Why the trip?

The short answer to that question is twofold, or perhaps three or many fold, like a paper airplane. Ooohh, I like that metaphor, "this trip is like a paper airplane, that, when folded carefully and in a certain way, will only ultimately crash into the ground." Hmmm...or maybe not. But anyway, here are those reasons as to answer why.

First off, we both love to travel. It works out well for me that Jill grew up traveling and feels the need to be somewhere else. Paraguay is a special place for us, though, because for two years I lived there as a missionary and as a result feel a deep connection to all things Paraguayan; I still dream on a regular basis about my Paraguayan friends. Jill went to Japan as a missionary, so she understands that weird concept of feeling at home in a strange place, and wants to explore that part of my life. (a future trip to Japan would only be proper...)

Second, I want to do service abroad. Let's face it folks...we live in a very unjust world. You know, the whole "a few have a lot and a lot have not." I don't expect to fix that problem through my efforts on this little trip or by lofty, unrealistic goals of living life completely for others, for that matter. There will always be injustices, in fact, but why should that stop any of us from sharing what we have?

Third, Jill and I made a list of things to do in life and see Machu Picchu was on there. Everybody's got a list like that, whether it's a real list in a notebook somewhere or if it's the digital version in your head. There will always be reasons not to go to Machu Picchu, but there are always plenty of reasons not to do anything. In the words of Tim Robbins in the Shawshank Redemption, you've got to either "get busy livin' or get busy dyin'."

So there are some of the "why's" of the trip. Man, we need to think of a cooler word for it than trip. Like odyssey, or journey, or epic adventure, or the bus bum breaker, or something like that.