the start of goodbye

Well I’m back, still recuperating. Just having the flu and all the travel, I’m not bouncing back quite as fast. But there is a lot to get done in the next 3 wks. Like going through our house, storing, selling, throwing, packing or giving away everything we have left here. Also we need to start to say our goodbyes. Yes, our goodbyes. At our training at MTI we learned about how important goodbyes are and to not wait till the last minute to say them.
So let me put this out there, if you would like to get together before we go, call us and tell us! We will do coffee or lunch or whatever. So please let us know. We don’t want to forget anyone but we will. Time is going to go by very fast, we know that. We also want to make sure we keep our priorities in the right order during this time.
I know there are many who are wondering how the 3wks went. Well, I can honestly say it was the hardest 3 wks I have had over there. It started off bad and never got a lot better. My dad was a lifesaver. I don’t know what I would have done with out him. I know he was completely emotionally and physically drained by the middle of the 2nd wk, because I was as well. That also helps explain why I got sick at the end of the 2nd wk. We each lost over 10 lbs in the 3wks, if that says anything. My dad and I have worked together for a lot years. And for the most part we have worked really well together. One of the things I realized over there and had to grieve over was that us working together is coming to an end. This is one of those things that really sucks about all this. I see why GOD brought just my dad and me on this trip. It was a gift to us, to help us in this process.
We got the house sort of livable. By American standards, not exactly livable. By African standards, definitely livable. I have many months of work to complete the house. The main thing is we will all be there together this time. In the last 5 months I have been gone from my family 3 of those months. That is too much.

Two continued prayer requests:
-Sale of our house-someone wrote a purchase agreement except one detail, but they haven't come back in to finish. Pray it all comes together.
-Sale of our van (pictures to come!). We are also looking at a vehicle in Zambia, waiting on acceptance of an offer.

Thanks for praying!