Why Going Kiwi?

Why going kiwi? Why would a Southern California girl want to move to New Zealand? Leave all the wonderful conveniences, family, friends. We are planning on moving to NZ to have a better quality of life. My sister and her family moved there five years ago and we have been wanting to go since. They started a Calvary Chapel in Rotorua, in the middle of the north island. They said the hardest part of living there was not having family near. We feel God is calling us to move there to minister to them and the people of Rotorua. We just got back from a two week trip visiting with family and scouting out the area. The country is in need of skilled craftsmen and Eric is a fantastic carpenter. In order to move there we need to get rid of debt and save some too.We are selling almost everything we own except for the basics-clothes, dishes, books, toys, linens and pictures. Most of our family think we are nuts to sell everything. However, when you decide to buy on credit it is not really yours anyway!

My poor husband had no debt going into our marriage. I had a car payment, a credit card and student loans. Since then we have traded in cars and gone more upside down. How do you stop the cycle?? Debt is a vicious cycle. We used new 0% interest cards to "payoff" old ones but then they gave us a higher limit. We would buy little things here and there and next thing you know we are maxed out on the new card and the 0% interest has gone up to 9 -15%. Oh great, what was supposed to be a good thing just turned into a nightmare.

We feel that the only way to get out from underneath the debt is to sell the majority of our belongings and pay off our debt. We do not have the luxury of getting a container and shipping our belongings to NZ because we really do not own them. We are giving our notice for our apartment as of the first. We will have a series of estate sales in the course of this next month. Hopefully we will be able to sell everything. I am excited to purge myself from all the "stuff" everyone thinks you need to have, especially in Orange County. I know this a process and probably a long one, so I need to remember to be patient. Most people think we are leaving tomorrow, but probably not for a while. It is funny when you announce you are doing something a bit radical how the phone lines get busy. You tell people hoping they will pray for you and your journey but it doesn't always happen that way. We keep getting emails wondering when we are leaving. What do you tell them? We don't know ourselves, if they find out would they fill us in.

We are especially being sensitive to our son Enzo. He has so much therapy right now with his CP. We go to PT/OT appointments on Tuesday and Thursday for a hour. Wednesdays we have In-Home therapy to make sure he does not fall behind educationally. Thursdays we have Acupuncture- Brain therapy too. He will be evaluated tomorrow with In-Home therapy and in June for PT/OT. We are excited to see his progression since starting in January with California Children's Services (CCS). We know he is doing exceptionally well, but to see their goals and how he has met them is incredible. We want to make sure he has all the possible care and therapy he needs in this next year, since the first two years the brain is changing and is able to rewire itself.

Until we feel he is doing well enough to move and God gives us peace about the timing, we are just going to concentrate on selling and consolidating our belongings and paying off debt. What a marvelous season we are in. Most people would never even think to do what we are doing but I hope we can encourage others to get out of debt too. Maybe not to the extreme we are taking but in other ways. Have a garage sale and get rid of the excess. We have two sets of dishes, flatware, glassware and more, do you really need that much stuff.... no. I hope people will stop and think about making purchases when they do not have the means to buy with cash. I wish we would have done that. I am thrilled to be able to start over in a sense and make purchases based upon if we have the cash to buy it or save for it. How much more rewarding is buying something and paying for it all at once. Have you ever saved for a big purchase and gave the clerk cash, they sometimes do not know what to think. It is refreshing. Or better yet make your own. We are planning on making our own sofa and dining room table. With Eric's abilities in woodworking and my sewing knowledge, it will be fun and what an accomplishment. What do you think our great grandparents did. Their way of life was hard but what a wonderful feeling knowing you built, sewed and made most of what you owned. It is refreshing. I want to enjoy life without the constraints of being owned by my things.