One step forwards, two steps back!

14.12.12

We do feel we are making some progress but there are still a lot of frustrations and hurdles to be overcome.

On Wednesday we caught a local ‘bus’ into Mahaica village which is about a mile away.  These buses are the only means of public transport in Guyana and are little privately owned mini buses which should carry about 10 people but in reality carry many more plus bikes, baggage etc!  When we got on we thought it was full but as we passed people on the road we discovered there was always room for one more!  This cost us about 20p each for the journey so a good cheap ride. 

We managed to buy another mobile phone for me and get some more food though the local store doesn’t really sell anything fresh so I had to use a lot of ingenuity to make a meal out of what I had been able to buy.  We decided to walk back to the manse and it was good to be able to greet the locals on the road and in their houses.  We also introduced ourselves to the local post office staff and met the post girl who will be delivering any mail to our mail box. 

Our biggest frustration is that we cannot yet get a landline or internet in the house which means we can’t easily contact people.  There is a kind man from the local church trying to help us sort this out but everything here takes a lot of time to achieve!  Sadly, we may now not have connection before Christmas which I found upsetting. 

Yesterday we were taken into Georgetown and a fellow minister in the district helped us try to get some things sorted.  A very long and tiring day queuing patiently at various offices but a fruitful one.  When we got home there was a bat flying around the house which freaked me out a bit but we think it must have found its way out as we haven’t seen it again!  

 Here are some things we are thankful for:

• We managed to get a temporary one month driving pass (though it is irrelevant at the moment as we are still waiting for a car!)
• We applied for a tax identification number which is a number we will need to make any large purchases, apply for visas etc.
• We put in our applications for work permits and were told we will hear in two weeks though our colleague told us he put his in on 1^st September and is still waiting! 
• We opened a Guyana bank account and once we get internet hope to be able to transfer some money each month into it to save us getting charged each time we withdraw cash.
• We went to a pretty good sized supermarket and finally have some food in the house to make some basic meals!  I even managed to find some bacon!  Yay!  
• The plumber has been and we have a better flow of water now so can use the washing machine and wash more adequately.
• A lady from Mahaica church is coming to meet me today and take me to introduce me to the local Primary school head so that will be my first school contact and I am looking forward to that.  We also met a guy who works for the Guyana Bible Society and he gave me some children’s Bible colouring books that he hopes to get given free to every child in Guyana.  I will be able to take a sample to each head teacher that I meet to ask about their distribution so that feels like a great door opening and gives me a good starting point to introduce myself around the schools. 

These are our current frustrations:

• For our freight boxes…we keep hitting brick walls with this and are dependent on so many other factors before we can get them…there is a document we need from the freight company but with no internet access can’t easily email back and forth.
• We have no access to cash unless we go to the ATMs in Georgetown and that is an hour’s drive away and until we get a car are reliant on someone taking us.  We have used all the cash we got yesterday to pay a deposit to an engineer so now have no money for the internet café, phone top up cards or any more food until we get to the city again.  No-one accepts credit or debit cards so we need to operate in cash and at the moment it is hard to judge how much we need. 
• Lack of internet is the most upsetting as I want to be able to contact people easily and then I won’t feel so cut off.  I am feeling the pain of separation as the week goes on and long to be in regular contact again.
                                           
We realise that these frustrations are a daily battle for most people who live here and are very thankful for all the blessings we have despite the frustrations.  It is all making us realise how much we took for granted back in the UK. 


So we would appreciate your prayers for the following:
• To get phone and internet sorted.
• To get our freight safely.
• To get a car sorted.
• For our visas and work permits to be sorted quickly.