Documents are in to the Department of Migrations and the first hurdle should be cleared within 24 hours. One down, two to go….
Mar 242011
Mar 232011
We had hoped that today would be a simple job of picking up the relevant papers from Vineyard (through whom we get our visa), but unfortunately they weren’t all ready, not helped by the fact that they had lost the bit of paper we’d given them with the instruction on about what was required. We ended up having to go to the Public Registry to ask for documents and they won’t be ready for a few days. Tomorrow we’ll put the documents in for stage one of the three stage process, but other than that we cannot make any progress until these other documents come out, so we’ll be going to go to Chincha and visit some friends there who are going through a marital crisis.
Mar 222011
We spent our last few hours in that part of the world in the Bird Park about a kilometre from the airport in Brazil. With flamingoes, toucans and parrots galore it was a very colourful way to round off a special time away from it all.
Back in Lima now and we’ll be straight back into the taxing stuff tomorrow – it’s visa renewal time!!
Mar 212011
Adios Paraguay! We’ve had 2 weeks of getting lots of rest (36° heat doesn’t encourage you to attempt too much) and hanging out with friends. It’s been lovely, but all good things have to come to an end sometime I guess. There were lots of requests for us to stay and offers of help to find me a job so, you never know, we might be back, but until the next time….
Mar 172011
If I had to pick a favourite bit of our trip so far, then it wouldn’t be the waterfalls. They were amazing, but we had a fantastic time last night. One of the members of the Vineyard and a close friend asked us to chat through some things with her and pray. We were happy to do so and it was a very special time for all three of us. It was really special to minister together as a couple and see how the different gifts that God has given us could both be brought to bear on the situation. I think it was a special night for our friend too, with some releasing and some getting better acquainted with the Holy Spirit going on. Wow!
Mar 132011
Last night we “lead” a young adults group, which was a bit of fun and today we took the service at La Viña, speaking on God’s heart for the poor (my favourite subject!) and the need, as a church, to get off our butts and do something; that church exists to reach others, not so much to feed ourselves and get fat. It seemed to be well received and we can only hope that it galvanises the group into a bit more action over the coming weeks and months.
They’re a lovely bunch and already there are people suggesting that we should stay!! As an example of their friendliness, in the evening the pastor, Pascual, invited Rach and I to see his team, Olimpia, play Rubio Ñu in the Paraguayan football league. I spent most of the evening explaining to Rachel who had just scored!!
Mar 062011
It’s very hot!!
We went to the Vineyard church this morning and it seems to have imploded to some degree since when Rachel was there. Lots of the old faces weren’t there (which is perhaps to be expected after 8 years away), but not many new faces had replaced them. The pastors tell us that last year was difficult, but the corner has been turned and things are looking up again.
Mar 052011
So, leaving behind one natural wonder of the world, it’s not far at all to the Itaipú Dam, one of the wonders of the modern world. Spanning the Paraná river, the seventh biggest in the world, and the border, the dam was built as a joint effort between Brazil and Paraguay. In its own right, it is amazing, but being situated so close to the waterfalls does mean that the shine is taken off it somewhat. Still, we got to see lots of concrete!
And then, we entered Paraguay on a evening bus to Asunción, the capital. It was great to see our old friend Sergio, whom Rachel got to know very well when she lived there and who came to our wedding, when we arrived!
Mar 042011
Well, I said I’d go back if I could and if I had to choose which side to go back to, I’d definitely choose the Argentinian side. They are both amazing in their own ways, but the views from Argentina are perhaps even better; you get extremely close to the gargantuan “Devil’s Throat” fall – the largest in the system – and about two-thirds of the falls are in Argentina. An excellent, excellent day!! Tomorrow, I think I need to give the camera a rest!!
Mar 032011
The AMAZING waterfalls at Iguaçu span the border between Brazil and Argentina and you can get different experiences from both sides. Today, we got our first taste from the Brazilian side and what a taste!
We went out in a boat first, which is a little expensive, but worth every penny as it takes you up close and personal with a small handful of the 275 different falls that make up the whole system. We got so close to the base of some of them that not only did we get drenched, but we were completely unable to open our eyes. For me, this continued for sometime since the water washed the suncream from my face into them and it to a while to come out!
Back of dry land, we continued walking along the banks of the Iguaçu river and marvelled at the amazing new vistas at ever turn. No matter what I write, I’ll never be able to do the place justice. Suffice to say that I would definitely return if I could.
