Short version: Praise God;
he did amazing things in answer to your prayers.
Long version: Yard sale was a success. All of our big items sold, and as the day progressed, the tables emptied of even our little things.
The day we were flying out is an adventure to share. (My thoughts are in italics.)
I woke up early Wednesday morning pumping prayers heavenward with each heart beat. God, give the vet grace to write the letter, in fact make the vet be there, help us to get our paperwork back from immigrations, get the puppies on the plane, protect them through the flight, sustain us as we take on being awake for the next 40 hours, give us good attitudes, put a nice person at the airport to check in all of our totes, help our stuff to arrive safely, put a nice person at customs, don't let us blow out a tire on the way to the airport, help me to remember everything...
Soon after breakfast, Pedro (SIM's office helper), myself, Rebekah, Gabby, Pilot, and Rinty (the two puppies), loaded up in our teammate's truck to retrieve one last letter from the vet that the airline required for the puppies' travel.
Upon arriving at the vet's office, we were told that the vet would not write the letter because he disagreed with the wording. We suggested different wording, but he wouldn't budge. Leaving without the letter meant more prayers. God stop the tears. I don't have time for them now. Show me what to do.
On the drive back to the guesthouse Pedro suggested a different vet; one that he knew. Key words: he knew. We stopped at her office to inquire. She agreed that the letter was unnecessary, but was willing to type it and put her stamp on it. Awesome!
"Come back at 4:00," she said. Not awesome :[
"We are flying today and actually need the letter now." My direct words went against everything I had learned about the indirect, laid back Paraguayan culture. God, please don't let me ruin the Christian witness in my frustration. You are the God of details; you can do this. Help me to trust you.
"Okay. Come back in fifteen minutes."
Awesome and I'm sorry that I insulted you.
Our group returned to the guesthouse to load up the dogs' crates for our next trip. The shipper needed to measure and weigh the dogs inside their crates. After changing vehicles to have a larger trunk, we realized that the trunk didn't actually open.
One day I'm going to write about this very stressful day and this part is going to be funny. It is not funny now, but it will be later.
We crammed the crate inside the back seat, returned to the vet for the letter, then drove towards the airport.
Thirty minutes later Pedro leaned forward glancing out my window. "I think I missed our right turn." He pulled half-way off the road, put the car in reverse, and began backing up on the side of the highway. I had to laugh, only in Paraguay would we not get pulled over for such a stunt.
With all the documents handed over to the shipper, we returned to the guesthouse for lunch. Thank-you God for getting the paperwork completed with the puppies and for the laugh at driving backwards this morning. Next is immigrations. Put all of our documents in the right place. Give me strength, I'm tired.
At immigrations our paperwork was carefully divided and put into a neat pile. Thank-you God!
I spent the remaining four hours packing, discussing financial details with the accountant, and psyching myself up to say good-bye to our dearly loved Paraguayan family.
And praise God the rest of the story is very boring. The puppies, our totes, and ourselves arrived without any problems in Arizona. We have spent the last couple weeks enjoying the cooler weather, great water pressure, and ice cream...every night.
Thank-you for praying.
God hears every one of them.
Please keep praying for...
-documents for Darin's motorcycle to be completed for shipping.
-the ability to process in a healthy manner all that we've experienced in this last year.
-tender hearts so that we can respond to the coming change like clay, trusting God's goodness.
-wisdom as we seek God's direction about what job to do and where to do it.
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