Thursday, March 15, 2007
Man without a Country...
Well, OK. Not quite. I'm a man without a passport or driver's license.
Now back to my "man without a country" story.
My pouch was under the driver's seat in our car on Saturday. Jane stopped by the Castor market with a couple of the Wheaton folks. Just for 15 minutes. When they got back to the car, the driver's door was unlocked and not well latched. They were quite surprised. Jane had been careful to lock it. And nothing seemed to be missing from all of their stuff.
She told me later at the Sports Day over at school and my heart started to race. I went to check and sure enough, the pouch was not to be seen.
I confess, it really through me for a loop emotionally. It was like I had just hit a wall. I suppose after a week and more of being on the go continuously, I was susceptible. Whatever it was, I was pretty discouraged that day. On Sunday the Lord gave me a bit of perspective during the worship service. No, nothing particular. A song or two. A familiar passage of Scripture.
So, I spent some time at a police station and at a photo shop and at the US Embassy this week. It was surprisingly painless, if you don't count the waiting and the taxi rides! I had a copy of the passport and that helped immensely. The police were gracious, if not efficient. I was passed back and forth between guys for a half-hour. And the lady in the consulate was very nice and helpful. Even the photo shop was a 15 minute affair. Imagine that in West Africa. The wonders of digital technology. In the end I should have a new passport in two weeks.
I'm still working on the Ohio driver's license. First indications are good, though. I just wish I had a copy of that. I could drive here with a photocopy of it. I was sure I had one!
No, this is not Jonathan practicing to have his driver's license photo taken! Have you seen "Nacho Libre"? If not, the face will mean nothing. If you have, we thought you'd appreciate it! Yes, he's being a bit goofy with the camera. I really need to explain to him the idea of blackmail, though.
But before my story, an update on Dary. He is back in the US finally. The trip was delayed a bit, I assume for health reasons, though it could have been bureaucratic. The military flew his folks and sister back to be with him. Jan has put out a letter with a first update. If you want to see that, email me. It's a bit gruesome in its details, but the good news is that the doctors are very hopeful that Dary will walk again and be OK. The bad news is that there will be lots of pain and lots of time involved in getting to that point.
Now back to my "man without a country" story.My pouch was under the driver's seat in our car on Saturday. Jane stopped by the Castor market with a couple of the Wheaton folks. Just for 15 minutes. When they got back to the car, the driver's door was unlocked and not well latched. They were quite surprised. Jane had been careful to lock it. And nothing seemed to be missing from all of their stuff.
She told me later at the Sports Day over at school and my heart started to race. I went to check and sure enough, the pouch was not to be seen.
I confess, it really through me for a loop emotionally. It was like I had just hit a wall. I suppose after a week and more of being on the go continuously, I was susceptible. Whatever it was, I was pretty discouraged that day. On Sunday the Lord gave me a bit of perspective during the worship service. No, nothing particular. A song or two. A familiar passage of Scripture.
So, I spent some time at a police station and at a photo shop and at the US Embassy this week. It was surprisingly painless, if you don't count the waiting and the taxi rides! I had a copy of the passport and that helped immensely. The police were gracious, if not efficient. I was passed back and forth between guys for a half-hour. And the lady in the consulate was very nice and helpful. Even the photo shop was a 15 minute affair. Imagine that in West Africa. The wonders of digital technology. In the end I should have a new passport in two weeks.
I'm still working on the Ohio driver's license. First indications are good, though. I just wish I had a copy of that. I could drive here with a photocopy of it. I was sure I had one! No, this is not Jonathan practicing to have his driver's license photo taken! Have you seen "Nacho Libre"? If not, the face will mean nothing. If you have, we thought you'd appreciate it! Yes, he's being a bit goofy with the camera. I really need to explain to him the idea of blackmail, though.
