You're moving WHERE??

*shocked silence*
"Oh my gosh!"
"Where is that?"
"Why are you moving there??"
"I'd be terrified!!"

Not all of these responses are given every time I tell people where we're moving to, but they usually give me at least one of the above. It's starting to feel like when you are obviously pregnant, and everyone is asking you the same questions: "How far along are you? Boy or Girl? Are you excited?" I kind of wish I could print out all the particular details onto a business card so I wouldn't have to keep repeating myself. Or maybe I could make a moving announcement! Like a wedding announcement, only instead of Emmanuel and I kissing we'd have pictures of moving boxes and our soon-to-be location on the globe. Instead of the little registration card that would fall out of the envelope I could include an appointment card for when you could invite us over for dinner or offer to lend me your vacuum...I like that idea!

Joking aside, here's the formal announcement: Emmanuel, our children Dante, Iris, and I will soon be moving out of America, to a wonderful country in West Africa: Ghana. Here's a few basic facts about Ghana (garnered from my husband's favorite research place, Wikipedia):

Population: 24,233,431
Government type: Republic, declared independence from the British in 1957 ( and very politically stable)
Climate: Tropical, just a little bit north of the equator
Language: English, with many native languages mixed in
Motto: "Freedom and Justice!"
Capital: Accra
Geographical size of country: About the size of Oregon

And to answer the why question, which is had from almost all people (except anyone who's met my husband), Ghana is my husband's home. More than just his birth place, more than the place he grew up in, Ghana is where he belongs, and so it is where we belong. I haven't been there yet, but I feel a great desire to go. Maybe it's the adventurous Alaskan in me, searching for a new frontier. Maybe it's the rose colored pictures my husband has crooned in my ear describing it. Maybe it's because that's where my husband was always supposed to be, and so I need to be there too.

What will we do there? My in-laws are amazing people, they truly are. They have built several family businesses, including schools, a consulting firm, restaurant, bakery, and more. Now they are getting ready to rest. They want to serve missions, visit grandchildren, and really they deserve a break. Emmanuel has been in the states for 10 years now, and although he's been imparting knowledge over email and Skype, they are ready for him to take his place in the family. And He's so excited to do it! We both feel like this is where he is meant to be, using his business experience, education, and instincts for real world work. His dreams for what we will do are so limitless, they inspire me to want to join in!

As we've gotten ready for this exodus, I can't help feeling like it is a journey to the promised land. Leaving behind most of our earthly possessions, traveling on a long journey, to a place we've always dreamed we'd go. Really, I couldn't be more excited. I'm glad we don't have to dwell in tents on this trip, build a boat, or kill anyone. Really, this exodus could be a lot harder. Maybe the hard part is yet to come.


Future posts: Moving day, Selling our home, and History of a dream