Homeless!

We closed on our home yesterday!  This was the answer to a lot of prayers.  God has been so faithful.  It was an emotional time as this was the first home for Dan and me as a married couple.  It is also Dan’s first home and the place where he has lived for over a decade.  Lots of memories are in that house.  

It was a whirlwind to move the remaining things in our home and put the finishing touches on our packing.  I am so thankful for the help of my in-laws yesterday as we packed up the last of our things and cleaned up before leaving our home for the last time.  We could not have done this without them.  As we were weighing and reweighing our luggage to make sure that it met airline requirements I think we probably repacked everything 4 times.  How does a person choose between bringing their tennis shoes or their contact solution?

The next few days before we leave will be spent tying up loose ends and spending some very treasured time with family.  I am so thankful that my parents are flying out to spend these last few days with us.  It will be wonderful to see them.  We appreciate your continued prayers through this time of transition.  We are excited to get to Kenya and get settled into our new life after so much change.

The Calm Of My Heart

 

 

The last several months have been a journey.  They have been a journey in the priority of things and letting go of much that I held onto tightly.  They have been a journey of best-laid plans with the ups and downs of the logistics of moving and the many things that haven't gone as expected.  They have been a journey of emotions during this waiting period of transition where everything has changed. They have been a journey of hope as we have watched God provide at every turn.  I have learned a lot and changed a lot on these various journeys and I know that the journey is not yet over.

 

I am amazed as we get ready to leave and with the overwhelming amount of work yet to be done and the calm that I have and the peace that is walking with our every step.  I am sure there will be chaos in the coming days, there will be tears, there will be moments of uncertainty, but I do believe that these times will be met by a much different person than the one that started out on this journey many months ago. 

 

I have been reading through Psalm during this time.  I am not sure exactly what prompted me to turn to this book.  It is not one that I have often felt very connected with, but this time it has been different.  This time the Psalms have spoken to me in the very moments of deep turmoil and at the heights of joy.  The Psalms and the places it has led me has been my safe haven.  The promises it holds have walked me along this journey and reinforced many life long lessons. 

 

During a period of time when Dan and I really weren't certain about what we should do with the house, when it seemed like the mountains in our way to getting to Kenya were far higher than we could ever scale and we had some impossible decisions to make these were the Psalms that plopped into my lap over those days and weeks.

 

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you." Psalm 32:8-9

 

"Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act." Psalm 37:3-5

"He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" Psalm 46: 9-10

What really struck me about this last passage was how there is seeming chaos.  It speaks of wars and the destruction of things including fire and shattering of weapons.  Then there is a great victory.  In my mind this victory isn't a quiet one, it is full of shouting and excitement and triumph.  Celebration! The war is over! In the middle of this very tumultuous scene, however, God puts in a sentence that doesn't seem to fit.  There is so much going on, all kinds of emotions and this is the moment that he calls us to be still. To just be quiet and understand who he is.  To take a moment and recognize him amongst the chaos.  He doesn't lead the reader down some pristine path with a bubbling brook with a doe and her fawn drinking peacefully and then ask you to stand still and contemplate him.  Certainly this can happen, but this passage is different.  The chaos described all too often reflects the chaos of my life and yet these are the moments that he is asking me to stop and acknowledge him.

Anyway, these are some of the things I have been turning over in my mind lately.  Thank you for letting me share them with you.  I still have much to learn and I am sure I will be brought back to these same lessons many more times over the coming months and years.

Get ready, get set, go!

November is here and the weeks are flying by so quickly.  There is still much to do, but Dan and I are excited to be moving forward.  We are Kenya bound leaving the country on November 19.  

Looking around our house things sure are different. We no longer have a kitchen table, both of our dressers have been sold and we are living out of suitcases, no desks for either of us and we will be moving out our couch this week.  Crazy!  

