Support Update - 5%
Our first monthly support commitment has come in - $100/month! What's really exciting is that this came in from one person, and we had no idea that this person would be interested in supporting us on a monthly basis. That means we're officially at 5% of our monthly requirement. God is good.
Deputation is in full swing
Now that most of our missionary letters have been mailed out (we still have about 20 to send) we have been focusing our attention on the visa process and deputation. This past weekend we travelled to Bridgewater and Lunenburg Nova Scotia. We spent the morning at Cary's home church as a teen, Bridgewater Open Bible Church. We had a lovely time reconnecting with people; some of which we hadn't seen in nearly a decade. The evening service was at Faith Baptist Chapel where again Cary was able to relive days gone by with old friends. Both churches expressed a desire to take us on as missionaries and we left each church feeling greatly encouraged.The only negative of the trip was the fact that my Powerpoint presentation wasn't able to be shown. BOBC doesn't have the technology to show Powerpoint yet (that wasn't a surprise) but Lunenburg is able. We were all set to go, the laptop was showing the slideshow but we couldn't get the picture on the wall. It was pretty frustrating, but things went along fine without it.
We were really excited about renting a car. While on deputation, the mission (FEBInternational) pays for all expenses. They actually told us to rent a car, since it's cheaper to do that than to pay us mileage. This was great for us, since our car was (once again) at the garage to be repaired. We rented a PT Cruiser, which we got at no extra cost. The kids thought it was great, but after 900 kms, I really don't have any desire to drive one again. They look nice, but they're not a great car to drive. I'll give further reports on rental cars as we go along. :)
Meetings with a Mission
On July 3, Cary flew to Ontario to attend a series of meetings with the mission board, FEBInternational. The meetings were held at Muskoka Baptist Conference, just north of Orillia. This was a very informative week. Cary got to meet all of the office staff, as well as several of the missionaries from around the world with FEBInt. They went over policy changes that are in the works and they got strategic help so that they could do their jobs as missionaries better. The food and weather were fantastic, but they were so busy with their meetings that they really didn't get to do much at the conference centre.
Cary, Summer, Shannon, Sydney, and Kilah Sawatsky
So, when are we leaving Canada?
Everyone seems to want to know when we'll be in Brazil. The answer to that question is not easy. I (Cary) am officially under contract with PACA, and school starts at the beginning of August. Since the girls (Kilah, grade 9; Summer, grade 7; and Sydney, grade 5) are enrolled at the school, and I am due to begin my role as soon as possible, we are eager to get to Brazil as quickly as we can. However, there are three major hurdles that we have to overcome first.The first is the work visa. The process has gotten off to a slow start as the girls did not have passports. Two of those passports are in, and we expect Sydney's any day now. The visa process takes about six weeks from the time that we apply. If Sydney's passport comes in this week, we could have the visa by about the end of August.
Second is the sale of our house. We have had several people take a look at the house, but to date, we have no offers. The house has to sell in order for us to go, because without the sale of the house, we will not be able to pay off our debts.
Third, we need to raise our support. PACA provides a salary and a nice benefits package (including a housing allowance and a car) but the salary is based on the presumption that I would be coming to PACA alone. Since the family of five will be coming with me, we will need to raise support in addition to the salary I receive from PACA. This amount is substantial, but I expect that we will raise the funds necessary before the visa comes through.
Therefore, we feel that we will be making our way to Brazil as early as late August, or, more likely, sometime in September.