Termites!

We had an infestation.

Of termites.

Deep sigh.

I received a call last night from Andrew in Guam.  Poor guy.  I'm sure he wasn't looking forward to that   call.  He let me know that there had been an infestation of termites at the church.  The good news is they caught the signs of the problem quickly.  The bad news is the termites do quick work and there was still damage to our belongings because the church was one of the best places to store our things until we got there.

Nate and I both know that termites are often a problem on the island.  It's part of the reason we opted not to ship my beloved antique wooden rocker that belonged to my grandfather.  Distance was part of it, termite issues was the other big factor.  So we knew the probability of keeping the chair in good condition was not likely.

It seems the biggest damage the termites did was to the many books we shipped, which are 90% Nate's.  Andrew reported there was damage around the edges of the books, but it sounds like since they were packed so tight in the boxes they weren't able to get between the books to start eating away.  So hopefully, while they won't look nice, the text on the pages is still readable.

Andrew said they had also gotten in the computer box (we shipped my desktop Mac) but don't appear to have made their way into the computer itself.  It's now been relocated to someone's home for safer keeping.

Our new IKEA table that we shipped seems to have survived, the box is disintegrated and Andrew stated he is going to enlist the help of some of the women of the church to clean the table with a women's touch but it seems to be in fairly good order.

It seems the termites also found our pictures, mostly those in picture frames that had been hanging on our walls, so I think this is what I was most sad to hear and will be most sad to discover first hand once we get to the island.

For Nate he is most disappointed in the loss of many of his coffee mugs.  While the termites didn't eat the mugs, it was discovered after inspecting more boxes for the destructive bugs that many of the coffee mugs didn't make it in one piece from being shipped over.  These mugs are Nate's souvenirs of his many travels.

I am hopeful that perhaps our most recent purchases of mugs throughout Europe this summer have made it.  Several came in their own individual mug boxes and were wrapped inside the box as well.  I will hold onto that small flicker of hope for us both.

The church is now going through each box to unpack, inspect for termites, and then repack all our belongings into plastic containers.  Such a tedious chore for them, but we appreciate all the time they have invested into trying to keep our things safe until we are able to arrive and unpack.

If all goes well we will have some familiar items waiting for us when we land and begin setting up our lives there!