Moving our sons out (part two)

Eleven days after his brother moved out, our 21 y.o. also moved into his own place. It's a shorter story than "Part one".

He's moved one suburb over, only 8 km from us, and it was a vastly more simple process than moving internationally! His new place is a mostly furnished studio apartment (what's a studio apartment?) that is a converted garage, attached to a home. So it only took a couple of trips on Tuesday afternoon to move him in.

The more interesting story about this move is how we found this place. Often, during the last couple of months, I've referred to us as "detectives" as we followed leads in our search for the right place. Our son didn't yet have the finances to rent a place on his own and we didn't have any financial resources to help much. Plus, because of various issues I don't want to go into here for his privacy sake, our son wasn't going to fit into just any household or house-share. During our search we tried inspecting a couple of options, but it was pretty obvious that neither would work. As his mum I found it a distinctly uncomfortable emotional rollercoaster at times.

We had lots of people within our network praying: prayer partners, supporting churches, and others. We had people telling us about leads and putting notices in their church bulletins. And quite a few asking for updates.

His private verandah

Then one Sunday in mid-January I got a message from one of our supporters whom I haven't seen in many years. She sent me a screenshot of a church bulletin advertising a studio apartment attached to the home of a young Christian family. It sounded intriguing, so we asked for more information. Which lead to lots of detailed information about this private rental that the young couple have set up, and later a visit to see it. Overall it seemed like a good option, so he indicated his interest. And as he wasn't the first in line, we then waited weeks for news.

The waiting was hard, but in the midst of that we were planning for our other son's move. Then (what felt like a long time) we heard that the studio was his, if he wanted it. I can't tell you how relieved I felt.

What's intriguing to me is how we found out about it. The lady who sent us the ad doesn't go to the church where the ad was published, she knows some people there and plays the piano there sometimes. I don't think the owners of the apartment go to this church either. It seems to be a classic "Christian network" story. Whatever the full story is, we're thankful.

In the last weeks we've found a desk and chair, a second-hand bike, and bought bits and pieces including storage containers that will fit this small space. We've had things given to us, including food, plastic containers, cutlery, a blanket, and a fan. When we arrived on Tuesday we found the owners had put a few food items in the studio as a welcome gift.

On Tuesday we loaded up our car, and the trailer we borrowed for this season of moving, and headed over (a mere 12-minute drive). It didn't take long to move everything in. The interesting part of a studio apartment is that things don't always go where you might expect, because there are only one or two rooms. This one has a door in the middle, giving a little division between the "wet area" and the bed/living area. But the kitchen is kinda split between the two rooms. I was surprised to find the apartment includes a private covered verandah, which is a good place to put his bike so it doesn't get chewed by the family's energetic dog, but also to hang laundry. 

All in all, it's a nice little place, a good "starter" and I hope our son will enjoy the peace and quiet.* And that as he learns to live independent of us, that he'll grow in many ways that weren't easy to do when he was supported by us and living under our roof.

We now have no children left in our home, for the first time in nearly 25 years! It's different, but also good. It will take some adjusting to, but we're not sad. 

We've discovered that we're largely moving against cultural trends here too. As you probably know, many young adults in Australia (and in many other wealthy countries) are remaining at home for many years after they graduate from high school. The idea that we're actively moving our sons out has come as a bit of a surprise to some. But, taken in the context of our occupation and where we work, it makes sense. Japan isn't home to our sons, even though they grew up there. Their language skills aren't currently at the level that would enable them to live independently there. Australia is the easiest place for them to get a start on the next chapter in their lives (cheapest place for an Aussie to do tertiary study, for example), so if you understand the bigger picture, it's the logical choice.

I'm so, so glad to finally be able to tell you the "end" of this story. Of course we're just starting another chapter, the story of our lives as parents isn't over yet, it just looks different now that they are no longer living under our roof.

* One thing that makes it hard for him to live with other people is a sensory disorder called misophonia. It's a relatively unknown, and minimally researched problem that is barely recognised by medical professionals (or government agencies). Misophonia is an intolerance of certain sounds and associated cues. Typically repetitive aural or nasal sounds such as chewing, swallowing, sniffing, heavy breathing. It can cause people to feel uncontrollable anger. It's profoundly shaped our son's life, and, because we've lived with him for two decades, our lives and relationship with him have been impacted too.

