A New Beginning- July 7th

Well after two days of travel we finally made it to Cuenca, Ecuador. In fact we even made it with all of our luggage, all 8 of them. When does that ever happen? And only two of them were opened to be inspected and we think only a pair of my shoes and some makeup is missing. At least I hope that is all, it's so hard to remember what we actually ended up packing in the suitcases and what we had packed in boxes and shipped. Fortunately everything that was electronic or more expensive here actually arrived in the suitcases, even from those that had been opened. The kids were really good despite the lack of sleep and having to go from plane to plane, only a few minor breakdowns during the entire trip. And for us that was the best part, knowing that our kids can adjust well despite all the changes.
While in Quito waiting for the last 40 minute flight to Cuenca, we decided that we had time to register our visas with the government here which we have to do in the first 30 days of arriving. We took a taxi, which charged us more then we should have been charged to the government office and realized that we had made it ten minutes late to be seen at this office: 2:10pm! Who closes a government office at 2pm? After a few moments of talking with the people outside the office we were finally seen and told that we had to do some paperwork before we could finalize our registration and with the time that we needed to get to the airport for our flight, it was impossible. So we used the last hour to find a place to eat and get away from the airport for a bit. Unfortunately this means in the next few weeks we will have to go back to Quito in order to register but at least this time we will have all the paperwork that we need to get it done quickly. And have to make sure that we get there before the 2pm deadline!
Once we got back to the airport we ended up taking all our luggage and so on to the counter and waited for over an hour to send in our luggage because of a mix-up with some other flight. That was hard for the kids because there was absolutely nothing to do that entire time, and our flight got delayed so we really didn't get to Cuenca till late and by that time I was exhausted as I slept very little the whole trip. When we arrived in Cuenca, our team mate Bolo came to pick us up and his wife Jenny, they took us to an apartment by one of the main rivers in the city and told us that they had been able to rent it for the month with all the furniture until we can find something that suits us better. It was great to be able to relax and put our things away (even for a few weeks) until we find something else. It is nice not having to be in a hotel like we had to when we moved to Brazil, especially since there is more space for the kids to play around and we get to save money for other things. But that is not the end of our day, as I would have enjoyed it to be as there was a Let's Start Talking final party that was already in progress as we dropped off our stuff. So off we went to the school where the LST party was happening. The kids thought it was lots of fun even though they were not able to communicate with the kids that were there, but they made it work. And of course the cake and treats were great for them too. Travis and I were able to meet with the Americans that have been hosting the LST here for the last 30 days and meet a lot of the people that they read with. As well we were able to meet a few people that we had seen on our survey trip in November of 2009. Travis' Spanish came back really quick and he's been able to communicate very well with everyone. I am of course having a harder time but the Portuguese that I know has definitely helped me to understand a lot. The kids still will only say a few words here and there but once they are in school, I know they will have no problem. It was a long night but definitely worth going to the party as now Travis and I will continue to work with a lot of the people from LST and hopefully some of them will come to know God. So a great start to a new life here in Cuenca, Ecuador. Please be in prayer for those people we met that night!

Soon On Our Way!

Well as you know, we finally received our paperwork that we have been waiting for from Ecuador for many months. It is finally all in order so our move down to Ecuador is set. We will leave on July 4th at 6:30pm to Toronto so anyone in the Regina area who wants to say bye to us at the airport please come by. We then will stay in Toronto in order to pick up our visas which we have been told is the same day process so we hope to do that on July 5th. But please keep this part of the process in your prayers as with foreign countries you never know what might happen. Then we will leave July 6th at 5:30pm to Lima, Peru then on to Quito,  Ecuador at 10:40 am and then will arrive at 7pm to Cuenca which will be our home for the next five years. 

We are so excited to start the travelling part of this process even though hauling luggage and two young kids doesn't sound that appealing at this moment but the end result is what excites us the most. We are so excited to know that this time has finally come, that we get to go back to what God has been preparing us to do again, this time in Ecuador. I know Travis is excited to go back to the place that started his love for missions and it seems appropriate that it's come full circle again for him. We are excited for the new place, the new people and the new work that we will start there. Please continue to pray for our family as we travel, for the visas to really only take one day to process and the people we will meet and the work that will be started. 

