After a busy year of furlough, it is nice to see our busy travel scheduling coming to a close. It is also nice to know that soon we will be back on the mission field in Peru. We know that August 1st will come quicker than we think. We've marked our calendar with the countdown of days in anticipation of our return.
It seems our three key words now are Planning, Packing and Patience! We are busily planning our last two months in the states. We've got friends and family to visit, last minute church meetings and a trip to Washington, D.C. to pick up visas. We also have to plan future events and schedules in Peru. It is exciting seeing so many things come together for our future ministry.
Packing is also well underway. I jokingly told the family yesterday that we now "officially" have 18 percent of our packing done! (I hope its more like 25 percent, and I really hope we are at 50 percent by the end of this weekend!) It is amazing how much you can squeeze into a duffle bag. It always humors me to think what the people in customs would think looking through our luggage: Placemats, pot-holders, vitamins, toys, underwear, mixed in with soup mixes, spices and a cutting board. Each bag is so very different, and each has to weigh the magic 50 pounds allowed by the airline.
What about patience? Well we learn that when dealing with the Peruvian embassy. They don't answer the phone much, and when they do, they enjoy the "hold" button. It looks like we could be making a couple of trips to the consulate this month. We hope the last one will be to pick up a visa for Olivia. They say "patience is a virtue..." and the Peruvian officials are all doing their part to help us learn this important virtue! (by the way its a real blessing to be able to communicate with them in Spanish this time around, last time we weren't so fortunate!)
It should be an exciting two months. We'll keep you up-to-the-minute along the way. As always, your prayers will help to sustain us each day! Planning + Packing + Patience = A need for your prayers!
