What is the Opposite of Nesting?

The rules of English would tell me that "unnesting" would be the opposite of the nesting instinct. But in reality, it feels more like uprooting. Instead of just taking apart the twigs and grasses that make up our nest, I feel like I'm digging up the entire tree!

For those of you who have experienced nesting (or been around someone who has), you know that overwhelming urge to get everything in order, clean, find its place, and create a sense of belonging and purpose.

I am going through those same emotions, but not to create a nest of my own! I'm trying to find a new home for every twig and blade of grass that has been a part of our nest for all these years. We have six and a half weeks left here in California before we go to Colorado and spend Christmas with our families. Then we resettle in Texas for a month. Then we go on outreach to Sierra Leone for three weeks. Then we move into a cozy, cozy family cabin onboard the Africa Mercy for two years of life afloat. Our nest is taking flight- going through a hurricane these days. So when our nest gets rebuilt, it might look like a hummingbird nest instead of a flamingo's.

Our day looks a little like this: list furniture, belongings, cars, appliances, electronics, toys, books, school supplies, and housewares on craigslist. Stack, sort, and pile for garage sale. Box and separate keepsakes. Sort, sort, and sort clothes, toys, electronics, photos, kitchen items in three piles: for the SHIP, to STORE, and to SELL. Research health insurance. Check on travel shots and immunizations. Get that last teeth cleaning scheduled. Plan farewells. Ask all those questions I still have no idea about regarding ship-life.

I feel very much like a Human Doing these days - ship, stash, sort, clean, list, sell, pack, ask, respond....verbs, verbs, verbs....

Yet in the midst of this, is a peace that surpasses all understanding. The reminder that this is just temporary stuff, and even though I like some of my stuff, it's not irreplaceable. They won't stop making these things in two years. I'm not moving to the moon. I think I can get a new pair of shoes in Africa when mine break, or if I forget to pack the right kind. And this stuff isn't what brings happiness and contentment and joy anyway. It brings clutter, and stress, and more obligation! So with this peace, I am finding freedom.

And I'm being reminded that this is a season - there is an end to this, and what we are working towards is worth the effort and the passion that keeps welling up in our hearts.

So while I don't feel like we're in a season of resting, (does an ant ever feel like he is resting?? Or a worker bee??) I do feel like we are being lavished upon with God's provision and His grace. He is just one little step ahead of us, luring us along, reminding us that He will never leave us. He will provide for our every last need and desire when we're in-line with His will. He will never ask us to do something that He wouldn't be willing to do Himself. And in this dying to self (and dying to stuff ), we find life. And that's the life that I want to find. Now where's that packing tape?

Mercy Ships

So, what will this new phase of life look like?



Mercy Ships is an international, global charity that seeks to bring hope and healing to the forgotten poor of the world. The primary means of doing this is by offering free surgeries to those that have no access or means to receive this care on their own.



The areas of focus are based upon Jesus' incarnational (real, tangible, physical needs) model of healing laid out in Matthew chapter 11:

1. The blind will see (cataract surgery)


2. The lame will walk (clubbed foot repair)


3. Those who have leprosy are cured (VVF surgery - vesicovaginal fistula repair - this is a condition where women leak urine or feces as a result of prolonged, unassisted labor, usually resulting in the death of the child. They are shunned for their embarrassing yet uncontrollable odor)


4. The deaf hear (cleft lip/palate repair)


5. The dead are raised (those outcast by disfigurement and tumor growth that have been written off by their villages can now return and function in society)

Added to these, Jesus says the Good News is preached to the poor. We see it modeled to the poor by this unconditional love. Surgeries for free - no strings attached. The only requirement for help, is willingness and need. Through this outpowering of God's grace and mercy, His gospel is exemplified.

Where Do We Fit In?

Dan, with his medical experience and background will be able to use his training now in a ministry setting.

The girls will attend Ships Academy, a school onboard for the 50 or so students who live full-time on the ship. The classes have less than eight students per grade, and are involved in the community of the host country as well as just their academic subjects.

I will be able to work while the girls are in school at a position suited for my administrative strengths, or possibly my teaching background.

As a family, we have committed to serving for two years and know these next two years will be life changing for all of us.

I could attempt to try to describe what life will be like on the ship, but I'll leave that to Don Stephens, founder of Mercy Ships, in this video. I also encourage you to check out the website as it has a wealth of information.

Timeline

1. Now to December: Sell our home in California, sell our cars, sell our posessions, wrap-up homeschooling, and head to Colorado for Christmas.