We have prayed over this and we are excited for the future, but we know that the road in front of us may be long.  Many of our fellow post residents are already on the field.  They are scattered over many different hospitals and countries and most of them are also keeping blogs of the journey.  Dan and I have been following their stories.  It is interesting that though they may be in completely separate places their stories are all very similar.  There is chaos in preparation to go and in the days leading up to their flights, there are tears with their final goodbyes, there is exhaustion after the many days of travel, there is excitement as they arrive at their new homes, their is loneliness when reality starts to sink in and everything is new and nothing is easy, their is adjustment to a new life and new normal in this new place called home.  It seems that no one who has already moved has not struggled with feelings of homesickness and loneliness.  Yes, the road ahead may be long.  We have been warned by the pattern we have seen in others.  During this time of adjustment and learning the ropes we are asking for extra prayer from those back home.  We are going to need an extra amount of grace and wisdom as we navigate uncharted waters and we are praying that God provide just the right people at just the right times to help guide us through those areas of uncertainty.  Everything will be new and we are very aware that we are the rookie.  Thank you for walking with us and being excited for us! We are excited too and thrive on your prayers and encouragement. 

Fall Fun

Though not leaving for Kenya on our anticipated date of September 8 was disappointing, we have also been thankful for the extra time here before we leave.  God knew we needed the break in our crazy pace of life even if we didn't want to admit it.  This time has allowed us to slow down with our planning, prepare mentally and emotionally for the move we are about to make and spend sometime enjoying the gifts God gives us with the seasons. 

Here in the Midwest there is nothing quite like fall.  The vibrant colors of the leaves turning when the air turns cool and crisp is something that this California girl never gets tired of.  God is such an incredible artist, isn't he?  Each bright orange and yellow leaf is a wonderful painting He has created for none other than our pleasure.  Isn't it crazy how God likes all of the colors? Pinks and purples in the spring with the waking up of new flowers, greens in the summer and almost florescent yellows and oranges coupled with deep reds in the fall.  So breath taking.

Since we will be missing out on these colors for the next couple of years Dan and I have been out and about having fun taking pictures and creating memories.  We also have learned to explore the self timer function on our camera so that the two of us can be in pictures together.  This has been the source of much laughter and entertainment.  One of us figures out how to prop the camera up just right using sticks, scraps of paper or whatever we can find to get the picture framed the way we want with the other one standing in the distance.  Then the self timer button is pushed which inevitably leads to full-on sprints to get to the other person, turn around, try hard not to look breathless and windswept and place a smile on your face all before the 10 seconds is up and the photo is snapped.  Needless to say - this process has lead to some pretty interesting pictures along the way and we have created some good memories doing it. 

Can you tell which one was the runner?

 

Picture of the cutest man on earth!

Love the color in this one.

This last weekend we decided to go out and take some last final fall pictures before all the leaves are gone with the changing seasons.  I had thought about wearing tennis shoes given all of the running involved with this process....but vanity in me decided that black, healed boots went better with my outfit.  Running was a challenge, but I was getting better at mastering sprints in heals with each picture.  What a great work out! Well, that is until the camera caught this little mishap.



The look of pain. I had to blow this one up big so you could see my trying to smile and not cry face.

The swings picture was going to be so cute!  Then my left ankle decided not to make the turn in the woodchips as I sprinted over and tried to take a seat on the swings.  Rolled ankles are never fun. 




For those of you that know me from my lacrosse playing days know that I have a long history of a bad left ankle.  This scene is all too familiar.

 

 

Welp, that was the end of my sprints for the evening.  Thankfully only a minor sprain and I can still put some weight on it.  Going to have to scale back on the running for a while.  

Packing

Packing, cleaning out closets, selling furniture and getting rid of unnecessary items that have been stored for years, sorting through old paperwork and shredding bills from 2003....yep, this has been life for the last several weeks.  What do you do with that half burnt scented candle that you like? You can't move it with you half way across the world, you can't sell a half used candle, does anyone else want your half used junk? What about a bottle of old hairspray or a partially used bottle of lotion? What about all those CDs you collected in college that were so cool at the time, but haven't been listened to in years?  The list could go on and on.  If we were just moving states many of these things would move with us, but moving overseas makes you take a much harder look at all your "stuff" and really evaluate its worth.  It is sort of a long, slow, deep purging process. 

Packing

Just had to put in a plug for these. Discovered zip-lock vacuum seal bags. Totally crazy. This is our queen sized comforter and 4 decorative pillows. These little inventions definitely make packing much easier.

