Customs and our "Junk"

Well you will be happy to know (I hope) that we finally got our "Stuff" ..... hard to believe? Yeah for us too.... after finally waiting and giving them all the paperwork, sometimes twice..... oh and did I mention paying double what I was told would be needed to get the junk .... (I'm reasonably sure the other half was for a payment under the table) not that I offered, but I have a feeling that is what happened ..... WE GOT IT! ..... Yup ..... all 9 boxes of household items ....AND .... believe it or not it was all there! ..... (Sorry for all those unkind words I said about them, going through everything and taking home for there personal use, some items..... NOT!) What a joke, to go through all those hoops and finally to get it. Of which, of course we are thankful for.

So we get it last Saturday, a brother in the congregation rounded up a truck so we can pack it here from the airport. Carol told him it was Christmas in the Heilig house and he just kind of looked at us with a strange sort of smile .... then he figured it out .... oooooh with a big smile! We unpacked a few of the things, that we wanted the most and then then of course asked ourselves, why we brought some of the other stuff ..... what were we thinking? ..... But that only lasted for a few days ... once all was unpacked we started to feel like it was home .... unwrapped all that bubble wrap, and tossed the boxes (good riddens) and we were ready to go to get some things to put up our pictures, photos, and artwork .... I decided to take the dog, Gracie, for a walk and when I returned ..... in the garage area was a lynch mob..... the leader, the manager of the building asked if he could talk to me ..... I asked if it was OK to take the pup back to the apartment? ..... What's he going to say? NO? So I take her back and wash her feet (new custom here for us, as the sidewalks are soooooo dirty with everything you can imagine) and when I return to talk to him and the lynch mob, he starts to explain that pets (mascotas) are not allowed in the building .... So I cut to the chase and ask "if we are not going to get rid of a member of the family, .... we have to move"? "Well" He says "you are putting my back to the wall" Really? I thought it was the other way around. Then confirmed that, yes, you do! Of course, when I mention this to my dear wife, she was about in tears ... after all the moving and waiting, and not feeling good for the last few weeks due to a respiratory problem, that seemed to be the last straw. So we got a night of rest, and a really good day in the ministry the next day .... (that can be a simple cure for a lot of problems) ..... and we decided to let the landlady care for the issue .... when I spoke to her she said "I need to talk to him and get this straightened out, get me his phone number" .... so I go to get it and he is in the Garage/Parking area working on his vehicle ... battery, to be specific and cleaning the crud/ acid that collects on them .... So I make some small chat with him trying to soften him up a bit, and ask him what he uses and he tells me water and lemon juice. "lemon juice" I ask, and it works? "like a charm" he says with a smile on his face.... (learn something new, each and every day here) then I ask the big question for the number..... and then explain how disappointed we are to have to move, ... after getting all arranged and the last of the furniture finally arriving, and all our stuff from Customs and being ready to hang the family photos. Then he tells me how sorry he is, that I happened to walk up, at the worst time the other day. He explains that some of the "meddling homeowners" (his words not mine) were complaining that people were not following the rules in the building and of course I walked up with the dog (not allowed) at that moment, even though there are others that have them in the building. So he says "I had to act like I was doing my job".... that's what he tells me! .... Then he tells me that things will die down in the next few weeks, and that all will be OK, he can see that the dog is not a problem and that he is sorry for the concern he caused us. Then he asked why we moved to Ecuador? (They can't understand why .... as most here, want to move to the States) So I explain our purpose for coming here .... then he feels even worse, that he has caused us "pain" and that he understands that we are here to serve God and he is sure all will be fine.... but if we could, please don't let the dog run around through the building ..... like we have been doing that. Anyway for now, it seems all is back to normal..... whatever normal is down here!