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6th February 2000
Dear All
It is hard to believe we have only been away from NZ for about 3 weeks,
most days it seems like we have been here much longer. To recap....We had a really
good relax in Singapore, the Wakelins looked after us very well and even did our washing
for us. At the end of 4 days though we were ready to leave the humid monsoon heat
for cooler climes. London was fascinating, Lubboch's our hosts thoroughly spoilt us.
Everything seemed very expensive, even McDonald's, we did some of the 'must do' things but
have left lots, planning to see them with Hamish. Bea a friend of ours from Bangladesh did
an admirable job of showing us around the inner city, but 2 days was long enough we were
ready to move on. Our luggage caused us near heartattack at the airport but after much
discussion and alot of prayer cover we were waived on without any excess to pay when in
reality we were very overweight.
We arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan at night so our first impressions were
very like Bangladesh with little roadside stalls everywhere. We met a Finnish family
with 7 children who gave us a meal then delivered us to the Operation Mercy office for
accomodation until we made our decisions about our housing. The office had two
bedrooms, a kitchen/bathroom sort of set up and the office to use as a sort of lounge! It
was adequate for the short time we used it and we appreciated being on our own to cope
with settling in. Our first priority was to decide where to live so the next week we
took the 5 hour bus trip to Barda to see the clinic Ian is to work from. The trip
was long and very bumpy,a chiropractors dream!! The potential house for us was OK
but it had an outside squatty potty and no running hot water; in the middle of winter in
snow these factors seemed too great for the children to handle with any humour
left!! I will leave the clinic news for Ian to elaborate on...Barda was more
primitive and less Westernised than Dhaka in 1993!! On our return, we did manage 3
days, we started in earnest to look for a house/apartment. After looking at many we
thought we liked one that had an aspect to the Caspian Sea.We went to talk with the
Landlord and he became quite bolshy, we didn't want any hassles so left. Another one we
had looked at was really nice with 2 toilets but was over our budget and the
heating was all electric so could have been expensive. The landlady rang and said she
liked us and they would pay the electricity and also add an automatic washing machine!!
included in a reduced rent price .Deal done.
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We moved into our new home on Tuesday, all 8 suitcases. It
is lovely, it is Apartment 28, on the 3rd floor of a large building, we have 3 bedrooms, a
lounge, kitchen and bathroom. It is small compared to anything we have stayed in
before but looks out over the Metro and is on the main bus route. The windows are
double glazed so the noise is minimalised, the landlord and landlady are lovely people and
they have kept all their promises. The hot water is some problem and the oven is
diabolical but otherwise we are very blessed, the power is mostly on as it is connected to
the Metro power supply somehow. Houses here are rented furnished so we just had to
move in which has kept our setting up costs below what we expected. |
We are enjoying the cooler weather and feel like we have pleny of energy
to do things. We spend most of our time walking around the city, though we are using the
bus system to visit more distant friends. The weather is cold, the wind bitter, but
we have all bought large black overcoats and almost blend in with the locals. Baku
is quite westernised and clothing is much as winter NZ.
As we write the kids are watching TV in Russian and laughing at
the delayed dubbing but its giving some language exposure. Actually language is my biggest
problem. The Russian we learned has stood us in good stead here in Baku but out at Barda
they speak only Azeri so we had a crash course and now can market in both languages but
real communication is not possible yet. The landlady in Barda was a real help too even
though she speaks no English.
The clinic was a real eyeopener and I was really glad of our Bangladesh
experiences as it lessened the shock. Sterility was a relative term but I,m not sure
relative to what and the techniques I saw were over 20 years behind us in NZ or even more.
The equipment had many problems so I hope to get a better idea of what goes on on my next
visit which happens in a couple of days. Already Suzanne and I are formulating plans and
visions and as "Project Manager" we have submitted our first plan and budget!
We have told the boss that we do not expect him to find it all and will
begin to source locally as it totalled over $150,000!! We are making some exciting
networking contacts and the International church we are going to has helped a lot.We have
experienced many answers to prayer and it is both exciting and challenging times we are
in.
WE REMIND YOU TO BE CAREFUL IN ALL COMMUNICATION TO US HERE. All mail is
opened, all phones may be listened to and even E-mails may be read. Our
"company" urges discretion. THANKS
We appreciate your support in many ways. Ian really needs lots of
resilience to travel to and fro from Barda. He has been given a lot of
responsibility and he will need lots of wisdom to make the right contacts, ask the right
questions and make the right decisions. His health is not 100% so 'grace' is
really important as he eats in Barda especially. Suzanne needs support as she copes
with the everyday hassles of living here and overseeing the children's schooling. Lots of
possibilities have been suggested but at the moment her priority is to support Ian and the
kids. Thomas has not found a job yet but we have begun investigations in that way.
We would like to find a gym for him also that is not too expensive, this would mean a lot
to him. Murdoch and Morag start school in earnest on Monday and need support as they
cope on their own and discipline their studies. Murdoch passed 5/6 of his SC subjects so
should handle the independent studies OK. All 3 kids love the E mail but find
the distance from friends and the lack of friends who speak fluent English a constant
fustration. They are coping excellently for all that.
We would love to hear from anyone, by mail or E Mail. We have a
telephone but the expense is not really a viable option. Thankyou all so much.
Thanks also to all who have kept in touch with Hamish.
Love Suzanne, Ian, Thomas, Murdoch and Morag.
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