2011 March » Paul and Rach Elliston

First Stage Done (Again!) And The Second

Mar 312011

Up bright and early to visit the Ministry of Justice (handily only 5 blocks from where we are staying) and got our precious stamp on our precious letter (despite the fact that we didn’t provide the required letter soliciting it!). Hot footed it to the Department of Migrations again and we managed to get the first stage done and the second stage done, which is a relief as today was the last day to do it before getting fined!!

However, it wasn’t all plain sailing. We also found out that that we don’t have all the necessary paperwork for the third and final stage. Fortunately we have 9 more days to complete that one before getting fined, but the sad truth is that there is now a new stage in the process and we need a new signature from, you guessed it, the same lady back at the Ministry of Justice. If only someone had told us that earlier….

Second Hiccup

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Mar 292011

We picked up the documents we’d been waiting for yesterday and then discovered that the papers we’d put in last week for the first stage of the renewal process have been rejected. We ran around like headless chickens trying to dot the “i”s and cross the “t”s on every single document we could think of, only to find out that a new process means we need to get a letter counter stamped by a different government department. So, we paid our first visit to the Ministry of Justice and, what do you know…. the one person in the country who can sign our letter is away from the office until Thursday. Nothing can be done apart from spend a couple of days kicking our heels and enjoying a Starbucks or two (only available in Lima, so you’ve got to make the most of it!!)

Chincha

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Mar 272011

We’ve spent a couple of days with our friends in Chincha and it’s been a worthwhile time. Our input hasn’t solved everything (and we were never expecting it to), but there is now a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel and a new willingness to try and (re)build a marriage. Thank you God!

First Stage Done

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Mar 242011

Documents are in to the Department of Migrations and the first hurdle should be cleared within 24 hours. One down, two to go….

First Hiccup

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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.

A Colourful End

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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!!

Hasta La Próxima

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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….

Ministering

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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!

La Viña, Paraguay

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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!!

First Impressions

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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.

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