Sudden News - keep in mind for July/August

Hi guys.
A lot of you guys have expressed beforehand that if we ever needed some time off, you'd encourage us to do so. I'm pretty sure that we're going to have to make good on that sometime in the coming months.

I could dance around why or be vague, but we value transparency. Simply put, my father is dying. My mother let me know about his cancer not long after we'd returned from our visit in February, and I asked her to tell me when it seemed high time to travel back over, whatever the connotations of this next visit would turn out to be. Today, she told me it's the right time to come home.

I can't honestly predict how long of a disruption period this will make for; We'll have to plan the trip, make the journey and stay for whatever duration we decide on, and to be honest, that's not even accounting for grief.

However you slice it, it's going to mean our standard workflow is going to be disrupted significantly, I'd predict 2 weeks at least and a month at most, but I think it is indeed the only time we're going to have to ask you to bear with us.

Assume it'll be late July-Early August sort of timing - depends on when we can book a flight for.

Understand, you guys form our livelihood, we don't take our duty lightly. We appreciate anybody who is willing to support us for its own sake, it's very much appreciated. But, we do know that there's a product in it for you as part of your subscription. If any of you feel like you can't back us without promise of compensation, then I'd suggest skipping your patronage starting from the beginning of July. We'll keep you informed about any news in regards to compensation if you decide to stay, whether we plan to do your rewards earlier or offer an upgrade once we're settled again.

If you stay in the server, we'll be able to let you know once we're back in Chile and everything's back to normal. Thank you very much, everybody. I can honestly say we have the best supporters in the world.

Take care,
- Matt
-------------------------------------
Edit: Hello everybody,

I kept you all updated beforehand about the situation with my family and you were all very supportive, which I'm eternally grateful for. You all showed understanding and patience and that's something that I'd never take for granted.

My mum and brother called me today to tell me that my dad has passed away. While Mel and I had been scrambling to find out a way of getting over fairly promptly, it turns out that even if we'd gotten a plane ticket on that very day... Well, it would've been a stretch to assume we would've done so in good enough time.

I'm lucky that I got to talk to him yesterday over a video call, and I could tell he plucked up all his strength to do so. In a way, I'm relieved that on my father's end, it wasn't prolonged and didn't have him suffering for too long. Regardless... We wouldn't have been able to see him as we would've hoped, even if a reasonable flight had been available.

I don't know about the funeral. The tickets aren't any kinder, and my primary concern was with being able to be there for him in person. While I would love to be there for it as a matter of responsibility, it just doesn't seem like I'm going to be able to - again it'd have to be brisk, and the only ways of making my way there are unreasonable in their availability and pricing. It's an unfortunate side-effect of me having made the decision to move as far as I did.

What this will mean is that we're a lot less likely to be disrupted, and if my father managed to bestow to me any of his values, it's work ethic. With certain choices being made inopportune or otherwise impossible, what we're going to resolve to do is honour him by working hard. 

We appreciate that you've given us all the opportunity and understanding for a month off, but ultimately I think it'll be far more well placed so I can be there for my mother at Christmas time. For the time being, expect our usual output. Our resolve will be galvanised by the moral obligation to do a good job.

Thanks so much to all of you once more, you've been so good to us in these hard times❤️