The day for our departure to Africa is very near. Soon we’ll be on a plane headed to the unknown, and although we are currently buried in last minute preparations we are at peace. There is no question whether we should or should not go. Our assurance is rooted in what we sense the Holy Spirit, whom we trust, leading us to do. We’ve also witnessed the hand of God at work in our circumstances and we’ve been given confirmation from Him through His Word. His presence is unmistakable.
The residency permits arrived in the mail yesterday. We also purchased our plane tickets and finally have an official departure date...February 10th. It was a party moment at the Taylor house. Now the packing. Because we bought humanitarian tickets we each get two bags, plus a third for free, as long as it's full of humanitarian items - medicine, school supplies, etc. The kids and I declared yesterday the start of "winter break" from school and began packing. We packed up everything that we don't use daily and the things that definitely aren't going with us, starting in the boys' room. They are allowed one suitcase of toys and their clothes will share another, and that seems to be enough for them. God has certainly prepared their hearts for this. They aren't sad about what they're leaving behind, just looking forward to what's ahead.
While we pack Dan is tending to all the paperwork. Updating the will. Checking with our insurance company about different medications. Making copies of our important papers. Filing taxes. Suspending our local accounts. Wow! I am so grateful for him. Please pray that we are able to stay focused and organized these last couple of weeks. Pray also for our safety as we fly. 14 days to Africa!
This just in...our residency permits have been APPROVED! We are now legally permitted to live and work in Africa. We were concernced that our application might not make it through. The documents required are extensive...copies of passports, shot records, birth certificates, our marriage licence, college and high school diplomas, and more. The problem was that many of those documents were already in storage because of our extended RV trip. When we put them into storage we had no idea that we'd need to quickly get our hands on them, so we didn't clearly mark which box, or even which storage unit (we have 2) they were in. We have no idea where they are! (I think there's a lesson in organization here somewhere.) Trying to find them would literally be like digging for a needle in a haystack. Instead, we got copies of most of the necessary documents from state or federal agencies. All except one. My high school does not re-issue diplomas, only copies of your transcript. I thought that would be sufficient. It says right on the bottom of the document when the diploma was awarded, but there was some question as to whether it would work in Africa. In the end, all we could do was pray. And thankfully prayer is enough. We appreciate all of you who prayed our paperwork through. This is a major victory and we thank God for tending to even the smallest details!
Now, time to buy plane tickets. Please pray that we are able to get through our last minute "to-do" lists and that we find a good deal on airfare. Pray also that we will keep our eyes on the task that God has set before us, not looking back, but resting in the fact that He will equip those He has called.
When we started this process we thought we'd be spending this Christmas in Africa, but things have worked out differently. We are so grateful to be spending the holidays with friends and family - treasuring every moment. We've been to parties, decorated sugar cookies with lots of kids, and read more than our share of Christmas books. But, we know there's a lot more to Christmas than receiving and we thought we'd pass along one of our favorite ways for keeping things in perspective.
