Visas

So, we got our visas today! This morning, we headed off really early to DC to get Susie and Bryana their visas.

Everything went ok at the visa outsourcing place and then we headed off to the National Mall, where we headed off to the American Indian Museum and the Air and Space Museum.

Then, we went back to the Travisa Outsourcing center to get the visas and now we're back home (after having gone to El Pollo Rico, a great Peruvian restaurant).

Well, that's it for now. Night!

Tickets, visa and excitement

We bought our tickets! Oh yes, we bought our tickets yesterday. We finally were able to get the funds together to be able to buy the tickets this past week and, after drudging through a bunch of websites and dead end “tickets.” While the pricing wasn’t ideal, we were able to find ticket for the three of us that had the same flights going to India. I’ll be coming back separately a few months later, but at least we have the same flights out so we don’t have to do any crazy scheduling to regroup once we arrive.

My tickets have me leaving the US July 22 and coming back October 27. During the three months, I’m going to be involved in English teaching, promotion for ministries and support of long-term missionaries that are there.

Now, we just have to get the visas. We’re definitely in crunch time at this point. The visa process is apparently very fast so that’s comforting. Still, the more we have done the better I will feel.

I’m very excited to be able to go on this trip. It’s an honor to have so much help in this and a privilege to be able to do what I know God wants all of us to do.

I would love to have you guys praying for our visa process, general preparation, and the journey we’re starting July 22.

Thanks guys! Love you!

SEVEN WEEKS TO GO!

July 20th, the day that we're planning to leave to India, is exactly seven weeks from today. Exciting? Yes. Absolutely. Definitely.

Also, if all goes well I'm growing my hair out from now until the end of my India trip. Wonder how it's going to look... If any of you have tips on how to take care of long hair, let me know!

Well, I just wanted to let you all know that. I don't really have anything else to say except that if you donate $25 or more dollars to my India trip, you get a free custom tshirt! Go to www.ReachTheNations.org/EverettHill to donate.

Everett

Get your custom tshirts!

Hey friends!

So, my trip to India is fast approaching and I'm still looking to raise around $1,500 for my trip.

Here's the deal: anyone that donates $25 or more to the trip gets a custom tshirt made by yours truly! Ya, I know, all of you have been dying for me to give you a custom tshirt. Well, your wait is over.

Once you donate, you can either ask me to draw/paint something specific on the tshirt or say one of my favorite phrases: "SURPRISE ME!" I'll get the tshirt to you free of charge and it will look awesome!

Here's where you can donate: ReachTheNations.org/EverettHill

My email here is HillE@ReachTheNations.org. Hit me up if you have any questions!

Everett

Got a little excited about my India trip...

More about my upcoming India trip.

For anyone that doesn't know, I am volunteering full-time as a Missions Training Intern with the Hillside Missions Organization at 1004 N Thompson St, Suite 302 here in Richmond. I will be finishing up my missions training here at the end of July and then I’m going on a three-month trip to India starting around July 20th. During my trip, I will be very busy teaching English at a slum school in Northern India. If you've seen Slumdog Millionaire, you've seen part of what an Indian slum looks like. A slum is an area where all of the poorest of the poor live, many in dilapidated houses with poor sanitation and little hope of improving their lifestyle. Most of the families in the slum live on less than a dollar a day. Imagine that!

Naturally, it’s going to be a pleasure and an adventure to bring education and love to everyone I can there. Since English is the language of business in India, learning it can be a great asset for those in poverty. I have received training Teaching English as a Second Language and am currently preparing for the trip.

On top of my full-time job here at Hillside, I am working part time at the downtown Buffalo Wild Wings to be able to partially pay for the trip myself. However, since I am only able to work part-time there, I am also relying on support from different sources to help pay for the $3000 trip. I am more than halfway to my goal now but am still looking for new ways to raise support.

If you're interested in looking up our organization, Hillside's website is ReachTheNations.org.

Our online catalog can be used for donations to people and trips. If people are interested in giving a tax-deductible donation to the trip, the link is ReachTheNations.org/EverettHill. Donors of $25 or more will receive custom shirts made by yours truly!

Thank you!

Everett

Support letters sent!

I finally got my support letters sent out yesterday and, may I say, they looked great. It took a little while to refine the letter and cram all the important stuff into one sheet of paper, but I think I succeeded. Plus, I put one of those nifty return envelopes in each of them with Hillside's address on it.

I still need to raise about $1,500 for the India trip at this time. I'll keep you guys posted on the progress. Maybe I'll even make a fundraising thermometer... Hmm...

Well, I might as well put a plug into this blog while I'm at it. Here's a little clip from my letter:

I'm currently working part-time (about 15-20 hours a week) on top of my full-time job here at Hillside. However, the part-time job just isn't paying enough to fully cover my trip to India. I have been able to save up some money and have received some support, so I only need about $1,500 more to fill the budget for this trip.

If you're interested in donating, please send a check to Hillside Missions Organization and put a sticky note on it stating that it's for me.

Here's the address:
Hillside Missions Organization
1004 N Thompson St, Suite 302
Richmond, VA 23230

Well, that's my plug. Hope you guys are all having a great spring/summer/whatever-it-is-right-now. I'd love to hear what you guys have to say about what I'm up to so please leave me a comment. For anyone reading this through Facebook, I have my schnazzy looking blog posted on EverettHill.blogspot.com if you want to look at it and post comments on there!

Love you all. Have a great day!

Everett