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Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Change. Again.

As an expat (a person who lives outside of their passport country) I experience change all the time and in a variety of ways. Time changes range from 2 hours when we fly to the capital or 15 or 16 depending on Day Light Savings time when we call or fly to the States. Job changes- teacher to stay at home mom. Supply changes- some of the items that were available (Campbells Cream of Chicken Soup, tubs of margarine, the occasional box of Kraft MacNCheese, bacon/ham/pork products)  when we arrived 10 years ago (WHAT?! 10 years?!!) are not available now, but other items are more available (Dorito brand Nacho Cheese chips, cheese, BBQ sauce).

Some colleagues have been known to change houses frequently due to desire or circumstances changing requiring them to move. It's my opinion that we don't like to constantly be on the move. We experience that on furloughs- moving from here to there. Each newly returning colleague reporting on how many miles they drove, how many beds they slept in, and how many states they crossed- ALL explaining how glad they are to be back to their own beds, their own routine, and their own space. Now don't get me wrong, we LOVE connecting with friends, families and partners BUT it can be tiring living out of a suitcase experiencing lots of change all at once. 

So when you find a house here, you settle as best you can, living life, planting roots hoping and planning on never having to move again. 

We have lived in our house for about 8 of the 10 years we have been in country. Missionary years on the field can be the equivalent of dog years- you do the math! 8 years in missionary-speak is a REALLY long time. This has been our home. Our space. Our family has grown to fill the rooms in this house. We've brought babies across the ocean to *this* house. We've shared life with these neighbors. We've watched their babies grow. We've said good-bye to neighbors who have sent their loved ones to another island for better opportunities- one was for cancer treatments and others have been 12 year olds being separated from momma and daddy to pursue a better education. We've been included in special holidays. I've shared laughter with other mommas and grandmommas. This neighborhood has been "mine" for several years. This one tiny street that included 30 kids who were invited to Kate's first birthday- this is my home. 

Our family has doubled in size since we first signed the contract on this house several years ago. At the end of each year we always evaluate if we should move or not. The timing and the desire has never matched up. Until our return last October. The neighborhood kids have grown up. No longer is it socially acceptable for 9, 10, 11 year old boys who usually play outside (while the same aged girls are in the house tending to home responsibilities because culturally they are not usually outside playing) to interact with a 4 year old girl, her baby sister and their momma. There were few kids their age. The street they play on seems to be getting busier and busier. They need a yard. They need to be outside. A feeling that now is the right time to move started to grow. Doors of opportunity were opened and we moved forward in faith trusting God to provide the best location for our needs, desires and dreams.

At the end of May we signed a contract on a different house. Renovations have been happening since June 1. We plan to move Thursday, August 9 through Saturday, August 11. We have been preparing for this move for several years. Some days I am ready. When it's nap time and I hear a chair move in the neighbor's house. When we sit down for dinner and an audience is watching across the street. Some days I'm not ready and my heart is sad. As I stand in my kitchen looking at the mountain washing dishes, I remember how the neighbor boy once sat on the fence between our houses and would play with the stray cats- he always said they weren't his but the cats always seemed to go to him for food. I want to make sure I have as many phone numbers as possible to stay connected, to have play dates with the few friends K and A have from this neighborhood. I'll never forget the day my Muslim friend unveiled her face to me for the first time. Her smile was radiant. I have only seen it once but remember it when her eyes show her smile. It's the people I will miss. Not the walls of the actual house, but my neighbors. The people I have intentionally shared life with. My hope is that I will not be "too busy" or distracted to invite them over, but I will be all the more intentional with continuing to build these relationships growing them from acquaintances to friends. 

Friends, would you pray? Would you pray that the actual moving would go well? Pray that on those days there would be no rain- especially Saturday. Moving in the rain stinks! Pray that our girls, especially Kate, would settle quickly and this new house would quickly become their new safe place, their new home. Pray for Josh. He has been working SO hard on this house. We know it is an act of love. He is tired and ready for this final leg to be finished! Pray that all will things will happen smoothly. We praise the Lord for a new location- great neighbors (many that we already know and have friendships with), lots of new friends Kate and Allie's age already live or will be moving in soon, lots of room for guest (hint hint), and lots of room for upcoming activities like hosting pre-school. We are also grateful for many reminders of God's love through the many cheerful helping hands that have loved us in practical ways from watching kids to make trips to the hardware stores to painting walls to moving sinks and to installing outlets, lighting and door handles. Thank you and we love you all! Pray that we have opportunities to say good-bye well. 

Our house in 2010 

 
Images by Freepik