A long week!

26.1.13

Visas

On Tuesday morning we went to the ministry of home affairs to try to sort out our visas.  After a very long wait and after making payments of about £90 each, we were told that we would be able to have a visa to stay for 2 years (up to Jan 2015).  We were then given a letter of authorisation – we thought that was done and dusted but found we have to now take that letter to the passport and immigration office to have our passports stamped which we will endeavour to do on Monday.  We’ll worry about the extra 6 months nearer the time! 

Conference

Each January the Methodist church holds a four-day district conference with representatives from each circuit present.  This year the conference was held in the West Demerara circuit, which is about 2 hours away from our home.  To cut the journey time down we stayed at the home of our boss in Georgetown.  It has been a long and tiring week!  We were in conference from about 9 in the morning until about 8 at night – the sessions are drawn out and there is a lot of discussion about small points of order so we found it very frustrating at times. 

I compared it to a game of snakes and ladders – we keep thinking we are moving on through the notes but then we suddenly go back to a previous point and discuss it again.  Then we move on and think we are getting somewhere and then go back again, maybe to a completely different part that we discussed days ago!  We have found it really difficult and would love to have a go at chairing it and move things along for everyone’s sake! 

Yesterday the conference was meant to end at 3pm and overran until 4.30pm which was a pleasant surprise as last year when we were here visiting it overran until 9 in the evening on the final day!  We had a meal and speeches of thanks were given and we finally got home last night about 8pm exhausted!  A day off today and we are going to the hotel for a quiet lunch – hooray!

 
New avenues to explore

We have been told that in Mahaica there is a children’s home for ‘displaced’ children.  Some of these are orphans but others have been put there while their parents go abroad to work.  I felt really sad to hear about it and am keen to go and make myself known there to see if I can help out in any way. 

Apparently there is also a home for disabled children in our village which I am keen to visit – none of these children go to school but stay at the home all the time – we were told that there is a mixture of physical and mental disabilities so I am very interested to see what provision is made for these children educationally. 

We were also told there is a secondary school in Mahaica that I have not yet found – it is apparently a school where children go who are not clever enough to go to a good secondary school so again I am keen to get in there and find out what sort of education is being offered.  Oh my goodness there is so much to do!  All of this excites me as I really want to use my time here wisely and fruitfully and make a difference if I can to as many children as possible with God’s help.  The frustration is that there is SO much to be done and I am only one person with limited resources so I have to find out what God wants me to do and what is the most important and can have the most impact.