Getting Ready To Go: Home, Sweet Home

Part of the preparation for going on a mission was deciding what to do with our home. We talked to the neighbors about who they had for lawn care and how much it would cost. Then we talked with some security compainies and thought about just getting a security system installed and locking up the house. Finally we came to the decision to ask a young couple in our church if they would like to rent, and they said that they would. Ryan and Corrin Jones have been our friends and worked with us in the church, so we know them really well. We are so relieved that they will be taking care of things while we are gone!

We only packed up part of the house: two bedrooms, (we couldn't believe how much we had stored under the beds!) the bathrooms and part of the kitchen. As soon as Judy was finished with summer reunions, grandchildren visiting and a Federal District court jury; Richard started brandishing the Sort-This-House and Garage-Whip. We kept the garbage man and thrift stores suplied. Still, at the end, (and the kitchen is always at the end!) Judy couldn't believe how much of everything we had. There were so many spices! What kind of recipes do you use "Summer Savory" in?

We started packing our suitcases about a week before we left. As we'd purchased things, we'd placed them in an extra bedroom. Getting all those things in the suitcases was another thing. We could only take two, fifty pound suitcases and one carry-on each. Hungary's weather ranges from very cold to very hot, and right up to the night before we left, we were playing the If I Take This, Then I Can't Take That Game.
Richard must have weighed our bags thirty times. Finally I had to leave things that I thougt I would be able to buy in Hungary. We packed our carry-ons and 'personal bags' with the heaviest things we had; so Richard's back pack, with all our learning materials, must have weighed close to forty pounds! It was with bitter-sweet feelings that we left our home, friends and family.