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| Elizabeth at Opryland Hotel 12-2010 |
These past 17 days have been very full but enjoyable. Christmas was fun with Maria and Michael visiting. Great to spend a few hours with Matthew and Amanda too. I began going thru the house, trying to sort what would go to Ghana and what would stay. I used my experience living in the bush in Burkina Faso as a guide. While I would have liked to have taken more food, this time we are setting up housekeeping all over again. 21 years ago when we crated we were crating from a church country pastorate at $150/week (but the benefits were outstanding with the church fellowship we had), so we didn't have to struggle getting what we owned in our crates.
While I enjoyed being back at school for a couple of days January 5 and 6 to give exams, I wish we could have finished them in December so that I could have more cleanly severed that leave taking. I am encouraged by the talent and passion for teaching my replacement has. As I was leaving school Thursday, I asked myself if I wanted to turn and take one last look--but I didn't. I was so tired and ready to break free. I reveled in the opportunity to read and learn how to teach English to adolescents, but the work load for teachers who want to be prepared to reach their students in the public school classroom is brutal.
As we return to the field, we have 21 more years of "stuff." What we have goodwilled and been given to help set up housekeeping in the US in 2003 was augmented when our shipment of goods from Burkina Faso arrived in the spring of 2005. We also are taking back larger refrigerator and freezer than what we shipped before because we will have electricity. In addition to the sleeper sofa (like what we had before), we have a double bed for a 13-year-old instead of no bedding like what we had for a 1 and 3-year-old. And then there's the love seat, the tandem bike, the old rocker recliner for Bart. It adds up. Thankfully, God has provided jobs for both of us the last 7 years so we can buy what we consider necessary from the US to set up housekeeping. I also know what's involved in cooking and cleaning in W. Africa vs. the US. It's a great help to have a well equipped kitchen overseas.
So the 4 crates are packed. We don't know when they will ship out. We will be living out of our suitcases for the next 6 months--Virginia, Ouagadougou, then Nalerigu until the crates arrive. This is where the real challenge comes in--the household goods destined for Africa are packed, we unloaded a substantial amount of goods Friday and Sat. in a yard sale, so now we must clean out the rest of the house and decide what is essential to suitcase life. We are trying to work in 3 pile: Virginia, US for a couple of weeks in March/April, then West Africa.
What impressed me the most during the garage sale is the tremendous amount of stuff I had accumulated. My prayer for the new year is to go before God for help to live more simply. I don't know if I'm brave enough to live like my sis--"if I haven't used it in a year--out it goes." But it would help me to aim for that as my goal.
I also need to be a better housekeeper. When I confessed that to Bart, he kindly reminded me that there had been little time for housekeeping as busy as I have been teaching school. Still, if cleanliness is next to godliness, there are plenty of people sittin' closer to God than I have been the last few years.
Time to go sort piles for Maria and Matthew of a few more things I found for them as I was packing up the house.
