Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Falling into place

Well, after my last post, I was just having a hard time getting back on here to write. I guess I have been stuck in a rut, having an extra long pity party, freaking out, or some combo of these things, but I am back, for now!

A lot of stuff has happened for us over the past week. Yep, it was only a week ago that EVERYTHING was up in the air and I was pretty much going out of my mind. Now, just 7 days later, things have all fallen into place. Praise God. I know it had to be Him, because I was certainly not doing anything productive or helpful during that time.

First, we will be closing on our house next Friday, the 28th and moving to our new apartment on the 29th. (If anyone wants our new address, leave your email address in the comments section and I will get it to you. ) So that is huge. I am feeling ok about moving. Honestly, I am not thrilled about moving to an apartment because we have been so spoiled having our own house, with our own yard, where we don't need to worry if the kids are stomping too loudly on the floors, a garage and shed for bikes and cars and so much more. Now we will have a three bedroom apartment, second floor, no garage, no yard. After storing our bikes for the winter (thanks Jon and Rachel!) we will be keeping them in our spare bedroom, assuming it is still a spare room and one of the kids isn't sleeping in it. Oh yes, we are going to try having them sleep together so that we can have one room to store all of our "moving to Africa" stuff. It is all going to be fine. Different, but good. The apartment complex is really nice and we will still be living right by all the stuff we are familiar with, so it is all going to be ok.

The other big news is that we picked a time to head overseas AND made flight reservations, which means this is really happening! On Saturday June 11 we will be leaving Grand Rapids around 4:30, heading to Chicago where we'll sit til around 8. Then we'll fly through the night to London, land around 9, have a TEN HOUR layover (hello Big Ben!) get back on another plane that night and arrive in South Africa a little after 6 on Monday morning. Crazy, I know, but I am also trying to tell myself it is going to be really fun and that we will all sleep for at least 3/4 of each flight. Maybe you can all start praying for that right now!

So, all is well. Right now I am just trying to sort out stuff to get rid of, stuff we need for the next 4 1/2 months and stuff we need to take along with us when we move. It is overwhelming and stressful, but compared to a lot of other things that people are dealing with, it's not bad at all. I can do ALL things through HIM who gives me strength!

4 comments:

Amy said...

Very cool news! We prayed you guys at the PM service again on Sunday and some of the people who remember you asked how you were doing. Do you have a support letter of any kind that could explain your ministry in South Africa? They were interested in reading more about it. Or else I could probably find an old blog post that explains it and copy that.

jonna said...

Amy, thank you so much for praying for us. That really means a lot to me to know that the people at Sunnyslope have been praying for us! We don't really have anything that describes what we will be doing as we aren't really sure what all we'll end up getting involved with. There is some info on our blog about things that we did in 2008. You could always give our blog address if nothing else. We aren't being supported as we are planning to support ourselves with the business we are starting.

Anonymous said...

Always love reading your blog, Jonna! So thrilled for you at how everything has fallen into place for you - I know it's an overwhelming and stressful time...Any move is...and especially one that's on the other side of the world! Hang in there, and let me know if there's anything I can do for you!
-Jenny

carolinecollie said...

Hey Jonna, I am glad you are hanging in there. It is easy to feel like your whole life is turned upside down in this transition (because it kind of is) but remember that Jesus is the center -- you're going to be fine!

Just in case you decide the travels are a little too much to handle, we had a nine hour layover in London on our last trip to the US from SA, and we booked into the Yotel at Heathrow's Terminal 4. It's like a tiny hotel, with rooms the size of a cabin on a ship, but it is great to have a quiet space where you can lay down for naps and just relax for a little while. (I'm pregnant, so putting my feet up was a big deal!)

If I can help in any other way, let me know! Blessings for the adventure ahead!