Transition Update

We continue to adjust to life here.   We have been in and out of various government offices and now have the package nearly together that has to be submitted to Immigration to get our visas squared away.  We are still praying about when to submit the paperwork as we may need to make a trip to South Africa first - we are praying about that.  Things that play into this:

1.  We met with our shipping agent on this end yesterday about the shipment headed this way.  The shipping people in Charleston, South Carolina put Durban, South Africa as the final destination for our things instead of Maputo so they are scrambling between here and the States to figure out how to get the shipment from Durban to here.  I was impressed by the agent here and think they will be able to work it out.  However, we need to have our resident visas in hand before the shipment arrives, so we really should submit the paperwork this week.

2.  Within a couple of days of arrival, at a distinct moment in time, I experienced what is called a vitreal detachment in my right eye, which in itself is not so uncommon in people over 50 years of age, but mine was accompanied by arcs of light in the periphery of my vision that continued for a few hours afterwards but have stopped.  It also resulted in a significant floater.   Through our embassy, I located one of the two Opthalmologist in Maputo and was able to see her last night.  That was an experience in and of itself but I received a very good examination although she felt a bit limited based upon what equipment she had to work with.

The concern is that my symptoms are consistent with a retinal tear although she could not see one and my vision is not impacted other than this floater, which is a large area of blurriness that floats around in my peripheral vision.  It's quite irritating actually but the doctors seem to think it will settle over time.  Kind of like a soft contact lens that doesn't fit quite right or that has something under it so you keep moving it around to try until it is better - except in this case it doesn't get better.

So, I'm to take it easy for a few days, she has me on Prednisone for a week with restricted duty - no lifting - resting, that kind of thing.  She is referring me to an Opthalmologist in South Africa for review in about six weeks.  She is writing a report for me to take with me, which will be ready tomorrow.  So our delimna is whether or not to go to South Africa sooner than later.  If I am understanding correctly, I am at risk of a retinal detachment in the coming weeks; which would require immediate surgery.

My eldest daughter works in eye research and so I got some expert ophthalmic opinions right away, for which I am thankful.  For the most part, they like the idea of getting another opinion in South Africa but normal protocol is another check in six weeks assuming I received a good exam here - which I think I did.  So, we're thinking that makes sense, although our visa's are a problem.  We can get an emergency exit visa, but here those things aren't necessarily 'quick'.  We have to give up our passports in order to get our visas.  Once we have submitted our paperwork to Immigration, there is a way to get an emergency exit visa, but it takes a day or so to get that - so we will probably wait until Monday to submit the paperwork, so we can have our 30-day emergency leave document in our hands by Tuesday.

If we leave with our existing passports, we would not be able to get back into the country without getting new entrance visas, with intent to obtain a resident visa, from the Mozambican Embassy in South Africa, and we would be starting all over again to get our 'package' together to submit, not an inconsequential amount of work.  We'd also be stuck in South Africa for a while, which we aren't wild about as we feel much much safer in Mozambique than in South Africa.  So, life can get a bit complicated!

So, we are praying about our next step.

Life is full of challenges but God remains in control.  Our trust remains in Him.

This weekend we are having an annual meeting with our team, called "Field Council".  It is a time to review the last year and set the plan for the coming year.   It's required by our Statutes on file with the Mozambican government and is when we elect officers and write our field plan for the next five years.  There have been so many changes in the year we have been gone, that we really plan to do more listening than talking.  I wish we had a few more weeks so we could sit with our national church leaders a bit first and understand their vision for the next five years.  We have already met with one of our OMS advisors and need to make those rounds as well and hear their perspective on things.

So, we continue to seek God's presence and to "listen" so we can follow His plan vice our own.

Blessings.

Dave & Ann

"Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he who keeps the law--blessed is he."   Proverbs 29:18