Update

Our original flight date to Korea was scheduled for August 19th, but we've been delayed because of the freakin' visa process. (For those of you who are ever embarking on this process, be sure to have a gazillion copies of your university transcripts.) Our flight date is now booked for August 26. My (Erin's) visa confirmation number came today, but we're still waiting on Blake's before we can go to Toronto for the application and interview process.

Last year when we went to Korea we simply booked our tickets and went to Korea. We had to make a trip to Japan in order to get the work visa stamped in our passport, but it really wasn't such the complicated procedure that we are going through now.

The reason this whole process has changed is due to a man by the name of Christopher Paul Neil. He is actually a Canadian citizen who was teaching in South Korea and sexually exploiting kids through the internet. German police were the ones who finally caught the guy in Thailand and now South Korea has responded by tightening the rules on who can be employed in the country. While it is an admirable thing for Korea to do a better job with screening people, it's a big pain for people like us and the process takes several weeks.

We were really hoping to be in Korea early so we could visit some friends in Daegu before we start teaching in Seoul, but at this point it looks unlikely. We would appreciate your prayer for Blake and I as well as Jenn and Jordan that everything would run smoothly and quickly with our visas!

Thank you!