7 Quick Takes: The Final Countdown
1/ So here we are. It really is the final countdown.
After 15 months of processing, praying, discussing and imagining, we are in the final days. About 6 months ago, when we told our girls about the move to Hong Kong, we spent a few days making this countdown calendar together. Mostly to help our girls visualize our time left in Cape Town. It felt so long, but all along we knew we would find ourselves crossing off the last few days soon enough. And here we are. With 2 days left in our apartment, 1 Sunday left at Common Ground InnerCity Church and 3 weeks before boarding a plane, it is all starting to feel a bit more real.
And at other times, still not real at all...
2/ Goodbyes are in full swing.
I have shed my fair share of tears in the last year already, but you will be pleased to know that by the time I leave, my tears would have filled our Cape Town dams to a decent level. Saying goodbye to years of friendships, family, church family, familiar surroundings, and all I have ever known is really, really hard. One thing I have come to realise is that preparing to leave encourages one to reflect on what it is that you are leaving behind. Kev and I have always been incredibly grateful for everything and everyone in our lives but we sit at present totally amazed and filled with sincere gratitude for so many lives that have intersected with ours and impacted us greatly. We have loved spending the past few weeks enjoying these friendships, eating great meals together, laughing (crying) and making more memories. (And for once, I have been good at taking pics to remember all these moments). Thank you for all the encouraging and kind words that we hold onto dearly.
I am really not very good at this goodbye thing. I even get a lump in my throat thinking about saying goodbye to the security guards in our apartment block. And that’s including 'Mr Grumps'! When it comes to family, I am not yet too sure how I will manage.
I have shed my fair share of tears in the last year already, but you will be pleased to know that by the time I leave, my tears would have filled our Cape Town dams to a decent level. Saying goodbye to years of friendships, family, church family, familiar surroundings, and all I have ever known is really, really hard. One thing I have come to realise is that preparing to leave encourages one to reflect on what it is that you are leaving behind. Kev and I have always been incredibly grateful for everything and everyone in our lives but we sit at present totally amazed and filled with sincere gratitude for so many lives that have intersected with ours and impacted us greatly. We have loved spending the past few weeks enjoying these friendships, eating great meals together, laughing (crying) and making more memories. (And for once, I have been good at taking pics to remember all these moments). Thank you for all the encouraging and kind words that we hold onto dearly.
I am really not very good at this goodbye thing. I even get a lump in my throat thinking about saying goodbye to the security guards in our apartment block. And that’s including 'Mr Grumps'! When it comes to family, I am not yet too sure how I will manage.
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| The many 'last suppers' we have had with all our people, the past few weeks |
3/ Our earthly possessions have left our home and have
started the 3 month journey from Sea point to Hong Kong.
Our girls are all about what is fair and what is not fair at the moment. So in the spirit of fairness we each made a contribution to the moving cube. Kev packed his library of books, the girls got to take their favourite toys and I filled my boxes with some favourite crockery and kitchen appliances. Something makes me think that everyone benefits from my share the most. The girls are handling our empty home amazingly! There has been so much going on and so much going out of our home and they have hardly skipped a beat so far. They have their paper, crayons and the floor and they are producing new art work at a rapid rate. Every now and then one of them asks me 'Mommy is Wormy/Doc Mcstuffins/Lego on the ship?' and when I answer 'Yes', they literally jump off the walls with excitement because that means they will have it in Hong Kong.
Our girls are all about what is fair and what is not fair at the moment. So in the spirit of fairness we each made a contribution to the moving cube. Kev packed his library of books, the girls got to take their favourite toys and I filled my boxes with some favourite crockery and kitchen appliances. Something makes me think that everyone benefits from my share the most. The girls are handling our empty home amazingly! There has been so much going on and so much going out of our home and they have hardly skipped a beat so far. They have their paper, crayons and the floor and they are producing new art work at a rapid rate. Every now and then one of them asks me 'Mommy is Wormy/Doc Mcstuffins/Lego on the ship?' and when I answer 'Yes', they literally jump off the walls with excitement because that means they will have it in Hong Kong.
4/ We are treasuring these last days.
They are incredibly full and busy, but we are making the most of each day left, remembering to enjoy our beautiful city, maximising time with precious people in our lives, whilst eating lots of ice cream, of course. And a highlight was taking the girls to see my old home where I grew up and lived for 19 years. I am so grateful that we have been able to have fun in amidst the craziness!
They are incredibly full and busy, but we are making the most of each day left, remembering to enjoy our beautiful city, maximising time with precious people in our lives, whilst eating lots of ice cream, of course. And a highlight was taking the girls to see my old home where I grew up and lived for 19 years. I am so grateful that we have been able to have fun in amidst the craziness!
5/ We would love prayer in this time.
We have been prayed for by so many people and encouraged in that, so thank you if that has been you! Your prayers and support in that way is so appreciated. As we move closer to our departure, we would love prayer for our girls and the transition, especially for good friendships for them when we arrive in Hong Kong. Also, prayer for strength for me, as we say many goodbyes in the next few weeks. Finally, for our new home in Hong Kong - that we would find the right place to call home.
We have been prayed for by so many people and encouraged in that, so thank you if that has been you! Your prayers and support in that way is so appreciated. As we move closer to our departure, we would love prayer for our girls and the transition, especially for good friendships for them when we arrive in Hong Kong. Also, prayer for strength for me, as we say many goodbyes in the next few weeks. Finally, for our new home in Hong Kong - that we would find the right place to call home.
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| Sierra having a skype interview with her new school in Hong Kong |
6/ This blog.
Im not sure how I executed this one. I have had a million different ‘to-do-lists’ the last few weeks and with so much on, I feel like I have been running on a treadmill of urgent items. But, up there on the priority list has been this blog! And here we are. My first post. I know nothing about blogging. Nothing at all. I am not much of a writer, nor am I much of a computer wiz, so if you're looking for something beautifully designed or cleverly articulated, you probably aren't going to find it here. I generally like to be in control of what I am doing and right now I have no clue. But this is me starting. I would love to share our lives, stories and this new adventure in all its rawness and realness with those close to us, and those interested in keeping in touch with our family. But more than that even, I want to take in everything and to remember. I imagine this will be a place for me to process and ponder all the newness of life. The new sights, the new smells, the new food, and no doubt, the new joys and new challenges and how God is leading us forward in it all. And did I mention, the food? J
Im not sure how I executed this one. I have had a million different ‘to-do-lists’ the last few weeks and with so much on, I feel like I have been running on a treadmill of urgent items. But, up there on the priority list has been this blog! And here we are. My first post. I know nothing about blogging. Nothing at all. I am not much of a writer, nor am I much of a computer wiz, so if you're looking for something beautifully designed or cleverly articulated, you probably aren't going to find it here. I generally like to be in control of what I am doing and right now I have no clue. But this is me starting. I would love to share our lives, stories and this new adventure in all its rawness and realness with those close to us, and those interested in keeping in touch with our family. But more than that even, I want to take in everything and to remember. I imagine this will be a place for me to process and ponder all the newness of life. The new sights, the new smells, the new food, and no doubt, the new joys and new challenges and how God is leading us forward in it all. And did I mention, the food? J
7/ Isaiah 26:2-4.
This scripture has been such an encouragement to me in the last few months and I have held onto it very closely throughout our journey of processing this move. I write it down here as a reminder for me going forward. May I keep my eyes set on Christ and trusting in Him every step of the way ahead, no matter what the future holds.
'You keep Him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed in you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord, for He is an everlasting Rock.'
Hong Kong, see you soon!
xx
Comments
Love Sim ❤