Finding Faith in the Battle

Well, there were times we thought it would never come, but here we are. The typical NW rain is coming down outside, and we're on the farm in Salem. We drove out of Yakima on Sunday, only an hour later than we planned. The crates are packed and in the care of dear friends who will take responsibility for loading them on a truck down to Texas where they'll wait until we have Malawian work permits. We managed to fit almost everything in, though we later discovered a couple things we forgot about (the kids' time-out bench...maybe baby Isaac will be angelic and not need one!? the air mattress for camping trips...I guess we'll just have to really rough it!). And the vacuum cleaner had to stay, but all in all it was a success. There are a couple lessons we learned that we thought we'd pass on, just in case you ever find yourself packing crates! Diapers make GREAT padding and stuffing items. Buy at least one bag of the more expensive Huggies or Pampers...everything smells b

Miriam loves checking things off the list and that is what we have been doing for--ever! But the shopping, packing and crating are nearing an end. My Dad comes Monday to help me build the two crates (87x87x45 each). We hope to pack them by Thursday next week. We calculated and planed exactly what must or should go with us, but in the end it feels a little random: Two kids' bikes -check; Anya and Ethan will be so happy to see them next October. One washer, one dryer, one refrigerator-check; appliances make life so much easier. I thank God for placing our family where both pluming and electricity are available. That reminds me, a lawnmower -check; I bought one of those push mowers (no gas or oil required). It's better on the environment, better on the budget, easier to fit in the crate, but a little harder to use--hope I don't come to regret that decision. 20 boxes of books -check; now this might seem a little excessive, but a teaching missionary's tools are his books: Ol