You know the many "cleansing" diets that are out there?  The ones which make people drink weird colored juices hoping that this will make their insides pretty again? Our packing process has nothing to do with juices, but it has everything to do with cleansing.  We are cleansing our outsides.  Getting rid of the junk. Ever so slowly we are seeing the results. Rooms are getting emptied, things are given away and a few precious items are being stored.  This outward cleansing process though, also seems to be giving me an inward makeover as well.  As I evaluate each item my grip on things begins to loosen.  Learning to let go has been hard and at times heart breaking, but also freeing.  The outside results are clear to anyone who walks into our home, but I think my heart, my insides are getting cleansed too.  Funny how that works. 

Moving Forward

I realized it has been too long since I last posted and I wanted to update everyone on our current status. We are still here.  We delayed our departure date from September 8 to later this fall given the status on the sale of our home. This was a really hard decision to make, but one that both of us felt necessary given all the details involved with selling our house.  We continue to be working with the same buyer, we have finished all inspections and completed all repairs. We have gone through the appraisal and God was extremely gracious to us giving us exactly what we needed in this! Huge praise! Now it is time to wait for the rest of the paperwork to go through. Waiting can be so hard, but we know that God has a purpose even in this.

During this time Dan has been able to go back to work for MMS which is a blessing and I have picked up some shifts as a substitute doctor through locum tenens.  God's provision and timing is amazing. We are still anxiously awaiting our departure to Kenya, but know that this will come at exactly the right time.

As we push forward I have attempted to start packing our suitcases for Kenya several times, but often quickly find myself overwhelmed.  7. This is the number that keeps swirling through my head.  Seven is the number of suitcases we can take with us to our new home. Of all the things we own and want to take with us they have to fit into seven pieces of luggage.  Wow. That task is daunting.  Growing up, when we would go on vacation it was always a competition between the different members of my family to see who could be the lightest packer.  Having two brothers who liked to point out their efficiency in the packing process definitely left me not wanting to be that stereotypical girl that has to bring three bags filled to the brim with unnecessary accessories that she likely will never even use. If my bag ever seemed too heavy it wouldn't be long before one of my siblings would ask if I had brought my bowling ball collection along.  Haha, very funny.  Light packing has always been a type of game, a challenge. My brothers definitely never wanted to have a heavier bag than a girl for fear that they might be labeled "high maintenance" - when it comes to name calling this is one of the worst ;-)

Somehow though, this time is different.  This is a different type of packing. Thinking through the next two years and what we will need not only in terms of personal clothes and toiletries, but also medical supplies we are taking, books to reference, linens, etc. I find myself fighting internally with wanting to take only what is practical and yet looking at our pictures, throw blankets, quilts and wanting to bring a few simple pleasures to add familiarity to a completely foreign place and attempt to make our new residence feel like home. With every new thing that gets added to the list to bring it seems that one more thing needs to be taken away from the growing pile.  How do you decide? I obviously don't have any of the right answers.  It remains an ongoing struggle. I know this will all sort itself out in the end.  This is just some of the growing pains that come with the journey we are on.  Minimalizing your life is tough!

One Small Blow for Victory

The last couple of weeks have been dedicated to fixing things around the house for the home inspections, cleaning out storage spaces and selling things, visiting family and getting the necessary last minute supplies we need to pack before leaving.  In the whole selling our house process there is so much that seems to be out of our control.  So much is left in the hands of others while we have to sit and wait for their decisions. One thing that is in our control though is the city inspection that we had to go through. This happened a few weeks ago and they gave us a list of some things they wanted us to fix or bring up to code. We have been chiseling away at this list with the help of my wonderful in-laws. We finished everything with the exception of a citing on the wiring for our air conditioner.  We were worried that this would be the most expensive and involved repair and wanted to make sure that it was done right the first time.  Dan and I went down to the city inspection office and were able to talk to the electrical inspector ourselves.  At 4:30 on a Friday afternoon he stopped what he was doing and came over to our house to take a look at our question.  After looking over the wiring again he decided to change his mind.  Nothing needed to be repaired after all!  He signed off on the electrical part of the inspection right then and there! I cannot tell you how relieved we were by this one small act.  This is one of the first things that has gone relatively smoothly in this whole process.  Such an encouragement! The building part of our city home inspection will happen tomorrow.

We also have had another offer on our house which is wonderful. Dan and I have signed the paperwork and are now waiting for the private home inspection and the appraisal.  The private home inspection should happen this Friday.  We could use a lot of prayer for both of these.  Our experience with our last buyer has shaken our confidence in the selling process and we know that either of these things could delay our progress or close the deal completely.  Please, please, please be praying for us.