I asked the MAF ladies in Kinshasa to confirm and describe how mail works there, so that all of you know how to send us letters, since it’s been a popular question.
First, as I’ve said in a previous post, NO PACKAGES. And, no cheating. No exceptions. Nothing more expansive than an envelope. One of the ladies even said she once asked about someone sticking a CD/DVD of pictures and videos in the envelope and was told no. A sticker sheet for Levi, or a flat packet of taco seasonings are okay, but nothing thicker.
Second, the delivery time can be lengthy. One missionary mentioned that mail should come about once a month, but it’s not necessarily so consistent as that. So, be forewarned if you send something that you might want to arrive on a certain date or season. (Don’t worry, though – it’s not like we mind receiving anything late!)
Lastly, MAF will open all of the mail. Anything tiny stuck in the envelopes, confetti, glitter, etc., will only make the floor at MAF HQ messy and won’t be forwarded. This also means things could potentially be lost, so please consider attaching anything with tape.
So, our mailing address will be the same as MAF HQ for sending us personal materials:
Matthew & Lisa Lind c/o Mission Aviation Fellowship PO Box 47 Nampa, ID 83653
If you need something to be sent that is more of a business matter, or be made known to us quickly, scanning and emailing is your best bet. Our mailing address for business purposes will not change from what it is now. If you’re not aware of what this is, send us an email and we can give it to you that way.
We will have Internet access! Email, blogging, facebook, and even Skype will continue to be your best option for contacting us. (Though, with Skype, we don’t know how fast our connection will be and if it will be compatible with video chats…we’ll have to see.) Our phone situation also won’t be settled until we’re there, though neither of us are “phone people.”
Packing day is Monday…we would appreciate prayers in particular on that day!
Visas!
Our visas and passports arrived! The tickets were official purchased this morning! We are now 95% supported! Amazing, right?
…drumroll please…
How do you spell a drumroll? Pdddddddddddddpdddddddddddpddddddddddd…
We leave April 2!
Yes, less than two weeks away. We can do this right? RIGHT?!?!
Early Monday morning we go from Seattle to Dulles (WA DC), then after the shortest layover in history with two small children, we skip the pond to Brussels overnight for yet another extremely short layover, by international standards, with two small children, and then an all day flight straight to Kinshasa, arriving around 6pm local time on April 3rd.
So, our to-do list is a mile long and we alternate between being really excited and really overwhelmed. (Matthew adds “and bored.”) We still need a few more ministry partners to be 100% supported, but MAF thinks that you all have been so wonderful, they trust that the gap will be closed very soon. Thank you so much for getting us there by our goal! What a blessing!!!
Excuse us, as we hit the ground running…
Somebody has a case of the Mondays…
Today is Monday. It is raining. Amelia is teething like crazy. We are in hurry-up-and-wait mode. All things to make the day be a little less productive than normal.
Bath time!
Reading with Daddy!
Non-update
Well, you can sit back from the edges of your seats for a few days…we won’t have a date until next week. If I don’t write again, have a wonderful weekend. Ours will be busy, as usual!
…waiting…
Are you waiting for us to announce a departure date? So are we…sorry.
Meanwhile, we are trying to pack, but feeling particularly unmotivated without a specific date of departure. Matthew and I both excel when we are under pressure and have a time commitment. We have lists and a start, but we are hoping that tickets will help us to jump into action!
Today we had the opportunity to surprise Matthew’s dad with a birthday dinner and a sleepover. So far it has been a pleasant evening. I think Levi is finally asleep and Amelia is dozing in her Far Far’s arms. “Far Far” is Swedish for father’s father. We brought a projector and together with surround sound speakers, the boys, including Matthew’s youngest brother, are playing video games that are larger than life. It is loud, but I think they’re having fun. And I get to relax! Woo hoo!
We have been talking a lot about our upcoming life overseas and in a third world country. While we tell people what we’ve been told about life there, we don’t actually know what life there will be like. We anticipate certain challenges and situations, but we really won’t know until we get there. This is actually a source of excitement and peace for both of us. Not knowing what to stress about leaves us stressless! The unknown, in this case, is awesome! I can’t say most people would agree, but we appreciate being able to ask the questions we need answered (such as the availability of formula for Amelia) and leaving the rest for us to discover. More than appreciate it, we are EXCITED about it!
Ticketing!
So, in case you missed the Tweet from earlier and both of our excited facebook posts, this morning we were cleared to start the ticketing process for the DRC! What does that mean? It means Ministry Partnership, the people who help us raise financial support, have declared that, while we are not 100% supported yet, we are clearly on the path to being there very soon (aren’t we?? – hint hint!). They give the Travel department and our program manger in Kinshasa the go-ahead to proceed with getting us there. So, the amazing Jessica in travel at MAF HQ in Nampa will now get to work on pulling together the visas and figuring out how to fly us there. Hopefully, very soon, we’ll have a definitive date and plane tickets. We’ll let you know, don’t worry. This afternoon we also mailed out our visa applications. All in all, it was a very exciting day! Do we still need support? Yep. Do we need more prayers now than ever? Yep yep.
