Big Change & A Big Blessing

Joel and I have decided that in the best interest of our family we are going to move to Utah. So when we go on the 24th of Nov. we will be going for good. It was a hard choice to make, for us, but we both feel really good about it. We feel more confident about the kind of family support and medical care we will receive there. We will miss our life here in Hawaii for sure, but it feels good to make a choice that makes sense for our situation. I look forward to living closer to some of you and especially my parents, my sister and Joel's brother and sister.

Because we are moving, we have been selling/giving away our stuff like crazy. We don't plan on taking anything but the irreplaceable. It is pretty sobering to look at all of the things you own that way. We really do keep a lot of things that we don't use or need. In that way it feels good to simplify.

Getting ready (with lots of help from good neighbors) for the big moving sale.

We decided to hold a moving sale last Saturday (Nov. 1st) just to get rid of our stuff. And as it turns out we were blessed by a very special experience. A very sweet neighbor of ours took it upon herself (after getting our permission) to create a fundraiser out of our moving sale. She passed out flyers to all of our neighbors inviting them to donate items to be sold, and for all of the proceeds to go to the Kongaika family (to help us with our move and medical bills for our baby with spina bifida). The neighbors were all very helpful and supportive as well as our ward members. Lots of people brought items to be sold for the sale, and more came to buy things in support of our family. The sale was very successful, raising a sizable amount of money for us to use toward medical bills. More than that, we felt overwhelmed and extremely blessed by the kindness and generosity of others.