14. That's week 1 of the 3 weeks to process the visa!

Well it didn't happen this week.  Sorry everyone.  I think we can assume that the African Dinner planned for next Saturday night is not going to happen.
Little news from Africa and really nothing to report.  Watch this blog - as soon as we know something I'll publish it here.

13. Thanks to the Gazette

My thanks to Brenda at the Blue Mountains Gazette for the Mountains Murmurs mention.  At the moment we are just waiting and hoping that the visas will be approved this week and we can get them on a plane but if not we will not know till the 1st March.  Sorry for the bad news.  But it could turn good in the next 24 hours so we just wait ... Ise-somo in Butembo,DRCongo, Timon in Kampala, Uganda and the rest of us here in Australia waiting patiently for some good news.

12. They head home ...

Ise-somo wrote this text at 5.32pm (i.e. 9.32am):
I am in the bus from Kampala back to Butembo since 5 o'clock this morning.
God willing I will get home around 8 or 9pm.
I need prayers from my brothers and sisters over there (in Australia).

When I assured him of all the people who are thinking of him and Timon and all who are praying, I asked if he was still willing to make the long journey back to Kampala when a visa is approved (assuming it should be in 3 weeks - 15 working days) ?
He wrote back:
I have to wait for God's time.  All depends on him.  If he says  YES  I will come.

11. 7pm The new plan for Ise-somo and Grodya

Having phoned Nairobi and shared our ideas and discussed the options, Bishop Ise-somo and Timon Grodya  will tonight be flying back to Uganda and then tomorrow Ise will catch a bus to travel across Uganda and into the DRCongo arriving back home in Butembo at night or perhaps the next day.

Timon may take this opportunity to travel into northeastern DRCongo to visit Aru to discuss the dental training course which we hope to begin in October.

Two or Three Options are available to us:
1. If by any chance, the visas are approved prematurely then Ise will travel back to Uganda and he and Timon will fly next Friday or the weekend and our program will be rearranged a little but largely remain unchanged - perhaps the first week will become the last week.

2. If the visas are approved in 15 working days (three weeks)  then Bishop Ise-somo will arrive here in Australia in early March.  Timon Grodya will most likely visit Australia but later in the year perhaps May or June.

3. The option that we hope doesn't eventuate is that visas won't be approved.

10. 9.30am - CDS members: Working on Plan B

Despite the sadness at the delayed approval the committee of the Congo Dental Support met this morning to reassess our plans given the news from yesterday that the visas would take another 15 working days to approve.
After an hour and a half the mood had elevated and the plans were taking shape for delayed visits.  Now it only remained to waiting till Ise-somo and Grodya woke up on the other side of the world and we would discuss our next move.

9. Friday 8th February - all our efforts in vain

Yesterday was a very hard day in the attempt at obtaining the visa on time and getting them on the plane.  The flight was due at 17.50 Kenyan Time (1.50am Sydney time) and it was becoming increasingly obvious that they would not make it.  The afternoon here saw a flurry of emails back and forwards to Nairobi with no joy.  The Qatar Airways jet took off at the required time without our 2 Congolese friends.  Feeling very flat at the moment. 

8. Thursday 11.45pm - 26 hours to flight, still no visa

It is starting to get tense.  Bishop Ise-somo arrived yesterday in Uganda and today at 6.15 both he and Timon flew to Kenya and arrived at the Australian High Commission with the extra $150 USD each, lodged the newly filled out papers and were told that they had to pay in Kenyan shillings.  So Timon had to find a place to change the money and then without any indication that a visa will or will not be granted, left to find a place to stay.   They are now in the Anglican Guesthouse and really only have an hour left of the normal working day on Thursday and then tomorrow morning because they still have to contact Fred in Kampala (Uganda) to pay for the tickets and then get to the airport by 3pm.
26 hours till the flight.
I have experienced last minute things in the past but not like this.
Are they likely to make it for the Welcome at 3pm Sunday?
Your guess is as good as mine.