Arriving in Cairns

Today's a crazy day that's gone on and on. We really didn't sleep much on the plane, just dozing a bit here and there. As a result yesterday has melted into today and we're not really certain what day it is or what time it is.

I think we all took a nap after lunch (not sure about one son who napped earlier in the day). But thankfully the sun is starting to get lower in the sky (it is 4.30 pm) and we can look forward to going through familiar evening routines and get a proper night sleep.

This is where we're staying. Taken from the Tree
Tops Lodge Cairns website:
http://www.treetopslodgecairns.org.au/photos.html

This morning we were warmly and thoughtfully greeted at the airport by a friend who's lending us the family's second car for the week. She came with their other car as well to help with getting all our luggage to our lodging for the week. 

But she also unexpectedly brought us some basic groceries, which meant we didn't have to face looking for some breakfast at a commercial establishment. So thoughtful. Then when she read on Facebook that we were having a bit of trouble getting everyone synced (one child wanted to stay "in" and sleep, the others had too much energy to settle), she offered to go walking with us, her boys (who are similar ages but don't know our boys) and dogs down along the Cairns esplanade. That was great. Allowed the boys to connect with some boys in Australia (something they crave in the early days of a cross-cultural move), me some stimulating conversation with a friend, and David some time to do some errands. A little bit of dog-therapy too. We're so thankful.

Oh, a bit of outdoor Australia was great too. It really is a bit surreal still. Part of that is the lack of sleep, I'm sure.

So, how are the boys coping? Pretty well, considering. This is not an unexpected move, it's something they've known about for a long time. Mostly what we have now is emotional roller coasters and, at times, hypersensitivity and irritability.

We're looking forward to a basic Aussie BBQ tonight. That's one of the big things the boys were looking forward to in Australia.

For something of interest, check my post this time five years ago, when we did pretty much the same thing: flying into Cairns for a holiday before moving to Brisbane.

The ultimate symbol

The empty keyring is the ultimate sign of the between country "Zone". 

See you soon Australia!

The final throes of moving to Australia

Today we moved out of our house, drove across "town" and are ensconced in our mission's guest home for a night before flying tomorrow evening. We're definitely in the "Zone" now, although I've just spent the last hour looking online at Contents Insurance for our house in Australia, that's not good Zone behaviour. Before that, however, I played (and lost badly) a game of 7Wonders.

Soon we'll go for a walk and find some Japanese food to enjoy before crashing. I'm actually pretty tired. I woke up at 4.30, thinking (typical Zone behaviour), eventually dropped back to sleep after reading my Bible for nearly an hour. Then everyone was up and raring to go at 7am, but it took us six hours to finalise our cleaning and most especially wash and dry all the sheets, towels, and rags. It's a rainy day, so our Japanese dryer got a great workout this morning.

My especial delight this morning was seeing the boys entertain themselves for a good part of the morning, and two of them be especially helpful on a couple of occasions (beyond what was asked of them). This is so different to moving with little ones. 

Last time we moved, they were four years younger, making our youngest five. There is a huge difference between having 5, 7 & 11 year olds and having 9, 11, and 15 year olds! I'm enjoying it. Tomorrow we'll be using them to the max as we transport ourselves to the airport via public transport (i.e. train, of course) and then pick up the rest of our luggage. 

This is the first time we've travelled with such a large amount of luggage. We're travelling on a budget airline (because it is an overnight flight). The bonus is that for a small fee we could increase our luggage allowance to 40kg per person. I don't think we've hit the maximum, but it has streamlined the process of getting the majority of our wardrobe to Australia. Moving countries for a year is a bit different to going on holidays! But it does mean we have a lot of bags. Thankfully a bunch of strong boys to help with trolleys etc. 

The reason we're meeting some of it at the airport is due to an amazingly convenient Japanese service called takubin. It is like a postal service, but covers a much wider type of product, including getting suitcases to the airport. It is also waaaay cheaper. Yesterday David rang them up, got some labels from a local convenience store, filled them out, and a truck came around 5 pm to collect our luggage from our house. We'll pick it all up at the airport just prior to checking in. Amazing! Especially when compared to the thought of travelling on trains with three or four pieces of luggage each (including a backpack).

Well, the family has just finished playing Ticket to Ride and it's food time again. 

Entering the zone

We've spent a good part of the week sorting, cleaning, moving things around, and packing. By last night it felt as though we were close to being ready to go. 

All our personal stuff, excess winter clothing, books, toys,
bedding, half a bunk bed, medical stuff etc. piled neatly in this
bedroom. The large plastic drawers on the left
formed the base of our bed until yesterday.

