Baby Steps!

One of the things that stresses us out is what to take to Kenya. While we can get pretty much whatever we need within an hour of RVA, there are questions about price and quality. Some tell us to take very little.  Others, (who tell us they are minimalists) took 15 suitcases for a family of four. Everyone tells us to bring chocolate chips. Good to know! But we are counting on a friend's cookies (that's you Kristin) arriving on a regular basis. No one has given any advice on Peanut M&M's. Pretty sure they don't know about Jane's dependency on the candy that melts in your mouth, not in your hands. Probably we will have to get the UN to do an airdrop for those.

A bit of back story is needed to put last weeks stressor in context. We simply don't do things late. We are the early bird that gets the proverbial worm. Jeff is a lifelong member of the "Time Nazis". Seven o'clock means 7...blah, blah, blah. So last weekend we get a list of 7 or so families that are selling their households, meaning all you would need to set up your residence at RVA. For a variety of reasons, we missed the boat. Gone by the time we inquired. Huh? We looked at each other and said, "Hey, should we worry about this?"

At first, we were thrown off balance. As mentioned above, this is not a situation we find ourselves in often. It was uncomfortable, but only mildly so. We have a plan moving forward. We are counting this as a win. We didn't waste time worrying. We so often fall victim to stress and anxiety as chronicled earlier in these posts. Odds are that we will have to learn this lesson again in a new setting. But we are seeing signs of growth in our faith. Yay! Now, about those Peanut M&M's?

Waiting for the Sea to Part Exodus 12

As many of you know, we are working on a visa issue to be allowed into Kenya. This has been a frustration, hurdle, story problem, an unknown, stressor, humbling experience, learning experience, faith builder, well frankly it has dominated much of our thoughts and planning for nearly 2 months. It is being worked on from two angles, a lawyer here in the states and by AIM personnel in Kenya. We are confident in the end it will be worked out.

Here is some of what we have learned. During this time we have experienced many of the emotions the Israelites had when they were fleeing Egypt to go to the Promised Land. Let's not get carried away, we are not in fear of losing our lives nor are we fleeing slavery. More like there is a hurdle in the way of going from one great place to the next great place. Yet, it is how we feel. Our foot is in the air hovering over the Red Sea waiting for the sea to part. There have been tears. We have, for periods, turned our back on going and contemplated pulling the plug.  We have stopped our preparation.  We have lost some of the joy.  We have questioned our call. But mostly, we have looked up and focused on our Savior and looked for direction. We have been directed to:
     -Continue our preperation
     -Share our burden with more people
     -Count it all joy when we struggle
     -Embrace this opportunity to learn

Don't for a minute think we are complaining. In the middle, looking back, we can see God working. Looking forward, we have anticipation that he will remove the hurdle. Our preparation is back to a reasonable pace and we are making progress. Please continue to pray that we will be granted our visas and work permits. Thanks for sharing our journey with us even though we haven't really gone anywhere yet. Encouragement is a very high octane fuel.

In Case You Were Wondering

We, especially Jeff, spend time thinking about what is the bottom line? How much does this cost? High school play, Bob Seger concert, it doesn't matter, he will extrapolate the total and we will have a conversation about was this worth it? We attach value. We amatorrize, New mattress? 10 years? $84 dollars per year. That seems like a good value.

Two people well past middle age asking for $105,000 to spend two years working at a boarding school. Ouch!  Ooohh that may be a tad on the expensive side. Is this a good value? Well, we think it is a bargain. That's a full time person, most days 24/7, for under $27,000 a year. Both of us look at each other and think getting him/her for that amount to do what is being asked blows the mattress out of the water.

We know we are biased and have blind spots about our mate. Not so much so we can't look at our spouse and say you can get them for a school year for $27,000? You better jump on that deal! Seriously, the qualities we see in each other are exceptional. (How is bragging camp going?) Flaws? Yes, but the total package is solid and  worthy.

Jay two months.

As long as we are justifying things, here is one more. Rift Valley Academy, where we will be working, is a year round school with three month long breaks spread throughout the year. We hope to travel home a couple times a year to check on our kids. To be completely honest we really need to touch our grandchildren. FaceTime is great but it doesn't replace hugs. We promise no funds raised will be used for these trips. Retirement savings will take the hit to fund this extravagance.

We have no clue if anyone but us cares or thinks about stuff like this. We do though and we believe in full disclosure. There will be other things we wrestle with. You can find our thoughts here.

Ari 2 1/2