The Beginning Adventures to China

Readers it has been a long time since I have written anything, but I can honestly say it has been a chaotic month for me. A month ago I volunteered to take wedding photos for a refugee couple from Berma.

The photography gig was a wonderful opportunity for experience and to bless another couple. It was also the most expensive meal I have ever paid for in my life because of doctor visits, antibiotics and an ER visit. After I shot the pictures I made myself a plate of Bermise food (it looks like Asian food). I wish I had felt full, been warned beforehand or didn’t eat the food but I did. God allowed me to get a dreadful case of food poisoning that set my body in a battle with a bacteria and inflammation that lasted a month.

I won’t go into detail about my food poisoning but I will say a few things I learned or am thankful for:

-my father and mother aiding me to feeling better, doctor visits, smart water, etc.

-my awesome husband holding my hair, loving me, buying me Green Giant (a fresh squeeze juice from Whole Foods) daily for about a week.

-for friends praying for my healing; their prayer worked (Praise God)

-the invention of prune juice

-God’s truth and sovereignty that I was safe in His hands.

Well praise God for healing. If I learned anything, I will never have Birmese food again (no offense to Burmese people) and I will try to eliminate wheat from my diet entirely. The wheat story is for another post in the future.

China…….well since I was so sick for a month before we were to leave AZ, God provided us with grace and help. My mother, father and Gayle helped us so much in preparing to leave our home: packing, cleaning, garage selling and supply buying.

My husband, Denny, and I got so many things accomplished in about a weeks time…more than we had over months. My husband would describe me as a pack rat. I got rid of so much STUFF in a weeks time. We sold a little less than half of the STUFF at a garage sale and the rest was picked up by people from a FREE ad on craigslist. Denny jokes that we should move more often. I will admit getting rid of things from my earlier life, useless items, aspired items, bargain, free, crutch, aspirational, outgrown, buyer’s remorse clutter is freeing. (These decluttering ideas I got from a wonderful book I would recommend to read, The Happiness Project.)

Our last day of work was Friday August 17, 2012. I will miss my nanny family so much. Thank God for the technology of Skype. We had our garage sale 6am on that Saturday and a quiet low key going away dinner with some close friends at Buffalo Wild Wings.

Sunday we went to our last service for a long time at Redemption Church. Sunday afternoon my mom, dad and Gayle helped with the packing and cleaning of the house. It took me a long time to pack for a year. I managed to pack all my toiletries and clothes in a big suitcase and backpacking bag. That evening we enjoyed a dinner with my family at a old hotspot, Oreganos. Warning they don’t have gluten-free pasta so I had to settle for a antipasto salad. (It’s a bummer; their marinara is so good.)

Monday, August 20th my husband did some last minute cleaning around the house. We were delaying our departure waiting for a roasted coffee shipment from the UPS service. They didn’t arrive at our house till 7:15 PM. God is funny with timing. My checklist that day consisted of last minute toiletry buying and the bank.

I went to a health store to buy a rock salt deodorant and lightly salted popcorn. The store was out of my popcorn and I explained to them I wasn’t able to take a rain check because I was going to China for a year. I asked if I could get a discount on the deodorant and guess what? I got deodorant that was already on sale for 50% off. It was such a blessing from God.

For preparing for our trip to Asia Denny and I sold things on craigslist, had a garage sale and turned in our loose change sitting around the house. Warning to WellsFargo customers, they don’t have a machine and the employees will not roll your coins. I showed up with a bucket of change collected over the years. The employees said they wouldn’t roll my money so I asked them for paper rolls and sat down there in their lobby and rolled them, with the help of my awesome mom. To the fellow walker I must had been a funny sight to see but I didn’t care.  Every cent counts.

Monday, August 20th at 7:15pm we set on our new adventure. The first few hours I realized my dream of living international was coming true. In about a weeks time I will be living on foreign soil for a year. My mind was boggled with rushing feelings of excitement and nervousness. I will be a changed person. This coming year will be a good challenging year of growth. I am so excited to see and experience this journey God has my husband and I on.

My husband was determined to drive straight to Illinois from Arizona and we did, though it was painful. We have an old 1988 Jimmy that had no air conditioner. But thank God again, on our trip we were blessed with cool weather. The day before the trip my husband also fixed the radio and the horn that had been out of service for the last year and a half. Moving is an amazing perk to get many small task accomplished.

I don’t want to bore you with our long road trip but I will share highlights.

• A non-stop cross country road trip you must have a driving buddy to take turns
• The best driving was watching the sun peak over the horizon
• Ever heard of a Spike? The caffeine pill worked
• Our dog is the best road trip dog ever

We are now visiting in my husband’s hometown and we have lots of before country leaving preparation in the midst of more see-you-laters.

My next post will be created on Chinese soil! Please pray for our safe travels!

Reader’s Question: If you have leaved the country for an extended time or if you have any advice for my husband and I on important things we need to do or bring to China? Please leave your wisdom below in the comment box.