Things didn’t turn out the way I had planned, so this morning I decided that getting a bit sweaty on the walk wouldn’t be the end of the world, and so went to SIL to get the laptop I was promised I could use. I was a bit upset to get there at 9h00 and to find that Pastor Benedict wasn’t, but luckily he was on his way and arrived about 15 minutes later. He’s not the kind of guy to just deal with a matter in 5 minutes, though, and with him searching for a power source to demonstrate to me that my laptop is truly dead, telling me about the dreadful drama he’s been going through with a Mozambican that has dragged him to the police on a ridiculous charge, and having to talk on the phone, I was there for quite a while. O well, I chatted to Allison and to a very friendly British couple who are just passing through on their way to Angoche and also were waiting for help with something, and could also hear that it seems the Lord has brought Pastor Benedict’s case to the attention of a sympathetic official who will sort it all out, so that’s great. Plus, the timing was actually perfect for me get a ride with my friends BG and Evvie who are centre managers at SIL, and meet up with Dr Woodrow’s driver at the Vodashop in town. His one Bluetooth phone needed to be reconfigured so that it could connect to the Internet again, and after going down there several times unsuccessfully, today, even though they didn’t have Internet, they simply phoned their office in Maputo again and had it all fixed in a matter of minutes – and I had a ride back to the property. There I couldn’t do much, since I still need to get the power source of the loan laptop, but Dr Woodrow and I did get a chance to talk about everything that needs to be done next week and later in March when we receive containers with building materials. It’s all very neatly set out, but I still feel nervous…
I left quite early in order to meet up with our guy Aquiles at the bookshop, so that he could check a radio ad I had written, and then show me where the station’s offices were and who I needed to talk to, since in future I can’t send him to take care of that anymore. We climbed about 7 flights of stairs, and I nearly got a heart attack learning how much their prices have gone up, so hopefully it will all be worth it. The cherry on the cake was that it started raining quite hard. I really wanted to get home, though, so I decided to brave it, but I had forgotten how ineffective the storm drains are – a strip of more than a meter wide of water a few centimetres deep lines almost every street. After searching in vain for a place I wouldn’t have to wade through, I finally decided to just make a go of it – and promptly lost my one flip-flop! I was glad to see that it wasn’t just being carried down the entire street, but it was lodged beneath a car and I couldn’t figure out how I was going to get it. As if sent by the Lord, the driver of the car arrived and moved it, and I could retrieve my shoe and make my damp and uncomfortable way home. Now I really, really need to get these brochures mailed out, I will be so happy when it’s done!
