Fundraising Goal Complete!!

Thanks to the help of family, friends, my fellow Beyond Bordians, and good old fashioned blood, sweat, and tears, I have managed to raise my portion of funds to support the program. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I truly appreciate your love and support for this once in a lifetime experience. I could not have done it without your help.
Fundraising was possibly the part of the program I was most worried about. I have had to raise money for at least 3 other trips, and I never had much trouble in the past. However, with the economy the way it is, I had a lot of difficulty. In fact, when the first deadline for half of the money came around, I did not have a single dollar to hand over. I was starting to freak out (just ask Kate!). Another hindrance to raising money was some difficulties I had fundraising in my church (which I will go into detail about in another entry). In any case, I did not know what I was going to do. It seemed as though my only option was to put in the money myself. Realistically, there was no way I could have afforded it. Working as a waitress for the past two semesters, I only managed to save $1000, which isn't even enough to cover my expenses when I'm gone, much less my time in Ecuador. It was going to be rough.
Luckily, that isn't going to be necessary. I can't thank all of you enough!