Almost Ready to Go

It is almost time to go. The past week has been filled with goodbyes and last minute preparations. There can be no thinking that things can wait until next week! The last packing is the worst. Things that have been moved many times already now have to be packed to keep, packed for Bolivia, or discarded. Hopefully, a few more hours and that will be done.

And then there are the unexpected things. The stove in the house just quit. It served us faithfully for 28 years and I was counting on getting a new one when I came back – whenever that would be. Now someone else will benefit from a new one while I cook on an open fire. How ironic! Auntie Tena received word that she could move into a room with an exterior window at the Seniors Lodge so we will move her on Friday.

We will be leaving on Monday, we hope. The next weekend will be spent in Sioux Center, Iowa with Jake’s parents. Then we will proceed to Florida to attend the ECHO conference on Tropical Agriculture. ECHO is an organization that provides a clearinghouse for information on tropical agriculture for missionaries and development workers. We are looking forward to this conference and are sure that it will be challenging as well as interesting. After the conference we fly to Cochabamba, arriving there on Nov. 12. Language School starts on Monday, Nov. 14.

Language school will be challenging. Jake feels especially apprehensive about this part of the journey. We ask for prayers that we are able to learn Spanish and that we will be willing to practice it. Even though the learning may be easier for me, I know that I will have difficulty actually using it.