Snow!

Our apartment has now taken on a box to chair ratio of 6:1. It is t-4 days before we move out of West Chester and officially begin training for Kenya. It's hard to describe all the feelings and emotions that go along with this transition, but I'll try and walk you through some of them.

1. Lots to do: as compared to some times in my life where my life revolved around an 8-5 workday, I am now free to do as I please. However, this opens the possibility to do many different things that can be overwhelming right now. For example, I am currently trying to rip a dvd that my computer doesn't recognize, find a lockable gas cap for a Suzuki motorcycle only made in New Zealand, create a photo album of Steph and my first 18 months of marriage, and organize a party for us in West Chester. It has been such a good idea to not be working, but my mind sometimes goes to hyper-mode with such an endless list of random things to do.

2. Support Steph: A major emotion for me is trying to know how to care for my wife. I don't always know what she's thinking (unbelievably enough) and its hard to see the stress of change wear on her.

3. Isolated: Entering into a new stage of life always brings some challenges in experiencing things your friends/support system aren't going through. Generally, they can relate from past experiences i.e. marriage, death, new job, school etc... But for leaving the country as a missionary couple, we don't have many close to us who can relate. It is much harder to connect with people right now.

4. Excited/Scared: This one is kinda like a pinball machine, the flashing emotions seem to go off without any rhyme or reason. Often, while lying in bed, I'll think to myself, "whoa, I'm going to be in Kenya next month and that's scary!" Sometimes during the day, I daydream about getting off the plane and finally doing what we've been planning for months.

5. Sad: Saying things like "we may not see you ever again" is always weird, and we go through that during various life transitions. My dad just resigned as pastor of his church, and he taught on how change brings both hope for the future and sadness. He taught the children's lesson and had them wave goodbye to him (a very touching/cute moment)

6. Tired: While I'd hate to have 5 hours each day with nothing to do but entertain myself, having a life-goal (read: being a follower of Jesus) can be tiring stuff. I rarely related to the "I need you every hour" aspect of Christianity, but that has made more sense to me lately. More days begin with a feeling of emptiness, which had drawn me closer to God on a minute by minute basis.

7. Ready: I am so ready for Kenya. I am so ready to follow God in a radical way. I'm so ready to feel like I'm doing something with my talents. I'm so ready for the joy of obedience.

Monday we played in the snow, it may be the last time in awhile.