November 6th
On-going Struggles
   So, you would think after my having been here for 6 months, everything would be set and working smoothly. That would be beautiful if that was the case, but unfortunately certain financial issues have been allowed to continue, making certain parts of my mission here in Rwanda very difficult. If blame is to be placed on someone besides the enemy, I suppose I would now have to lay the blame squarely on my wonderful home bank the CIBC. Of course in the summer I had my wallet stolen, and then with that went my bank card. Now the way I was going to be getting money for personal expenses and food was by transferring money online to my mom who would then send the money to me in Rwanda. Now to do that online banking, I need my bank card. So of course this has been a difficult thing (or rather an impossible thing) for about 4 months now. I of course called CIBC and requested that a new card be sent to me here in Rwanda. I answered all the questions they asked me and they said everything was fine. But then just last week I got this wonderful little letter minus a bank card that said I did not give enough informatin and the transaction was not able to be completed. They also gave me 30 days to respond (of course it takes nearly 60 for mail to get from Canada to Rwanda) and they gave me a phone number to call which was only for people in Canada. Full out genious work CIBC. Model of efficiency.
    Last week after getting that letter, I paid a bit of money from what I had left and bought some phone credits for my house line phone. The credits ran out while I was on hold with CIBC. I emailed them and asked them to call me or email me, and while they say they guarantee a response with 24 hours when you email them, they decided this time to not email me back or respond in any way. Just wonderful. I have emailed them again, and I hope to have them realize I need to have my bank card to buy food and to live, but they don't seem to be catching that concept or they just simply don't really care. Well with the Lord's help I hope to do what I can to make them care very soon. That may include tipping of the Canadian government and also possibly some newspapers about this terrible thing that the CIBC has done to me.
    But anyways, that is what is going on with me right now. I can pretty much guarantee that when I get home I will be pretty much completely finished with any dealing with the CIBC and be moving to a new bank as soon as possible. This is the one time I have really needed to depend on my bank and the one time I have really been let down like never before. So I'm done with them. This is a one strike deal.
     Other than that, I get to see my dad in less than two weeks, as my dad, aunt and cousin are flying into Nairobi very soon, so I am very excited about that for sure. Being here in Africa for a year and getting to see family in that time is a pretty special and awesome thing.
    The Christmas play is coming along well. It is not without it's stresses and issues here and there, but it is going very well though. I know it is going to be a huge success, and I can't wait to see the final thing. Just as much though I think I can't wait for it to be over, just because knowing I won't have to worry, plan or have anything to do with it anymore will be a huge relief. But I am enjoying it while I am in this time. All the ministries are going well, and this is brand new that I found out yesterday: Where we have one of our beginner's Sunday School teachers leaving and going back to India in December, we have been praying that God would send us someone to take up her place. Yesterday a young lady named Joy spoke with me and told me she was very interested in volunteering as a leader in the beginner's class. So praise the Lord! He is good and most certainly He answers prayers when we bring them to Him. He is good and provides for all the needs of those who follow and serve Him always and He never fails. Praise the Lord for He is truly good.
     That is about all for now. Go check out the new pictures if you have not seen them. Thank you for reading and I will have another one of these up in a while. Thank you and God bless you all in all you do everyday. Bye for now!
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