WE HAVE TICKETS!!! (and luggage…)

Hi Everybody!  We have our tickets to Tanzania! After working for weeks with a travel agency that specializes in missionary travel, we have purchased our tickets.  As it turns out, the five of us can each have two checked bags (up to 50 lbs) and a carry on.  They also allow a stroller and car seats.  We have the option to go online and add extra weight allowances to all of our bags for a fee, which we are considering, but the total for the tickets was just $3,607! We were so excited to hear that the tickets were a little cheaper, the baggage allowance was more than expected, and we can do several things online before we actually depart.  We can also pick our seating  online now that our tickets are issued!

We knew that we did not want to put several large charges like tickets and luggage on our credit card without knowing for sure if we’d be able to pay it off.  Our God has done an incredible thing in providing us with funds to purchase the tickets and get some luggage.  That means that we can pay off the credit card bill in full—no wasted $$ in fees! Now we are in the process of raising funds for all of our set-up costs; housing, possibly some furniture, maybe a vehicle, some culturally appropriate clothing, telephone and communication equipment, and we don’t even know what else.  But the Lord knows! We’re just so excited that things are moving so well in the direction of Tanzania!

We want all of you to know that God is so good.  It could have been a much more difficult process, but the Lord decided to make it easy and bless us.  We know that there will be lots of challenges ahead, but it is the memory of these special times and the steadfast lovingkindness of our God that will sustain us in those hard times.  Psalm 77:11 says, “I shall remember the deeds of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.”  And another cool thing is seeing the Lord use so many of you to make this team what it is.  Amy and I get such a special privilege seeing God use so many of you, and knowing that we are just one part of such a larger body!  We all have to work together!  We love you all and can’t wait to share more news next time…we may have some news on our visas…please pray for that process!