Rejoice with, us yet again!

May He grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans!

- Psalm 20:5

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It has been a number of weeks since I (Bethany) last sent out an update, so I’m sorry but this one has a lot of ground to cover. If you don’t want to read through all of it, you can scroll to on what interests you.

Alex's video update (7ish minutes): Joshua Update May 16, 2024

Shipping update:

In our last update we noted that the shipment was on the way. Well it was not actually on the water yet, but just loaded and out of our storage unit. We found out that if it left then, it would actually arrive in SA the day before or after we did. Too close to do the needed customs paperwork there ahead of time. We asked for it to be held out a week, which turned out to be about three weeks. It is, however, now on the way and has an ETA of June 22, if there are no delays. We assume it will get delayed on the water at some point. We are now trying to find out if we can do the customs paper work in Cape Town on June 5 before we drive to George, of if we’ll need to make a trip back to do that. We shall see.

Packing update:

We are thankful that most of our stuff is on the container, but there are 8 suitcases and 6-8 carry on bags to be properly filled. At present, I have two suitcases packed well, with three others partially packed. We will have our things for our first few days in one bag for easy overnight access our first night in Cape Town. We will also try to pack anything else needed right away in two or three others, as some friends will be in CT when we arrive and will be coming back to George a few days later and will bring any of our suitcases that will not fit in our rental car. I am pretty sure I could get an honorary degree in logistics management after all of this.

Health update:

Another reason for delaying this update, was that we wanted to have the most accurate information to share concerning Joshua’s health. He had his 9 month scans this morning and we praise the Lord for continued normal chest x-rays, lab work, and abdominal ultrasounds. We will schedule his 12 month scans with the Cancer Care Clinic in George. 

School update:

Joshua finished up all his video lessons the week before we left for Florida. We finished up History, Science, and Reading by reading on our own for the last few chapters. This allowed me to be able to finalize grades and send the DVDs back so I could check that off. He did well in all of his classes again this year. We praise the Lord for a good school year after missing a good portion of the end of the year before. He really enjoys creative writing. At the end of this update I’ve posted his daily recap from our Florida trip. Caleb still has about 8 days of videos left. This is strategic to continue to give him some order. He’s really enjoyed sounding words out to see if he can figure out how things are spelled. English is tricky when you realize how many letters sound similar or have multiple sounds. He’s also enjoyed just starting to do real combinations and enjoys writing them down on his papers to show us what he has learned. I just confirmed with our homeschool accountability group to register the boys for 6th grade and k-5, it is hard to believe. Praise God for their flexibility in their schooling!

Flying update:

We fly out on Monday June 3, in the afternoon I think. We fly out of Charlette, NC to Atlanta, GA with a late overnight 15ish hour flight to Cape Town, SA. We will stay overnight in CT and drive to George (about 5 hours) the next day. We have a rental car and furnished rental home for the month of June. Praying for long term transportation and housing. 

Disney update:

I saved the best for last! Our trip to Florida the first week of May was truly amazing. Many thanks to the Make A Wish organization and their South Carolina offices, also to Give Kids the World Village in Kissimmee Florida. Our family enjoyed every minute of the trip. The boys had no idea what to expect, but they were so thrilled by it all. Below is Joshua’s recap of the trip for your enjoyment. Here are some pictures, but to view more please check out the Facebook album, Make-A-Wish. 

Thank you as always for your prayers and support for our family. I do hope to find sometime in the coming weeks/months to sit down and think through all of the blessings and good gifts the Lord has given over the years. This had been my plan for our long flight last year. Maybe I’ll get to it on this year’s flight! 

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Joshua’s Make a Wish Trip

Day 1

Yesterday, we traveled to the half way mark of the resort. First, Mama and Baba went to pick up the van Make a Wish had rented which took a loonnnggg (long) time. Second, after a while went to McDonald’s to get a bathroom break, but we also got a way over the price happy meal to split between us. Next, we went to a pretty good barbecue restaurant to pick up dinner. Lastly, we checked in to our hotel and ate our food and went to sleep.

