21 - We are so excited and relieved. George Steinbach emailed us with the news that our visas have been approved. That news frees us to actually plan a departure date. Today we decided to store our furniture in Colorado (in Val's brother's barn) instead of paying for a storage unit in Orlando. This will save storage costs in the long-run since after 6-8 months we will have recouped the cost of moving our belongings to Colorado. But even more significant to us emotionally is that it allows us to see Jenny and Jamie one more time before we leave. We will leave Orlando in mid-November and arrive in Colorado in time to spend Thanksgiving with the girls. We will leave for Namibia from Denver in early December.
22 - The good news was premature. Stephan Nell emailed today to correct George's misinformation. Our visas have not been approved but he expects to hear something next week. Today was a tough day for me (Lon) emotionally. The impact of leaving Jenny and Jamie has sunk in deeply and the pain is almost too much to bear. I wrote them both a love letter and that helped a lot.
24 - Today the website came into being. Dave Welch has done a excellent job in designing and developing this site. It is full of useful information, yet has the feel of being simple and uncluttered. This is so exciting. I can see how the website will become an invaluable tool for helping our supporters stay connected with us and the ministry in which they are investing prayer,finances and relationship.
27 - Our Farewell Reception this evening was a wonderful time of saying good-bye to hundreds of old friends. It was heart-warming to see so many friends which reminded us of so many memories, all in the same room at the same time. It was a fitting capstone for our ministry over the past 24 years at Northland. It was impossible to say good-bye to everyone at the same time. I kept seeing people across the room that I wanted to greet, but there were always several others waiting to talk to me. Hopefully, I was able to share a few moments with everyone. Deb Meyer gave me a wonderful gift to commemorate all the fun times we have spent together in ministry over the last several years. It is a safari hat with a built-in fan. No joke. Get this. It is solar powered with a backup battery pack for cloudy days. That's Deb. Always preparing for every contingency.
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