home of ten years would be a huge leap of faith for us, but it would help us simplify our lives.  We had built up a massive amount of "earthly treasures," as you can imagine a family of five can.  We knew that simply getting down to the essentials would be a step we would have to make.

In a time when houses weren't selling, this step was terrifying.  We did the little odd jobs here and there that we felt would help make our house more marketable, and by the end of January, we felt it was ready.  I drove to Lowe's and bought a "For Sale by Owner" sign.  I will never forget the feeling of placing that sign in our front yard.  It was like we were saying, "This is it.  We are truly and absolutely in this 100%!"  I was joyous...and I wanted to vomit all at the same time.  :o)

We began getting calls about the house pretty quickly.  Probably the neighbors who were just curious!  We even had two people come look at it.  Michael and I talked about placing an ad in the paper, but a little voice kept telling me, "Wait.  Watch and see what I can do."  All the while, our small "For Sale" sign was the only exposure our house was getting.

At the beginning of March, I got a phone call.  A single mother of three was interested in our house.  She was renting in the neighborhood, but she had really been working and saving and was ready to buy her first house.  As Michael and I showed her around, I think we both felt something.  Excitement.  That "something is right" kind of feeling.  She called back the very next day...ready to sign a contract on our house at our asking price!

Two months.  That's it.  That's all it took.  With the equity we had built up in our home, we were also able to wipe out our debt.  I think by this point, Michael and I were both exclaiming, "Okay, God!  We hear you!"

After the difficult task of telling our families and our principals, Michael and I began the application process the first of September.  We've registered with an international school search agency, and we've been contacting schools all around the world as we find out about possible job openings.  We've tried hard not to put limits on where God will place us, but instead to have the faith that He will provide the perfect, safe location for our family.  We live in a HUGE world and there are soooo many places we'd like to go! 

The girls are extremely excited!  They have been a part of this process since the very beginning, but it is finally becoming "real" to them.  Grace has been practicing her French (as France is where she would most like to go), and after listening to her butcher their language with her accent, I'm not so sure the world is prepared for her! 

For lack of a better way to tell everyone, I felt this blog would be helpful.  It will allow us to keep you updated on our progress, and hopefully keep you a little entertained.  :o)

We are mostly playing "wait-and-see" right now.  Serious job recruiting will most likely not begin until November, December, and January.  We will attend a job fair in Cambridge, Massachusetts in February.  So for now, we ask for your prayers.