Moving Day (by Amanda)

Moving day came and went with much to do this past Monday. There are definitely advantages to moving here in Mali. One is that we could actually afford to hire a crew; another is that I already have house help so she aids with cleaning the old house as well as preparing the new one. Of course, now I have my much-desired bathtub and it has been great. Yet it is still hard in some ways. You really have to get rid of many of your preconceived notions when you look for a house here, but you also need to learn how and what to unpack. Right now my kitchen is in a sorry state. Why? Currently I have no cupboards! I need to find someone to make them so all things are in Action Packers (large, heavy-duty plastic bins) or hanging on nails that were left behind by the previous tenets (I am very thankful they left them there). The other hard thing is that there are no closets. Since Thom and I knew in advance we bought an armoire for our bedroom and the mission allowed us to have one of the dressers that was left behind by other missionaries. We hope to buy two more: one for our office / guest room and one for our linens and things. Since there are no cupboards in kitchens it should come as no surprise that there are no cupboards in bathrooms either. Just try to imagine all the clutter you would normally put in your closets lying on the floors, sitting in big plastic bins in corners and along the halls. Still, I am so thankful to God that we got this house. It is a very nice house and it has the most beautiful courtyard with green leafy things and a few flowers. We are so blessed by God with everything we are given sometimes I feel overwhelmed by it all. We could use your prayer as both of us are not only tired from moving and we still would like to get out and get those few other things we think we need, but also the heat is very hard to deal with. Just so you know that last part goes for all the missionaries here; we could really use grace in this hot season. Thank you so much for all of your encouragement and for your prayers.