We thank all of you again for checking up on how we are doing and how our trip preparation is progressing. Right now we are really working on all of our passports and making sure that we get any paperwork taken care of that needs to be done. So many people have been so generous in helping us and praying for us. Thank you to the Paulson family, the Putzier family, and the Jore family. Every blessing and contribution large or small is so encouraging to us and we really appreciate that.
An answer to prayer lately for us is that we have a family friend in Bratislava who is willing to loan us a vehicle to use when we arrive there after landing in Vienna. He is also taking care to make sure that good car seats will be installed for all of the kids which is a huge blessing so that we won't have to lug our own along with us. We will be using this vehicle to travel from the South Western most part of Slovakia to the North Eastern most part of Slovakia were Rasty's family lives. This will be a big and interesting part of our travel so please pray for traveling mercies!! The blessing in this is that we will see a lot of countryside and many beautiful sites along the way, and perhaps we will stop somewhere fun for a while depending on how the kids are holding up.
Maria has recently posted up some items on eBay to try and make some money for the trip. Right now there are some old comic books that we have had given to us from Maria's brother. Soon hopefully there will also be some of Maria's handspun and hand dyed yarns, jewelry, and artwork up for purchase. I will post some links so that if anyone would be interested in contributing in that way they may do so.
Meanwhile Rasty is working very hard and trying to get new customers for his company so that he can make some commissions from signing them up with their printer service. If anyone knows of a potential client please let us know or you can have them call Rasty directly for more information. Call his work number at (651) 775-6011. He keeps it on at all times and has lots of information to give so go ahead and call! This time getting closer to our trip is a little stressful for us sometimes and we so appreciate your prayers for peacefulness. Maria is also starting two online classes for this Summer semester and is trying to secure an internship for next Fall. She will have to bring her laptop on the trip to keep up with homework assignments and online work! Also she will be doing research on this trip through Slovakia for a class that she will be taking next Spring and so has a lot of work to do as well. The kids are all finishing up school and trying to get outside as much as possible. We are doing as much as we can to prepare them in anyway, especially by telling them about the differences in culture they will experience, teaching them Slovak phrases, showing them pictures and telling them all about the animals and farm and forest that they will get to explore at Babka and Dedko's house. We know this will be such a challenging and rewarding trip for us all and we look forward to sharing our experiences with you all.
Thank you all for your continuing support in so many ways.
I also just want to thank those who have contributed to us by donating food for our family and have offered to meet with us and pray for us. We really do love you all!