Until we meet again
Sunday, June 28, 2020
CoVid19 shook up some of our plans but over all we feel like we have been able to still accomplish everything we wanted to do, focusing on what is the most important and investing in that. 
In the fall Nick was able to travel to the eastern side of Congo and help out the MAF program there when they were low on pilots. The last few months, even though there hasn't been much flying, Nick has been able to concentrate on supporting and helping around the hanger as well as help oversee the completion of the MAF house construction and landscaping. 
I, Jocelyn, have been able officially finish my Bachelors of Science degree in Psychology all the while homeschooling Ruth and Pascal over the last 3 1/2 months. 
As a family we have lived in 3 different houses in the last 10 months, slowly purging and/or selling our things throughout the year. It has been a busy year, but it has also been restful in many ways being able to enjoy life here in Congo. It was awesome to have my sister come out before CoVid hit and be able to go camping with her at our favourite spot, Bombo Lumene.
We have had several get togethers over the last month to be able to say goodbye. These have been encouraging as well as sad. Serving with MAF has given us the opportunity to have friends from all over the world but that means that we have no idea when we will see them again. 
We had birthday parties for both Ruth and Pascal, a goodbye celebration with the National Staff at the hangar, a supper with the MAF expat staff and several small get togethers along the way. 
We had planned on doing one big celebration but with CoVid we did small events or get togethers instead. We are so thankful for the people here in Congo that we have known over the last 9 years and we are sad to leave them. Even though the goodbyes are sad we are looking ahead to the future with eager expectation.
We are so excited to be able to continue as missionaries with MAF with Jocelyn working as the learning and development coordinator and Nick helping out with operations. Nick is still also looking forward to having a flying job and the details of that will be worked out over the next few months as the world recovers and returns to something stable. 
The last thing that we need to do is just to get back to Canada. Boarders are still not open, but because of our need to start our life in Canada, find a place to live, get the kids in school, start to work, and after discussed this with MAF Canada we have decided to take a repatriation flight back to Canada on July 5th. 
It feels good to finally have a date and be able to finish all of the last things that we need to do around the house before we leave. 
Once we land in Canada we have a place to quarantine for two weeks and during that time we will be looking for a place to rent starting in August. A few people have already asked me about things that we will need once we are in Canada, I will be able to better answer that question once we are there and when we know where we will be living. 
It has been a long time since we have lived in Canada and I know already that it is going to take time to adjust. Even though we have visited Canada during the last 9 years there are things about living there that we haven't had to deal with and that have probably changed during that time. Though we know it will be a challenge, we are very excited to be able to reconnect with friends and family in Canada as well as introduce many things to our kids about Canada they have not experienced. Since they have never experienced winter it should be an interesting time when the snow comes!
2 comments
what part of canada are you planning on living? I'm excited for u both, change is hard we will be praying.
ReplyDeleteSo happy that you have a date to go. I'm sure that feels like a load has been lifted! Take your time adjusting. We found it so helpful to view Canada as a NEW country we were moving to, rather than returning to an old one where you think you know what to expect. Being an "invisible immigrant" is a challenge. Take it slooooooowww!���� All the best to you all as you feel all the feels! ❤
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