Joining the Peace Corps

Okay, it's settled. Almost a year-and-a-half from when we first decided to look into international agricultural development, Kris and I have finally accepted an offer from the Peace Corps to help out destitute farmers in Latin America.

There has been a persistant pull on both of our hearts to get out of our comfort zone and go to help the poor. Even after getting rejected by ECHO this spring, we knew that we had to keep looking for opportunities. God would eventually provide.

And provide He did. Within the span of a week, we were offered a position to teach and tutor at a bilingual school in Honduras, as well as two possible positions in the Peace Corps. One of the possibilities fell through, but another, better offer took its place.

We decided to go with this most recent offer for several reasons:

1. As a couple, Kris and I are most passionate about the work we will be doing with the Peace Corps in Latin America. Kris will be training farmers and businesses to better manage forest and water resources, while I will be teaching farmers how to better manage their crops and land. The goal of both of these positions is to encourage greater production, a liveable income, and better stewardship of the environment.
2. The length of term (27 months) is long enough to get over the initial culture shock and start becoming effective.
3. It's in Latin America, where we can learn Spanish. We really want to learn another language, and Spanish is the most useful second language for life in the USA.
4. Even though we won't be able to officially try to convert people to Christianity, the Peace Corps encourages the exchange of ideas and cultures. This means we may have the opportunity to talk about God and share the gospel with people who may not otherwise get that chance. The school in Honduras is Christian and those kids will hear the gospel whether we go or not.
5. The leave date, September 20th, is over five weeks later than the leave date for teaching in Honduras. This gives more time to train people to take our places at work and in Church.
6. The Peace Corps takes good care of its volunteers. They provide insurance, medicine, training, transportation, and lots of wisdom for entering into a new culture. When we return, we receive one year of non-competetive status for applying for government jobs, as well as over $6k each for re-entry. Not that money is that important, but it makes our parents feel much better that we are taken care of.

We still have plenty of paperwork to fill out. We have to pass legal and medical reviews, so we will be seeing dentists, MDs, and dentists fairly shortly.

We are also looking for Christian pen pals while we are away. We probably won't be a part of a vibrant, growing church communtity while abroad, so we will need to import plenty of encouragement, teaching, and prayers from the US. ;)

Time to get back to work. By break is over. It's going to be tight as it is, finishing all the work that needs to be done before I resign, without spending lots of time writing blogs.