Day 2

Yesterday we did the last stretch to Give Kids the World Village. When we arrived a member of the organization greeted us with a warm and welcoming smile. Next someone talked to us about some last-minute details, while we ate ice cream ice cream for free. We then went to our villa (apartment) and unloaded. Next, I for the first time set foot on Disney! We got treated out by one of Baba’s best friend’s parents to a super fancy steak dinner at Disney. We then came home and went to bed. 

Day 3

Wa-hoo, yesterday we went to EPCOT, and it was a blast. We drank different types of sodas from different countries. My favorite rides were TestTrack and the Guardians of the Galaxy rollercoaster. In TestTrack you got to design your own race car and then you rode a test simulator that tested your car while you rode. The Guardians of the Galaxy was a rollercoaster that had you saving both the earth and an advanced piece of technology, while going up amd down and turning around the earth.

Day 4

Yesterday we were at Hollywood Studios on May 4! My favorite rides were Slinky Dog Dash, Toy Story Mania, and Rise of the Resistance. Slinky Dog Dash was a rollercoaster that went up and down. Toy Story Mania was a practice of aim, skill, and speed. Rise of the Resistance was a ride where you get captured by the First Order. Then Rebels infiltrated the cell we were put in and then they rescued us. Then you rode out of the Star Killer Ship and went on to get back to earth. The rides were so good! Then at the end Caleb and I got to build our own unique toy Light Sabers, and Baba and I watched the light show the show was projected one water and acters also dressed up.

Day 5

Yesterday we went to a different place than Disney world, we went to Kennedy Space Center. There was an exploring a different galaxy in space, and there was a moon big playground in an air-conditioned building. After we got back, we went to the pool. Caleb and I had slushes and swan. That night we were in bed early to be ready for the big day tomorrow. 

Day 6

Yesterday was our last day at the Disney parks. As usual we drove 30ish minutes to Disney, there were a few rides that were so cool. Tron was a ride where you raced the computer. People Mover was a scenic route where you sat and listened to the narrator tell you about different rides and restaurants. Space Mountain was a ride were you were in space and you were swerving and diving. Last of all we watched the Disney castle change and light up, while the fireworks popped. It was awesome.

Day 7

Lego!!! Yesterday we went to Lego Land and I drove a car! No, no it wasn’t a real car but a mini drivers test car. Another ride was a Lego car that turned and went up and down. I know what you’re thinking, “What did you get?“ since I love Lego. Yes, I did get a Lego set, a Lego set that I wanted badly. A creator three in one hyper sonic jet. Later that day we went swimming and had a slushy.

It is Getting Real!

Last week was pretty special here.

The long awaited, loading of the boxes for shipping actually happened! We had hoped it would happen on Wednesday, but it ended up needing to be scheduled for Friday. We were so thankful for the answer to prayer that the loaders were decently on time, and knew very well how to do their jobs. They needed to label each box with their shipping label, so that slowed us down a bit, but helped to double check to make sure my list had all the boxes and then we cross referenced the numbers and contents to make their loading list. We were told they would drive it to New Jersey and load it into a container for the actual shipment. Trusting by faith, that it happened over the weekend or today and that we’ll get confirmation soon that it is on the way. They say it could take up to 12 weeks to arrive in South Africa. More on that later in this email.

Sunday Alex and I both had an opportunity to participate in our local church service. I was able to co-share a testimony of God working behind the scenes while Joshua was in the hospital to bring about one of his nurses, now our dear friend, coming to be a part of our church family. It was so special to share this story with our church and be reminded of one bright spot that God brought through those rough months last year. God is so good! Alex was able to “read the whole Bible” as Caleb kept telling people. He did not actually read the full Bible, but preached an overview of the Story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. He was very concerned about how long the message would take to preach, but personally I think he did a great job and kept everyone’s attention well. We praise God for this, probably the last time he’ll get to preach here before we head out. If you’d like to listen, here One Story HIStory.

We have booked our flights to South Africa, we leave the US on June 3 and arrive in Cape Town on June 5. It worked out best to rent a car there in CT and drive to George the following day. We have teammates who will be in the area that weekend and they will bring any suitcases that will not fit in the vehicle we will be renting.

