top 10 travel FAQs

It’s time to answer some questions in response to my last post. You know, the one about quitting our jobs and moving half way around the world. I shared some broad, sweeping strokes about our journey, but today I want to answer some of the more specific questions I’ve received in the most concise, practical way I can. Hopefully this serves as a baseline, and you can definitely ask us any more questions you have building off of these. I also hope this might be helpful for anyone thinking about taking the next step in their own travel adventures.

Here’s our most frequently asked questions list (feel free to scroll) – – –

1. When do you leave?
2. Where are you going?
3. How long will you be gone?
4. What will you do with your house?
5. What about your kids’ school?
6. What will you be doing?
7. How are you paying for this?
8. Are you raising support?
9. What will you do when you get back?
10. What are you most excited about?

1. When do you leave?

The timing of our departure is really a sweet story. We planned to leave in January 2018, because Scott is wrapping up with his job at the end of the year. So, we started looking at flights for the first week of the month. Then, the partners we’re working with in Thailand told us it’s better on their timeline to come mid-January, so we switched up our search to the 15th. We quickly realized the sweet blessing to get an extra week of prep time, so we could enter into the Christmas season fully with our family, then have a couple weeks to gear up after the new year hits.

& right when I was about to book our tickets outta here for the 18^th, my amazing big sister got engaged! And set the date of her wedding for January 20^th! Which could have been a close one, but we found an amazing deal of a flight on the 22nd, and that means we get to celebrate and be a part of all the wedding festivities before we go! & it also worked out beautifully that Julie and my new bro-in-law have graciously offered to spend their first hours of matrimony driving us to the Denver airport, where they’ll fly off to their honeymoon the same day we leave for Bangkok. Is that perfect timing or what?

2. Where are you going?

I have been hesitant to answer this question definitively, because plans change. I’m holding this trip with open hands, and truly God can do whatever he wants with it (and take us wherever he wants). We might think Thailand and end up in Portland. But the craziest part about planning for this trip so far has been the lack of changes in itinerary. Every place we reached out to months ago, we’re still on course to work with. Which feels bizarre. But leads me to believe this really is where we’re headed – – –

• Bang Sak, Thailand
• Alexandria, South Africa
• Narok, Kenya
• Stockholm, Sweden

3. How long will you be gone?

Our return tickets haven’t been bought yet, but we’re planning for roughly six months. It’s important to know that we are not packing up and moving away forever. Just the opposite in fact – we’ve grown to love our roots in Lincoln. We love living close to our family, investing in the amazing friendships we have here, and being part of purpose-filled church. We even prayed about selling our house for this new venture, but it was a pretty clear no in my book. Because we’re not wanderers, and we don’t live on an island (metaphorically speaking, nothing against you Hawaiians). We’ve created a lot of rich memories and traditions here that we’re excited to continue on.

But Lincoln is also a fantastic launch pad. We can go and see and do incredible things all around the world, and know we have a wonderful place to come home to. I think one of the biggest mistakes you can make is forgetting the world is bigger than our tiny no-coast state.

& because we own a boat, Scott is adamant to be home before summer’s end. So, expect to see us back in the Midwest early August.

4. What will you do with your house?

Well, since we’re not selling it, we found an alternative solution. & the henn house family continues to grow. I have so loved the past four years of community style living, with different friends staying in our basement apartment. And when we bought our house, we also had it in mind that if a good opportunity to live overseas came along, our house could easily be split and rented as two separate spaces. Which sounds fairly simple, but this aspect has probably required the most amount of time – as well as provided an opportunity to see God work in the most tangible ways while planning for this trip.

We actually decided on six-months of travel because it would be the best length of time to sub-lease our space. But we also made that decision without any prospects in mind. And a mortgage is something very tangible (and reoccurring). We knew we couldn’t pay for our home + all of its utilities while living abroad and working for free, so this was a non-negotiable. And over the last few months we’ve been connected to the most amazing women – five of them – who will be holding down the henn house and taking good care of it and each other in our absence.

** it needs to be mentioned that we didn’t have all the puzzle pieces in place and then decided to go. It took a leap of faith and making plans, and God has shown up in unbelievable ways. He has made it inarguably clear that he loves us, he’s providing for us, and he’s in this with us, even down to our electric bill.

5. What about your kids’ school?

We homeschool! We’re still pretty new at this, with our oldest turning seven next week, but when we made the big decision last year where to start kindergarten, travel was one of the game-changing factors. We couldn’t imagine not having the option to say yes to an opportunity to serve abroad (except during summer or Christmas holiday) for the next fifteen years. So, we started the homeschooling journey, with no planned trips on the horizon. & it made it all the simpler for us to say yes to this.

The cool kids these days are actually calling it “world schooling,” which basically means taking your kids out of the home (or the classroom) to learn about culture and history and life through hands on international experiences. I love that idea, and the educational opportunities this will cultivate for our kids. I want them to gain a deeper understanding of diversity and values and compassion, and I know I will never be as good a teacher for them as the world is. I still have a lot of learning of my own to do, but I expect we’ll all be growing and changing in new, unexpected ways together.