Moving our sons out (part one)

We're getting close to being able to tell you the "end of the story", the end that we've been working towards and praying about for many months. The story of how both of our boys move out of home. Here's part one.

Last Friday our 18 y.o. moved out into a house near his university that he will share with two other students (24 km from where we're living). The house was found through a real estate agent that goes to our eldest son's church. One of his housemates also goes to that church and so does our 18 y.o. son now! We're thankful that they did most of the work finding the place, sorting out paperwork, and finding a third housemate.

We did the move the cheap way using our car and a borrowed trailer, so it took longer than if we'd hired a big van. But it wasn't a simple move from one place to the other. We picked up stuff like a washing machine and microwave from several places close to his new house as well as a bed and bookshelf from the far east of Brisbane (nearly 50 km from our house). We got home for the final time at 10pm on Friday night after driving around all day. Then we hopped back in the car on Saturday morning and picked up another item, then (because he doesn’t have a licence yet) picked our son up to take him to the optometrist because his glasses frames had started to break the day before. On our way back to his place we picked up one final thing: a two-seater sofa. When we finally got home on Saturday at 3pm we were very tired, but also very satisfied.

Saturday was a very different day to
the rain we encountered on Friday.

Everything seemed to take twice or three times as long as it looked like it should on paper. We encountered heavy rain, bad traffic, an ATM that wouldn't give me a $80 (no $10 in the machine, presumably), a Saturday morning market, parking difficulties, communication delays, and bad directions from Google maps. We forgot things and had to go back again, had to buy a new tarp, and had to take detours to get food.

Along the way we met an Ecuadorian who hasn't seen her family for over five years, a Belgian who has a new baby and is returning "home" via New Zealand, and a lady who works for the RSL (Returned Services League) and is committed to not continue contributing to landfill by helping her adult kids pass on their unneeded stuff. We met people who stood by our sides 24 years ago as we left Australia the first time. And more recent acquaintances who, in 2022, housed members of our family three times (including one emergency stay when a plane got cancelled), picked us up from the airport that same year when it took us 35 hrs to get from Japan to here (usually it's an 8 hr flight), and drove two of us to the Gold Coast to catch our flight back to Japan. We had things thrust into our hands and left on the front step that would help our son set up his new place with his two new housemates. What a wonderful confluence!

It was quite a process, but we felt satisfied at the end. Not only had we achieved a major goal (raising our son to the point where he could live independently from us) but we were able to physically help him move out. So many times in the last 25 years we've been unable to help our loved ones by being physically present. 

We've missed many significant family celebrations, including our eldest son's 21st. And have never helped our parents, sons, or siblings move house. We’ve even missed moving into our own house several times (when we’ve asked people to help set up our newly rented house before we arrived back in the country, so that we could settle the boys into school as quickly as possible). It was a joy to be able to help this time. It was fun to scour second hand shops and Facebook Marketplace, and to make lists of household products to add to my grocery list, all of this to help him get started in this new life.

But I can't finish this post without telling of how we're praising God for his great provision. Queensland has been experiencing a housing shortage for some time now, and people have been very fond of telling us how hard it is to find places to rent (which hasn't been very encouraging). But God's purposes for us haven't been thwarted. At least that's how it looks from our perspective. In order for us to continue to serve God in Japan, we needed him to find places for our sons to move to, and it's happening! 

We've been praying about this for years and many others have been praying in recent months. At our church on Sunday the worship leader reminded the church they've been praying for our sons' accommodation for eight months! So we're praising God for his provision and his ongoing leading. Of course he could have led us out of ministry in Japan and that would have been hard, but hopefully we would have been able to praise him for that too.

We've been watching a season of The Chosen recently and one of Jesus's disciples said, after witnessing a miracle, "I don't know why I continue to be surprised." This is how I feel. And I feel chastened regarding my lack of faith and trust in God. But also just thankful for God's provision.

Psalm 68:19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens. (NIV)

Part 2 is planned for next week. It will look different, but you’ll have to wait to hear that story!

Questions corner

Here’s one I prepared earlier. Our youngest son is moving out tomorrow and it’s been busy!

