Holly is in charge of processing the qualitative data we gleaned during our DR fieldwork and writing the reports. As it's her first time and the first time is always the hardest, you can be praying for and cheering her on! Jason and I will help edit those reports but for now have turned our focus toward Paraguay and purchased tickets for Nov 28-Dec 18. We are hoping that our first intern will arrive next week and join us for this fieldwork. Please pray that it works out for Julia to join us and that all of her financial support comes in! This is also the first county where we need to get visas from the embassy in DC - pray that all the paperwork goes through in a timely manner and we get our visas and passports back before we need to leave.
Paraguay is one of two landlocked countries in South America (the other one is Bolivia) and is roughly the size of California. It has a population of roughly 6.5 million and is bordered by Bolivia, Brazil, and Argentina. Check out the map we got from the CIA factbook (the online factbook has a lot of interesting info about Paraguay):
We're especially looking forward to the fieldwork in Paraguay because a local organization already has a Paraguayan Sign Language translation team set up and we can join them in the work they're already moving toward. That's unusual and exciting for us. We were also excited to see progress made in our methodology that we used in the DR and we look forward to seeing how it works in a South American country.
Other things that we know are happening this month:
- Our new boss, Andy, will be flying into Denver this coming Monday to meet with us. We're looking forward to getting to know him better and talking about upcoming SL survey plans in the Americas as well as personal plans. Pray for Andy as he takes on many new responsibilities and for our former boss, Jay, as he focuses on other things.
- Liz is having a more invasive treatment done for the Grave's Disease that she was diagnosed with over a year ago. Please pray for her on the 18th as she does the radioactive iodine ablation, that the doctors will get the dosage right and she doesn't swing too hypothyroid, that her thyroid gland which is 6 times its normal size will drastically shrink quickly, that the effects of the treatment will take hold without too many side effects while we're in Paraguay, and that Jason and I will be able to stay the recommended 7 feet away from each other for 72 whole hours without going crazy. :)
- Starting fostering for a local Lab rescue society! We really want a dog but can't really have one of our own while we travel so much and with the unknowns of our future...so we've decided to become a foster home for local rescue dogs as they are in the process of being placed in adoptive families. We're excited to hopefully get the first Lab - Gus - next week and hope to be able to help place him in a good home before Thanksgiving.
- We're almost finished with the downstairs kitchen! Just a few more pieces of trip to paint and nail up, a curtain to hang, and a few dishes/silverware to move in, and it's good to go! It's been fun to see our house come together little by little!
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