We are sending out a group email and blog post regarding our internet situation. Hopefully everyone who normally communicates with us will get the message.
Our internet provider had something happen to our tower (again) but this time the consequences are severe. Every customer connected to that tower has to have a technician come to their home to re-calibrate (or something) their I P number. We have called them, called again, and gone to their office in the next city over, received various stories and promises, and have the following info: looks like we are scheduled for Sept 2 for the technician to come. Believe me I had to have a cry about that. We’ve been without access for less than a week and I feel so anxious about it, and now they say over a month more!!
We use the internet for so much more than keeping contact with home—much of our training materials come from the church web site and we download from there often, but have nowhere near all we need down-loaded for our ongoing trainings.
So, what we have to do now: Since every customer on the tower is affected, we can’t go to a nearby café to get access, or to the resort next door like we used to months ago, before our internet was connected. Our only option is to use our Tatoo, a stick that allows us to access a phone-line internet connection. But it is slow, so no downloading or Skyping, and worse, it has limited reception, and none near our home, so to use it we have to travel to Tanjay or Dumeguete.
Bottom line is we will check our email as possible—sometimes a couple of days, sometimes several days between. We will probably not respond individually unless something is urgent, ‘cause there just won’t be time. For example, right now I’m sitting in the car in the rain parked next to the market in Tanjay, composing on Word, then hoping to send and post by Tatoo.
After all, we really DO live on a remote jungle island, And my name IS Mary Anne (a Gilligan’s island allusion for those of you who are too young to know) so our communication thus far has been a big miracle that is really not sustainable here.
We love you all, and with this fiasco, we realize how much we miss hearing from you, our life lines.
We owe many people a return email, but don't hold your breath. Sorry. Please pray for a pre-Sept 2nd miracle.