I've mentioned before that I write 11 prayer letters a year. I've been writing them since October 1998, so it's gotten to be a habit. The way that I manage to churn out so many is by using a template, and by making it in a newspaper-type format. Here's an example from five years ago. There are "regular" sections that I just fill in each time, like a calendar; a prayer list; a "on the home front" with personal news; and CAJ corner, which David writes about the school and his work. 

But when we're in Australia we change up the "CAJ corner" to something else. This time it's become "Question corner" where we answer good questions people ask us (or questions we wish people would ask us!). Here are some we've featured:

So, how’s Japan?

This is an impossible question to answer when it comes at the start of a conversation. It usually comes from someone who wants to engage with us, but isn’t sure where to start. In case you want to ask us a question when you see us, here are some suggestions of questions you could ask us in casual conversation:

Japanese BBQ we use while camping

• What do you miss about Japan?
• What’s something funny that happened to you in Japan?
• Tell me something you love about Japan.
• How is the Japanese church doing post-COVID?
• What’s a small thing that brings you joy in Japan?
• What’s the climate like in Tokyo?
• Tell me about a regular day for you in your work in Japan.
• Are Japanese people worried about the political situation in the region?
• What do you do to relax in Japan?
• We’ve heard you love to camp there, tell us about camping in Japan.

Is Japan’s population shrinking?

According to worldpopulationreview.com, “Japan’s population is projected to lose 20.7 million people between 2020 and 2050. The population is expected to shrink from 126.5 million to 105.8 million, a 16.3% decline. Japan’s population has been falling since 2011 due to very low fertility rates (1.42 births per woman) and an aging population.”

Fertility rates in wealthy countries around the world are dropping. Japan’s is the fourth lowest in the world. Pair that with proportionately the oldest population in the world (29.2% over 65 years of age) and you’ve got population shrinkage.

There are many cultural factors to this situation, including an education system that demands a lot of parents, especially mothers; low childcare support; and a nation that works hard and sleeps little, so there’s often little time or energy to find partners. A recent survey also revealed that around 50% of unmarried adults under 30 don’t want children. And Japan also accepts few immigrants, though there are pushes to change this, it probably won’t change quickly.

Japanese people are concerned about the future of their country. Pray that they’ll find hope in God.

Why are so few people coming to know Christ in Japan?

This is a really hard question to answer—people have written whole books on it. The truth is, we don’t know why the Holy Spirit is not moving more people to become Christians in Japan. It’s possible to discern various factors in individual stories, but the same set of factors don’t apply to every person. For example, one person might not want to let their family down by abandoning the family altar they are responsible for, another doesn’t feel the need for what appears to them as a foreign god. Many people are held back because they don’t understand grace and forgiveness, or don’t see themselves as sinners.

The pressure to conform to the group is strong in Japan and while Christianity is such a tiny minority (under 1%), it is hard for people to consider stepping outside that. Many people have never heard the gospel. Will you pray for this nation of 125.7 million people?

Why go with a mission organisation?

We’ve been greatly blessed by being members of OMF International. Here are a few reasons why:

• OMF has provided so much on-the-ground support in Japan and in Australia. They’ve helped us when we’ve had medical needs, provided fellowship vital to longevity, guided us in important decisions, provided professional development, admin support, and language training. They also sponsor our visas and have helped us find housing.
• The local knowledge and experience that they’ve got as an organisation helped us get to Japan and settle there in ministry.
• They’ve provided us with a means to get the money people have given towards our support in Japan, in a way that doesn’t look like international money laundering.
• They’ve got a much wider platform in Australia than we have personally, enabling us to develop a wider prayer and financial support team that would otherwise be possible, but also to tell more people about the needs in Japan.
• They’ve supported us through challenges with our sons in recent years and given us much grace to do our best to support our kids, even when that meant taking time off.
• Possibly the most important thing to us is that being members of OMF means we feel part of a greater whole—a body that is working together to reach Japan for Christ. That sense of purpose, and of working together with others is very important to us.

Why do parents send their kids to CAJ?

CAJ was founded to serve the children of missionaries, and that remains its main purpose. About 40% of the students come from missionary families (it varies a little from year to year). These missionary families are seeking education for their children in English, and with a Christian emphasis.

There are various reasons that these missionaries don’t use local schools. Sometimes they arrive in Japan with older children and it’s too difficult to start Japanese school at a later age when kids don’t have the language. Others try Japanese schools for a time and find the culture difficult, or maybe the students just don’t do well. CAJ provides an alternative option so that missionary families can stay in Japan.