As we have been turning our attention from packing on this side, we are beginning to look ahead to details in SA. Renting the vehicle for a month not only helps us save on 4 additional flights, but it also gives us wheels on the ground when we get to George, while we sort out bank accounts and needed paperwork to purchase a vehicle. Please be praying that God will lead us to just the right wheels for our needs. We will most likely start with one SUV type car and juggle it between the two of us as long as we can. We’ve been doing that here stateside so we are accustomed to it.

The next big thing on the list is somewhere to lay our heads at night! Since our goods will likely not make it until July, we will rent a furnished place for a month. We know of one, and will probably try to secure that within the next few days. Please pray with us for a long term fit for our family. We have had a relator looking for a rental for us, but the right place has not come up yet. We desire to purchase a home there, as we’ve heard rentals often cause you to have to move every year or so as people sell them or go up on rent. We’d really like to settle sooner rather than later. Purchasing there is a bit more challenging as foreigner, as you are required to put a much larger downpayment down due to lending rules. Please pray with us for wisdom to know the best solution to meet our needs and allow for ministry in our home.

Coming back to the shipping details, a big request with that is that once the shipment is within about two weeks from entering the country we’ll need to physically go to the customs office for paperwork and potential import taxes. Please pray with us for a reasonable agent when we reach that stage. This will likely happen late June or early July.

We continue to praise the Lord for you all, just last week on Thursday we were praying for God to bring about ways to supply the difference in our current support and what is needed ultimately as we get settled in SA, the very next day we saw the Lord begin to answer that request…in two ways!

The Everchanging Plan

This morning it’s raining, does rain make it hard for you to accomplish things? It really slows me (Bethany) down mentally. We try to keep a good attitude about rain. We know the ground needs it, but so do we. We need to be slowed down sometimes. I need to slow down!

It truly seems we’ve been moving at breakneck speed since we got back from SA in January. Which is why it’s almost April and I’m just now trying to get some thoughts out to you guys. Below I’ll try to list some bullet point updates from the silent weeks.

Feb 14 – Joshua had 6 month scans, praise God they were all clear and we got the thumbs up to proceed with the move

Feb 27 – Joshua got in for an earlier GI appointment (he was scheduled for late April). The doc thought things seemed good, but agreed to do an endoscopy to verify the healing of the original ulcers.

Early March – Confirmed with shipping company that they’d honor our original quote from last year. Set a date for pick up of items from the storage unit (April 3 or 4).

March 7-12 – Alex and took a whirlwind trip to PA for a missions Sunday at a supporting church. We were able to see a small handful of faithful friends in PA. Sorry if we missed you, our time was pretty limited. We packed in two church visits, one fellowship afternoon, and one fellowship breakfast for a few other supporting churches who were able to make it over. It was a blessing!

March 20 – Joshua had the above mentioned endoscopy, confirming healed ulcers, praise God! The doc took a number of samples to do more testing, and so far all has returned clear. God is so kind!

March 27 - Today’s rain changed plans for sorting things at the storage unit, but it’s good. It’s caused me to slow down today. We are almost packed, I think maybe just one or two bins left to fill. Now to pray it all fits in the allotted space, that’s a project for Saturday!

Looking ahead

March 30 – Taking over remaining storage to the unit for organization and finalization.

April 3 or 4 – The shippers pick things up (they confirm the date and time 24-48 hours ahead).

April 7 – Alex is preaching at our church here in SA

April 19 – Alex will preach at another local church for a missions meeting

May 1-9 – Our family has the privilege of driving to Florida for Joshua’s wish from Make a Wish to be granted. This has been in the works since September and we did not think it would happen before our move, but God worked it out! We will spend a few days at Disney, go to LEGO land, and take some days to relax.

June 3 – We have our flights to SA booked, leaving on this day. We hold all of these plans very lightly and trust Gods plan and timing. We appreciate your prayers for this as well.

As always, we thank you all for your continued support and prayer for our family during all these crazy days. I still aspire to sit and recount all of God’s graciousness to us over these years.