Roller Coaster Emotions

Well the high of our first plane ticket purchase burned off quickly with a less than fun day at work. Some just have a hard time understanding, which is not surprising.

It was a hard day emotionally and the highs of being home, researching places and chatting with the kids being dampened by the workday. But when push comes to shove, I know we have to pursue what we feel called to do. I am working through telling everyone at work personally and they are, for the most part, very encouraging about our plans but like anything "out of the box", sometimes it gets hard.

Plane Tickets!

Just finalized the first legs of our trip. Real money on the line now. This was a big day for our family! We used miles for the first two legs, which saved us quite a bit and adds flexibility because I can change frequent flier tickets with no penalties. All the remaining legs were booked with Airtreks (www.airtreks.com). They are a great company specializing in these sorts of trips. Every time I compared one of their estimates to other multi-leg booking services they were cheaper. Their agents are knowledgable and have traveled extensively so they offered great advice.

So here are our first stops. We fly from Minneapolis to Guatemala (connecting through Atlanta) to Quito, Ecuador (connecting through Mexico City - yes, this is odd, but it was a free ticket) to Galapagos to Iquitos, Peru (connecting through Guayaquil, Ecuador) to Cusco, Peru (connecting through Lima) and then back to Los Angeles (connecting through Lima). PHEW!   That is a lot of flights and seat bookings but we are booked. We get back on October 2nd then and from there the plan will be to go to New Zealand but that will part of the next package so we have a little time to figure that out. 

While in Cusco, we friend will join us to do the Inca Trail which we had to book in a hurry because the permits are going fast. This government runs a website where you can see, real-time, how many are available on given days. If curious, you can access here.

While in Galapagos we will do a cruise sort of tour with a guide to learn as much as possible about that amazing part of the world. Real world science to say the least. We have put a down payment down on that portion as well.

Lastly, there is insurance to worry about. One of the great benefits of AirTreks is that they include 6 months of insurance with you package for free but in our case they would not have started until our first ticket booked though them. This left us in a pinch for the inital 6 weeks. In addition to that their coverage lacked a few things that I would like to have. So we took a safer route and purchased a one year plan through World Nomads. They have very comprehensive packages and are the go place for this sort of thing we have decided via our research.

Big day indeed!

Whats Our Why?

This post could be a chapter. Our desire to do this trip, in some ways, stems all the way back to our first date, getting engaged, traveling Europe together after college and desire to raise our kids overseas for a stint. As life choices progressed, that option was never a reality. That was over 16 years ago - time does fly! But the more recent list of our whys includes the following:

• Shape our kid's worldview:
  • Our job is not swoop in and "save the day" as so many try to do but rather cultivate long term relationships. Working along side another culture and assisting them in the way they request allows for worldviews to collide and this is how real transformation can occur.
  • The church and body of Christ is at work and on the move constantly and we all have a role to play
  •  Learn to effectively bless the people we meet - this is harder than it sounds 
  • Short term service is just one piece of a larger undertaking
   
• Show the kids the world beyond our suburbs - the ability to travel the globe so easily now creates a responsibility for those with the means to do so for both us and them.
• Simply because it is possible
• Spend time together
• We know we will regret not doing it and now is our window of opportunity. Walking by the window is just not an option
• Love of adventures
• To teach the kids first hand that joy is not found in our stuff and accumulation but rather family and experiences and memories
• See new cultures and learn that our way is not the only way. 
• Goal here is to soften hearts and open minds to accept others for who they are as opposed to rejecting them for their differences.
• Truly connect with our kids
• Learn that places, faces, food may be different but our God is the same and loves all people
• Experience true service as we seek out opportunities not being tied to busy schedules
• Unplug from the treadmill that is American life - almost everyone we know identifies with this on some level.
• Cultivate long term relationships that we can we hope we can maintain for years to come. We obviously cant do this everywhere we go, but we hope to make a few lasting connections along the way. 
• Truly gain hands-on education. One thing to read about history in a book and a whole different experience to be physically present and see it while learning first hand.

Reasons to NOT go

A short post to contemplate all the reasons some say to not do this:

• Fear? - lots of them
• injury while traveling
• job to return to
• giving up my dream job
• being able to provide for my family
• losing connections with friends
• Expensive - It will cost money.
• Exhausting - this is real one. This is will not be a one year vacation and will be, at times, really hard. 
• Accommodations - We will not be staying in places like we are accustomed to.
• Food - We will not be eating like we are used to.
• Kids sports - they will fall behind, miss out, lose spots on teams (some people really think this is important). 
• Responsibility?  It has been posed to me that I have some responsibility to my co-workers. I do believe this but I have also believe I have a higher level of responsibility to my family and ultimately to pursuing what God places on our hearts. I hope that my kids learn this lesson first hand (someday) as a result of this trip.

Ultimately, personally, I look at this list and it does not sway me too much. Worth contemplating for sure but enough to give up a dream - no.  At some point will post a list of reasons to do this.

One Step closer

Today I told my two CEOs (yes I have two) of our plans. I am a partner at my firm and it was not easy. Part of me feels guilty as if I'm letting down the team. At the same point, I know my allegiance is to my family first and I have to take advantage of this unique opportunity. But, it's still hard. We are small firm and I have a very open relationship with both of them. They are as much friends as they are bosses. I consider myself very, very blessed to have the job that I have. Not only do I love what I do but I get to do it in a way that fits me well. The job front has been one of the most difficult parts of this decision. I remind myself though that no one ever heard of someone on their death bed wishing they had worked more. Time with family and experiences are what ultimately matters and this is where we feel called.

The meeting was quite short because of other commitments but overall it went as well as could be expected. They were obviously shocked and disappointed. They know me and where my heart is at and they get me. Most importantly, emotions did not blow up. A win for me as much as them.

No telling at this point how it will turn it out as they will need time to process, which is completely understandable. I have come to grips with that reality and decided this is worth the risk. Scary? Yes. Nerve racking? For sure. Relieved? Some. Having this step out of the way opens doors to move forward and that is exciting. My kids want to tell their friends but have not been allowed until this conversation took place because I did not want them hearing through the grapevine. I still need to get in front of one more partner before they can though. This part has been hard on the boys and prevented them from their own version of processing. Soon they get to spread the word to their pals, which I know from experience, just saying it out loud, brings the whole thing to another level.

One step closer to a crazy dream.

Visits to REI

This week we made two runs to REI to get some gear. Here's a link to our gear ideas. Tough to think about what type of pack one wants to commit to for an entire year. Ideally we want to carry-on our bags as much as possible but that won't always be feasible. The stores clerks are a bit in awe of our plans but certainly encouraging and helpful - I love REI!. After two runs and two internet orders all our packs have now been purchased. Mom even packed up her entire bag with new packing cubes and wore into my office proudly announcing "I did it!"

A few days later we returned Gs pack for a different one. More comfortable and a good trade. $6 cheaper too!

Fast forward a few more days and #3s pack arrived in the mail. He's happy.

Off to the races

Hello, welcome to our blog. This is our first official post and we are in the midst of planning a one-year long, around the world trip with our 4 children. Most likely you know us or maybe you wandered here by mistake. Either way, this blog will hope to catalog our journey. 

Whats our purpose? Mostly, this blog is for us. It's for us to journal our progress and record our journey as we embark on unique and exciting adventure. Additionally its a way for family and friends to keep track of us. We hope to write honestly on the both the successes and failures of our journey as we know there will be plenty of both.