Similar reasons apply to an additional 40% of students who come from a variety of Christian backgrounds: some are local Japanese Christian families, and a good number of Christian foreigners who work in secular jobs in Japan.

The remaining 20% of students come non-Christian families who desire an education in English, but don’t mind the values that CAJ weaves into its teaching. Our prayer is that all of these students will serve Jesus in their lives.

How can I prepare to serve in missions?

There are lots of things you can do. When we’re asked this question we say:

• Read about mission: biographies, social media, etc.
• Connect with a missionary and pray for them regularly
• Find others who are like-minded about cross-cultural mission and spend time with them.
• Find ways to serve others where you are: in your church, and in other ways too, like with AFES.

OMF Japan recently shared some tips on their social media from a helpful article by an MTW (Mission to the World) missionary that also included these tips :

• Get cross-cultural (where you are, or on short-term trips overseas)
• Study Scripture
• Learn language/s
• Evangelize
• Be uncomfortable
• Live with less
• Pray more

Trying to keep my eyes off the problem

Our daily prayers are full of "please God, we need certain things to be in place so that we can do what we perceive you want to us to do, but we're struggling to trust that you're going to come through on this. Please help us to trust, and forgive us for our lack of faith." 

Trusting God for our future is the overwhelming challenge I've got right now, and if you've been reading my blog you'll know that that tussle has been going on for some time. In fact I hesitate to write about it again, because it feels like I'm just a clanging gong, with only one topic.

I know that he's in control and that he loves me and will work out his purposes, that he will never leave us and that whatever happens is will work out for our good and his glory, but I struggle to stay in that posture of trust.

Prayer

Which brings me to the topic of prayer. The ladies at our home church (Grace Christian Church Redbank Plains) have started working through a book called A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul E. Miller. Someone lent me the book late last year and with all the free time I've had, I've managed to read it all before we began discussing it. Last week's gathering, though, made me uncomfortably aware that my experience of prayer and those of many Australian Christians, is vastly different. I'm not boasting here, in fact I hesitate to write about my prayer life because Jesus told us to be quiet about our prayers (Luke 18:9–14; Matthew 6:5–6). My purpose here is just to show you what being a missionary with a Christian missionary organisation can be like.

Prayer is everywhere in our work. It's part of almost every meeting: large or small. It's not uncommon to be in the middle of a gathering and be asked to "turn to the person next to you and pray about these matters". For a few years I used to attend up to several prayer meetings each month with other parents at school (CAJ).

Additionally, I write a prayer/newsletter each month and are often asked by several different geographical (Japan, Australia, Queensland) branches of our organisation for prayer points. We receive regular prayer letters and prayer documents from those same branches, as well as from several missionaries who we pray for in more detail.

It adds up to a lot and boils down to an overall expectation by our organisation that we'll be personally praying for a lot, including our 120+ colleagues with OMF Japan and 70+ colleagues at CAJ. Not to mention 100+ OMF Australian colleagues. David and I have a system that enables us to pray for a good number of these people (though not everyone every day) and we do this before breakfast most days.

In addition to all the above, I have three friends who I can shoot a quick request: "Please pray, this is happening..., or "Please pray, I feel..." I have a few others who I sometimes will ask for specific prayer. And they do the same to me.

Over the years, steeped in this prayer-full environment, one of my first reactions when something difficult happens, is to ask certain people to pray, to share the burden, even if I can't find the words or energy to pray for myself.

From what I've observed, I don't think the above is the experience is common. It makes me feel amazingly blessed. People sometimes say, I don't know how you do what you do. Well, I would say it's primarily because of all this prayer. Yes, we pray for others, but we also have hundreds of people (potentially) praying for us, many of whom we've never met.

Right now a lot of people are praying for our sons. The prayers for one of them has been answered: he's found a house in a good location and housemates, he's also got a short-term job that will bolster his bank account. But we're waiting on answers for the other son, the one who has had an especially rough road over the last few years. Our hearts ache, but we're being bolstered by many who pray for us. And wait . . . and wait . . . and wait . . . to tell you, and many others, the answers to those prayers.

