We finally purchased our tickets for the US and that makes everything seem a little more real. Now we are trying to figure out how to live for almost a year out of one suitcase!
We fly out of Kiev on October 15th and arrive in Seattle the same day. We return to Ukraine on August 11th 2014.
If you’d like to have us visit your church we still have a few Sundays open in May and June 2014 but they’re going fast. Check out our schedule and then contact us if you want to make something happen.
In the meantime we have a lot to do before we leave Ukraine!
Christina’s Prayer Requests
- Pray for our kids as they homeschool, especially that they’ll be able to make the transition to the US. We will be traveling a lot while we are in the States and that can make it difficult to keep to the school schedule, not to mention that a couple of our kids don’t even really know what life is like in the US so there could be some culture shock.
- Pray also for Christina as she works to get our apartment ready to leave. Another family from our church will be staying in our apartment while we are gone, so we have to organize and box up a lot of our things.
Caleb’s Prayer Requests
- Pray for the medical team we will be helping to host. The team arrives tomorrow and will be doing a week of ministry in villages around Odessa.
- Pray for the family seminar coming up on October 12th in our church. I will be speaking on how to communicate the gospel to children. Watch the blog too because I’ll be posting some of the thoughts there. In case you missed it you might want to check out “Stop Telling Your Child to Behave.”
Bill (cycleguy)
September 19, 2013Wish it could happen here but doesn’t look like it is possible. your kids may be ready to go back home after being in the US! 🙂 Reverse culture shock. Oh, I can see Christina is ready to go. She has a Florida coffee cup.
Caleb
September 19, 2013Funny that you noticed the Starbucks coffee cup from Florida. We try to collect them from different countries we’ve been to and that’s the only one we have from the US. The one I have in that video is from Holland.
Btw, where are you Bill? We’ll be driving from MN to PA in July 2014 so we might not be too far away.
Bill (cycleguy)
September 19, 2013I saw your cup from Netherlands but since you coming to the US I only made mention of hers. 🙂 I live in Spencer, IN which is west of Bloomington in central Indiana. My original home was PA.
Rick Dawson
September 20, 2013Caleb, where in Minnesota will you be? We live in the far southwestern corner, almost in South Dakota but a trip to Minneapolis would not be a problem.
Oh – I would not want to leave my library behind 🙂 I’m not big on the e-book thing yet, as I still like the feel of paper, but if I have my laptop I have my Bible (and study tools) as well as a bunch of e-books. That would be C- Laptop, final answer 😀
Caleb
September 20, 2013Rick will be at New Life Church in Woodbury MN on July 13th and then at Emmaus Church in Northfield MN on July 27th.
Yes, I’m not leaving my laptop behind either!
Rick Dawson
September 20, 2013If you are driving from Washington State to Minnesota, more than likely you’ll pass right through my little town on I-90 – assuming that to be your route. If you do think you’ll be coming that way, shoot me a message and we can hook up for a cup of coffee at the McDonald’s – right off the interstate. Would love to meet y’all and pray with you!
Caleb
September 20, 2013Yes we will be driving through South Dakota so I’ll let you know and we can do McDonalds, that would be great!!!
Rick Dawson
September 20, 2013Great! Looking forward to it – even if it will be brief, God willing, it will be.
floyd
September 20, 2013I wouldn’t leave my Bible that’s for sure! I’m praying for you, your wife, and your children.
Caleb
September 20, 2013Amen Floyd! Of course now it’s easier because I have my Bible on my phone!
Caleb
September 20, 2013Debbie, our mission has a 80/20 rule. So at least 80% of our time should be on the field and 20% reporting to supporters. Traditionally that means 4 years on the field and then 1 year back. Others do 2 years and 6 months and some do 2-3 months every year. The thing for us is that we have a family of 7 so we can’t really be flying back and forth every year or two. We decided not to take a full year, however, because you can’t get round trip tickets if you’re gone a full year and that would have cost us and extra 2-3 thousand $ to buy two sets of one way tickets.
Caleb
September 20, 2013Thankfully, we don’t have to worry too much about bedding because we will mainly be staying in people’s homes. We will have to buy some things because it’s just impossible to get everything like warm clothes for winter into one bag. We try to do most of our clothes buying in the US anyway because clothes are much cheaper and better quality than what we find in Ukraine.
Dan Erickson
September 20, 2013I would not leave behind my MacBook Air. I can access a Bible on it and it works as my writing, blogging, communication tool.
Caleb
September 20, 2013Watch it Dan, you’re making me envious 😉 I’d love to have a MacBook Air with all the travel I do.
Caleb
September 20, 2013Kari, it’s possible that we could be in your area for a day or two next July. I’ll let you know as the time gets closer.
Yes, comfortable clothes are a must for travel!
Kari Scare
September 20, 2013Sounds great, Caleb. Blessings on your travels! What organization are you associated with for your missionary work?
Yes, comfort, which includes layering. A must. Confession… I employ this for everyday life too, not just travel.
Caleb
September 20, 2013Our mission agency is http://abwe.org and our sending church is http://discoverybaptist.org
Loren Pinilis
September 20, 2013Wow, this sounds really exciting!
What would I not leave behind? I hate to say it but my laptop, haha.
Caleb
September 20, 2013Yep, laptop is coming with me too!
TCAvey
September 20, 2013Exciting time for your family.
Of course you’re bringing your Bible- that’s always the first thing I make sure is packed- then I make sure my house shoes are packed. Gotta have comfy shoes for the evenings.
God bless your travels. Prayers going up.
Caleb
September 20, 2013Thanks for your prayers TC! I guess we need to get used to wearing shoes in the house, no one wears shoes in the house here!
TCAvey
September 20, 2013It’s a preference thing. I say don’t wear shoes in the house if you don’t want to. We do because our floors are tile and it gets chilly on our feet 🙂
Caleb
September 20, 2013Yep, I understand that. We don’t have hardwood, tile and laminate flooring and only one area rug. We’re big on slippers in the house, especially in the winter. We usually don’t get any heat in our apartment until late October so it can get pretty chilly.
Dave Arnold
September 27, 2013I hope your time in the States will be very refreshing for you guys. If you will be close to Michigan (the Detroit-area), let me know 🙂
Caleb
September 27, 2013Thanks Dave! I’ll let you know if we do get into your area.
DS
October 1, 2013We just did this for our host kids on the reverse trip! Although I think the needs coming are probably a bit different than leaving the US.
How about the school materials for the kids your wife ordered? Maybe a recipe for a favorite dish, my wallet, my passport, and a pre-trip photo 🙂
Caleb
October 1, 2013Yes, homeschooling is great when you have to travel until you realize how heavy the school books are and that means there’s like 5 pounds left for clothing in each bag