We landed late last night in our main city and spent the night in a hotel. PTL all of our luggage arrived on time! We woke up this morning to eat some yummy joutzi for breakfast before our 4-hour drive south to our hometown.
Becky has come down with a strong sinus infection. 22 hours of flight with no air conditioning/circulation caused her to feel sick. Please lift her up to Father for healing.
Here are some pictures of our new home!
Our Apartment Building
Our Kitchen
Our living room (of course our taters travel with us!)
Decor next to our front door
Our bedroom. I made this Texas quilt with a dear friend
Shout out to our SS class for our awesome wall of encouragement!
Close up of our quilt
Welcome to our new home :)
After 3 hours of sleep, it was time to go! Some wonderful faces greeted us at home and we had treasured time with loved ones at the airport before our departure.
Father revealed His hand on us. We did not have to wait in a line to check in. The clerk did not weigh our bags! We knew they had to be a little over, but it didn’t even matter! AND Father provided means for these additional bags! PTL! Blessing after blessing.
I will never forget the small yet impactful moment we shared with Granddaddy.
Chris said, “Thanks for coming, Granddaddy!”
Granddaddy said, “Thanks for going.”
How powerful are those words?! Reality hit in that moment. We were “going”. Father said, “Go” in his command. We continue to seek obedience.
Many tears were shed as we gave our last hugs and kisses. We rejoice in the love that Father shows through His followers.
It was Go Time. No more, “I’ll take care of that next week” sort of thing. We spent the day shoring up last minute details, saying more goodbyes (including saying goodbye to our doggie), and packing up our life into 6 suitcases. Yep. 6. We were allowed 4 checked bags at 50 pounds each at no cost. We were running into the issue that one suitcase weighed 17 pounds without anything in it! This was stressful. We decided that we needed 2 additional bags and we were prepared to pay the additional fees. Thankful for friends who are willing and able to stay up late with us to run last minute Walmart errands, to visit my fun-loving dad, to use a scale to weigh 6 bags while belly-laughing, and 2 moms who sure do know how to fold.
Father provided. Again. I don’t know when I will stop being so surprised in this! A family who helped us take care of finding a home for Josie blessed us beyond measure with their compassion and willingness. This was a gift from above. Father is SO strategic in his planning. Up until today, 3 potential rehoming families fell through. We were so frustrated and upset that nothing seemed to be working out. Father placed this family in our life in His perfect timing. PTL! We miss her terribly, but there is comfort in knowing that she will be okay.
“Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25
We were heavily encouraged and lifted up by our friends in our SS class this morning. How empowering! Our hearts are full in knowing He has provided encouragement to enrich us from those back home.
Our greatest fear is that over time, we will disappear and be forgotten. We will just be a name and picture on a map. We have heard from other coworkers in other countries that they rarely heard from friends after the first few months. We were vulnerable in sharing this fear with our SS class today. It is our desire to stay connected, as we are an extension of the community in America.
We spent the evening saying our goodbyes to family and friends. We were overwhelmed by the love and support each person showed. Thank you for celebrating with us.
“And we know that for those who love Father all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
We’d also like to thank those of you who pursued us during our time of preparation and transition. We were blessed by meaningful conversations shared over games and great food from our “last supper list”. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts and stomachs :)
Sometimes a 14-hour time difference can be a good thing when it comes to waking up to an email full of blessings. Our coworker gave us great news! We have been moved from moldy-mildew-infested Building 7 to mold-free Building 8! PTL! We were told that although our new apartment is clear of mildew, it does have a rusted sink. The person living there before us tried to clean the sink with acid. We will take a rusty sink any day over lung spores from mildew and mold!
Of course we know that everything can’t be absolutely perfect all of the time, and for this we have very little expectation of what is to come.
Today we were reminded that His blessings are new every morning! His timing is SO good ALL of the time.
Picture came from a wonderful woman from my ladies BS class who had joined us in lifting us up in our request for Father to take care of our moldy situation.
There is so much of the “unknown” that comes with the territory of our big adventure. As we walk blinded by faith, we stumble upon many things we have never experienced before. It has caused us to put our complete trust in Him. We were having dinner with our friends last week and chitchatting about the small things we had questions about pertaining to living overseas. Casually, they asked us if we have had any of our shots. Shots? What shots? Nobody told us we needed shots?
We sent an email to our coworkers asking them if we needed a certain shot called Japanese Encephalitis. They said, “Yes of course you need this shot!” We thought to ourselves, “Then why didn’t anyone tell us?!” Haha! Oh the joy of the unknown!
We learned more about JE (Japanese Encephalitis). It is a 2 series shot that must be given 28 days apart at $275 a shot. Well… we did not have 28 days… we had 13. We needed to make a decision with very little time. Here came the “battle of discernment”. We asked ourselves, “Do we spend the $1,600 shots will cost, or do we hope that we don’t get sick.” A great friend of ours joined us in asking Father for guidance and provision and shared this story with us:
Father told the guy that the flood was coming and that He would take care of him. Once the flood began, a man drove up and offered his truck. The guy said, “No I don’t need a truck, Father will take care of me.” The flood worsened and the guy moved to the second floor. A man with a boat came by and offered him help. The guy said, “No I don’t need a boat, Father will take care of me.” The rain kept coming and forced the guy to move to the roof. A man in a helicopter came down to lend a hand and the guy said, “No I don’t need a helicopter, Father will take care of me.” Finally, the guy drowned. He showed up in Heaven and asked Father, “Why didn’t you take care of me instead of letting me drown?” Father said, “I did take care of you my child. I sent you a truck, a boat, and a helicopter.”
It was clear to us that we needed to pursue these shots. We didn’t want to miss our “helicopter”.
We found Passport Health (highly recommend them!) and the Health Department in Fort Worth. Our Hep A, Tetanus, and Typhoid shots from 2005 were no longer good so we needed boosters for all of them on top of new vaccines for Polio, Rabies, Flu, and the first shot of JE for 40% coverage. We are seeking His guidance and provision as to how we will get the 2nd JE shot.In all of this, we have been reminded of simple truths. It is not our money but His. We tend to complicate this concept. We worked hard at creating a small “emergency fund” over the last several years just like many others do. We got to thinking, “What would happen to this money if we were no longer here?” (please excuse my morbidity) or “What will our emergency be?” All along, He has provided. He has provided in the way of giving us an emergency fund. It is amazing how blind we can be sometimes!
Please join us in asking Father to show us His provision for when to proceed with the second JE shot. We do not have this shot available in our country, so we must fly to Thailand to receive it.
7 and 1/2 years in the making... Here is a brief look at how Father stirred our hearts of obedience as we said, "Yes". We rejoice in knowing that we can rest in Him as He provides a greater plan for us. As we continue writing this blog, we will spend time reflecting further on these particular moments that have shaped and refined our character.
Publicly announced. 1-7-13
Heading out. 1-29-13
The past 2 years has been a time spent on our knees preparing for the battle. Over the next few months we invite you to read about our life stories that came and will continue to come with allowing the anguish of God's heart for His Church into our hearts.