Our Final Week....

So we now begin our final week prior to departing for Africa. Our plane leaves at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 22nd from Indianapolis. We will connect in New York (JFK) to our flight to Amsterdam (with a 5 1/2 hour layover...ugh), then on to Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania.

So what will we be doing during this last week? Saying goodbyes, eating lots of our favorite foods, shipping our luggage off to Tanzania and spending lots of time with family and friends.

UPDATE ON THE VISA: The visas are approved! Praise God!! We are now just waiting on getting a copy of the visa/residency permit to have with us as we travel.

UPDATE ON SUPPORT: We have almost all of the one-time funds that are needed for our move into Tanzania. We were blessed by a huge response to our need for a bush vehicle and that is now nearly taken care of. Additional gifts will go toward our shipping costs to get our personal items over and monies necessary to have beds made for our new home and purchasing other items necessary for running a home in Africa...like a generator.

Our sustaining monthly support goals have nearly been met as well. We would really like to get on the plane fully funded, so we are making one last push for anyone who has thought about supporting our mission work...now is the time! We need just a few more faithful monthly supporters. Contact us if you have questions regarding how to support us.

We are so excited! Everything we have worked, trained and prepared for this past year and a half is now beginning! What an exciting journey of following God with our children and our supporters...we're in this journey together!

PRAYER REQUESTS:

* that we remain healthy, physically prepared for the long flights
* that we tolerate the malaria medication
* that the Holy Spirit grant our parents an abundance of peace and comfort

Thank you!

A NEW YEAR'S UPDATE!

2011 - Wow! We haven't anticipated a new year as much as this one! After our year of transition in 2010, we are so excited for all the new 'news' of this year.

• new country
• new language
• new mission work
• new relationships
• new style of worship
• new home
• new foods

How thankful we are that with all of these new experiences and challenges we have the same God leading us on this incredible journey He has called us to. Thank you to all who have joined us on the journey! Happy New Year!!

WE HAVE A DATE!

Okay, so we have a TENTATIVE date to leave for Africa...January 22nd! We are sooo excited. So why is the date tentative? Two reasons - visas and support.

VISAS: To live in Tanzania we need residency visas. Our applications for these visas have been submitted and we are waiting for their approval. We really have no control in this process. The wait is a little frustrating, but we are trying to be patient.

SUPPORT: We are down to raising the last 10% of our sustaining monthly support and the one-time cost of purchasing a vehicle worthy of driving in the African bush. Just in the past week we have had 6 new people join us as monthly supporters of our new ministry work!

Please continue to pray for our children as our departure time approaches, for the remaining support to pledged, and for the approval of our visas. Thank you!!

Update of 'Bucket List'

Back in August, the children came up with a list they called their African Bucket List. Basically, it is a list of things they want to do before we depart. Several people have asked recently about the list so I thought I'd share an update.

In Colorado, Heidi got to go horseback riding.
The girls visited an American Girl store.
We've eaten at both Chili's and Olive Garden.
They had a sleepover with their best friends - the Wilsons.
Morgan will soon be going on a "take as long as you want" trip to Barnes & Noble. (Thank you, Charlene!)

So today...Heather's Aunt Janie treated the kids to Chuck-e-Cheese. Really, we didn't think anybody was crazy enough to do this! We're just glad we didn't have to take them :)
They spent several hours eating pizza and playing all the games with 60 tokens each! The manager found out it was their last visit to Chuck-e-Cheese for a long time and donated some extra tickets and cotton candy! THANK YOU AUNT JANIE for making a wonderful memory for the children.

Rabid?

So today we began our rabies shots...a series of three shots required before our move to Tanzania. They are expensive and, might I say, painful.

Heidi aka "fearless one" volunteered to go first and watched, of course. Then she was so sweet and held our hands as we took our turns.

One of the definitions for rabid is "going to extreme lengths in expressing or pursuing a feeling or interest." There are people who think we are crazy for leaving it all behind for Africa, but we are perfectly happy to be "rabid" about spreading God's Glory in Tanzania.

What's your address?

Someone asked me today for my address and I have to admit I was shocked to realize that we don't have one! When we got back to Indiana a few days ago from our support raising/training trip, we moved into the mission house of our home church. Technically, I suppose, this is our address for the time being. This transition stage is completely crazy and unsettling! It is a comfort to know, however, that we will soon live/reside/settle into our African home very soon. We are beginning to really understand that as a family "home" is wherever we are together as a family.

Commissioning

Our commissioning ceremony with CMF was held last night at their annual board meeting here in Indianapolis. We were also "capped" with an International Harvester hat, which is the CMF tradition for new missionaries. We are so happy to have completed our training and now officially commissioned! We have to thank our family - those who attended and those who took care of the children during the ceremony. We also have to thank our Plainfield Christian family. We were overwhelmed by how many PCC staff members and mission committee members were there to support us. Some of them have known Heather since she was a child! What a blessing it is to have the love and support of our home church!

Mt. Herman

Across from the MTI training center is Mt. Herman. Saturday morning we were free from class, so Bill and the other guys in our class climbed all 9000 feet of Mt. Herman. You can see Pikes Peak in the background of Bill's summit picture. By the way, Mt. Kilimanjaro, which Bill wants to climb in Tanzania, is over twice this high!

Mission Training International

So here we are at MTI receiving our final training before we depart for Africa. MTI is located just north of Colorado Springs in a beautiful setting. The course we are taking is three weeks long and is called SPLICE. Basically we are learning how to navigate the challenges of transitioning into a new culture, learning about what makes missionaries burnout, how to handle the high levels of stress on the mission field, and many issues concerning our four little missionary kids (called MK's). The kids are in their own classes and are talking about their expectations, fears, etc. There are twenty kids here in all who will also be leaving shortly. They are going to Equador, New Zealand, India, Poland, Slovenia, etc. It is such a great opportunity for them to be with other children who are going through the same transition as they are. Wyatt is in a class for 4-6 year olds. Heidi and Oleg are together for 7-11 year olds. Morgan is sometimes with them and sometimes with another 12 year old girl. Although this is an exciting time for them, it can also be a confusing and frightening time for them. We are so thankful for this opportunity and for our supporters who made it possible. Thank you!

Goodbye Aunt Betty

Today is my Great Aunt Betty's 85th birthday. Today is also the day she will be buried.

Aunt Betty was a gentle and tender woman with a sweet smile that always made you smile back. And she loved the Lord.

With the loss of Aunt Betty, we are confronted with the fact that when we leave for Africa, life here will go on. There will be deaths. There will be births. There will be graduations, birthdays and weddings which we will not be present. These events will add to the distance we will feel from home and family.