The Great Delay!

Claire: 
We are still going to Brazil! The delay is to do with a Brazilian pastor, Rubens, producing (or not, as the case may be!) the three documents that we need in order to apply for our visas. About two months ago he said he'd received our  big wad of paperwork (which was a relief!); had met with all relevant parties who were united in giving us the official go-ahead; and even better, he would just need five days to fulfil his side of the bargain and produce the documents. ...Over two months later, and we've not heard a thing! We will have more news next week as we receive a call from Ivo, the leader of our church out there. We are hoping that he has been able to chivvy Rubens along a bit... we will let you know what happens!

(Claire) So how have we found this last year?

This time has been a real test of our patience, and of our faith that God has a purpose for us out in Brazil. We believe that he does and are so excited about it, whilst simultaneously being amazed at the dis-organisational abilities of this pastor! (I don't think even Sam or I could compete with him!) Our faith has been strengthened by realising that within the great delay (our fond name for it), God had a purpose all along. This unexpected year in England has given us the opportunity for invaluable training and pre-move preparation. It's given us extra time here that we didn't plan, and as a result we can definitely say that we are now massively more ready and equipped to be going out and starting a project with vulnerable young people in Recife.

(Sam) So what have we been up to?

There’s still been a lot of preparation work to do, and we’ve continued strong with our self-imposed 9 – 5 routine to help us get it done! Since we're not going out with an organisation as such, we now have some key accountability and guidance structures in place. This is so needed as it helps us make sure that we're reaching our objectives, are financially accountable, and are emotionally and spiritually well! We've also had the time to shape our long-term vision and objectives, and to share these plans with other charities, organisations and churches. We wanted to form links with other organisations that we could learn from and work with, and it has been exciting to see the beginnings of this happen.

So what does ‘preparation’ mean right now? Sam got in touch with a massive kids club in New York, and is now working almost full time to translate their material to use in Brazil. Claire has been working on our beautiful blog and now amidst networking, studying Portuguese and other on-going projects, she is getting ready to run a day’s workshop in December all about prostitution.

Even though we’re not there yet, we know that all this time is absolutely key in building solid foundations for starting work in Brazil. We hope we’ll get there soon and that we’ll be able to turn all this preparation into action!