Well, here we are midway through May and we are back to life as usual, which for us means constantly living in transition with the knowledge that withing a couple months we will call Cambodia home. We are all very excited and wishing we had an exact departure date but also trying to enjoy our last weeks in the states for a while. In our hearts we are kind of there already but have to wait for all of the other details to fall into place. A couple of recent events, however, have moved us closer to being fully prepared to leave.
The first of these is our training. We finised that on May 1 and it was an amazing time. It is so hard to describe the impact it had on all 6 of us but suffice to say that it was well worth it. We connected with 50+ other people who are all in a similar position as ours. None are going to Cambodia but we had 5 continents and probably 15 - 20 counties represented there. It was so good to gain encouragement and insight from others on the same type of journey. What amplifed the blessing was that there were many kids there and each of our kids found friends their same age. It was bittersweet when we had to leave but each of the kids left there encouraged as they also have made lifelong friends who are walking down a similar road as theirs. We all left with hearts and minds prepared to move.
The second thing we did to prepare us more fully to move was to have a large garage sale. We were basically selling almost everything else we own (ie. all of our winter clothes, kitchen stuff, decorative items, bikes, camping gear, lawn tools...etc). God blessed us with good weather and great traffic. We sold a lot and donated the rest of the stuff to my parent's church for their Youth Group garage fund raiser. So basically, we are left with the clothes in our closets, a few decorative items to make our new home feel homey (not homely), a mixer, a blender and my cordless drill. Something about that feels so good. An amazing non-coincidence happened during our garage sale. A woman and her father were shopping at our garage sale and noticed our sign regarding us moving to Cambodia. It turns out she moved here from Cambodia about 7 years ago. We visited with her for 20 minutes or so and it was just delightful. I even practiced some of my Khmai (Cambodian language, not a form of martial arts) on her and her Dad. We plan on getting together with her again before we leave. It was such an encouraging "appointment" arranged by God.
So that brings us to where we are right now, conflicted. Ready to go but not able to yet. We are trusting God's timing as we try to reach 100% of our monthly support needs. We know this is just part of the process and are trying to embrace it while trying to say all of our good-byes. Although it is hard and sometimes uncomfortable at times, we know this time is just part of the journey and really are enjoying the new experience. You can be sure that as we draw closer we will keep you all updated. God Bless.
By the way, anyone reading this wanting to help with support can do so at http://www.asianhope.org/. Click on the "Donate" tab. Thanks in advance.