Visas, Yellow Fever Vaccination cards, and passports
A Brief Update
Whew – today was a busy day! This week was a busy week! But today was such an encouraging day for our little family. First thing this morning I (Lisa) got to go to the Lutheran’s Women Missionary League at a church I used to attend long ago (up until I was 6). This group, led by a good family friend, had already begun supporting us monthly, so I wanted to take the opportunity to say hello, talk about our mission work, and answer any questions. It was such an encouraging morning. The ladies all had stories of missionaries and other world travelers and asked some really great questions (and, no, I did not have all of the answers). After a year in deputation and five weeks focused on the road, we thought we’d heard all of the questions that could be asked of us…but this morning there were a few new ones! Anyway, I had a great time and was sad to rush off, but I had to get to our next presentation opportunity.
I ran back to the house and Matthew and Amelia were ready to go. (Levi wasn’t feeling well, so he stayed home with Grandpa.) We went to the church that is connected to the high school I attended (and the elementary/junior high). Again, it was another great opportunity to share our mission! We saw people that I’ve known for a long time and met a few new faces.
This afternoon Amelia and I had a lunch date with a dear friend of mine, the maid of honor in my wedding. We don’t get to see each other very often, so we met at Panera and spent over two hours talking about life, its struggles, and how God is our only source of strength when we’re in the trenches.
This week was busy too – we went back to our storage unit and got it all organized and ready to be left for an indefinite amount of time. I had a night out with a few other ladies. Matthew attended a monthly men’s group that he has found to be very refreshing each time he goes. We got to spend one morning with some very good friends at one of those places with the blow-up slides and bouncy houses. Levi and his buddy Finn (their son) had such a great time! We spent more time on paperwork, covered some of our stateside bases, and spent time with family. Levi has been having an off week; we think it’s a growth spurt since he spent all last week eating non-stop. Amelia hasn’t been sleeping well, so we anticipate more teeth coming (did I mention she sprouted two) any day now. Her six month check up is on Monday – we’re excited to see how she’s growing! She is such a happy baby, so it’s hard to tell when she’s uncomfortable.
And, if you didn’t see our most recent tweet: we estimate ourselves to be 93% supported after today! Praise the Lord!
Congo in the Headlines
If you’ve not seen the news this morning, an ammunitions depot blast has killed many (150 was the latest reported) and over 1500 injured. This took place in Brazzaville, the capitol of the Republic of Congo. Brazzaville is directly across the Congo River from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo and where we’ll be living. The blasts of the exploding ammo were so powerful that MAF staff in Kin were posting on Facebook about them – how their houses shook and it was even reported that some windows (none of MAF’s, that we’ve heard) had been broken. They could also see smoke and smell gunpowder in their homes. We haven’t heard of any injuries on Kin’s side, but it’s still early. We just wanted to report it to you, since the general media tends to refer to both countries as “Congo,” though they are separate nations. Please keep the area in your prayers! We imagine MAF will see how their planes and their staff can best be of service to those they can help. We will keep you updated of any new news! Have a wonderful Sunday!
Weeeeeeekend!
We still have more weekend to go, but it’s really time for an update! Still no news on an official departure date…don’t worry, you’ll know!
So Friday morning we were all up early and I drove the kids over to my mother-in-law’s house. Then Matthew and I met up and went to work at our storage unit. We wanted to build a shelf in it to get a little more organized. Everything fits without it, but it could fit better. So we pulled half of the stuff out and got to work building a shelf. Ironically, a guy around the corner in a larger unit was doing the same thing, so we got to listen to his music. It was rap from my high school days. At least it was slightly entertaining. Anyway, Matthew and I were working hard when I noticed it began to sprinkle. Then drizzle. Then rain. So I took a sleeping bag and a few blankets and covered everything as best I could while Matthew kicked it up a notch. His drillbit broke and he was left to use nails. Oh, did I mention the shelf is seven feet off the ground? And no ladder? It was awesome. We worked as fast as we could while the blankets slowly got saturated. Then we threw everything back into the storage unit damp. Ugh. Someday when it stops raining we’ll go back, dry things off, and organize a little bit. Matthew, because he’s awesome, did manage to finish the shelf enough to load it with stuff.
Then, because the rain ruined our party at the storage unit, we moped back to the house and watched a movie…kid free…in the middle of the afternoon. It wasn’t what we planned, but it was a nice break. Then we parted ways for the evening. Matthew went to go pick up the kids and I went with my mom to her church’s women’s conference.
That night at the conference we had some praise and worship, followed by different activities. I chose Bunco. I won a prize! It was for the most losses! I was actually pretty excited about it. It was a fun time of fellowship. I returned home late and missed the kiddos, but got to relax a little more with Matthew. After five weeks on the road, we had very little kid-free time, so we have been enjoying the times when we can!
This morning I got up early and went to the rest of the women’s conference. Today I was able to hear two speakers. The first was a contestant on season 2 of The Biggest Loser – and she ended up marrying the winner! It was a sweet testimony to hear and she was really funny. (If you’re a fan of the show, her name was Suzy.) The second speaker, and the main reason I wanted to attend the conference, besides Mom-time, was a former missionary, who, along with her family, suffered an incredible and violent attack while serving overseas. Her testimony is excellent for anyone, but as I am about to go be a missionary with my young family, it seemed especially important to hear her. I won’t go into detail, because it’s not necessary, but her website can be found here…
This afternoon we ran a few errands and, after Levi heads to bed, we hope to somehow celebrate the six-year anniversary of our engagement. If you know us well, you know that means our anniversary is only six weeks away!
By the way, our prayer letter is on its way…keep an eye out!
The Lind Family 