Of course we've got a number of admin details to take care of (insurance cancelation, internet and phone cancellation, etc.) as well as those final details of moving that can't be taken care of earlier (washing the sheets and towels we're using, final vacuum etc.).

However, the furniture is in its final placement (we shifted the bedrooms around so that two single ladies can comfortably live here, as opposed to a couple with three boys). We're all living out of suitcases and David and I have completely moved out of our bedroom, we're sleeping in the lounge room.

Most of our goodbyes are over. The cupboard and fridge are almost empty of perishables. The dirtiest areas of the house are cleaned.

This was our bedroom until yesterday morning. Now transformed into a
single-person's room.

Yes, we're almost into the "between countries" zone. You may never have experienced this zone, it is an interesting vacuum of a place where life is relatively simple. I guess it equates to a situation where you are in-between jobs and houses in places that are vastly separated. 

The zone is a place where you have few responsibilities and your sphere of operation is fairly small. It is a place where our family spends a lot of time doing things together, as opposed to doing different things in different places. It is a place where time seems to almost stop for a bit.

It is a place of mixed emotions, of sadness at leaving, but anticipation at what is to come.

But also a place where you have dreams of missing the plane, have trouble going to sleep, and wake up early.

But it is also a place of simplicity. Our wardrobe is reduced to a suitcase. What's the next meal? Most of our things are packed and we don't have many responsibilities and nothing particularly on the schedule, so what should we do with our time?

Not quite there, because we still have a few things to do, but we're getting close. By the time we leave this house in a couple of days we'll be definitely in the zone.

It's easy to feel uncomfortable at the vacuum of this stage, but actually I've been looking forward to it. The irresponsible part of me just wanted to run away from my responsibilities at times in the last couple of months to get to this place.

While we're in the zone we're going to take some holidays. Although we'll have to put on our responsible hats for a little bit in order to acquire some phones (everyone, every agency, every one wants to know your phone number), in general we'll be zoning out next week! After that we'll have to face becoming responsible citizens again. 

But that can wait. For the moment, I'm enjoying being in the zone.

Excited about this project

The cover of the 32-page booklet.

I've been working on a publishing project for OMF Japan for nearly 12 months now. 31 Days of Prayer for Japan is in the final stages of production, we'll be going to print within the week. So exciting!

It contains short articles from various missionaries on the field about topics pertinent to OMF's ministry in Japan. We hope it will be an excellent tool for mobilising prayer, as well as mobilising people to come to Japan as missionaries.

It will be on sale through OMF offices around the world, probably in August. I'll let you know when it is available.

I can't believe how good the timing is for us personally, however. To be able to hold this booklet up when we're visiting churches and other groups who support us and be able to say, "This is one thing I did in my ministry in Japan," is going to be pretty useful!

Jittery

Saying goodbyes stinks. Just saying.

At the moment there is a family who was very involved at CAJ and also attended our Japanese church who is packing up to leave Japan permanently. It's given a few of our friends the jitters. Why? 

A person’s steps are directed by the Lord.
    How then can anyone understand their own way?
Proverbs 20:24 (NIV)

 We plan the way we want to live,
    but only God makes us able to live it.
Proverbs 16:9 (The Message)

‘Who has known the mind of the Lord?
    Or who has been his counsellor?’
Romans 11:34 (NIV)

Because this time last year they packed up their house to go to the US for a year, just like we're doing now. During their time away God, via their organisation (Cru), has directed them to a different ministry state-side. So now they're back for a couple of weeks disposing of their household goods and saying more permanent goodbyes.

So now as we say goodbye for a year, people have said,

"You are coming back, aren't you?"

or

"Well, goodbye for now, but if the Lord directs you elsewhere God bless on whatever He calls you to do."

or

"Oh my, we do hope you delightful Marshalls are coming back after just the one year, indeed."

My reply can only be that we do indeed intend to come back. In fact we see ourselves here (as in, in this area of Tokyo) for a long time yet. Our boys are planning on graduating from CAJ (which is nine years away).

However it is also true that God does direct people to other things. He even allows serious illness and accidents to interrupt our plans. But, as far as we know, this is where we are meant to be for now. 

None of us knows how God will lead us in the future, we just assume that things will remain the same. It's just that a home assignment time is unsettling in its very nature and it is a time when changes can happen.

But I'm sure we're going to come across people in Australia who'll be asking,

"So, when are you coming back to live here permanently?"

or

"How long are you going to keep doing this?" 

We'll be giving them the same answer we give our friends here. We don't know what the future holds, but as far as we know, this is what we're supposed to continue doing, and we're happy about that.

Kids Musings June 2014

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