Updates and Timelines

Thank you for your prayers last week about Milo. It was hard. I did the ugly cry for about 15 minutes after Delena left with him. But we could feel the prayer and it definitely helped. Please pray for Delena and Milo. Milo had to have another surgery this week to relieve some swelling from his neutering a couple of weeks ago. He is now in a cone for 10 days. Hard for him and, I know, for Delena. I cannot tell you how much peace I've had knowing he is being loved and cared for so well. I was worried that it would be hard for the boys to come back home and not have Milo here greeting us. They have been a little sad, but for the most part, brave and understanding. Again, thank you for the prayer. It is helping.

We have a closing date on the house...March 19th. We had our termite inspection this week and are waiting to hear about the appraisal. Please continue to pray that everything falls into place.

My last day at work is March 18th. We will close on the house on the 19th and finish packing everything up that weekend. We will leave Smyrna around the 24th and head to Georgia to take some things to our missionary partners' house that will go in their crate for Africa. We are very, VERY blessed to have the opportunity to crate anything. They are quite gracious to share their crate space with us. As short-term missionaries, we would not otherwise be crating. We are only allowed 3 checked bags each when we move. So again, this is a huge blessing. Rick will be able to take some tools with him and I will take some extra kitchen things that would have been too large for suitcases. I will need all the help I can get in the kitchen, since my cooking style is about to drastically change. We'll be able to take canning jars and extra batteries for the solar panels.

We'll spend a few days with Daryl and Glenda, then head on to Florida for a family vacation. We haven't had one of those in about four years. So we are VERY excited about that. And it will be much needed by the time we get there.

On our way back home, we will stop in Georgia again for a few days to spend with Ross and Olivia, who should have their new house by then. And after that, we'll be back home around April 6th or 7th. From there, we will have one more weekend at our home church.....SO GOING TO MISS OUR CHURCH. And only about week or so left with our families before we leave for orientation. Can't even think, yet, about how much I will miss all of my family and friends. We have to be in Virginia by April 20th.

We will be in VA for 8 weeks. Our commissioning service with the IMB will be June 17th, I think, then we will head back to TN on the 18th. We will be home for about two weeks, finishing up last minute packing, saying goodbyes, and counting down time. We don't have our final flights yet, but I think it will be sometime the first part of July that we will head out. I will keep you posted.

Over these next few weeks, please pray for us. I am a bit overwhelmed with all the packing and cleaning out the house at this point....what to keep, what to store, what to pack (in our 12 suitcases), what to give away, what to sell. It goes on and on it seems. Please pray for our sanity and emotions to remain intact. Pray for patience with each other and the kids. We all have lots of adjustments coming. Lack of sleep, a massive to-do list, and not a lot of time left is wearing our nerves thin.

Thank you all for your love and support!!!! It means more than we can say!