2. January 8th: Report to Gateway, a four week training program including Faith Foundations, Working with the Poor, Personal/Interpersonal Development, and Basic Safety Training at Mercy Ships' Headquarters in Garden Valley, Texas


3. February: Fly to Sierra Leone for a 2.5 week Field Service time to apply what we have learned.


4. February 25th: Join the Africa Mercy at the port in Sierra Leone.

Needs

Unless you've randomly found this, you must have some interest in our lives (and for that, I'm grateful and flabbergasted!). Here are our needs for the present time:

1. Processing through all our "stuff" with peace/clarity/unity as we decide what, how, and how much to sell of our things
2. Prompt sale of our stuff, including our California home and our cars!
3. Procuring a safe place for us to store some of our keepsake possessions
4. Providing a new home for our beloved Jake, our 11.5 year old German Shepherd mutt who we rescued from the pound at age three months. He is easy-going, laid-back, hairy, but oh-so-sweet. We'd love to find someone we know who needs some companionship and would let us visit him when we are back stateside.
5. Peace as we go through these many changes and transitions.
6. Provision - we are working on our budget for life on the ship. We will be required to pay crew fees to live on the ship, in addition to travel to and from the ship, health insurance, and all the everyday cost of life. Obviously surgeries are not "free," so part of the way that these surgeries are funded for the patients (so they are entirely free to them) is by requiring crew fees for volunteers. Whether you're a eye surgeon, or a chef, you pay crew fees. We will be raising a team of supporters who will partner with us to help change lives in West Africa.
7. Protection - as we step out in faith, we are more susceptible to the enemy's attacks of discouragement.

Thank you for your love and support! I'll probably revamp this entry several times trying to get it right, but for now, I want to get the word out so you can know how to pray for us. :) Love you all!

How We Got Here

Well, it's a been a few months away from the blogging world, but that doesn't mean it's been a boring few months.

I'll try to paint this picture simply, but the fact is, it's more of an intricate tapestry woven together with thousands of strands that worked uniquely to help us arrive at where we are today.

Upon our return home from Iris Ministries in Mozambique, we experienced culture shock in reverse. Our hearts were broken (and a little disgusted) at how quickly we get lured into the trappings of "stuff" and self-obsession in the land of convenience. Our hearts longed for the simplicity and utter faith we saw in Africa - of people who depend on God and rely on Him because they don't have a plan B. We prayed long and hard about returning to Mozambique to serve long-term with Iris, but felt that ultimately, our heart had been to find a place where we could all serve together and feel like our talents were being maximized. While Dan had an obvious fit in the medical area there, it would have been quite isolating for the girls and a real struggle to carve out family time.

We spent May wrestling with these issues - still feeling our hearts broken for the people of Africa, but not knowing how to move forward. We decided to lay it on the table and not go searching out ministry/service opportunity after opportunity on a goose chase. We felt like the Lord would bring something to us if we let him have the chance.

So, we tabled our mad pursuit. Dan was set to start a new job back in the rush of trauma medicine in June following a trip to Colorado. On our visit we met with many friends and family, among whom were my aunt & uncle, Joy & Steve Brien, who served many years overseas with Mercy Ships. We compared notes on our experiences in Africa, and matter-of-factly, Steve asked, "I hate to state the obvious, but have you considered Mercy Ships? It seems it would suit your family very well."

This question left us perplexed. Not at why it would suit us, but at what point had we stopped considering it. Back in the dating years (oh so many, many years ago now!), we had talked of Mercy Ships as being an integral part of our future. At some point along the way, this plan had been tossed out. Dan thinks I had an aversion to boats (but I think that's another story.:)). I don't remember exactly, but it was encouraging for us to hear that after serving with them for several years, Steve & Joy would be pointing us in that direction.

We started researching as much as we could, and the more we learned, the more our hope swelled.

Meanwhile, Dan started his new job, and in matters we can only explain as God closing the door, lost that job just four days into his training. As we sought counsel on this and were trying to figure out what the explanation could be, repeatedly people would ask, "Weren't you going to move to Africa? Don't you think that is what God is doing?"

So, we took a step of faith and completed our application with Mercy Ships. Dan took a 13-week travel nursing assignment at a local hospital in the Sacramento area leaving our options open for this fall. In September we attended an Introduction Seminar at Mercy Ships' headquarters in Texas and were continually impressed by the heartbeat of the organization, their accountability, and vision.

We have been waiting since July to hear if they would have room for our family. You see, the ship is large (499 feet long, with 474 berths), however, only 26 of them are for families. So, we waited for them to fill the urgent positions, and give precendence to those candidates who might have families to bring on board.

Our nerves were getting a little bit batty - this happens when your life is full of a bit of uncertainty (okay, almost complete uncertainty). I'm sure you've experienced it. Our answers included a lot of, "We'll see...," "Perhaps," and "Who knows."

Thursday I had hit the end of my rope with uncertainties. I was bombarded with lots of ugliness this week (weird dentist appointments, car problems, financial issues, etc.) and a friend reminded me that right before we get an answer is often the hardest oppostion. Then I attended a Bible Study where the entire message by Beth Moore was on TIMING! and what it looks like to wait on the LORD instead of waiting on a thing. So, we discussed this and realized that in our impatience, we needed to back off and let God do His thing. When we wait on the Lord, He renews our strength, contrary to when we wait for something else and we are left exhausted.

Sure enough, Friday morning we received word that they have room for us on the ship, and for the girls in the school on the ship. We are elated and feel utter peace (even though now our brains are going about a million miles an hour trying to calculate all that needs to take place in the next two months).

So today, we are thankful. Grateful. Excited. Emotional. Hopeful. Anxious. Overwhelmed. Equipped. And ready.

See "Mercy Ships" posting for how this will pan out.