6. What will you be doing?

This question will come with plenty more stories to follow, because there’s just a whole lot of ways I could answer this. The best way to simplify it is to point you toward the non-profits we’ll be volunteering with, and you can dig deeper into their community involvement as far as curiosity leads you.

+ Step Ahead is a community development organization that started in Bangkok, but  has expanded to the southern coastline of Thailand after the devastating 2004 tsunami with a mission to keep families together and help to rebuild the local economy. During our time there, we will be working in their child development center (with kids ages 2-5), as well as teaching English to young adults at their training center, and participating in teen after school programs in neighboring rural villages.

+ Village South Africa has a mission statement to empower community leaders who are affecting transformational change in the lives of orphans and vulnerable children within South Africa. While in Alexandria we will be serving at Jehovah Jireh Haven, a safe home for abused and abandoned children. We will also be helping at the Alexandria Christian Academy, where they are providing a quality level education for kids ages preschool-12th grade.

+ The Hope Venture is a non-profit organization based out of Lincoln that we’ve been involved with over the past five years (and traveled with to India in 2014 and Kenya last summer). We will be returning to Kenya in June to assist the team in leading a student retreat, create new photography and video content for their supported projects, and follow up with partners to assess changes and growth for the organization.

+ The Wetteruds are our adopted family in Stockholm, Sweden. While I’m sure we will be returning to New Life church to visit the ministries we were a part of four years ago, this last leg of our trip is intended primarily to connect with close friends. Between trips to Sweden and their visits to the US, this will be our 5th time together in six years. Thankfully, they have beds for us to sleep on and plenty of coffee to share, which is all we really need.

7.  How are you paying for this?

As I type this up, I realize each of these questions could have its own two-page response (and someday it might), but for now here’s the cliffnotes version – –

A volunteering trip is much different than a vacation, and like so the cost is very different. We are not staying in any hotels, but instead have rooms provided for us by the local organizations we’re working with. We’ll have access to kitchens to cook the majority of our own meals, and have intentionally chosen countries where the US dollar can be stretched the farthest (except for Sweden, in which case we’ll just be bumming rides and complimentary fika). I’ve also been doing a tremendous amount of research on how to find the best airfare, and was able to book our first set of tickets tickets to Bangkok for less than $280/ea!

With all that said, we’ve also been saving to cover the costs of airfare, eating out and necessary adventures like elephant rides and snorkeling. Having our mortgage and utilities covered by the ladies of the henn house frees up a tremendous amount of our resources to be used for other things, and offsets the scale quite a bit to work for free for the next six months.

8. Are you raising support?

No and yes. For the majority of our trip, we will be serving alongside YWAM partners and are working diligently to be self-funded for our travels. We intend to live in Thailand, South Africa and Sweden off of the money we’ve saved (& tax return kickbacks). But during our time in Kenya, we will be raising support through The Hope Venture to work with their team and local partners. If you would like to get involved in these efforts and our work abroad, this would be a wonderful way to help. I don’t know the exact amount yet we’ll need to fundraise (because our plane tickets from South Africa are much different than the team from the US), but approximately $7,000 for our entire family. None of these funds will go directly to us, of course, but through The Hope Venture’s website here.

9. What will you do when you get back?

I don’t have a great answer for this one yet. I definitely have some ideas stirring for the future, but I feel a lot like an 18yr old telling you what I’m going to do when I graduate from college. I might be spot on, but only time will tell. I have no idea the people we’ll meet or the experiences we’ll have on this journey that could totally alter our course of direction.

One major purpose of this trip is to take time away, to focus more on others, and give God space to show up in big ways. We want to break through the box of what we think ministry should look like, and hopefully come home with new, creative ways to serve him and other people in a greater way than we are now. Scott’s job has graciously told him they would hire him back (in some capacity) at any time, but I believe we are moving in the direction of self-employment, with the capacity to work from Lincoln part of the year, and also work abroad as opportunity permits.

10. What are you most excited about?

oh man. all of it.

I’m excited to be together as a family, every day – to experience all of the sounds and smells and colors through my kids’ eyes, and the conversations that will come from being in a totally new place. To build sandcastles by the ocean and go hiking through the jungle. To watch their character develop in such new ways as we serve together, side by side. & for all the travel mishaps we’ll laugh about one day as sweet family memories that only we understand.

I’m excited to play UNO with kids who don’t speak English, and dance to Kenyan worship music all night long. To see what new friends my kids make, and if they’ll learn other languages better than me. To help people who could genuinely use a hand, and recognizing the God who has made us so much more similar than we will ever be different.

I’m excited to meet our Thai contacts and learn about how they created such an impactful non-profit organization. To have chai with Molly and learn how she’s welcomed hundreds of orphaned children into her home. To hug Gideon and hear how his last year of high school has been as a sponsored student. To sit on the couch with my Swedish sister as she shows me her paintings and describes what God has been teaching her through each one.

Most of all, I’m excited to be in places so unfamiliar that I need God to show up or I’m toast. To do hard things that require him to come through. To grow in my faith and humility and deep, unwavering dependency on him. To pull back the layers of how I’ve misunderstood Jesus based on the culture I’ve packaged him in, and to find a beautiful rhythm of doing life with God, not for him.

That’s what I’m most excited about.

any questions?