on the waterfront

Buenas noches amigos! So yesterday I got the long-awaited TMONE (that's pronounced T-M-1), which is basically my official appointment/approval to Caracas. So I was then assigned a sponsor at post and able to contact my future supervisor. My start/arrival date in Caracas will be August 17th. Now I just have to get a lot of administrative things done in the meantime (to get my move, travel authorization, visa, diplomatic passport, etc. lined up in time).

Not to forget about ConGen--today I aced my Immigrant Visa exam. Yes folks, that's a 100%! While the exams are open-book, it's still not all that easy, considering the multiple sources we have to consult for answers, one of them being the 1000+-page Immigration and Nationality Act "Pamphlet". It's actually called a pamphlet, but it's a very thick bound book with thin pages :)

Tonight I went out with a group from church. There's a recent university graduate from Madrid who, through the Free Methodist missionaries in Spain got connected with the FM church here. She wanted to come to the U.S. to improve her English, so they found one of the church members who could host her for a few weeks. She arrived last night, and a group went out for dinner and ice cream tonight. We walked down by the waterfront after dinner, which was a pretty cool setting. We came across a guy who had 28 glasses of different sizes with water in them, and played an array of songs from "ode to Joy" to "The Star Spangled Banner" to "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring". He could play up to six notes at a time with two hands. It was pretty amazing.

It's pretty cool how quickly I've been able to make friends at this church. They're a great group of people, whom I'll really miss. I hope to meet a similar group once I arrive in Caracas! I'm looking forward to seeing my parents and Dan in just over a day, and Wayne the day after that!