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I taught my daughters that the Lord is interested in every part if our life. We often place more emphasis on one birthday
than another but God is equally interested in all of them. Humans decided to make sixteen the age for driving an automobile
and therefore sixteen becomes one of those “special” birthdays, but God is equally concerned with each day of our life.
Abraham and Sarah had a son far outside the age limits placed by natural experience. God is not limited to our time schedule.
My childhood was full of very difficult circumstances. Perhaps God will someday lead me to write the full story of all my
life. For the purpose of this testimony it is sufficient to say that from birth I had no consistent, dependable, natural father in my
life. My Heavenly Father is sufficient for me always and I was blessed with an amazing wife and daughters to help me grow
and mature as a father myself.
Eleven years ago my mother married Jerry Wright Phelps, a truly amazing man. Being the youngest of eight children, he
chose to care for his parents before starting a family of his own. Jerry’s father Everett Phelps died in 1978 and Jerry
continued to care for his mother Lelia until her death in 1988. In 1998 at the age of 62 years Jerry married for the first time.
Jerry thought he had given up the opportunity to have children and grandchildren but God had other things in mind.
Though my natural father had been in my life sporadically he had never been dependable or consistent. My wife’s
father, a great blessing to my life, died when my daughters were young and they greatly missed their grandpa. Jerry came on
the scene and filled the void. My daughters love him completely and he has found the family and grandchildren he thought he
had sacrificed.
Early in 2008 I was informed that my natural father had been arrested for selling prescription drugs. My wife Marva and
daughter Amber are Registered Nurses; because we have had sporadic contact with him and he was my father, my wife and
daughter had to report to their employer that a family member was arrested for selling drugs. He was convicted and is
currently serving time in a Federal Prison. This is just one example of the many frustrations we faced because of his
unwillingness to consider the effects of his actions on others.
Jerry needed heart surgery in the fall of 2008 and set about to get his affairs in order. Because Jerry has no children,
he had no heirs. Jerry soon discovered that without heirs, his affairs were very complicated. Jerry contacted my sister and I
before his surgery and asked us if we would consider allowing him to adopt us and thereby make official the place he was
filling in our lives. In the spring of 2009 we started the process and the court approved the adoption on September 3, 2009.
God has worked a miracle! Jerry has the blessing of children and grandchildren; we have the blessing of a stable and
consistent father and grandfather. In October of 2009 I received my new Birth Certificate. My new Name is Gregory Wright
Phelps. Of course the story is much bigger than this simple explanation and one day “God Willing” I will share “the rest of the
story.”
than another but God is equally interested in all of them. Humans decided to make sixteen the age for driving an automobile
and therefore sixteen becomes one of those “special” birthdays, but God is equally concerned with each day of our life.
Abraham and Sarah had a son far outside the age limits placed by natural experience. God is not limited to our time schedule.
My childhood was full of very difficult circumstances. Perhaps God will someday lead me to write the full story of all my
life. For the purpose of this testimony it is sufficient to say that from birth I had no consistent, dependable, natural father in my
life. My Heavenly Father is sufficient for me always and I was blessed with an amazing wife and daughters to help me grow
and mature as a father myself.
Eleven years ago my mother married Jerry Wright Phelps, a truly amazing man. Being the youngest of eight children, he
chose to care for his parents before starting a family of his own. Jerry’s father Everett Phelps died in 1978 and Jerry
continued to care for his mother Lelia until her death in 1988. In 1998 at the age of 62 years Jerry married for the first time.
Jerry thought he had given up the opportunity to have children and grandchildren but God had other things in mind.
Though my natural father had been in my life sporadically he had never been dependable or consistent. My wife’s
father, a great blessing to my life, died when my daughters were young and they greatly missed their grandpa. Jerry came on
the scene and filled the void. My daughters love him completely and he has found the family and grandchildren he thought he
had sacrificed.
Early in 2008 I was informed that my natural father had been arrested for selling prescription drugs. My wife Marva and
daughter Amber are Registered Nurses; because we have had sporadic contact with him and he was my father, my wife and
daughter had to report to their employer that a family member was arrested for selling drugs. He was convicted and is
currently serving time in a Federal Prison. This is just one example of the many frustrations we faced because of his
unwillingness to consider the effects of his actions on others.
Jerry needed heart surgery in the fall of 2008 and set about to get his affairs in order. Because Jerry has no children,
he had no heirs. Jerry soon discovered that without heirs, his affairs were very complicated. Jerry contacted my sister and I
before his surgery and asked us if we would consider allowing him to adopt us and thereby make official the place he was
filling in our lives. In the spring of 2009 we started the process and the court approved the adoption on September 3, 2009.
God has worked a miracle! Jerry has the blessing of children and grandchildren; we have the blessing of a stable and
consistent father and grandfather. In October of 2009 I received my new Birth Certificate. My new Name is Gregory Wright
Phelps. Of course the story is much bigger than this simple explanation and one day “God Willing” I will share “the rest of the
story.”
What is in a Name?
Testimonials