When we bought our house 10 years ago, we had 3 young kids under the age of 4. We had naps to coordinate, diapers to change, and a house to make a home. We have raised our family here, and have so many memories attached to it. We fell in love with the neighborhood, it's proximity to everything & making it our own. However, we know that memories are not contained in the walls themselves, and we will carry them with us wherever we go - even to the other side of the world! The selling of our house (in a very slow real estate market!) was heaven sent! Jon & I said it many times to each other over the last few months how relieved we felt that the right buyer came at the right time. It's just another confirmation from God that He's opening doors for us.
The last few weeks have been busy. We did some vacationing & visiting, and after we were back we did a whole ton of purging & packing. The house is empty, cleaned, and the keys are being handed off to the buyer TODAY! We have moved in with my parents, and will stay here until we leave for Zambia.
We are excited for what the future holds. Last time we moved to Zambia there were many unknowns that we needed to figure out when we got there. This time around it is nice knowing what to expect in a lot of aspects. No doubt there will still be a learning curve, but just not as steep as last time! We have had a few Zoom calls with the Zambian leadership of Living Hope that has us very excited to get our feet on the ground and get to know them, and familiarize ourselves with the work of Living Hope.
For those of you who pray, we ask that you remember us in the next few weeks. Here are a few things on our hearts:
that Jon's work permit will be approved & in a timely manner
for strength & peace for all of us as we start having to say some hard goodbyes
for energy & clarity to wrap our heads around homeschooling/online classes for the kids' school year
. We appreciate each of you who have followed along, offered encouragement or sent messages to us. Always feel free to reach out with questions or comments!
(And finally, thanks to our dear friend Charlene Stam Photography who came over super last minute to snap some final pictures of us at our place! You're the best, Char!)
With love,
Renae
Just a quick hello. We have a new person in your house. He is a tradesman of some sort. He has a cargo trailer, a utility trailer and a fancy sports bike. Have not met him yet. He does wave though. All good here, they have started to dig behind us and we are patiently waiting to see what the final grade is going to do to our place. Other than this, all is good and we hope the same with you folks.
Talk soon,
Much love
R n S
Thank you so much for the update. God bless you as you make final preparations and we hope and pray that the journey there goes well and that you're able to settle in to your new home well.