Following the busy time after the International Board Meeting at the end of July and the comencement of our internship training, Faye and I were sensing a real desire to travel home (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) to visit family and friends, to get a sense of the situation prevailing in the nation as well as to simply have a break and get some much needed rest.
A few key things needed to fall into place for this to happen..
1. Work permit renewals finalised and re-entry visas granted as part of the process.
2. Travel documents for Joshua.
3. A vehicle for the journey- including a police clearance for the vehicle.
4. Finances to cover the costs.
We can truly declare that God worked on our behalf to make all of the above come to pass.. Om Tuesday 2nd September we received our pasports indicating that a 3 month work visa had been granted to both Faye and I, and this included re-entry visas. The high point in my opinion was however on the Wednesday.. We needed to have a temporary residence permit endorsed in Sydney and Joshua's travel documents( this involved having to gain access into Home Affairs in Windhoek), but we also needed to get a travel document for Joshua from the Zimbabwe Embassy ! In Addition to this we needed to get a police clearance for the vehicle processed and available to us on the day we wanted to travel- FRIDAY !!
On the Wednesday in question I not only was granted an appointment at Home Affairs, but we managed to get Joshua's travel document sorted and both Sydney and Joshua's travel documents endorsed with the necessay stamps. By the time Faye and I left Windhoek to return to Okahandja we had all the paper work sorted out and were able to tell the children we would be travelling on Friday, provided the police clearance was provided.. When applying for the police clearance on the Wednesday I was told it would only be ready on MONDAY ! We praise God it was ready on Friday at 2:30pm and after stocking up on some groceries for home and food for the journey we set off from Windhoek at about 6:00pm
We stopped over in Ghanzi (Botswana) at 11:45pm. We slept in the combi and got going again at about 3:30am. We crossed the border into Zimbabwe at about 2:30pm (No long delays or problems) and were home in Bulawayo at about 4:00pm
Crossing the Border Between Namibia and Botswana....
Sunrise in Botswana.. Driving into Maun..
It was great to be home and to see family and friends.. we were particularly thankful to have arrived on the Saturday as it enabled us to see Faye's dad who was leaving early Sunday morning for South Africa..
Yes we experienced the power cuts and even a water cut BUT we also saw the amazing depth and vibrancy of Christian Faith in so many of our friends and members of our Home Church (Revival Centre Ministries).. We saw in many of the believers an authenticity in their faith which I believe has stemmed out of the realisation that only God can be truly relied on and that they were living in a 'wilderness' and needed to depend on the 'manna' God provides daily..
Whilst being saddened at the situation and deeply concerned at how the situation would play out, I was very definitely inspired and encouraged by the faith I saw displayed...
To Be continued in subsequent posts...........
A few key things needed to fall into place for this to happen..
1. Work permit renewals finalised and re-entry visas granted as part of the process.
2. Travel documents for Joshua.
3. A vehicle for the journey- including a police clearance for the vehicle.
4. Finances to cover the costs.
We can truly declare that God worked on our behalf to make all of the above come to pass.. Om Tuesday 2nd September we received our pasports indicating that a 3 month work visa had been granted to both Faye and I, and this included re-entry visas. The high point in my opinion was however on the Wednesday.. We needed to have a temporary residence permit endorsed in Sydney and Joshua's travel documents( this involved having to gain access into Home Affairs in Windhoek), but we also needed to get a travel document for Joshua from the Zimbabwe Embassy ! In Addition to this we needed to get a police clearance for the vehicle processed and available to us on the day we wanted to travel- FRIDAY !!
On the Wednesday in question I not only was granted an appointment at Home Affairs, but we managed to get Joshua's travel document sorted and both Sydney and Joshua's travel documents endorsed with the necessay stamps. By the time Faye and I left Windhoek to return to Okahandja we had all the paper work sorted out and were able to tell the children we would be travelling on Friday, provided the police clearance was provided.. When applying for the police clearance on the Wednesday I was told it would only be ready on MONDAY ! We praise God it was ready on Friday at 2:30pm and after stocking up on some groceries for home and food for the journey we set off from Windhoek at about 6:00pm
We stopped over in Ghanzi (Botswana) at 11:45pm. We slept in the combi and got going again at about 3:30am. We crossed the border into Zimbabwe at about 2:30pm (No long delays or problems) and were home in Bulawayo at about 4:00pm
Crossing the Border Between Namibia and Botswana....
Sunrise in Botswana.. Driving into Maun..It was great to be home and to see family and friends.. we were particularly thankful to have arrived on the Saturday as it enabled us to see Faye's dad who was leaving early Sunday morning for South Africa..
Yes we experienced the power cuts and even a water cut BUT we also saw the amazing depth and vibrancy of Christian Faith in so many of our friends and members of our Home Church (Revival Centre Ministries).. We saw in many of the believers an authenticity in their faith which I believe has stemmed out of the realisation that only God can be truly relied on and that they were living in a 'wilderness' and needed to depend on the 'manna' God provides daily..
Whilst being saddened at the situation and deeply concerned at how the situation would play out, I was very definitely inspired and encouraged by the faith I saw displayed...
To Be continued in subsequent posts...........
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