Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Tractor Purchased and other shipping details

The tractor purchase is complete.  Now we are waiting for it to be delivered early next week (if all goes well.)

We have found a 20' container with sea worthy survey certificate and delivery and pick up options that will work for us.  I plan to send a check for that tomorrow.  We hope to have it delivered early next week.

We are waiting to hear back from several shipping companies for accurate quotes (one is in California, and the contact lady was sick today.)  She is to be updating our quote with our new options and specifics.  They have given us the most cost effective quote so far.  We have a request out for a few others, also.

Shipping the dry batteries and the wet batteries has become really complicated.  Our source for purchasing them needed to purchase an entire pallet and they are more expensive than wet ones, so there isn't much of a market for them.  We don't want a whole pallet of them.  Shipping wet ones is very complicated.  Doug has found two possibilities of purchasing good batteries for the solar system of the other missionary family and the one for the school located in Tanzania or Kenya.  We are hoping that this option will work out cost effectively and also good quality.  That is a prayer request, also. 

Things are starting to come together more and more.  We are making progress.  

I have not gotten word for our worker's permit being issued yet.  Plane ticket prices are at some of their highest rates until Christmas day.  Then they drop down into our budgeted range for them.  So right now, I am hoping that we will fly out either on December 26th, 27th or January 1st.  We won't purchase the tickets until we have the permit.  That time frame will give us the time to get the container packed and on it's way.  It will also allow us to spend some time with Dad.  We are hopeful to get him settled back into his home with his new methods of living with the results of the accident and also giving him some badly needed massages.  It will also allow us to purchase the tickets at the price that is within our budget for them.

So our current prayer requests are: for the workers permit to come in, for us to purchase the exact right tickets at the best low price, for us to get a great shipper with excellent price, for all of our paperwork to be correct for the shipment (especially this, ) for all of our items to fit in the 20' container VERY SECURELY.  The container will have to be tipped at a 45 degree angle to get it back on the road and this will be while FULLY loaded. 









Sunday, November 20, 2011

Tamara's dad had a terrible wreck

November 7, 2011 our lives took a very shocking detour for two weeks, and even longer for Troy, Tamara's dad.  Just the night before we got a call that Doug's father was in the hospital expecting surgery and had been in the ER 4 times that week.  Tamara's father had run his big Isuzu carpet cleaning truck into a billboard pole at a high rate of speed after blacking out while driving back from a job in NW Arkansas.
Troy spent 8 days in critical condition in the ICU unit in St. John's Hospital in Springfield, MO.  He then spent the next 5 days in a normal hospital room, and Friday the 18th, late in the day he was transferred to Health South Rehab Hospital in Fayetteville, AR.  He broke two bones in his right leg, badly sprained his left knee, broke his pelvis, many ribs, his sternum, his mandible, lost all his lower teeth except the back two on each side, has some nasty lacerations on his chin, and multiple abrasions.  He bruised his lungs, had a collapsed lung, chest tube, was on the respirator 7 days and many other things.  So our lives and preparing to for our mission trip were in a bit of turmoil.  Tamara stayed with him in Springfield and also went down with him to Fayetteville, and just returned home yesterday night.  It was a long 13 days, but God has answered prayer after prayer after prayer!  Troy's recovery has been miraculous.  His survival has been miraculous.  He is still in a lot of pain, but he is healing quickly.  They had him in a wheelchair and doing arm strengthening exercises before Tamara left him in Fayetteville.


It was incredibly hard for Tamara to say good-bye to her father after spending so much time being there for him.  She does not regret one second of taking the time to be there and support him and the family.  It has been a faith building experience for many.  Looking back, we have SO MUCH to thank God for!

We expect our Visas to come in soon.  We have much to do yet and appreciate everyone's prayers.

Still packing, weighing and inventorying.  Looking for a shipper and container.

I did update the blog with a donation page.

One pastor told me that I need to let people know that the $10 a month club is as important as the $100 a month club.  So there is my announcement!

Thank you everyone for your support and prayers.

On another note, Tamara's Mom's animals (chickens, turkeys, dogs and cats) are glad to have Tamara home to love on them again.  One of the young chickens actually flew up into her lap to be petted and fed today.