Like a grasshopper

Image by Marc Pascual from Pixabay

This morning I was reminded of a Bible story that impacted me at a camp in my last year of high school. We spent time looking at Numbers 13 and 14, the story of the 12 Israelite spies that were sent to check out the land that God was taking them to. They came back bearing amazing fruit from the land, but also stories about how impossible it would be for the Israelites to invade the land (which is what they assumed they'd have to do). They emphasised how big and strong those living in the land were. They used this metaphor: "We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."

Two of the 12 men, Caleb and Joshua, opposed the others, saying that if this was God's plan, he would do it: "The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them." They focused on God, not on the problem. So often I focus on the problem!

The story continues with all the Israelites latching onto the bad report and complaining, suggesting it would be better to go back to Egypt (and, one assumes, the captivity that awaited them there). The Bible records an interesting interaction between God and Moses. God complains to Moses about the Israelites, a cites a plan to destroy the whole nation and push on with Moses and his descendants. Moses pushes back and points out that the nations would see what's happened and assume that God couldn't do what he set out to do. He appeals to God's character and asks him to show his strength by forgiving the Israelites. God relents, but his new plan is that none of those 20 or older who were counted in the census earlier on their journey would enter the Promised Land, except Caleb and Joshua, and that it would be 40 more years of wandering in the wilderness.

When Moses reported this to the people, they mourned, said they'd sinned, and decided to go to invade the Promised Land anyway, the very next day. Much like when I was a kid and tried to get out of a punishment after being caught. And yep, they went and got beaten, because God wasn't with them.

It's an extraordinary story. I feel like a grasshopper just now. I did back in year 12 too, when I was facing the end of high school and all the unknowns of the following year. I rather think God prefers that we feel like grasshoppers and so rely on him for strength, rather than our own.

It's a story that shows us how serious God takes grumbling against him. But also shows how a plan won't succeed if it's going against God's plans. For sure there's a lot I don't know about God and his guidance and leading, I'm no expert at all, just a lay person reading my Bible. But also a person seeking to follow God's will. I'm prone to be impatient and to grumble about God's timing, yet I'm also trying to trust God in the midst of it all. Keeping my eyes focused on God instead of the problem is probably the key, just like it was in this story as well as the story of David and Goliath!

Are you facing a giant of a problem right now? How do you keep your eyes off the problem and fixed on God?

First motorhome adventure 2024

Our journey to
get home on Tuesday.

If you and I were sitting down at a coffee shop and you asked me about my week, I could tell you quite a tale. This is a bit long, so I've started with:

TL;DR (too long didn't read) version:

On Friday night we had a simple BBQ dinner on Friday night (Australia Day) with friends. 

On Saturday we packed our bags and headed up to my parents' place in Toowoomba where we stopped for a short chat, then packed our stuff into their small motorhome and headed across town to spend the night with long-time friends.

We slept in the motorhome in their driveway overnight. About 1.30 a fierce storm came through the region. I didn't get much sleep! Sunday morning we had breakfast with our friends before driving to church with them. We didn't stay long afterwards as we'd been invited to a 60th birthday party down the road.

Free camping in the Aussie bush...with a book
and travel Scrabble...and several hundred mozzies.

After the party we drove down the Toowoomba range and into the area north of the main highway between Toowoomba and Brisbane. We stopped the night in a cleared spot (that we paid a small amount for) on a private property, with no water, toilet, or shower, it was very much "free camping". It was a very hot night!

On Monday morning we packed up camp and headed into Brisbane to attend the funeral of a former colleague in Japan, and then back out again to camp north of Brisbane at a small town's show grounds.

It was wet again that night, but not with the driving rain we'd experienced early on Sunday morning. However the amount of rain that had already fallen was starting to pool on the already saturated ground.

Tuesday morning we drove the "back routes" to get the motorhome back to my parents. It was a very wet drive that took a lot longer than expected due to road conditions.

We didn't stay long at my parents, because we had promised to pick our youngest son up from work in Ipswich at 3pm. However, quickly discovered that the main highway was flooded in one spot, so we spent about 40 minutes working our way around the blockage on local roads.

We finally arrived home seven hours after leaving that morning, on a journey that probably should have only taken five!

Longer version

Friday night's dinner was preceded by an event with our son that proved to me (again) how real and how crippling anxiety can be. We learnt some things and were challenged again to double down in prayer for him. I won't go into the details here in a public space, but it wasn't an easy time. 

