With support raising finished we can shift into the packing and planning phase. Many have asked us when our departure is and what our time line looks like, so here is what we know so far.
April 27 - we leave Forest and drive to Nampa, Idaho to the MAF Headquarters. A 30hr drive straight but we plan to break it up and see a few things along the way.
During our time there we will be living at the MAF Headquarters
in a fully furnished apartment which is great, so we will not need to haul
all of our household things across the country with us.
In Nampa we will be participating in a number of different
sessions.
May 1 - 14 Nathan
and I will be taking part in the MAF US orientation course which is designed to
help us live cross culturally. Part of
this also includes an Inside Out Safety course and a Marriage seminar
weekend. Child care is provided for the
girls during our sessions and the oldest 3 will be attending a few of their own
sessions to help them also prepare for living in Africa.
Beginning May 22 and through to July 9, Nathan will be doing
his standardization training where he will be learning the ins and outs of the
specific aircraft that he will be working on for the DRC. As far as I know there are no requirements
for me and the girls during this time, so we will be hanging out and hopefully
able to find a few things to do in the area.
July 13-24 –will be Candidacy with MAF US for Nathan
and I. Some aspects will be similar to
that which we did in Guelph prior to our support raising and we may be able to
sit out on those sessions while other sessions will be designed to bring us up
to speed on the MAF US’s processes and procedures.
July 27 – 29 will be our security training course.July 30 - we begin the drive back to Forest at a quicker pace, but still not driving the 30hrs straight.
Aug 2 - Aug 10 - final preparations, packing and good byes
Aug 11 - depart for Uganda
Aug 12 - arrive in Uganda ready to begin the next part of the adventure.
As I write this it seems like a whirlwind of an adventure for the next 4 months, but there is excitement in the air as we work through the packing and also make plans for schooling and housing in Kampala. The girls are doing so well at purging their belongs and talk excitedly about their new school and friends they will make. We thank God for His continued work in their hearts as they prepare for this big change.
We will continue to keep you posted on our preparations and what life will look like for us in Kampala, but for now, I need to return to my "to do" list and fill more boxes for my give away pile :-)
