It has begun

Today has been an exciting day- as you can tell, I got the whole website thing up and running, and I've been telling people about it all day. Seriously, I've told every person I've seen, even people who've probably never been to a website before in their lives. It's really exciting to me because it's not often that I set out to do something and actually get it done all in the same day.

The most exciting thing is probably that our first donation has come in. I know there are a lot of people out there who love and support us, but it's a little more tangible when I get an email that says "a donation has been received through your missioncorps website" so that's also very satisfying. (Thanks, you know who you are, you made my day.)

One last thing before I go "help" my wife do some "reading," this page has comments, so please make use of them! They get emailed to us, so it's an easy way to contact us. Thanks!

Peace
Ted and Sarah

trip update

We've been talking a lot about our trip- especially since we announced it to the whole congregation on Sunday- and though we're still both really excited, now the hard part begins.

We are stuck in a series of catch-22's, most of which will hopefully be worked our by a cooperative travel agent and a little higher limit on our credit card...

The biggest problem seems to be that tourist visas to Paraguay only last up to three months, and in order to get one, we have to have a return flight within those three months. We won't be staying in Paraguay the whole time (we'll leave to visit Argentina and renew our visas then) but we aren't planning to fly back until February. One solution is just to buy two round-trip tickets for each of us, but that of course is not cost-effective (they're about $1800 each.)

So we need to buy our tickets ASAP, besides the fact that prices will be going up the longer we wait. However, we need money to do that, and we haven't raised any money yet. So as you can see, it's not all fun and games. But we're working though it all. We also have shots to get, insurance to buy, figure out our mail and storage of our stuff, our car, etc. It's crazy, but it's worth it.

I've been reading a lot about Paraguay lately, mostly on Google news (I told it to show me any story with the word "Paraguay" in it...) I read all about the native Guarani people and their spiritual beliefs, and about the new Presidente Fernando Lugo, who before running for office was a Catholic bishop. Interesting things! I feel like I use the word "excited" so much it looses any meaning, but that's how I feel. Although most of the stories are just about soccer.

Sometimes God Doesn't Call...

...sometimes God just sends an email. Over the past week my wife and I have exchanged several emails with people from the US and the South American Field Office of the Nazarene world mission. The end result of these emails is an exciting new opportunity for Sarah and I:

We're movin' to Paraguay!

Right now we're planning to leave in early August to volunteer for 6 months with missionaries in Asunción, Paraguay. The details are still hazy (and mostly in Spanish) right now, but we are really beginning to sense God's call for the next part of our life. We formally (Sarah more formally than me, of course) submitted our resignations last night, and tonight at Youth and Children's activities we told some of the people closest to us that we will be leaving at the end of the summer. That was that tough part, but went well. Now all we have to do is raise $9000... any suggestions?

Starting A Blog

Well, we're about to set out on a new adventure, and for a web 2.0 junkie like me, that means only one thing: a new blog. I'm still working on adding some features, but for now I just wanted to get this page up and running. Later!

peace
ted