After months of research, quotes, calls, and emails, the day finally arrived that we shipped our belongings to Zambia. This was a new experience for us in shipping a container overseas because on our last mission assignment, we lived in a furnished apartment so we only took suitcases/trunks of our personal clothing and such. Imagine trying to decide what to pack that you won't see for 3 months (or more). We tried to wrap Kelsey so she could ride the ocean, but she didn't think that was a good idea :)
Every box or wrapped item had to be numbered, inventoried and valued for customs. Shrink wrap came in quite handy! We even had some wonderful donations that will be helpful as we build onto New Day with more homes for the orphans and rooms for our volunteer teams!
The forecast for Monday was not looking good - RAIN 70% chance. But by 5:00pm we saw the sun peak out a little and the rains held off for the 2-hour live load. The container arrived promptly and our driver, David, was very helpful in getting us started.
Thanks to some awesome friends, we were able to store our furniture in this warehouse a couple of weeks prior to the container arriving. This provided some much needed prep time for wrapping and numbering everything. And each time our furniture was moved, we were blessed by the generosity of several strong guys.
With room to spare at the back of the container. I guess I should have made one more run to Walmart for something?
Coby was in charge of crawling to the top to make sure everything was secure :)
I was concerned that 2 hours would not be enough time to load, but we did it in about an hour and a half! At 7:00pm, David was driving away with all our furniture! Next stop, Savannah port; then to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania; and finally to Mapanza, Zambia :)
There are soooo many people who were involved in this "move" that we want to thank. For those who helped move our furniture, not once, not twice, but 3 times (sold house in June, moved to rental house; ordered container in July, moved stuff to warehouse; also took stuff to yard sale in town; and finally loaded container in August). Well, I guess there will be one more "move" or shall I say "UNLOAD" in Zambia when the container arrives. (I wonder if those same strong guys will be in Zambia to unload?!)
A special thanks to some friends in the tool business (Craftsman and Ryobi to be exact) - you guys are AWESOME!!!
Numerous others who so gratefully donated pieces for the Guest House at New Day - you know who you are - VERY THANKFUL FOR ALL OF YOU!
And we can't thank the Tidwells and the Wilcoxes enough for all of their help in working out logistical challenges and for their love and support through this transition. LOVE Y'ALL!
Everything just got REAL. Pray for the remaining days we have before 3 of us depart the USA and begin this next chapter of our lives. Today, 2 of our children started school (Austin 12th grade and Kelsey 7th grade), and in 12 days Coby will begin his 9th grade year at RVA in Kenya.
NEW DAY here we come!!!
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