Even though we’re still a few weeks away from leaving the country to begin our mission in Moldova, this mission is starting to feel much more real.
A
lot of our time lately has been spent doing the practical side of preparing —
sorting through the house, deciding what to keep out, what to box up for
storage, and what simply needs to go. It’s amazing how much stuff accumulates
over time until you start looking at everything through the lens of, “Will we
really need this before we leave for the next 18 months?
Some
days it feels productive. Other days it feels like we’re constantly making
decisions about what still matters enough to keep out and what can be packed
away until we return.
We’ve
also started looking at everyday things differently. Even grocery shopping
feels different now. Standing there trying to decide whether to buy a bag
of frozen fruit when we’re already working on clearing out the pantry and
freezer somehow becomes a real decision. Little things like that happen
constantly right now.
We’re slowly working through closets, drawers, paperwork, pantry shelves, freezer items, and all the corners of the house that are easy to ignore during normal life. We’re also trying to simplify things as much as possible before we leave — setting up automatic payments for utilities, switching accounts to paperless statements, organizing important documents, and trying to make sure everything can run smoothly while we’re gone.
In
many ways, it actually feels good to simplify life a little and clear out
things that aren’t really important anymore.
At
the same time, we’re trying to make sure the house is in good working order for
potential renters while we’re away. That means paying attention to all the routine
maintence tasks you tend to put off when you live in a house yourself —
repairs, maintenance, changing water filters, checking sprinklers, servicing
the air conditioner, and making sure everything is functioning the way it
should.
Most
of our boxes and personal belongings will eventually be stored away in the
attic until we return home. It’s a strange feeling preparing to hand your home
over to someone else for a while, even temporarily, but it also feels like part
of fully committing to this next chapter.
Right
now, the mission still feels both close and far away at the same time. We
haven’t left yet, but with every list we finish and every room we sort through,
it feels a little closer.
For now, we’re simply taking the preparation one step at a time.
