Hold on tight! We've got high-speed ADSL.
Yahoo! It took quite a bit of work and a Portuguese-speaking tech friend, but we are now officially on-line. That means the blog will be updated regularly (with pictures) and you may now call us using our Skype number (817-717-5437).
Our computer at home is working!
Yesterday was a day of great joy in the Sawatsky home--the computer was hooked up and it works! Now we're just waiting for our high-speed internet connection to get hooked up (which should happen before Christmas) and all will be back to normal as far as communication with our friends and supporters goes.Here's the story as to what has gone wrong. I bought this computer with the idea of saving lots of money. I got it on E-bay and the guy who owned it told me that the hard drive would be wiped clean so that everything would be legal. I ordered a copy of Windows XP from my mission, but it didn't come before we left Texas. When we got here, we tried to install Windows 98 until my copy of XP arrived, but the computer wouldn't read any CD's. I couldn't figure out what was wrong, so I gave it to the computer guys here at PACA to fix. They couldn't solve the problem, so they had it sent out to a computer repair shop. This is where things get interesting. What must have happened is that while testing my computer, the computer shop fried my processor chip, because when it came back the computer didn't work at all, and the shop said I needed a new processor and a new motherboard. I nearly freaked (note: nearly) and insisted that the repair shop make good for wrecking my computer. They agreed to give me another processor (which I'm told almost never happens here) and they sent my computer back with a "new" chip. Since the computer still wasn't working, the school sent my computer back to them to be fixed with an understanding that we won't be happy until it comes back with a functioning version of Windows on it. Well, it arrived yesterday, nearly one month after arriving, with a 900 megahertz processor (it had an AMD Athlon 2000 megahertz processor when we came) and a functioning version of Windows 2000. But we are just thrilled to have it.
P.S. We have already downloaded all 125 pictures that we've taken since we got here from the digital camera. Once we get that internet connection, we'll be flooding this blog with information.
Skype
If anyone can find a bargain it's a missionary. So when we wanted to find the cheapest way to call our friends in North America we got the same answer again and again--Skype. We are now fully set up with Skype and I must say that the process was quite painless. We bought $10 USD of "Skype Out" which, they say, gives us almost 8 hours of calling to Canada and the USA through your normal telephone lines. (Calls using Skype and your computer are free.)We also subscribed to "Skype In" for one year, which means that you can call us at 817-717-5437 and it will only cost you what you would normally pay to call Texas (as it is a Texas number.) You can't call us using Skype yet, since we don't have our computer and internet connection hooked up yet, but this should be resolved soon. As soon as it is, you can call us almost as cheaply as we can call you. No international codes or anything either. Just dial 1-817-717-5437 and we'll pick up. We're buying a Skype-equipped phone which hooks up to our computer so your calls to this number will ring on our home phone, just like our calls from people in Sao Paulo would.
Our phone is connected
We still don't have a computer at home yet, and no matter what I try to do, I can't seem to coax my computer at work to accept the pictures from our digital camera...but...we now have a phone!To call us at home will mean an international call for all of our North American friends. Fortunately, long distance calling is much cheaper than it used to be. Here is our home number 55-11-5971-3698. The 55 is Brazil's country code, and 11 is the city code for Sao Paulo. You probably have to dial 011 or some other code to dial out of North America.
When it comes to phones, there is a cheaper alternative. We will be using Skype (as soon as we can get the computer working) for most of our calling to and from North America. Skype allows people with a high-speed internet connection to call over the internet for next to nothing. In fact, anyone with high speed internet can talk to us for as long as they want for free by downloading the free Skype software off the internet. By using "Skype Out" we can call anyone in N.A. for about 3 cents per minute (Canadian). And using "Skype In" you can call us for the same price that you could call anyone else in our calling area. That calling area will probably be in Texas. Once we get our Skype number confirmed we will share that with all of you so you can call us cheaply. Better yet, download Skype and call us for free!
The best laid plans...
Well, we had planned to get to Brazil and immediately keep all of our supporters and friends up to date on all that has been going on with us through this blog. Plans don't always work out like you want them to. We've been doing very well since we got here. The first week of school for Cary and the girls went great. The girls have already started to make new friends and Cary just thrilled to be back to work. However, not everything is working out well. For instance, the school provides us with a car while we work here, but on the day we were scheduled to fly to Brazil, the car was involved in a minor accident and had to be sent for repairs. It should be ready sometime this week. So we haven't had a car. Fortunately we were loaned another car just last night, so we got to drive to church today. Then there's the phone. Brazil has only one phone company, and despite several calls to this company to establish phone service, none have been answered. So we don't have a phone and we might not have phone service for a while yet. Finally, there's our internet connection. Here in the metropolis of Sao Paulo, high speed internet is common. And, it seems we should be able to get a high speed connection faster than we can get a dial tone at the house, except for one small problem -- we can't get our computer to work. It appears to be functioning, but we've been having difficulty loading the Windows software on it so that we can load programs on it. It's all been rather frustrating, but God knows all about it and I'm sure this is just another test to see if we'll rest secure in His love, or fret and fume about that which we can't control.This means that as soon as we can get our pictures off our camera and onto either our home computer or this work computer, we'll share all about our first several days in Brazil. We can't wait to show you what we're involved with here, but to tell about it without the pictures just wouldn't do. We are working on it. Please pray that we'll get everything up and running soon. This could be a breakthrough week.