I've written very little over the past 8 years. Now I want to jump back in as life has changed dramatically and there are stories worth writing home about. Let me begin with a brief summary of the past few months. Each of these is worth multiple posts on their own and maybe I'll come back to them in the future.
- I married Charles in July of 2023. That's a huge change. I'm grateful to God for bringing us together. He's a good man. Part of marrying him is joining him in his adventures which are taking us to Mexico City. Charles is using his language abilities to help a Mexican organization translate the Bible into the indigenous languages of Mexico which are spoken by 24 million people.
- June 7 was my last official day with Central Rivers AEA where I have worked as an Occupational Therapist for the last 8 years. I worked with some great people who endeavor to help families, teachers, and students. I will miss interacting with students and seeing them grow and develop.
- We spent a week in Florida so I could complete orientation with Wycliffe. This was a restful time in the midst of everything else going on. We enjoyed a day at Epcot where Charles was delighted to speak 6 different languages.
- We celebrated our 1st anniversary with a nice meal in St Paul after being granted permanent residency visas by the Mexican consulate.
- We got the house ready to sell and sorted all our belongings into the following categories: garbage, give away, sell, long-term storage, and take-to-Mexico. We are so grateful for friends who helped us pack, clean, load and unload the truck. We could not have done it without you all.
- Good-byes are a part of every move. We spent as much time as we could with both sides of the family and enjoyed 5 days in Wisconsin with Charles' side of the family. Saying good-bye to friends in Waterloo was particularly difficult for me. I will visit and my phone number still works, but I won't have regular face-to-face contact so it's not the same. These people have had a big impact on me.
- We spent time in Sibley storing our belongings in my brother and sister-in-law's (who is Mexican) basement and paring down the take-to-Mexico pile to 6 pieces of checked luggage (4 of which were boxes) and 2 carry-ons.