Memories in Motion
Packing the Past, Unveiling the Future
You know the question, “If there was a fire at your home, what one item would you grab? What would you save from the flames?” Thankfully, I have never experienced a house fire. I have never had to make the gut-wrenching decision of what to save and what will burn. As a missionary kid, I have had to leave several homes behind. I have left friends and places behind. A side effect of this is that it has made me a slight hoarder of things that hold memories. I could not control moving, but if I held on to that paper or t-shirt, the memories would travel with me.
As we look forward to moving to a new country, a new continent, we have to take an inventory of the things we have accumulated over the years. For me, the collector of memories, this comes at a personal high cost, but at the same time, the process holds promise. Things can become traps of their own. The more we tightly hold onto stuff, the more we fear loss. So, I am bracing myself for this challenging task. I also hope to enlist family and friends to assist me in this process, as they won’t have any emotional ties; they will help maintain objectivity in figuring out what is worth saving. So, if any of you Marie Kondo types are willing to lend a helping hand, please let us know!
What do the next months hold for the Cobos Family?
Luis and I must complete several Bible courses and other prerequisites to leave for our organization. We will attend a training course as a family at the beginning of February. We hope to put our house on the market in March, which will require significant clearing out of the detritus before it is ready for showing. I am in the process of obtaining my Ethiopian medical license, which, of course, is fraught with bureaucracy, and I am awaiting word on a grant application through MedSend (which will hopefully cover my medical school loan payments when we are full-time missionaries).
We are still targeting moving to Ethiopia in early August. With that timeline and more time available due to resigning from my job, we are being much more deliberate in our partnership formation process. We cannot follow through on this calling without the prayers and financial support of others. We are so blessed by those who have joined alongside us and are excited to see how God will continue to work in the future.
So here we are, trying to hold our hands open to relinquish the things that do not matter in the long run and to accept the amazing blessings to come. This process is far from easy, but that which truly matters rarely is.
As we begin the New Year, we invite you to join us! Follow our experiences, pray for us, and share our story. If you want to learn more about how to help us on this journey, please click the link below!