It is amazing that we have been in Canada for over a year already but it has been a great time for us. A time to relax, to heal, to be renewed and so much more. We have spent time with both of our families and had time for the kids to bond with their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins like they were never able to do before. We have been able to renew our friendships with people from years past and to gain new friendships. We have been able to meet with our supporters, our sponsoring church and continue to strengthen that bond between them and our family. We have been able to spend time as a family just the four of us without the pressures or demands that being missionaries require. In so many ways, this year in Canada has been a great blessing to us but we are eager to start our life in Ecuador. Thank you to everyone that we have been with over this past year, for all those memories and times of fun, for the time we have shared our lives together. And for all those who want a place to go somewhere south of the border, remember you are always welcome to come and visit us anytime. 

Thank you again for your prayers and support during this whole process to get to Ecuador. As we know, God is faithful to those who wait, and we see that our waiting has been a good reminder as who we place our trust in and who has our interests at heart. We are on our way to share with those who that God is and how their lives can changed, just as ours has been changed. Please continue to pray for our family, our team and the work God is doing in Cuenca, Ecuador.

2nd False Green Light

What an emotional roller coaster ride getting to Cuenca is becoming for us. We are glad to be in Canada...but we continue to work toward getting to our final destination, to where God has called us to serve. It has been painstakingly challenging to my level of patience as we have had 2 false green lights to getting our visas. Our teammates Bolo and Jaime in Ecuador have been getting frustrated probably even more, because it seems like every time they have fulfilled the requires of the government for our papers, there seems to be something else that needs to be done. However saying all that, both our teammates and ourselves are confident that the end of this process is near and we will be on a plane to Cuenca. Our teammates also talked to some lawyers concerning international visas and were told that they have the ability to get us our visas if we go there initially on a visitors visa. But after talking to our overseers in Saskatoon they told us to continue down the process that we are on because it is so close to being done. That way we would arrive with our permanent work visas in hand, rather than having to start over again, and have the possibility that something goes wrong and having to return home unexpectedly. 

We continue to stay busy doing kingdom work here in Regina, updating supporters, as well as doing all the long term planning that has to be done while we are away from Canada. We have been preparing a will, setting up the kids some education funds, updating and extending passports, drivers lic's and other id's, and getting our health insurance in order. I've also got to play some hockey with my old friends, our team made it to the final Sunday and lost in OT. But playing was like therapy for my heart. We've also been learning Spanish. Alicia and the kids let me teach them. Alicia wants to be able to talk when she gets off the plane. She has such a head start already knowing Portuguese. We have also been paying attention to our emotional needs that concern returning missionaries. It is always difficult to transition through cultures. We returned to our home for a year, but in reality Canada is no longer our home. We try and find how we fit here, while still missing our spiritual family and friends in Brasil. We ran into a great book, "praying your good-byes" which is a great help for learning to deal with our feelings through life's transitions. God is taking care of us and getting us ready for our next ministry. It has been so good to reconnect with my family, my parents, my sister, her husband and my niece. It has been good to be around my younger brother who recently broke up with his girlfriend of 4 years. I have been able to help him process that and in some small ways hope to point him to God and faith. My mom's brother also just passed away unexpectedly and they family has asked me to do the memorial service. This weekend I will see many cousins and extended family on her side that I haven't seen in years. So that should be good. 

 

But we are so looking forward to starting our next phase in life. It has been a blessing to live with my parents, and I know they will miss us again, but I'm sure they are ready to get their space back. We are ready to find our own place to live in. Our teammate Jenny is looking for rentals places for us in Cuenca. We have been blessed to have our finances in place but lacking our visas. The opposite was the case 6 years ago when we were leaving for Brasil. Please continue to pray that the evil one will not have His way in any way during these final days and weeks until we finally arrive in Ecuador.We continue to trust in God's perfect timing for our lives. In Him, Travis 

