Update on August and September

If you would like to know what life for me has been like the past 2 to 3 weeks, here are some photos to share with you:

Notice the Cowboy Hats!!

I have so many praises to share with you that are represented in these two photos!

First, the large stack of boxes in the first photo are all "dish boxes"...meaning they are double walled and sturdy for fragile items. The reason I share this with you is because they were all given to us (along with a huge stack of foam envelopes that protect dishes and glasses)!! What a wonderful gift from the Lord through our friends...the boxes pictured enabled us to choose a different shipping company that charges significantly less than most. That leads me to my next praise, the shipping company. We contacted JAARs, a division of Wycliffe Bible Translators, to arrange for a quote...which ended up being $3000 less than other estimates we recieved, but still $2000 more than we expected. In addition, we knew that we would have to provide and pack all of the boxes, so we were still in a pickle regarding more cost (sturdy boxes and packing materials are really expensive!!!). Just days after we received the JAARs quote, we visited a friend who said she had several dish boxes in her attic. We expected 5 or 6 boxes, not 30, box problem solved!!!! Another item given to us by another friend was a huge roll of shrink wrap!! So, after watching a few “How to pack your dishes” videos online (yes, it’s true, and they are really helpful, follow this link: GentleGiant), I was ready to go!!

You may be wondering why there are so many “fragile” boxes…that is due to the packing material. I probably over-padded a few of the boxes, but I would rather be safe than sorry! You may also be wondering why we decided to ship all of our dishes and fragile items…well, there are a couple of reasons. First, since we have been living with Thad’s parents for the past 3 years, all of our dishes and such were packed away in storage. We decided that after 3 years of storage, we would rather ship them over, so that they could be used. And second, but more importantly, these items are the only items that will really feel like home to us, since we are not shipping any furniture. It is going to be fun to unpack everything in Kandern…it will feel like Christmas!!

Why did it take me nearly 3 weeks to pack all of that?? We have to be really careful to itemize our boxes both for Customs reasons and for Insurance purposes. For Customs, each box will be labeled “used dishes” or “used clothes” or “used DVD’s”, and will be given a “garage-sale” value (so that we will not be charged import taxes or anything). But for Insurance, each box will be specifically itemized and given a “replacement” value.

Even though I may have utterly bored you with my packing expedition, I hope that you were able to see God’s hand in the provision given to us. I still have a bit left to do, so pray for my energy level to stay up!!