Monday, February 15, 2010

Greetings from Cordoba, Argentina!

Well, as you can tell from the title...I made it safely to Cordoba, Argentina...after traveling for about 36 hours by bus! Before I go into a bit of detail about the bus ride....let me fill you in some on the week before!

As you know, I have an interested buyer for my condominium in NC. The problem that we have run into is in getting the paperwork signed. Due to the unreliability in mail to and from Bolivia, it has been recommended that we pay to have Power of Attorney given over to my sister, Emily, and her husband, Christopher. Anyway, to make a long story short...that means that I still have to get paperwork signed/notarized and sent to the lawyer in North Carolina. Getting the paperwork done at a price that I could afford was one hurdle to cross...then I had the struggle of getting it notarized. I was basically told here that my only option was to use a US Consular Agent, but last week...as I was in the busyness of getting ready for my trip to Argentina...I tried to figure out how I could get this Consular Agent to notarize my signature of the document. It was then that I found out that he would not be in Santa Cruz until the end of the month...when I was going to be here in Argentina...and the paperwork needed to be in the US before then. There wasn't anything left to be done, but to fly to where he was in order to get the papers notarized. Therefore, on Wednesday night, I flew to the city of Cochabamba...spent the night with some missionary friends...then went to the Consular Office on Thursday morning. There was a lot of in and out of the office trying to get the right documentation with the correct location of the seals, and then I flew back to Santa Cruz on Thursday afternoon. Needless to say, it added to my CRAZY week! However, God provided someone going back to the states on Friday...who was returning to Chesapeake, VA, near where my parents live. My mom and dad were able to pick up the papers and are mailing them to the lawyer now. Please pray that the county officials will accept the documentation and seals as they are done...so that the extra trip to Cochabamba was not in vain.

I don't have much time now before going to a meeting...but I wanted to share a few blessings that God provided during my trip down on the bus. I was quite afraid to be traveling such a great distance on my own...but He was faithful walked beside me all the way...
1. On the first bus, the man sitting next to me was very kind and patient answering all of my questions without ever giving me the impression that he was annoyed with me.
2. At the border, the people from the busline collected all of our passports and did much of the legwork for us...so that we didn't have to spend as much time off the bus standing in the sun!
3. The woman in customs was very nice, asking me all about my trip, and seeming quite interested!
4. At one of the police checkpoints...the police officer barely looked at my bag...other than my Bible...asking me if I was a Christian...and telling me that he is one too!
5. I was able to make my connecting bus without any problem...and didn't get left at any bus stops!
6. Heather Lewis found me at the Cordoba terminal when I arrived here Sunday morning...no problems!
7. There's a Wal-Mart in Cordoba!!!!

All in all, it has been a great experience so far! We are getting ready to have a meeting right now, so I better go! I'll try to write again with more details about the conference itself...as I now have more information to share about that! I'd appreciate your continued prayers for the students and those of us serving as tutors as well! Thank you so much for you love and prayers for me!

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