Trip in the Works

Dr Emad Yassa, visiting with some children from our sponsor class on a trip in February. He was asking them what they wanted to be when they grow up, and they were eagerly replying with ambitious plans. 

We have begun the process of planning our next sponsor trip to India and wanted to give you guys a heads up so that as the fall progresses, you can be actively saving money if you think you may want to join us. It is not a requirement of sponsorship... just a perk for those who want to see it firsthand.

We are looking at dates in the first half of February 2013. The trip will last 10 days (including travel). We will be spending time at the Good Samaritan School, in the slums visiting the kids & their families, and we'll throw in a general site seeing day to the Taj Mahal. Our team will be a maximum of 15 travelers.

Here is a breakdown of the ESTIMATED COSTS so you can begin setting aside funds (these costs are out of pocket for the traveler):

• $900-1000 
• on the ground costs (This includes lodging, food, and transportation.)
• $100
• Indian Visa application ($73) and service fee ($15-30)
• $1400-2200
• airfare (It varies widely each time we purchase tickets and I can't figure out the trend. A good example is our team trip from last Feb cost $1400/ticket from Austin, but our team trip this coming Nov cost $2200/ticket from Austin. So I'd recommend preparing for the worst and pocketing the change if it is cheaper)
• $100-500
• vaccines (There are no REQUIRED vaccines to enter the country, however there are several that are strongly recommended, like Typhoid, Hep A/B, Malaria. You can decide what you'd like to get, and the costs will vary depending on where you go-- travel clinic, primary care physician, etc. Hep A/B is a set of 3 rounds of shots having to be spaced out, so if you think you want to go, I'd entertain starting your vaccine schedule in Oct.)

I'll be sending out more info to sponsors once the dates are set... but wanted you to being praying now, asking God if its your time to go.