Boxes. They are everywhere in our house.  Post-it notes mark the final deistination; ship, store and ’boutique’ (the donation spot at our offices).

On Saturday Tim finished packing our crate and screwed it shut hours before he flew to Australia and on to the Solomon Islands.  He built the crate in our second garage (an extra garage in our backyard) and placed it on a small trailer we have. He intended to pull it the 2 miles to our center before he left.  But we found out that a truck could come pick up the crate if we could find a way to get the crate on the truck.

Last week we were driving home and noticed inside our neighbor’s yard, what looked to be a forklift.  Next time I saw the neighbor, I asked about it. Sure enough it is forklift and he was happy to help us out.  He said, ‘I have no idea why I brought the forklift home from the shop.’  I think I know why…

The cut off for this shipment was May 1st so today I scheduled the truck to come.  Some colleagues wanted some boxes shipped too, so this became the shipment that grew and grew.  Aaron and his two kids brought their boxes to our house and helped me finish up my last packing.  I made a last minute trip to Lowes and Walmart just this morning for a few last hard-to-find-in-the-Solomons items.

We stacked up the boxes and cargo by sending family unit and measured the piles.  The cost of the shipment is based on cubic space so we will have to sort all that out later. The truck came, the forklift rolled out of the neighbors and we filled the truck.  First the boxes went in and last of all the crate.  It had to be taken out of the second garage, through the first garage and out to the street where it was loaded in the truck.  There was a bit of sweating, but in the end, the job was done!  Yeah.

The next stop was the shipping office where the boxes and other cargo was put on pallets and covered in black plastic.  We then marked all the pallets with the destination address.  From here the cargo will be trucked to Houston where the shipper will put it with other cargo headed to the west coast by train or truck.

From the west coast of the USA it will ship to Singapore. It will then be put on a ship headed to the Pacific and we will see when it arrives in the Solomons.  The shipping office is predicting an arrival of June 26th.  We think that is doubtful, but time will tell.

Now the ‘to ship’ piles have gone, we are mostly down to things that we will store or take with us in our suitcases. The house is looking more empty as we push toward our time of departure.

Carefully getting the crate out of the garage. The forklift JUST fit in the garage.

The kids working on measuring the calculating. (REAL homeschooling today!)

Paper products are expensive in the Solomons. I found a way to wrap my plates and get a roll of paper towels there!

So thankful for our neighbor!

This is all the marking needed to get to the shipment to the Solomons; HOU (Houston) HON (Honiara) and the booking number.

The crate being removed from the truck at the warehouse

loading the crate on the truck at our house

Plastic boxes full of cargo

The warehouse crew wrapped everything in black plastic to help insure everything stays together

The elliptical and treadmill made for some strange shaped cargo!

Aaron and his two kids who helped with the cargo. Their family returns to the Solomons in August

After writing the blog post this morning about needing a home for Cali, God has already answered.  A friend in Kentucky has agreed to provide a loving home for  Cali.  She has even promised Sarah Skype sessions with Cali!  It doesn’t get better than that!  We are driving to Michigan in early June and were already planning on stopping in Kentucky, so this is a perfect solution.

Thank you, God.  Thank you, Alana!

PS And yet another offer has been made.  Cali is covered and another item ticked off our ‘to do’ list.

In 2009, when we moved from the Solomon Islands to Dallas, we left behind two dogs and two cats.  Naturally, it was a painful experience for our kids to leave pets behind.  Sarah loves cats and began praying that we would be able to get a cat when we got to Dallas.

About a month after we arrived in Dallas, I saw a notice on a bulletin board for a cat who needed a new home.  The cat had started hanging around the home of a retired couple who lived nearby.  They began putting out food for her and eventually coaxed her into their home.  ‘Cali’ settled in and they took her to the SPCA and got her shots and spayed.

It soon became apparent that the couple’s own cat was not happy with Cali in the house. With a heavy heart, the woman started to pray for a good home for Cali. They made a flyer and brought it to our center where I saw it on a bulletin board.  I placed a phone call and we went to meet Cali.  Sarah’s heart had a place for this shy cat and we agreed to take her.  The couple even kept her another week until we moved into our new home.  It was neat to see God answer the prayers of Sarah and this woman we didn’t even know.

We kept in contact wit this couple who were interested in seeing Cali settle into our home well.  When they heard we had gotten a dog, the woman worried about shy Cali.  Cali and rambunctious Duke learned to get along.  One day when Tim found Cali curled up with Duke, we knew they had become good friends.

Now as we get ready to move back to the Pacific, Duke will stay with Emily, but we are looking for a new home for Cali.  While Sarah is not looking forward to saying good-bye to Cali, but it needs to happen.  Sarah said the other day that she wants Cali to go to a nice home and she would enjoy having Cali go to someone who could occasionally give her updates on how she is doing.

God answered Sarah’s prayers for a cat and now we are trusting Him to answer prayers for a new home. If you have a place in your heart for a Cat and a missionary kid who loves her, please let us know.

Sarah will spend the next two years largely living in PNG (Papua New Guinea) where she will attend school.  This morning we finished packing a suitcase and bag with clothing, toiletries and other things that will help make her feel at home in the youth hostel where she will live.  The two pieces were delivered to the warehouse at our offices today where a truck picked them up for delivery to our shipping office in North Carolina.  A shipment is being readied for a shipment to PNG.  The shipment is due to be sent in May and will take about 3 months to reach the capital city and then will travel by truck up to the highlands where our center is located.

We are thankful for this opportunity to get clothing and other things Sarah will need.  In the meantime, we are working on preparing a shipment of household goods for the Solomon Islands.

Driving in the Solomon Islands is a funny situation.  With less than 100 kilometers of paved roads, there isn’t far to go, but we still need a car.  We have been watching this website: www.japanesevehicles.com for cars that would meet our needs.  We have been looking at smaller cars with 4 wheel drive.

Yesterday we found a 2004 Ford Escape with 52,000 miles that had been reduced in price by $1100.00 US dollars and is now  $3900.00. It looks like a perfect car for our needs and have committed to purchasing it.  After the money is transferred from our bank to to the company in Japan, they will prepare it for shipping to the Solomon Islands.  The costs for shipping and insurance will be about $3000.00 USD.  When it arrives in the Solomons, we will pay duty and ‘goods tax’ of at least another 10%.

In our last newsletter we mentioned the need for funds to cover the cost of the car.  If you feel led to make a contribution, you can follow this link www.wycliffe.org where you can give a tax-deductible gift.  If you would prefer to make a contribution by mail or a phone call, further instructions can be found on the ‘participate‘ tab above.  Gifts need to be designated for ‘Tim & Martha Matzke’.

Purchasing this car is another step forward in our return to the Solomon Islands and the opportunities awaiting us there. We are grateful for the support of our friends like YOU!