Monday, October 20, 2008

So I want to share something exciting and scary!

So Brian and I are going to do some things to totally change our lives. :) We're very excited and I hope you are as well! Please keep us in prayer and to be honest it's natural that some might have feels of apprehension for us. If you do just praying. This is just the story of what we're doing and we're constantly seeking God and His will but truly feel that God is behind this all.

It's going to be a risk but Brian has been miserable with our business. It's too stressful on us as a couple and way to hard on his back. He's wavered about getting an MBA, going back to school to become a chiropractor etc. But while Brian was in Brazil, God kinda gave him an epiphany. He's tired of being unhappy. And we've been reading some Erwin McManus stuff - Wide Awake - about following your dreams to do something great - not to live in mediocrity etc.

So Brian has decided he wants to go to flight school to get certified and eventually next summer be able to fly commercially. The he wants to get a plane and start a travel service for Missionaries - something like Mission Travel is what we're thinking. We'd start with just the 20 churches and 150+ people who fly to Sao Luiz to work with Marcelo each year. This would be a huge blessing to missionaries who fly 24+ hours for a 2 week trip there and back. It would literally add 2 days to their trip. For instance, Brian's dad goes and the plane trips are getting harder and harder but he wants to keep going. So in theory the next year we'd probably be broke but it should enable us to have financial freedom within a short amount of time - like 3 years.

And me...I was scared to talk to Brian about it but he's open to it. I am going to try and get money together to have Weight Loss Surgery in January. I am going to go with a procedure called a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. I would be self pay and it's really expensive in the states. So with help from Obesityhelp.com I am looking at two reputable Dr.'s in Mexico. I have come to the sad reality that I just I can't do this on my own. I fluctuate these days between 225-235 and my cholesterol so high I feel like it's IMPERATIVE that I get this weight off. My diabetes is under control but that combined with high cholesterol and being overweight give me something called "Metabolic Syndrome" and puts me at a 20% risk of having a heart attack in 10 years. I am 40 - my girls are 6 and 3 so I have to get healthy. I have to.

So anyway - these are major areas for us. Basically it would change our ENTIRE life. And we have to come up with a lot of money in a short amount of time so we're going to tighten the belt and stop spending on anything extra completely.

Brian will be taking lessons starting in mid December. Forty hours will get him started and he can work towards getting checked out in the twin engines and bigger planes in January and February (maybe March) while it's slow. Then he'd do a lot of cross country flights while we did God's Care. We'd keep our lawn care business but when the flight service is off the ground, we'd hire another full time worker and not take many new customers and hire a payroll service to handle everything else. Of course that would eat into the profit but we wouldn't need to live on it then and we could use that for savings and such.

To be honest Brian and I've really been at odds lately and we finally realized while we were apart (me in Dallas 3 days and then him in Brazil 9) that we're both just unhappy - him doing what he hates and me with my body and self image.

And one of the futuristic perks is that with a plane we could help people who otherwise couldn't do missionary work to get down there more affordably. It would be a business but it would be God's business so we would always help people the same as we do with our lawn care business. For us - we could spend our summers there which we've talked several times before about spending 2-3 months a year there - we just assumed it would have to be winter due to the lawn care business. We could buy a decent house for less than $20,000 and a car and have a second home and let Brian minister while the girls and I worked in the church in the big city (we aren't going to the actual jungle - maybe just to the town of Primera Cruz - a town of 10K that they go to before they trek into the jungle).

So I wanted to share. As you can see this is a ton of info. It's funny cause we both texted each other on last Wednesday when he made it back to the states saying we needed to talk! Me about the weight loss surgery and him about flying. I know it seems weird and fast and all but we're like that. Once we make a decision we try to act on it soon cause we both are impatient and it wears on us.

2 comments:

Yours Truly said...

We only live this life once. Make the best of it.

txranger93 said...

You're right...it is both exciting and scary!

I love you both dearly, and wish only the best for you in your new endeavors. I'll keep praying!!!