Final Week in Phoenix

The week before we left Phoenix really flew by. It was only a couple of weeks ago but so much has happened since then that the memory of all that we did has grown a bit fuzzy. I guess I should write it all down before I REALLY start to forget...

Monday morning the movers arrived to start packing up all of our stuff. Normally I probably would have been really sad as the reality of the move set in with each box that was packed. However, we received a phone call from the doctor that helped to divert my anxiety.

I had been struggling with some strange stomach pains for a while and went in to see the doctor the week before just to make sure I was ok before leaving town. We hoped there was nothing wrong, but sure enough the doctor called and informed me that I have a bunch of gall stones and probably need to have my gall bladder removed ASAP. As you can imagine, I freaked out because that would have completely messed up our very precise travel plans. Thankfully, we were able to use Skype from our hotel room to call the flight doctor over in Misawa, who assured me that they were able to remove my gall bladder in Japan if I could hold out until we arrived. That, coupled with the general surgeon from Luke’s diagnosis that my case is not urgent at all helped me to calm down and trust that everything would work out ok. I would just have to really watch what I ate on the road (not an easy task), and be prepared to go to the ER if my pain significantly increased because it might be infected.

Tuesday, the movers returned and packed all of our boxes and furniture into big wooden crates that would later be loaded onto a big ship to Japan. It was hard watching the truck drive away and realizing that we would not see our stuff again for weeks or months. After they were gone, we worked hard to clean out the house before handing the keys over to our landlord on Wednesday.

The rest of our time was spent doing out-processing stuff on base and saying good bye to our friends. Tuesday night was our final night with our small group. It was a great final night! The students were much more attentive and talkative than usual, and they all seemed sad to see us go. They had a cute little good bye cake for us, as well as some very thoughtful gifts. One of them was a faith-based travel journal to help us record all of our adventures.

Wednesday night, the family of one of our small group girls – Paige Prielipp – invited us over for dinner. It was a very informal evening, where we just talked and ate for a couple of hours. But it was a big blessing since home-cooked meals would be a rarity over the next couple of weeks.

After leaving their house, we went to our friend Caleb and Jordan’s house to say good bye to them and Ashley Leary. Again, it was all very laid back. In many ways it felt like any other night of hanging out. But at the end of the night, Caleb asked if he and Jordan could pray for us before we left. That kind of sent me over the edge. That prayer simultaneously made the fact that we were parting much more real and impressed upon us how much we value their friendship and would miss them. Needless to say, there were some tears shed that night.

Thursday was a big day. I had my last ladies’ Bible Study that morning and said good bye to my friends. Then we went and hung out with one of our closest friends from Palm Valley Church one last time at our favorite hang out in Phoenix before driving up north and selling my Subaru. Finally, we had dinner with our friends Dave and Lynn Gertiser and spent a few hours of quality time with them before saying good bye. We had a laugh as we were walking out the door and I said “Please don’t pray for us!” What I meant was that I wasn’t sure I could handle another heartfelt commission because I knew I would bawl my eyes out… So I tried to amend my statement by just saying they could pray for us after we left. ;^)

Friday morning I packed everything up in the truck and ran a few last-minute errands while James finished up his M9 pistol certification. Then he did his final out, we climbed into the truck and hit the road!!