Stuff

One of the questions we get asked most about moving to Africa is, "So, what are you going to do with all of your STUFF?" Frankly it's a question we're asking ourselves a lot these days.
It's a bit overwhelming to think that in the next six months we have the task of going through our stuff and putting it into one of three categories:

• Worthy to go into one of our 6, fifty pound bags to North Africa
• Meaningful enough to store in one of the four bins we will keep at our parents for 4 years
• It was fun while it lasted. See ya!: Goodwill, friends, family, BC...Happy Birthday to YOU!

Aside from the stuff you think of when you think of getting rid of stuff, there's the huge bucket of cds to be downloaded and disposed, non-digital pictures to be scanned (and make albums?), sentimental things like notes, old dance and bridesmaid dresses, cards, journals, etc. It's amazing to me that even as a family that has been intentional about not accumulating we have a ginormous amount of STUFF!

Dan has us on a tight schedule (lucky me ;)) with different rooms of the house slotted to be purged, packed and painted each month. January is almost over, but we have a long way to go in emptying our bedroom...we're talking closets and under the bed people!!! On a successful note, we have officially packed our first items: ornaments, nativity and Advent calendar...a whopping 9.4 pounds of stuff! At this point I'm not sure if that seems like a lot or a little as I think of narrowing our stuff down to 300 pounds...what I do know is that this daily weighing myself with stuff might actually motivate me to lose the extra stuff I still have from pregnancy...

It's surreal to think that the next time we see these things, God willing, we will be an ocean away. Until then, we press on loosening the chains of our stuff and experiencing a bit of freedom with each item that makes its way out so we can let God's beloved of Africa in...