The delicious: April 21st we had a coffee night @ the NCF church in Niverville where we had a chance to share about the ministry we will be doing in Cape Town with friends and family all while eating delicious baked goods. Thank you to all who came, and those who made this evening possible (Touch of Glass, kitchen ladies, mission team, Darrell photocopying skills & the ladies who made the goodies!!!).
The miracle: ALL items & boxes got packed, numbered and recorded in computer, thanks to the brilliant and wonderful (don't forget all capable) Vi Snaith. I couldn't have done this without her genius systems, her Africa packing expertize, her love for sucking Zipbloc bags (with a vacuum) and everyone who donated the most precious packing supplies.
The hilarious: During the last hours of packing, Vi and I became even more delirious than we already had been previously... Please understand this took hundred of hours!!!!!!! So we wrote a ODE to packing supplies and I'm sure you will enjoy it:
"Dear Danae, Kayloma & Heather, how lovely are your wrappings, oh virtuous women though art, soft and squishy are your bubbles, supple & malleable are your coverings, how majestic & mighty are your cardboard. Ye, though we pack through the darkest hours, we will fear no breakage, no leakage, no harm will befall our treasured bounties for Mika, Jackie, Sylvia, Chris, Rose & Jason's Rubbermaids are our fortress."
The good: We have finally moved all our belongings to either the garbage (thank you Bristol), to the recycling (GREEN family we are), MCC (thank you to all the volunteer for this incredible ministry), storage (thanks to the Buhler family), Marchand's house (special thanks to their dogs for allowing this nerve-wracking operation), Snaith's house (my dressers already feel at home), Grunthal (Mike's parent's house) or in our "Africa suitcases".
The BEST: April 27 came upon us, and able bodies showed up at our doors, after having being screened extensively by Darrel. We separated them into crews, depending on their capability & skill levels. Turns out most failed at reading my sticky notes, and even the color coded method was lost on them....
That aside, we praise the LORD for friends & family. We are so blessed. I bet I would have shed a tear if I hadn't been so busy trying to keep all these men in line. It took 90 minutes to empty our house and left me feeling dizzy! Once the men had finished unloading to all the different locations, we ate some pizza on the floor and praised the Lord this part was over.
The Bad: The chaos of moving half way across the world with 2 little kids isn't something to be messed with. It will not be laughed at, mocked, or taken lightly. This is serious business and definitely not for the faint of heart. I've gotten more bruises in 4 weeks of packing than a clumsy child learning to walk and have said more insane things than ever before. I overworked this body into thinking I'm much older than 28, leaving it with a limp, dark circles and complete exhaustion! Mike lost his voice and is feeling sick, and both the boys have runny noses.
The bonus part: 7 ladies, 1 man, 1 child - came to my house on April 29, equipped with pails, cleaning supplies & food. This could have been such a sad time for me as we have lived in this house 9 years, laughed and cried, gone through life, but the Lord turned this sadness into laughter as these wonderful people shared this "burden" with me and showed me the hands and feet of Jesus: ONE MORE TIME. Thank you Lord. One April 30, Gil Leclerc showed up with his killer carpet cleaner, rescuing my poor body from more abuse and leaving the house smelling and looking better than ever!!
The HOLD your BREATH part: I just checked online and our Visa application has arrived back into our Niverville mailbox, we will go pick them up today. Hoping it's a YES this time :)))
The worse but still kindda hilarious: Yesterday I was so overwhelmed leaving our house for the final time after a good day of scrubbing and I backed up into our BBQ. Good thing it was junk anyway. Thus is life, but it opened the gate of tears & emotions I had so carefully held back to that point. But now that this flood is "over with", I'm feeling ready for the next chapter. We've been so blessed by countless people surrounding us and helping us in this transition time, we couldn't begin to thank them all.
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