The Testimony of Andrew and Jessica Raia
JESSICA:
It wasn't until a few years ago until Andrew and I realized what it truly meant to be a Christian, even though we were both brought up in the Christian Faith. We were witnesses to the Divorce of my parents, and the amazing reconciliation and remarriage that was created through Christ. With all the work and power of God right in front of our faces, it still did not sink in. At the time, people who we thought were friends were causing a great deal of turmoil in our lives. During the same time period we decided to start trying to conceive. With everything going on, I felt a knot in my stomach and one morning we just decided to go to church. With the music lifting our spirits, and the feeling of peace throughout the service, we knew we would be coming back. We had attended a few services and even our first healing service. At the healing service, I planned on asking to be healed of my infertility. Instead I asked for the darkness to come out of my life, and It was that night I became born again, knowing what it really meant to accept Jesus.
ANDREW:
That night I did not verbalize it, but I knew I wanted the same thing. Shortly after, I also became born again. Over the course of the next year and a half, we were traveling 2 to 3 hrs away to see a fertility doctor, between 6 and 8 times a month. The physical and emotional toll on the two us was more than we thought we could bare. On top of infertility issues, I had a job that saw no possible future, a house without enough room for a child, and a car that was falling apart faster than I could fix it. We started to attend an ALPHA course to learn more about what the bible teaches us and what it means to be a Christian. At the completion of Alpha we also attended a bible study with other young adults. Jess' mother gave us a book called supernatural child birth. It quoted scriptures from the bible about God's promise about children. We prayed daily the prayers in this book, in conjunction with reading the bible. We learned to let go of our fears and trust in him. It had been 2 years since we started trying to have a child when everything started to fall into place. I got a new job that has great growth potential, we were then able to afford a beautiful 3 bedroom ranch, and a family friendly SUV. If the Lord hadn't give us enough; We also found out Jessica was pregnant.
JESSICA:
We were filled with a lot of excitement knowing we were going to have a child, but then we were faced with another challenge. Halfway into my pregnancy, during an ultrasound, we were told that the baby had a cyst on its' neck. They called it "Cystic Hygroma" and we soon found out what that meant. We knew that the baby would need a lot of special attention, surgeries and procedures. If this would have happened 2 years ago when we first started trying, we would not have been able to handle it. Once again we found ourselves seeing many specialists and having many doctors' appointments. I ended up having to give birth at Westchester Medical Center . Now that little Mary Elizabeth is in our lives, we can see that we were truly blessed during this whole ordeal. We both had understanding jobs, an amazing Children's Hospital, and the support of our friends and family. Had we conceived when WE wanted to, the Children's Hospital would not have even been open yet and we would not have been ready for all we were about to endure.
ANDREW:
Our testimony does not end here. It probably will go on forever. We know we will be faced with many challenges, including the continued road to recovery for Mary Elizabeth. The one thing we can say, is that having a relationship with Jesus makes everything a lot easier. We know that everything is in his hands and happens for his purpose. There was one song that gave us great strength throughout our entire journey and our Motto became - I Will Walk By Faith, even when I cannot see.
