Actual Last Day At Mira Loma

So I lied last week. Well, not exactly....

I thought last week was my last day at Mira Loma. But I was there again today due to scheduling. So if I missed saying good-bye to you at Norco, it's not because I forgot. Believe me, I already miss all of you.

Today, I decided to re-think the "No Pictures of Mira Loma" policy, grabbed a hard hat and started snapping. Turns out, it looks a lot different than I thought.

One of my lovely Volunteer Services ladies....

This last picture pretty much sums up the whole experience. The last few months have meant so much.

There isn't anything more to say.

Surprise!

So last night was quite the surprise. You may remember me saying that Zach's aunt Penny was coming to visit. Well they were setting up the back yard so that people could come over and visit with her. I noticed there was a lot of preparation going on, and that seemed strange.

Turns out, it was a surprise going away party for us! Zach knew about it, but I didn't have a clue. It was really nice to have the friends come over to say goodbye.. Even the Circuit Overseer and his wife came. That made me really happy. And yes, Aunt Penny did come, and we did get to visit.

Here's a picture of the cake they got for us.

It seemed a shame to cut it, but how can you pass up Costco cake? It's the best!

I didn't cry, in case you were wondering. But I did want to.

Topic Change I:

We finally started the packing process. It's a good thing we did. Somehow, we have waaaaayyyyyyyy more stuff than I thought we did. I have repacked about 6 times now, and it's not getting any better.

We said we would only bring 3 suitcases to Honduras, since we will be traveling a lot. Well, I have two perfectly packed suitcases at 50 lbs each, one suitcase at 80 lbs, and a week worth of clothes to still fit in there. Yeah, I've done the math and it just does NOT work. I thought I'd purged a lot already.... Guess there's more to do. But it's worth it. 

Once we get on the plane and are on our way, we totally won't even be worried. But there's still a week left, and I think I might just freak out for that time. 

Topic Change II:

Still need to sell:

2007 Dodge Caliber

Playstation 3

14 pc. Ryobi Tool Set

Snowboards/Bindings/Boots

Dining Table

If you hear of anyone who needs/wants those sorts of things, please let them know what we have.

Topic Change III:

Excited!

Good night. 

Videos

I promise this post will be more cheery than the last one. I got a mostly restful night of sleep so that should help.

Yesterday was exactly one year since we came to California. I don't know how to feel about that.

Yesterday was also my last day at Mira Loma. I didn't take any pictures, because, well, I know what the outside of Mira Loma looks like and that isn't going to change.

Today is my fourth to last day at Norco. It does change, so I am taking pictures. I don't know why, I will have nothing to compare it to, since I highly doubt we will be at an Assembly here any time soon. That's ok though, most of my pictures are of people. Some of whom you will see below, yay!

It is a little sad knowing that these are the last few days we will see these friends in person. But when you're going to live forever, there is always time to run into them again!

At the convention, I took a video of the crowd singing. It was so special to see almost 10,000 of Jehovah's servants coming together with one voice. Well today, after lunch, the little group of volunteers came together to sing as well. This time really brought tears to my eyes, but that might have been because of the song.

Here's two videos. You will have to ignore my off-key singing in the background. Something about being in a big crowd makes me think I can sing really loud, but no.

Here's the pictures from today:

This sister has family in Honduras, including a cousin who is going to be serving in La Ceiba in the ASL congregation. Such a small world.

This used to be the dining hall.

Is that a maze? No, it's just what remains of several walls.

The old kitchen.

This is the new kitchen, fully functioning

This is a flower; in the background you can see some of the demo work. It was good I got this picture when I did, after lunch a sister came along and picked it for her hair.

A cute little kitchen sister. I'm pretty sure she was staying in the same hotel as us for Convention, but she was wearing a dress that day so I'm not sure. 

Two sisters being interviewed during lunch.

The brother conducting made sure even his tie was safety green. Have to be safety conscious at all times!

That's all for now!

Can't Sleep

It's 3:40 in the morning and I cannot fall asleep. It's nice and quiet, and the trailer is actually cool for once, but no sleep comes. So here I am.

