Sersaw Family Blog: September 2010

Ok, so it has been almost a year since we have posted on here. A lot has happened in that past year. We moved out of our house in December due to bad landlord issues and it causing kids to get sick and moved into a house that we were taking care of while it was on the market. When that house sold in April, we went into the most difficult time in the life of our family. We had no where to go. We were basically homeless. We lived in hotels and had to spend all that we had in savings just to survive. We even had two days where we lived in our van. That was probably what you would call hitting rock bottom. It was a very stressful time, but we also learned a lot during that time. We learned that a family can be a family no matter where they live. We also learned that God will get you through anything, but you have to remember that it is all in His timing and not ours. We couldn't understand why we were having such a difficult time finding a house. We met other families just like us. They were homeless and living in hotels. There are a lot more people out there than you think. They feel like they cannot go to anyone for fear that they will be judged. Americans in general have become so judgmental that they make opinions and assumptions of people based on their circumstances and don't know the entire story. We met families who had lost everything, and the only jobs they could find paid minimum wage which is not enough for any family to survive in America today. They then would put all they had into the hotel so that they would have a place to sleep at night, and so the cycle continued. Sadly, as our economy continues to go through this hard period, more and more hard working families are going to go through the same thing. Next time you hear of a family in need, perhaps you need to really hear the story. There may be a lot that you do not know and making assumptions hurts a lot of people. We do believe that God allowed us to go through this tough time so that we would have an understanding of families and the hurt that they go through so that when we are able, we can help families struggling and be able to minister to them without looking at them through judgmental eyes.
So after a month of living in hotels, God blessed us with the house that He was preparing for us. It was a house that was a perfect size for our family and in our budget (even though it is valued out of our budget). We now have a home that is 2800 square feet and is actually 3900 square feet if you include our basement. We have more rooms than we have furniture to fill them. This is a house that the owner is trying to wholesale to the bank as he can no longer afford it. The plan is for us to hopefully eventually buy this home, and if God provides and it is His will, this will be the home that we purchase. We will be able to buy it for less than it is worth which in today's economy is a very rare find. If for some reason, we cannot buy this home, we will be thankful for God allowing us to live here for however long He has planned. We live in a very safe neighborhood. Crime is non-existent, and it is just a safe place to raise a family. Our neighborhood is filled with a lot of other families many of which go to area churches around here.
Also just recently, Brian won his very long and overdo VA claim for disability increase. Does it solve our problems? No, but it is a step in the right direction. He lives every day in massive pain. He cannot go walk around a mall without having problems. He has to use the stroller as support. He cannot work a lot of the jobs available in today's economy due to his pain from his disability. His pain is getting worse and the VA doctors are having to go through all of the red tape that our government has in place before they can get him the help and specialists that he needs. He is also being provided with the evidence needed to fix his entire military discharge. He was honorably medically discharged, but they did not medically retire him. His unit was successful in basically messing it up (which they had threatened). We now have the opportunity to take his case before the Army Board, and they will look at all the evidence and decide whether or not he should have been given retirement.
Brian is still waiting for God to open and close doors when it comes to a ministry position. It is a tough lesson in patience especially when he knows beyond a shadow of a doubt what he is supposed to be doing. Sometimes it can be so easy to just give up, but that is what the devil wants him to do. He wants to cause so much discouragement that Brian cannot do what God has called him to do. Please just continue to keep our family in your prayers. We continually need God's provision and direction.
Anyway, this update pretty much sums up the past year. All of the kids are doing well, have stayed healthy, and are growing. Caleb has been such a joy. We will try to be better about updating this blog in the weeks and months to come. We have a big mission trip coming up in June so stay tuned for more information.

Here are some pictures of the new house and kids.

1 year old Caleb