My luggage moved to africa without me
There comes a point in every international move when things start to feel real.
Apparently, mine was somewhere on the Ohio Scenic Byway, followed by a questionable number of back roads, with four suitcases in the backseat of the car.
A few weeks ago, I found out I could send 200 pounds of my life to Africa ahead of me and save about $800 in the process.
There was only one catch.
I had to drive it all to Pennsylvania.
It was giving...Madagascar.
Except instead of Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria being loaded into shipping crates and accidentally sent across the world, it was four precision-packed(shoved and zipped) suitcases containing pieces of the life I’m about to build in Kenya.
And unfortunately, none of them can sing I Like to Move It.
Although after hauling them around, I personally think they should.
How Exactly Does One Move 200 Pounds to Africa, you might ask?
Turns out, surprisingly easily.
When I found out I had the opportunity to send four suitcases to Africa ahead of me for free, there was absolutely no world in which I was turning that down.
Have you seen international excess baggage fees?
Saving $800 was worth a little road trip to Pennsylvania.
So, I packed.
And honestly, after recently throwing away 400 pounds of my life in Wisconsin, packing four suitcases was a breeze.
There wasn’t much debate over what deserved to go. My PlayStation? Going. My Keurig? Obviously going. Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and enough Alani Nu to last me approximately two weeks? Also going.
Priorities.
Somehow, despite everything I managed to shove inside them, every suitcase was surprisingly underweight. Each one landed somewhere between 42 and 50 pounds.
There was a little shoving, sitting, and zipping, but they were all underweight, so I call that a win!
I loaded them into the car, and by me, I mean my dad...loaded them. The next morning, I was off on my eight-hour drive through the scenic byways.
You know, I never knew it was possible to be jealous of luggage, but I guess there really is a first time for everything. My bags going for free ahead of me was a blessing, but those bags leaving me here for a few more weeks was well… Rude. ;D Thankfully, I don’t have too much longer before I get to arrive myself, but I sure wish I could have gone with them.
I have spent months talking about moving to Kenya.
I’ve built a website about it. I’ve raised support (still raising). I’ve filled out paperwork, made approximately 700 lists, bought things, gotten rid of things, packed things, repacked things, and answered some variation of “So when do you leave?” more times than I could possibly count.
For months, Kenya has been this thing I have been preparing for.
Something coming.
Something getting closer.
But dropping those suitcases off finally felt different because I wasn’t loading them back into the car.
They weren’t coming home with me; they were going home ahead of me.
I had packed pieces of my future life into four bags, zipped them closed, driven them across two states, and handed them over.
The next time I see those bags, I’ll be in Africa.
And that was a little surreal.
Not because I suddenly realized I’m moving to Kenya. I have known that.
But because little by little, the evidence of the life God has been preparing me for is beginning to move forward.
First, the calling.
Then the yes.
Then the support raising.
Then the plane ticket.
Then the visa.
And now, the luggage.
There are parts of following God that feel enormous.
The moments when He asks for a yes before you know exactly what that yes will require. The doors that open that you could never have opened yourself. The prayers that get answered in ways you couldn’t have planned.
And then there are days when following God looks so ordinary.
Sometimes it looks like packing a Keurig.
Sometimes it looks like shoving Cheetos into every available corner.
Sometimes it looks like checking a luggage scale and being genuinely shocked that you’re still under 50 pounds.
And sometimes it looks like filling up the gas tank and driving four hours through rural Ohio to Pennsylvania because God provided a way for you to move almost 200 pounds of your life across an ocean for free.
None of those things feel particularly profound on their own.
But they are movement, and if there is one thing we say at SOS, it is that “The Miracle is in the Move.”
I keep thinking about the widow in 2 Kings 4. The oil didn’t begin multiplying while she stood still wondering how God was going to provide. She went out and collected the jars.
Right now, every step of this move feels a little like collecting another jar.
Every suitcase packed, every mile driven, every logistical box checked is one more step toward the place God has called me to serve.
Soon, I won’t be packing for Kenya anymore.
I’ll be living there.
Serving at SOS Church and SOS Bible School. Building relationships. Learning. Working, showing up. Stepping into the ministry God has spent so much time preparing me for.
For now, though, four suitcases are already on their way.
Almost 200 pounds of evidence that this isn’t just something I’m talking about anymore.
It’s happening, finally.
Let’s hope my bags arrived with fewer complications than the animals did and that no penguins were required.
Next stop: Kenya.
Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter of my journey. If God has stirred your heart and you’d like to partner with me as I prepare to serve in Kenya, I’d love to invite you to click the Partner With Me button below. There, you can learn more about praying, giving, and staying connected as we see what God writes in the chapters ahead.