Empty Rooms and Full Boxes

We are one week out from leaving Ontario and landing in British Columbia. As with most moves, it is the final weeks and days which are busiest. A good chunk of our belongings have been sold or freely given away and we have reduced our earthly possessions to a dozen or so suitcases/Rubbermaid bins and five boxes of books. For various reasons, we made the decision not to send a van-load down to México, but to pack most of it down via suitcase instead. In the end, it should amount to less stress (hopefully) and has the added effect of constantly reminding us of Jesus words in the gospel according to Matthew: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” There are many items of sentimental or personal value which we would otherwise “store up”, but this move is forcing us to hold earthly things lightly (or drop them off at Bibles for Missions). Although sometimes we also think of Abraham and Sarah who took “all the possessions they had accumulated” when they moved to Canaan at Yahweh’s command. But of course, as the author of Hebrews informs us, Abraham was indeed storing up treasures in heaven as well.

Anyway, we’ll be glad when all the suitcases are stuffed, books boxed, and remaining items distributed to their new homes, but we will miss our friends and family here in Ontario, especially knowing we may not be back for some time. God has used our time here to shape and mould us and allowed us to enjoy many blessings we would otherwise have missed out on. If there is one lesson we’ve learned while living in Hamilton, attending seminary, and planning our future, it is that God provides in his own way and in his own time.

Besides packing boxes and sorting possessions, there are two other items to provide updates on:

Firstly, this past week I (Scott) had my visa appointment in Toronto to begin the process of obtaining my Temporary Resident Visa. To make a long story short, I was told that we need to apply for our visas at a later time. While the visas are being processed in México you must remain in the country for 180 days without leaving or you don’t get a visa, and we recently decided to return to Canada in August for my brother’s wedding (thanks Brayden!) so we will be applying at that time. It is a slight change in plans, but it shouldn’t change too much. We can still go to México in the spring on tourist visas.

Secondly, I’ve been on treatment for SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth) for about a month now. No change thus far. I’ve read that these things take time so we both are trying to be patient, but it’s still a bit discouraging. Please continue to pray for improvements in my health. Pray also that our final week here would go smoothly and we would arrive safely in B.C.