When one looks back on it, the past month could be likened to a video run in double time!
Slowing the coverage, one can note the following parts: Completing the preparation of our house to hand over to the God-ordained renters; dealing with the art of packing: the 15 crates with clothing ( 2 of the 15!), supplies and electronics for Haiti; then the division of intermediate short-term apparel into piles - "Indiana in winter", "Charlotte in January", and "Traveling to South Florida and Haiti".
The coverage then dims and expands to the packed schedule of Global Partners Missionary Training Institute in Indianapolis and the harried escape at the end of the week from the ice and snow and delayed planes to balmy Charlotte. Then, a couple days with family and before we knew it - we find ourselves in Ft. Pierce, Florida, anticpating moving to Haiti day after tomorrow! Yikes!
Let's unpack this video with some crazy 3-D glasses on!
The Lord's provision, seen with clarity! Dear long-time friends Barb and Ted Jennings needed a place to stay until they can move into a condo of choice; we needed a renter. Voila! and Praise the Lord! When we had been cleaning out, weeding through and storing, we did it without knowing who would be living in our Clemson home, but trusting that it would be God's choice. When the decision was made, the final days were clearly joyful, envisioning our friends there.
Once again, we were packing for Haiti. Once again, the living and dining rooms were cluttered with clothing and materials and electronics waiting to be carefully placed into their specific places for the trip down. Once the crates were filled and weighed (as in that last trip in October), we were ready to move on to more immediate packing and sorting needs. In the thirteen days preceeding flying out to Haiti, we would be in three different climates, requiring different sorts of clothing!
Larry was fond of saying that Global Partners was aclimatizing us in the cold north before we move to the hot Caribbean. Right on! While it was snowing outside, we were housed in the international headquarters of The Wesleyan Church in Fishers, IN, attending the training missionaries have before heading to the field. We were overwhelmed with the excellence ( and the packed-ness ) of the schedule, knowledgeable and effective presenters, very worth while and necessary information, and the top quality of the overall training. The information pertaining to hostages was a little unnerving, but the information about what Global Partners had in place - just in case - was impressive and very encouraging.
Heading back to Charlotte, we had some wonderful time with daughter Meg and her family. Then all the kids and their families, plus Aunt Gayle, Larry's sister, gathered for lunch on Sunday and an extended visit time together. What a great, precious afternoon!
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| MamaG and Sir and the Grimes and Spear families at the Haiti Send Off Luncheon |
The underlying solid assurance of God's call to this year in Haiti offered the balm to ease our hurting hearts with each good-bye.
Clarity - Monday, the 23rd, THE day we were to head south to Ft. Pierce. The last farewell to Meg's family was accomplished in the drizzle (another ironic weather happening since it is the dry and dusty season in Haiti!) and we were soon moving down the long driveway and into the future.
One day later, here we are - still reeling from the speed with which it has all happened! This time last year, the idea of serving in Haiti was not even on our radar, had not even entered our thoughts.
Yet, now we are commissioned Global Partners missionaries, with the assignment to serve on the island of La Gonave, Haiti, for the next year!
Never know what the Lord will do next!
