It's been one month since our announcement that we are moving to S Korea for one year. We have been in a whirlwind of activity as we prepare for this incredible adventure. It seems that we've had many moments of hurry-up and then wait. Todd has been often encouraging me with, "we have plenty of time!" and just this evening he said, "I'm starting to feel a little stressed." Yes, everything did seem so far away and now we are only weeks away from our year in The Land of the Morning Calm.
Here a few things that have been accomplished:
1. All of our visa application forms arrived safely in S. Korea and are currently being processed. As soon as they are returned, we will send them to the Korean Consulate in Chicago.
2. Our house is rented. A kind lady is re-locating to the area from Austin. It seems like a great fit for her and for us.
3. We have started packing our house--and getting rid of stuff.
4. Found a wonderful home for Fritz. Our friends, Chris, Angie and Grace, who live in Ohio, will take care of Fritz while we are away. This is a huge relief--I miss little Fritz though and it's only been 1 day.
5. We are reading and endeavoring to learn about the culture and people of S Korea.
What's next?
1. We are waiting on dates for our departure. We hope to know the time frame this week. We have read and have been told that you need to be a little flexible so we are trying. We hope to leave around the 14th of August but it may be the 17th or 18th.
2. We still need to sell our car.
3. Finalize all of our house details--packing, storing, moving.
4. Spend time with family and friends!
This week we will be attending a family retreat through our church. It's a beautiful gift to our family to have this time together, to pause for a few days from all of the busy activity of preparing to go. Afterwards we will visit Todd's parents for a couple of days and then return home to finalize our trip. We will also make a trip to St Louis to see my family--we were suppose to go this weekend but I came down with some awful stomach funk and we couldn't go.
A few prayer request:
1. That we would be able to meet all of our needs over the next several weeks. God has been incredibly faithful to provide for us--we are grateful!
2. That our visa paperwork would be finished quickly and returned to us.
3. Sale of our Car.
4. Peace. Over our hearts and the kids as we prepare to go. The kids are doing well but it will be quite a transition. We are endeavoring to prepare them as much as possible but there is only so much you can say or read about what our experience will be like.
Todd and I continue to be amazed at how this has all come together. We believe this is the right thing for our family at this time in our lives. Thanks for being part of the journey with us!!
