Orem, Utah, May 8, 2013, 12:27 p.m., D.S.T./M.T.~

Dear Journal~

Rhonda Gilstrap writing.  Hope this finds you well.  

We couldn't be better, meaning me, my husband (Clint), and our two children: Hunter Gage (8) and Nevaeh Grace (3), whom we adopted several months back from China (though the process itself, from start to her arrival, took over a year).  Life is great!

Sometimes there are tears (not to mention, a few blows), but more often than not, Hunter is very good and loving towards his new little sister.  We have to remind him that her vision is not nearly as good as ours is: she was born with albinism and visual problems; she is legally blind.  We have to teach him to be patient with her as she navigates around the house (and elsewhere) with her trusty red-and-white cane (and we also have to teach Nevaeh that her cane is not to be used as a weapon to hit people with).

Hunter continues to fly through physical therapy at a rate that amazes us, his doctors, and therapists.  We feel that if he keeps going at the rate he is, he may be walking unaided by the time he reaches ten years of age!  Sometimes he falls, but that's to be expected.  It's because he gets so excited!  

Clint got a huge raise at work, which means more money for us (and more opportunities to take the children on trips; we just may be taking that dream trip to DisneyWorld in Florida that we have been wanting to do!).  We feel incredibly blessed; so many other families don't have nearly what we do, and sometimes I get sad or mad at God because I don't feel we are worthy enough!  

Clint and myself have been helping out once a month at our church's food ministry; to see over 200 needy families is enough to break our spirits, yet we try to reach out to them with the love of Christ and giving them nourishing food as well as prayer and connections for possible employment, schooling, medical care, and whatnot.  It's a huge blessing to be able to reach out to our community like this; we've been doing this now for the past four years and the rewards far outweigh the negatives!

Hunter helps out too by praying for the kids; as for Nevaeh, she's more interested in playing with the other children or coloring!  

People have been truly receptive towards not only Hunter, but our daughter as well; and we've been able to help other families get started on adoption if they are interested.  There is a family at our church who has over 30 kids, and they were the reason behind our deciding to adopt Nevaeh; we wanted to make a difference in one needy child's life, and we just may end up adding to our family; we would dearly love to have more children!

Well, it's time to get back to the laundry before getting the children from school (Nevaeh is in preschool and I pick Hunter up from the bus drop off after his school has let out for the day); so I will go for now.  Continue to pray that our life continues at its current pace and that God blesses us with another potentially needy child, preferably here in the U.S.A.; we would like to adopt domestically this time around!  Thanks in advance; all your prayers are always greatly appreciated!

~Love, your friend in Utah, Rhonda. :

~To be continued!~