Home(less?)

I clearly remember one sentence that a speaker shared with us in one of our many weeks of training: "I felt homesick without knowing where home was." In this whirlwind of our last few weeks in Canada, I can relate to that concept better each day. We've packed up and left the place that has been our home for the past two years, and won't have a new house that is "ours" for several months. Even after that point, we don't know what home will look like. The village and house that will eventually become our home has only a scant representation in our mind, created by half a dozen pictures. So where is home right now? I don't know. Right now, home isn't a place. 

The things we will use to create our new home are packed into nine suitcases, waiting to travel across the world. New Amazon packages with the last little odds and ends arrive sporadically, filling up the nooks and crannies of each suitcase. We wonder if we have actually remembered everything we need, and then try not to worry about it. Did the nail clipper actually end up in one of the suitcases? "Where is the nail clipper? My nails are REALLY bothering me." "Let me check if it's on the list of things that actually got packed; yes, it should be in one of the suitcases." After an overhaul of all nine suitcases, we still haven't found it... but the list says there are two in there somewhere, so they should show up eventually! 

Messages arrive almost daily with little tips and tidbits to help us pack -- "Take tea along if you want it! Oh, and spices are very expensive here, so take your favourites." The advice and encouragement we continue to receive from our MAF friends who are already living in PNG has been a huge blessing to us. In the middle of what really does feel like a whirlwind, they help to keep our heads on straight. And they continue to assure us that regardless of how chaotic this time is and how uncertain the future seems, it is worth it. We are so excited to join this team of Christians who are ready to call themselves not only our friends, but also our new family.