You are here: Home -> Carver Jnr's (Richard & Andrea) -> Latest Newsletter

Richard & Andrea Carver

Latest AIM Newsletter:

September 2007

• You can view more pictures of our busy month here

We are now in Cairns, having left Lismore a few days ago. We are not quite in New Guinea yet, but Cairns is basically next door, and very shortly we should be there.

I will try to describe in detail some of the events over the last few very busy weeks...

As things approached our end-of-September deadline, we had to vacate our house because the new tenant was moving in and had already given notice to her landlord. We were blessed to have found a good tenant for our house, and so whether we wanted to stay longer in our house or not, we were obliged to move out by the end of September for that reason.

Eating dinner on our 'sofa'	The kids sleeping on the floor

Doing our best to be frugal as possible with our support, Andrea and I packed up all our belongings ourselves and carted it to a storage shed, where all our life's possessions are now stored away. We emptied out the bigger furniture first, then over a number of weeks all the smaller items as well. As more and more furniture left the house, we had less and less to live with. Soon we were all sleeping on mattresses on the floor, with a few cushions on the ground for a "sofa", and eating pizza around our non-existent kitchen table. The whole house was empty, except for our front lounge room, which literally looked liked a bomb had exploded there, with the whole room in disarray, waiting to be packed either for the storage shed or for the boat to New Guinea.

Andrea made the comment that it must be God's will for us to go to New Guinea, because in any other circumstances, she would not be able to tolerate such a mess for so long! But I must say she was very tolerant! It was probably hardest for the kids, because once their toys were packed away, the only "fun" thing they could do was tease each other... not very fun for them or us, especially in an empty house with loads of work to be done.

Our loungeroom in a total mess, waiting to be packed.

Well, things have been happening at a very rapid pace over the last few weeks for us, which have been very busy... We apologise for not having communicated sooner, but time has been rare and tasks have been numerous.

At the height of the shambles, I had three computers running simultaneously, trying to finish all the projects and tasks which were as yet unfinished, in the middle of packing boxes and moving furniture, and getting things set up so Mum & Dad can continue on with minimal support when they arrive back home. It was really like a scene from a comedy of errors. I think the most frustrating part was the packing: I would have a pile of things to pack, all planned to fit together orderly and in groups; but then along comes Timothy, sees some piece of toy (or what he could use as a toy), takes it off to another room, and I only find it the next day after I've finished packing the box!

The farewell dinner given to us by the church in Lismore

The church in Lismore gave us a lovely farewell service and dinner. It was a lovely last service as we said our goodbyes (and quite somber for us in particular), but pastor Rick VanSant gave us a beautiful commissioning and send-off, and encouraged the church to look at our departure as a challenge and an opportunity for the Lismore Church to be involved in something greater than their local area. It blessed us to see the selfless outlook which Rick has toward our mission to New Guinea, instead of viewing things negatively and thinking of his own betterment. We ask you to continue to pray for the VanSants and the church in Lismore, that God may bless them abundantly.

Our pallets of boxes waiting for the truck to take them to the boat to New Guinea

We had two pallets of boxes to ship to New Guinea with things for our stay there, and everything needed for my work there. The shipping company was coming the day before we left to collect the pallets; the only problem was that I had to pack them. I woke up feeling extremely unwell, with body aches, cold chills, fever and headache. That was also one of the hottest spring days in September, and I had to carry 35 heavy boxes to the top of the driveway, load them on the pallets, wrap them up in shrink-wrap, and get them all ready for the truck to pick up and take to the wharf. It couldn't have been a worse day for such a task, and by lunchtime I was feeling totally wiped out. But the pallets were packed and the job was done.

The next day (Thursday 27th) was final tidying up and saying goodbyes, and that evening our good friend Jason Gration (son of Grations, missionaries to New Guinea), drove us to Brisbane Airport. Unfortunately, I was very unsociable, having been diagnosed with a bad case of tonsillitis earlier that day. I was unable to talk, swallow or drink, and feeling the worst I have felt for years. Weeks of late nights was finally catching up.

We weren't originally planning to stop in Cairns for cost's sake; however we found a cheap flight which made the trip to Cairns affordable, and allow us to wait here for our visas. The flight was a midnight special. We arrived in Cairns about midnight on Thursday 27th, with two very excitable kids, which we had to try to put back to sleep, and then get some for ourselves. But after a day or two of rest in Cairns, we are starting to feel revived and ready for the task ahead.

We are now waiting in Cairns for our visas, which should be here within a week. We will keep you up to do with our progress as events unfold.

• You can view more pictures of our busy month here

Yours for the harvest,

- Richard & Andrea Carver

NOTE: You can be informed whenever a new newsletter is available by subscribing to our website and newsletter updates service.