Still Waiting on Visas

Lot's of people are asking us how we are doing with waiting on our visas. We never thought we would still be in Saskatchewan in February, but we are. When we were told January 3rd that the paper work had been approved we were so excited.We moved into that final countdown mindset of "last's" before we leave for the long-term again. So we were disappointed when we found out that someone in the Ecuadorian government did not finalize the paperwork due to a technicality that has nothing to do with us. Having lived for many years in South America I have come to realize that this is common, even though it can be frustrating.
There is nothing that we want more than to make the move to our new hometown and to get busy doing the work God has called us to. This last statement reminds us that what we are doing is for God, and therefore will be done on His terms. This includes the timing of our final departure. This week we contacted the consulate one more time to see if there was anything we could or they could do to expedite the visa process. They responded in less than an hour to tell us to be patient, that these process can take some setbacks, but that the process was still continuing. This reminds me of how 7 years ago when we were preparing to go to Brasil it took us over 6 months to get our paperwork and that we ended up arriving 2 weeks after our teammates. Even so we were still the first ones to get keys to a new apartment in Salvador. So God was definitely at work, having gone before us and preparing the perfect arrival.
This is the trust and faith that we are counting on again as we prepare for this next move. We have seen firsthand how many times we have been blessed because we waited on God's timing rather than trying to make it happen ourselves. So we continue to do what Scripture calls us to do so often, and that is wait upon the Lord, knowing that He is our Father and is looking out for our best.
In the meantime we have so many details to take care of. We have been blessed to work with Russell Elford about our long-term finances. He has a heart for helping people like us, working in full-time ministry, to try and have some sort of financial plan for the end of our lives. Alicia and the kids continue to learn Spanish, and as I teach, my Spanish continues to improve as it comes back from that long-term memory bank. Alicia and I study at least 1 hour a day and I read with the kids which is the best way for them to learn. The Regina public library has an impressive amount of books in Spanish, which has been helpful. We continue to be strengthened spiritually and emotionally. Leaving our church family that we had an intrigal part in creating in Salvador Brazil was a harder adjustment than we could have imagined. This on top of reverse culture shock and other adjustments has left our heads spinning at times, and having only the hand of God to lean on, as really He is the only one who truly knows all that we have experienced in the last 7 years of our lives.

Please continue to be in prayer for our visas. We know that God can do whatever is needed to make our departure possible. In the meantime we will continue to prepare and work on all the minute details and planning that is necessary to move our family across the world once again. Thanks again for your prayers and support. Travis

Time Keeps Ticking!

Time keeps on ticking as we prepare to head to Ecuador. We continue to have things that crop up preventing us from leaving in the time frame that we were hoping, first with not being able to leave in November and now already in February surpassing the time frame of January. It's not that waiting is such a bad thing, especially since we get to be doing that here in Canada but it's hard to not have a specific time to be going. This time we are waiting for the Ecuadorian government to change one word on the paperwork for us to be invited by the church down there. We have all the other paperwork that needs to be done here and waiting in an envelope to be sent to the consulate in Toronto as soon as we get the invitation from down in Ecuador. Unfortunately, this delay means that we can't book tickets or give everyone a final date of departure. I think it would be easier if we could do something more to get the process moving but this is only delayed because of the Ecuadorian government and the time it takes them to change some of the wording. I do feel better about everything knowing that 6 out of our 8 bags are packed and waiting to go as soon as we are ready with the paperwork. So we are as prepared as we can be while we wait for this paperwork. So please keep this process in your prayers as we patiently wait on God's timing to be in Ecuador. Only God knows what time is best for us and what He has planned in the meantime. Hopefully, we will get word sometime in the next few weeks on this paperwork and be able to send the rest of it soon to the consulate in Toronto. We will keep you all updated once we hear more. Thanks for your support and prayers during this time.

Some News!

It's been a little while since I wrote to tell you of news of our departure. That is because we were still waiting and waiting for some news ourselves. Well this past Monday we finally heard from Ecuador that our paperwork from down there is done and is now on it's way to Canada. Once we have this paperwork we can send in for our visas in Toronto. So this past week we have been finalizing the paperwork and getting all the things we need for our visas from this end. Now it's all ready to go as soon as we get the paperwork from Ecuador, hopefully on Monday or Tuesday then we can send it all in the mail. We hope that it will only take about 10 working days for the Ecuadorian Consulate to process our visas. So that now means working on deciding what to pack, what to take and what we still need to get before we leave. We hope that all of this will take us to the end of the month or the very beginning of February. And then we will be in Ecuador! So thank you all for your prayers on this and please continue to be in prayer for the processing of our visas, for the last few times to be with family and for all the preparations for packing to move to another country.

