My friend Daina, who was the headmistress at the nursery school where I taught in Mbita, says I am her 'sudden traveler'. She claims I only gave her 24 hours notice when I went to visit Uganda 4 years ago. (This may be true, I can't be sure, how can I be bothered with remembering such mundane details?) She also remembers that I come and go from Kenya and within Mbita itself with little warning. (She doesn't exactly have an email address.)
This conversation reminded me that last year, I bought a ticket to New York about 36 hours before actually leaving. When I said 'I think I'll go to New York tomorrow', people thought I was joking.
What can I say? I like spontaneity. (I like it in concept, that is; the actual word is proving to be rather difficult to spell.)
My point is this: I am not actually leaving today. I have decided to extend my trip for three more weeks. The main reason is that we are unable to buy the land I originally intended to buy, and I am going to spend the next three weeks searching for a new location. The added bonus is that we should be through with our registration process by then, and I will be able to view our certificate with my very own eyes.
The downside is that I will miss the following: Book club (sigh), Matt and Ciara's wedding, and my very own welcome-home party (Sorry, Ange). I will also have to figure out how to pay my bills through July and get rent money to my roommate (Sorry, Ginny!). But other than that, things should work out okay, and I am of course looking forward to spending more time here in Nairobi.
Oh, the other thing I'm worried about is that this is cutting into my auction-preparation time. By the time I get home there will only be about 2 and a half months till the auction! (OCTOBER 4TH OCTOBER 4TH OCTOBER 4TH) Oh yeah. And July and August are the only actual months I enjoy living in Oregon. Too bad I'm spending my summer there, enjoying winter here. Oh well, right?
The delicious irony here is that my bags are already packed. I have never, NEVER, in my six trips to Kenya and back, various other missions trips, study abroad in Europe, and four years of venturing to San Diego and back, EVER, have I packed more than, say, 12 hours in advance. As I got more and more accustomed to traveling, I confess this time was often cut down to, and I am not exaggerating, about 2 hours before actually leaving for the airport.
And this time, I packed on Monday. MONDAY. I wasn't even supposed to leave until today, WEDNESDAY. Do you see what I'm getting at here? "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today", my foot. I'm changing it to "Always put things off until tomorrow, because you will just have to unpack anyway".
Please pray that the next three weeks are fruitful. Ideally, we will find land we want (and can) buy, meet with the owner, get the land title paper deed thing to my lawyer, obtain proof of registration as a trust, and...dare I hope? Pay a down payment on the land.
But this is all a bit optimistic, given our steady history of setbacks and obstacles. So we will see what God has in store for me.
Miss you all!
13 comments:
THREE WEEKS? you told me two. also. that's half-way into july! and I'm going crazy. you realize that makes it two whole months you'll have been gone? dude. you should bring a copy of your registration so we can all see it and feel better about you being gone forever. that's my vote anyway. and lots of pictures of the new land.
the end.
Your packing feats are amazing, and really need to be witnessed firsthand. Blogging about it just isn't cutting it. : ) I remember when we moved in to our Rome apartment and you opened your bag, dumped out its contents and declared "UNPACKED!!" and then when it was time to leave 4 months later you just picked up everything and threw it all back in all swift-like. Boy did I feel foolish with the rolling of shirts and stuffing things into my shoes. Your way was WAY more effective and took no time at all!
I'm very excited for you that you get to be home for another 3 weeks! Best of luck in gettin' that land!
And not to worry, you WON'T miss the Iowa State Fair (August 9-19th). Phew!
So the land's not buyable. We would have had to redesign to some extent anyway...
I was going to cook a turkey for you! And it was supposed to be so nice this weekend... Adaya will be walking before you get home (I sure hope not). But she will have grown a whole inch by then, no exaggeration.
We will continue to miss you and pray. Now we have three more weeks to plan another party!
So, can we put you on the schedule for the 20th? To give an update, that is.
Hi Ash,
Interesting how God works, isn't it? Can't wait to see what he's got in mind. We'll be in touch about helping you with rent and bills etc.
God speed on the land issue. Stay safe, have fun. Love you.
-Dad
last time we let YOU choose a book.
The kids and I will be praying for you!
yes, I'd love to give an update on the 20th!
ps michelle, i miss the good old days, when our 'closets' consisted of piles on the floor, and our friday nights consisted of drinking (kenyan!) tea and reading harry potter!
It hasn't rained for 2 weeks. It's supposed to be 90+ on my b-day (it's a record, I think). This is the most amazing June-Oregon ever. We miss you in unusually sunny Ptown.
So what happened with the land? That's what I'm curious about...
uh. what portland are you living in?
This past week has been pretty amazing, but that came on the tail end of record breaking Juneuary, from which i am still recovering from frostbite.
Field day was a blast, believe me you (Fleece gloves, boots, down vest and all- no joke)
Oh. And it was 56 when i got in the car to take the kids to camp this morning.
Anywho...
Ash-a-bee's mini-wolve update-
Ella is progressing- albeit slowly, in potty training. I'm thrilled to announce that this morning she started to leak and the grabbed herself and somehow managed to stop the flow before creating a puddle on the floor. Hooray for firsts!
Blythe has been having a wonderful time at Camp Rainbow (no joke) this week with Genevieve and Addy and Emily doing all sorts of girly crafty frilly things and is barely keeping her eyes open for the rest of the day.
Cade has been tearing it up or grinding it right or something at Skate Camp all week. Though he is very disappointed in the counselors who don't seem to give a crap if you fall. Rude awakening and all for an 8 year old. ALSO you will be thrilled to hear that i discovered a book series that he WANTS to read (yay for Captain Underpants- never thought i'd be saying those words)and he read the whole thing in 24hours!!!!
Sierra made the 9-10 year old ALL Star Team (she's pretty amazing that kid). I wish you could see her play. So we are hanging out at the park for a couple hours a day, which i am not minding so much now that the weather is NICE. She also is on her EIGHTH book this summer, jumping out with a giant lead in our no-tv-book-reading-summer-contest.
Justin is working a LOT and has fit in a couple rock climbing sessions with our friend from FPU, Tad. And let me also tell you how THANKFUL i am for his company truck (and gas!). He also managed to introduce our new Indian Ford Lawn Mowing kid to Christ. Must be a gift, no?
I am running around to most of the above, hanging with friends who are brave enough to join our crazy escapades, reading when i can, supervising swimming here and there, and trying to breathe through the pollen. I'm finding it difficult to keep up with MY stuff with the kiddos around 24-7, and i'm exhausted at night, but maybe i'll figure it out in a bit. (oh and i FINALLY found a dress, though not an amazing one, for the wedding)
Sorry this was a Christmas in June letter. I wanted to tell you in person today and all, but this will have to do for now.
love you!
Uh. Ginny says she doesn't know what she wants to say. A little stressed out. She's getting some bites off the craigslist for roommates, but its significantly more difficult to chase them without the internets at your apartment. So, some help from the papa would be great.
I think the weather has been great enough lately I don't even remember more than a week ago. Looks like you will miss out on the strawberries also after all.
And listen to treebeard, don't be hasty. Good luck.
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