Friday, June 22, 2007

So, now what?

Alright, further blogging about what is going on in our lives. While we wait for inspections and things we need to repair to make the deal for the house go through, what other things are going on with us? Here is our itinerary for the upcoming few months.

I will terminate my employment 2nd or 3rd week of July. My wife will end her employment June 29, but may remain an extra week to help out if no replacement for her is found.

We will continue to store things that we cannot take with us into the field until the house is empty. Mail will need to be forwarded, the last of the bills will need to be paid off and closed out. We will also need to apply for the kids' Visas, and purchase some necessities for travel, like luggage. Deciding what to take, and what to leave. How do you plan to pack for 2 months? How do you plan to pack for 3 years overseas? As light as possible, I assume! Someone told me to use one of those fish scales to maximize your packing for 50LBS per bag, not to waste any space.

We will then visit and say goodbye to my family, who is out of state starting July 25 until August 5. Fortunately, they are all going to be in one place for a family reunion, or seeing all my family before leaving would not be possible.

August 5, we fly directly to FPO (Field Personnel Orientation) in Richmond, VA. We will spend 8 weeks at ILC (International Learning Center). We leave the ILC on September 29 to come back home (and stay with whoever will house us for a short time, since we will be homeless!), and continue to prepare for travel overseas.

We may visit my wife's family for a week after FPO if possible, and my dad may come to visit us around that time as well.

We have our flight itinerary for travel into the field. October 17, we fly from home and begin our journey into the South Asia region. We will probably get to our final destination city a few days or a week after that, due to some paperwork that may have to be done at the S.A. regional office.

These are the things we have in front of us. I'm sure there are many things to plan for that I haven't thought of, but we'll deal with those when they come up. Off to planning!!

4 comments:

Nomad said...

I remember those days well. In recent years, we have been using the Contico footlockers that you can get for $16.96 at Walmart. 50 lbs fills those up pretty quick.

We started out with those huge wooden footlockers you got at Walmart for $26.96 or so, but they weighed so much and they tend to mold if you live in the tropics. The plastic conticos can be used for bed-side tables, coffee tables, and tool boxes after you get where you are going.

Oh, yes... I remember those days.

God bless you in this time of transition!

Diana said...

please let us know what we can store for you.
You and that great wife of your has been a wonderful reminder to believe and TRUST that Gid can take it all.
We love you and please let us know if you are in need of anything from storage to a happy meal .

Debbie Kaufman said...

S.A.M. Know that you and your family are in my prayers and I also include you on the prayer list for my SS class. Over 35 women in that class pray for you guys a week at a time. I've been so thrilled to follow your journey.

S.A.M. said...

Nomad, thanks for the comment. Those footlockers are about $20 now, and we have filled one and sent it into storage where we will live. We filled it with sheets and towels and things to wait on us when we get there. We may buy a couple more to fill up, but I did get questioned by customs many times what I had in that footlocker, not about what was in the luggage. Thanks for the advice!

Diana, thanks for all your support and help. We don't know yet what we may need when the house is gone, but we will definitely need help somewhere. I am confident that our brothers and sisters in Christ will be there for our needs. God has blessed us with a great church family!

Debbie, please thank each and every one of the ladies in your class. I appreciate your interest and will do my best to keep every one of our prayer partners informed on everything going on as it happens!

SAM