Tonight I had a girl's night in, and had a bunch of sisters from the congregation and RBC come over. I was super excited because I was going to make some Indian desserts that I have not had in forever. Unfortunately, there's a reason I don't cook in the trailer, and I was reminded of it today when nothing I made turned out even slightly edible. Anyway... It was really nice to spend time with everyone, I don't know if I will see them again. That's a sad thought, we may never see these friends again. I honestly don't know if we will ever come back here. I assume we will at some point, but right now it's not in the plans. What makes this harder is, genius that I am, I didn't actually take any pictures of anybody tonight. Grabbed out two cameras, but didn't use either of them....

Another thought I'm having trouble with, is knowing that I won't see my cat again after we leave. She's old, and she's been getting sick a lot lately. I don't want to put her through the stress of traveling with us, even if it were easy to get her through customs. She's going to live with my parents in Colorado, but there's a very good chance she will die before we settle down and can have her come stay with us. I know it's just a pet, but I am rather attached to the fuzzball. The things we sacrifice for Jehovah, I guess. This is actually the only thing I feel like I am sacrificing by leaving.

Every one was asking tonight, "Have you started packing?" The answer is no. I really, really want to. After all, we only have 15 days until we leave. But we intend to pack super light this time, and I'm afraid if I start packing now, I will begin to justify bringing things we don't really need and we will end up with a bunch of suitcases. I know that is impossible since we only have three suitcases in our possession, but I'm still afraid it will happen. I figure if I wait until the last minute, I can throw stuff in, throw everything else away and run out the door to the airport without getting too bogged down.

There are 5 more days at the RBC, and 5 more meetings to go to. Saturday we are pouring concrete in the backyard and Zach's aunt is going to be visiting us from Venezuela. There's a million things to do before we go, and a million more I want to do. The last burger at In-N-Out. The last long car ride with the windows down and the music up. All simple things, but still things we won't be doing again for a really long time. And it just occurred to me I may not see snow or experience cold weather for a while either. Now I'm really bummed out.

I don't mean to sound depressed/ing about all this. I'm really not. I am looking forward to getting back out into the field and traveling and seeing the friends again. It's just... some of the realities of wanting to stay gone forever are hitting me. I'm sure once we get to the airport, it will all fade away.

Well, on that cheery note, I'm going to try to go back to bed. We'll see what happens.

District Convention

This weekend was our District Convention in Long Beach. We went down early on Thursday and stayed at a nice hotel. The places the rooming department gets for us are really nice. This place had a free breakfast, nice pool area, super comfy beds and a shuttle to the convention center. All for really cheap too!

Plus, we had really nice neighbors. Right as we were checking in, guess who pulls up? An Overseer from the Norco project with his wife. And at breakfast, there were more people from Norco. It was really weird seeing people in suits and dresses, when I usually see them in hard hats and safety green. The nice thing though, was last year I didn't know a soul at convention and this year I knew everybody.

The program was good, of course. Since we had already gone, I was most looking forward to hearing the different experiences and interviews. There was one that made me cry, it was so beautiful. A brother walked on stage with some difficulty, and had to use arm crutches. He was asked what blessing he most enjoyed, and he shared how he is part of the RBC even with his disability. He said he most looks forward to when he can help actually build houses and roofs for the brothers in the new system. It is so wonderful the way Jehovah can use all of us, no matter our limitations and abilities.

On Friday we went out to dinner with our hotel neighbors. It was so encouraging to hear their experiences, and how they started into the substitute circuit overseer and assembly hall construction work.

The Persian convention was being held at the convention center at the same time as ours. This was exciting because the brother who married us is Persian, and we were hoping to see him and his family, because we have not seen them in many years. So on Sunday, we went downstairs and sure enough, they were there! It was so wonderful to see them again. I did feel horribly old though, because their kids are so big and I remember before they were born.
In a couple weeks, there is going to be a Persian language class in Colorado, and he will be teaching it. They are hoping to be an official group soon. It is so amazing how the preaching work is expanding.

So we are back home today. I finally managed to drag myself out of that nice hotel bed, but I was so sad. The first day I have had to sleep in in a few months, and I woke up so early...

Tomorrow I will be back at Norco. I hear they were demolishing the kitchen area Saturday, so that should be interesting to see.

We leave in exactly 3 weeks. Still haven't sold the car or some of our other stuff, but I know Jehovah will take care of our needs. Besides, I still need the car for those three weeks.

Anyway, here's some pictures from the weekend.

I'm particularly proud of the last picture. I caught on camera the fabled line to the men's bathroom. I've heard of it, but didn't think it actually existed.

That's all for now.