Prepare for Take Off

Hello everyone.  Here's the start to our blog for our Around the World (RTW) Trip.  We're so excited, though it still hasn't really hit us that we're leaving yet.  Just to give you an idea of what our plans are I'll start from the beginning.

Muthoni and I have always been dreaming of traveling to see the world.  Even as we were dating we would often talk about the places around the world that we want to see.  It really was something that drew us to one another, dreaming about what else is out there.  We created a powerpoint presentation of the places we'd like to see. (I'll see if we can attach it). Places like Egypt, Brazil, Ireland, Hawaii, Italy, Greece and Japan.  It was sort of wishful thinking that we could go to these places because we thought it would cost too much to go to all these places.  Eventually we got engaged and I got the opportunity to visit Muthoni's family back home in Kenya/Tanzania.  On this trip we came across a traveler, a young, single, British girl.  She'd lost her job but had been saving her money for a trip of a life time that she'd dreamed of. Seeing the opportunity she began her trip around the world. She flew from country to country to meeting and making friends along the way. We were so inspired listening to her story, though we were cautious about it because, again, financially it seemed out of reach (got to be $100k+ right?). But she spent less than $30k.  "What!!?  How? Where? Are you serious?!" "Surely we can do this!" (Thanks be to God that we've been able to keep our jobs through the recession).  If we save for a few years we should be able to do this. So, the plan was born... though we still had to get married so it was on the back burner.

So then, a few months of marriage and we're starting to think we need another project (we really can't just sit still, there's got to be something we're working on, like the work put into wedding planning, we love that stuff).  Anyhow, it was then we decided that we would simplify our lives so we can save money.  That means, no more eating out, no more just buying stuff, cable/satellite?-no thanks, carpool?-yes please, Financial Peace University?-awesome.  We got our selves to where we live on one of our incomes, all the rest goes to savings.  From then (about April 2010) we decided that Jan 2012 is when we'd do it.  (Enough time to set up an emergency fund and fund the trip. Also, allows me to pretty much finish my responsibilities at my job - thanks Holder).  So through 2010 we just kind of let life go on as usual as we build up the reserves, just checking into stuff every now and then and getting some odds and ends that we'd need.  It wasn't until September of 2011 that we got into the heavy details.  We had to decide where we're going. How long we want to stay here and there. How much does it cost to enter the country / what's the process (aka Visas)?  We pulled together spreadsheets, surfed blogs, checked flights, talked to friends about this place and that and dreamed bigger and bigger.  We had a laminated map up on our wall in the apartment, marking different possibilities.  (South America was in, then out, then in, then definitely out, then we-may-never-get-another-chance in.)  Finally looking at all the blogs and RTW websites we found Airtreks.com and gave them a call.  Glenn was very patient with us. We changed our mind so many times on where we'd go.  We sat on the phone talking through every single flight for about an hour and a half. Wow.  Finally we came to a decision on our flight path:
Orlando to Miami to San Salvador to San Jose to Lima to Cusco to Lima to Sao Paulo to Johannesburg to Nairobi to Lagos to Abuja to Larnaca to Athens to Istanbul to Nuremburg to London to Delhi to Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh to Manila to Beijing to Seoul to Tokyo to LA to Orlando.

Wow! We got our tickets October 31 and the clock truly started ticking. So we went into a frenzy to get in touch with all the consulates so we can get Visas.  (For those of you unfamiliar with international travel Visas are basically passes that you need added to your passport in order to enter certain countries.)  Muthoni and I had several to get. We really needed to think more about these visas because the cost (money and time) of them were kind of shocking.  For example, if you are an American citizen and would like to visit Brazil you need to fill out an application, pull together financial statements, get passport photos taken (cheapest at Walmart), print your itinerary, get a money order for $140, and show up to an interview at the consulate with all of it and hope that your application is not rejected.  We had some near misses, but Thank God we were able to get all of our Visas (Brazil was the easy one).  If we were to do this again I think we'd only go places that we don't need visas or get our visas in advance that way we're not living in fear that our application would be rejected and thus change our itinerary.  But it certainly has taught us to live by Faith. We've prayed and fasted as our visas went to the various consulates.  We praise God for what he's enabled us to do.   So that's pretty much the beginning of our blog. Sorry it was so long, but I had to get you caught up on two years.  Now we're hanging with my parents until we fly out.  We're praying, looking into hostels we'll stay in and reaching out to the churches we'll be visiting in each of these places.  We look forward to what God will do through us on this trip. It's not just to go see the world, but also to go and preach the word, encourage those who believe, care for orphans and widows in their distress (James 1:27), and help those who can't help themselves.  It's an exciting time in our lives and we're glad that you'll be along for the ride.  I hope you will be encouraged as God does what he does and we can glorify him.

-Vernon