“They were three intense days in Miami,” I thought to myself as my plane taxied to the runway at Miami airport. Recapping over the events I realise that in retrospect it would have been wiser to have arranged more days here in the United States. But then my thinking was, “how much time does it take to buy a computer?” Apparently a lot more than I first thought.
Upon arrival in Miami, after settling into the YWAM base and getting to know the people, I had headed out in the afternoon and bought the laptop that I had waited two years to get. A MacBook Pro and various accessories were now in my possession, and I was very happy about it too. Everything seemed to be going really well.
The problem came not with these items but rather with all of the requests of others back in Argentina. Not only this, but every item that I purchased needed to be tested and proved to be good before I took them out of the country or else any warranty would be lost and the item would be an expensive anchor. So after each purchase, I removed the item from its packaging and proceded to use it until satisfied that it was fully functional. That took quite a lot of time as some items required learning how to use them first before I could actually test them or know if they were working as they should.
So with the first day going so well I expected everything to be over by the next morning, but it was not to be. The store that should have had the camera did not have it, and everything else was a long way away. My memory of where things were was very compressed based on previous experiences only being in vehicles, so when I decided to “wander” up to the store “nearby” little did I realise that it was about 6 kilometres away (4 miles).
After over an hour of walking in sandals that caused blisters on my feet, I finally and tenderly arrived at my destination. It did not have the camera that I needed. The thought of returning by foot was too much, so I took the bus and travelled right past my stop until finally reaching a centre that sold the camera I had been asked to purchase. Returning triumphantly to the YWAM base I was pleased to have finally purchased everything on the list and was happy to now be able to rest.
On the last day there is a sudden last request. Somebody wants a laptop and there is a couple who can take it with them down to Argentina in the next couple of days… so I race out in the morning to buy the laptop. Thinking that it would be a quick process, I am stunned to discover that the Apple Store has some sort of technical failure of their equipment and had to use the old imprint system for the purchase, using a pen to rub over the paper and produce the numbers because even the old imprinter did not work. Of course I then need to check that it works properly.
Mobile Hands is a service that I have started to provide to those who need it. Loosely termed a ministry, it is basically just me wandering around the place helping people out in any way I can. YWAM Miami needed a new website. The rest of my time with them I spent working on their website, creating something that would work for them using the system that they currently have. Unfortunately, after so much hard work, we discover that there is no way of being able to publish this new design. It remains saved but unseen to this day.
Just then the engines roar into life and I am pushed back into my seat. We are taking off. My time in Miami has come to an end. Although there were plans for some time at the beach and to hang out with the YWAMers here the time slipped away too fast. That is why the next time I stop somewhere I will be sure to make it somewhat longer than just three days. Three days seems a lot on paper, but I discovered during this visit that it really is a very short time.
Now I am on my way. El Salvador is only a few more hours away.
