Wow! We've been busy since our last update. It's definitely that time of year when the clocks seem to pick up their pace heading into the holidays, so you've probably felt the same acceleration effect. Our timeline to Alaska advanced quicker than we had previously anticipated, so we're definitely feeling the rushing time!
We packed our household goods in New York and shipped our container to Soldotna on 18 Oct. Please pray for a smooth ride for our furniture as it travels 4,529 miles via truck, rail, ship, and truck again on its way to our new home in Alaska. Although we've made 19 home moves over the last 21 years, this one is a bit scarier knowing how far it has to go & how many times the container will be shifted around in the process.
After shipping the container, we drove to Ohio where we picked up the small teardrop camper we'll be using on our trans-continental journey. Imagine a bed on wheels, and that's about the size of it. Hopefully we'll be able to survive the close proximity to each other during our drive (smile), but we will definitely enjoy the flexibility of not being dependent upon hotels during our trip up the Alaska-Canada Highway. (Yes, it's still a six day drive from the western Canadian border to reach Soldotna!)
Since leaving New York we've already had a pretty significant trip as we're using the extra time we gained by shipping our furniture quicker than scheduled to visit our families in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and South Carolina. Later we'll get to see the "West Coast Reese Crew" as we pass through Washington. We're so happy that God worked out all the timing so that we can see our entire immediate family prior to our relocation. It has been a long time since we've seen everybody in such a short space of time!
This Wednesday on 3 Nov we will fly from Chicago to Anchorage with our three cats. This was another unexpected blessing after finding that it was extremely problematic & expensive to fly the cats from New York to Alaska. Fortunately we discovered in the process that we could fly the two of us plus the three cats non-stop to Alaska from Chicago for as much as it was going to cost us to send the cats alone from New York!
If all goes as scheduled, we'll close on our home purchase on 1 Nov just before our physical arrival on the 3rd. Please pray that continues on schedule, as our bank has had some trouble keeping their timeline commitment so far. And pray there are no other unexpected surprises in the process, such as the additional $4K out-of-pocket expense we'll now have from the less-than-expected property appraisal value.
Our container is scheduled to arrive on/about 3 Nov also, so we're praying we'll be able to move our furniture into our home by about 5 Nov. We'll leave the cats in the home (with MARC friends to check on them!) and fly back down to the "Lower 48" on 9 Nov. Then, we'll start the grand drive from Indiana to Alaska on 11 Nov. Our drive should take us approximately two weeks.
Are you tired yet? Pray that we'll sustain the right level of energy to make it through the next couple of weeks. David managed to get a nasty sinus infection during the pack-out from New York but is recovering nicely now thanks to Dr. Reese's phone-in medical & prescription support from Washington--thanks, Steve! Pray that we'll stay healthy & sane!
In case your head is spinning from that schedule description, we've put a simplified calendar immediately below in the next box so you can see where we'll be on what days and how you can specifically be praying for us. We definitely covet your prayers!!
We look forward to our arrival in Soldotna with the MARC family prior to Thanksgiving. We will certainly have much to be thankful for by that stage of the game!
Daily we're thankful for your prayers & support! Although we're pressing ahead to Alaska on faith, we still need to raise the remaining 40% of our required initial financial support. If you haven't yet, we would appreciate your prayerful consideration of what God would have you do to support our missions effort in Alaska.
If you're so led to contribute toward the remaining need of $24,000 please learn how you can help:
We're so thankful to have this opportunity to share God's unconditional love with those in need in the sad conditions of western Alaska's villages.