Dinner we enjoyed, however. Time spent with friends who know us well and accept us as we are is precious. It was a comfortable evening and helped me relax a bit.

Saturday was hot. In fact most days are hot and humid at the moment. We teeter on the edge of using air conditioning most days (our modus operandi is to use it as minimally as we can to keep costs low). Thankfully most nights have been cool enough with just the overhead fan on. We discovered on this trip that hot nights in a motorhome can be a little more challenging.

We arrived at our friends' house late afternoon and spent the next several hours talking and eating. Another place where we feel seen and heard and loved deeply. It was wonderful. We've walked with this couple for over 30 years, most of the time not in the same city or state, or even country, but we're grateful for a friendship that has weathered a lot, including nine kids between us!

We slept here.

I've already mentioned the storm. I slept very poorly: it was hot and a "new" bed, even before we got buffeted by the storm. It was a struggle to concentrate in church the next morning, but we were grateful to be back in the church where we got married in 1997 and to see a few familiar faces.

Our motor home adventure ramped up once we headed off the main road on Sunday afternoon. The place David had booked was very basic. Certainly quiet and dark once the sun went down. And plenty of mozzies who got a good feed off me! But without electricity we only had a fan for part of the night, so my sleep was mostly being passed out from exhaustion from the night before.

Free camping, with free dogs.
So enthusiastically
keeping an eye on us!

It was delightful to have breakfast in the bush the next morning. One of the big things that struck me about camping in a motorhome is how easy it is to set-up camp, and pack up later. Last time we did this (2012) we'd only been tent camping a handful of times, but now we have a lot of tent camping under our belts and the ease of set-up in a motorhome is amazing.

Attending a funeral in the middle of our long weekend meant this really wasn't a relaxing adventure. But our main goal for taking this trip was to have a trial run at using the van prior to a much longer trip in March–May, so we did achieve that. 

The funeral itself was pretty amazing, however. Definitely had us turning our eyes to Jesus and the various tributes gave us a good well-rounded image of the woman we were mourning. Fittingly, for someone who had spent around half her life in Japan, there were a number of short messages from people who had served with her there, most of whom we knew, so we felt quite a home. Afterwards at the "reception" we had many eclectic conversations. We met former colleagues (from Australia and Japan), Japanese expats, people who've prayed for us since we were in our 20s, someone who used to attend the same church as me when I was at uni. I met a Japanese lady who is good friends with someone I haven't seen since 7th grade! My parents were there and they introduced me to friends of theirs who we'd not met. It was intense!

After that we hopped back in the motorhome and drove to our next campsite. This time with power and water, and a beautiful amenities block (shower and toilet). After we were set up, we ended up chatting with a lady walking her very friendly service dog past our van. It struck me that in this mobile group of people, they don't care where you are "from" they just want to know about the journey: where have you been recently and where are you going next. Unlike a hairdresser I encountered last year, they don't want to know about whether you have a day off and what your job is. In some ways that's refreshing, for people like us who have too much backstory for an easy introductory conversation.

I wish I'd had more time and energy to
take some photos in this picturesque
 location (Dayboro). But we were rushed and it
was wet most of the time we were there.

On Tuesday morning we had some difficulties trying to empty our grey and black water. First place it was pouring rain and there was a line up, and we were in a bit of a rush to get going. At the second place, it was still raining, but not as hard, and we suspect the dump point had been underwater earlier in the day and it so was tricky.

Driving in sub-optimal conditions for much of the day on Tuesday was draining. At times water was running over the road, or it was raining so hard it was difficult to see far ahead. And then, on the final leg, we ran into flooding in the Lockyer Valley. We decided to push through and see what alternative route we could find and were surprised to find a slightly complicated way through that only delayed us 40 minutes. Alternatives to this story (if the flooding had been worse) were an extra night at my parents, or a long detour of a few hours. If this had been 20 years ago, I don't know how we would have managed because finding the alternative route meant a lot of consulting of Google Maps and Qldtraffic.qld.gov.au (a webpage that shows road conditions). I drove as I am more prone to motion sickness than David. But we were both exhausted by the time we got home. 

Happy to chalk this up as another adventure, but also grateful for a home base (some of our camping companions live all the time in their mobile accommodation). But now we're preparing for our "big trip" starting in just six weeks!