We took a couple of days after the work team had left to get our house in some kind of order. Moving between the boat and home means that we are forever looking for stuff, but we’ll get there. I am doing the last Royal Ranger preparation for the current school year this week. It feels as if this school year went by extremely quickly. Concert practise is in full swing and Larisdiana asked Victoria to help out as she is almost seven months pregnant. I am blessed by the fact that they don’t need me to concern myself with the planning of the end of year concert anymore.
For the next two weeks I’ll have to focus on my new visa application. My ten year visa expires in August and a lot has changed concerning visa applications. Firstly, one cannot do it on your own anymore. You need an ‘agent’. Moreover, this means that it has become ridiculously expensive and simply feeds a system that is in all regards corrupt. The man who had processed Dries’s application has since died, but I was told that his son took over. I went off in search for Einstein. Yes, you read that correctly. That is his name and it took me a whole morning to find the elusive mr Einstein. He has a tiny, dark office in a dingy building. The gloomy place did not inspire any confidence, but on the other hand Einstein gave me some hope that all was not lost. He is a neatly dressed, soft spoken man with the most organised desk that I have ever seen in any office in Madagascar. So I felt more hopeful when I saw that immaculate desk. He did not answer when I asked what this whole venture was going to cost. He simply turned the computer screen in my direction to see for myself and he must have noticed the panic in my face when he simply said, ‘Full package, all included madame.‘ The problem is that it is the only ‘package’ and no other options are available. I did appreciate the fact that he made it sound as if he was offering me the holiday of a lifetime.
We trust God for His provision.
Have a blessed week!