While we have been waiting, we were able to visit my side of the family during the Christmas holidays and enjoyed our time together despite almost all of us getting sick. It was great to be able to make one last trip out to say our goodbyes to my side of the family again. We of course will miss them but hopefully sometime soon they can come and visit us in Ecuador. Now we are back in Regina and will be making a few weekend trips to some of our supporters, including our send off on the 16th of January in Saskatoon at our sponsoring church. We are looking forward to the work in Ecuador but will be enjoying the last few times to be with our families and friends. I will try to write more as soon as we get our visas and we make our official flight plans. Please continue to be praying for our family and for the work that we are preparing to do in Ecuador. Especially be in prayer for the Ecuadorians whose lives will change for the better once we are there and can share God's promises in their lives. May God be praised for the work He is preparing in Ecuador.

Preparations

This is our second time to prepare to move to a foreign country and we thought we pretty much knew what was needed and what we had to do in order to get there. However, things don't always happen like you plan them. We received an email a few days ago from Ecuador stating that our invitation that we need from the churches there in order to get our visa will be delayed by another month. Meaning we won't be able to apply for the visa here until we receive those papers, moving our departure date back. So it now looks like we won't be able to leave here until the beginning of January 2011. In some ways it is a blessing to be able to spend more time with our friends and family here, especially over the holidays. As well it would be a new beginning for everyone when we arrive there in the new year.

However, at the same time it is hard to think we won't be arriving there yet and we have all this time here to continue in the plans for getting there. We still have to continue to think about getting our visas and how all the paperwork will get done and the time frame in which it will get done. We still have to think about what items we will need to pack, what things we still need and how that is going to get done. We also have the worries about all of the funds we need to get in order to move and how that is all coming together. But through our past experiences in Brazil and trying to get there, we know that God always has his plans in place that always are better then ours. He knows what we need to get our visas, what we need emotionally and spiritually, what we need financially and so much more. So in God's timing we will make it to Cuenca, Ecuador to serve him in sharing our faith in Him to the people there.

Some of the things that we have been doing while here in Canada are securing our funds, visiting with family and friends, writing letters and emails, finding odd jobs, going to school and so much more.

We have been visiting many different congregations around Canada and sharing our experiences in Brazil and our plans for the future in Ecuador. It has been great sharing what has happened and the lives changed in Brazil but just as exciting to be able to dream and share our vision of the future in Ecuador.

We have been living most of the time with Len and Carol and been able to share our time with them and the kids are enjoying spending time with their grandparents, as well as their Auntie Leah, Uncle Craig and their cousin, Lena and Uncle Josh. We were also blessed to make a trip out to B.C. to visit my parents, Alan and Janice. It was the first time that they were able to meet Calen in person and enjoyed getting to know their only grandson. We were also blessed to visit with the kids Auntie Mikaela, Auntie Naomi, Uncle Murray and cousins, Abigail and Kyra. And now that we have more time we plan on making another trip to visit my side of the family.

As we wait for our new work in Cuenca, Ecuador we have found a few odd jobs to keep us busy and to help with some of our expenses. One job we had was delivering mail for Canada post, another is cleaning a house and the last is working with inner city kids after school. They have helped us feel like we are at home a little bit more then just kind of in-between things.

One major thing for us is going to school. Okay so only one of us is actually in school. Basically since Ceara started talking she has been asking to go to school. We decided that in order to give her some more structure and feel like she's got a home right now, we decided to put her in preschool. She is going Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings for two hours. She goes to a church preschool so she's even getting the basic understanding of the bible stories and learning more about God as she learns the basics of school life. She loves every minute of school and never misses us when she's gone. This is a great thing for her because when we get to Ecuador we will put her in school so that she can adapt quickly to the culture, the language and the people. I know she will adjust quickly no matter what but it is nice that she has something to call her own and to enjoy. For the rest of us we are starting some school, more like language learning. We have gotten a few books and movies for the kids in Spanish and just the other day they watched one that taught them the numbers. That night Calen started to say his numbers in Spanish, one listening and he already can count to ten. I know he will learn quickly, now let's hope I can transition to Spanish quickly too.

We definitely are looking forward to our time in Cuenca, but will continue to enjoy the time that God is blessing us with here in Canada. Please continue to keep us in your prayers, as we wait for our visas, as we secure our funds and for the people that will be changed when we get to Cuenca, Ecuador.