I have no idea what’s wrong with me, but I feel totally
defeated today. I don’t know if it’s because of what happened at immigration
yesterday, but I’m going to be totally honest – I wanted to run. I wanted to
get on a plane, fly to another country, and start over somewhere else in
Africa. Surely there is another country nearby that could use an orphanage,
right?! I couldn’t believe how we were treated at the immigration office. I
felt like I was a criminal, and we were basically treated as such. I think
yesterday was a slap in the face by the reality of how life can be here.
Here’s the problem – when you apply for a Residential Visa
at the Embassy of Mozambique in Washington, D.C., they give you a Visa that
says you can stay in the country for 90 days. But we know that processing
documents here is difficult and can take time, so we got on the paperwork right
away. We consulted an immigration officer we knew from years ago, and she
stated what we thought was true – we have 90 days to get our residency
processed and we’ll be fine. However, the information was wrong. We only had 30
DAYS to process our residency or renew the Visa.
I can’t even BEGIN to tell you how many times we have been
to the immigration office in the last 7 weeks. A minimum of once per week,
asking for explanation of which documents we need, where to get the documents,
and showing our passports AND our VISA to every person we talked to.
Unfortunately, everyone who saw our Visa neglected to explain that yes, we have
90 days to be in the country, but every 30 DAYS we must get a stamp from the
immigration office and pay a small fee. REALLY?! Sharing information is clearly
not a strong point for some people. We asked a lot of questions and I’m still
kicking myself for not asking more and more and more questions until we got
what we needed. The experience was extremely defeating, and EXPENSIVE.
We were able to solve the problem, but it cost us. A LOT.
Not a little. We are basically paying DOUBLE for our residency. Nearly $3,000.
My stomach feels sick writing that number and as tears stream down my face as I
type, I want to stay angry and frustrated and wonder how anyone could be
treated this way. I want justice and I want the woman who attended to us first
to take responsibility for not even understanding the basics of her job. I ALSO
want someone to understand that by taking our money they are literally taking
food out of someone’s mouth, money away from a project that is for a community
of people in need, children who have nothing, who may be starving this VERY
instant. BUT……………………………………………... that’s not me. That’s not the woman God
created me to be. I am not someone to hold a grudge and seek revenge. It’s not
worth it and it’s not Biblical if we’re being honest. I know that someday I
will have to answer for how I treated others, and I want to be a woman who
loves well, not a women who hates many.
Despite the frustration, we feel encouraged by good news as
well. We are moving forward with God’s help! Our project folder has been
submitted to the local government for legalization and building permits. Our
land was measured last week and we are awaiting the calculation of fees, as
well as the signatures for approval. Things have really worked out well over
the last 7 weeks. With the exception of yesterday, a lot has been accomplished.
I can’t even explain how hard it can be to obtain all the required documents.
Everyday we run all over town without a car, have one office sign a letter,
another office request that we write a letter and come back, and then the other
signature we need from another office can’t be done because the director is out
of town for 2 weeks. So having our project file submitted is a miracle in
itself, especially after such a short amount of time.
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| Measuring our land! |
My spirits are lifting as I write and understand that things
are not always going to be easy. Not everyone sees our vision and our dream as
a good thing. Not everyone truly believes that we don’t want anything from
anyone and all we want to do is help. Many people in Mozambique are skeptical
of why we would leave a comfortable life in the States to come here and only
“help” & not gain anything in return. But God sees our hearts and the
desire that we have to help make a difference. We don’t know everything, we don’t
pretend to, and we value the input of the local people who are working hard to
make a difference in their country, too. We’re praying that together we can
help make a lasting impact.
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| Establishing the northern boundary of our land |
A few people have been asking what we need, how they can
help from afar, and what we could use prayers for. In all honesty, we are doing
fine, but we would appreciate prayers for continued favor. We are praying that
we can begin building before the end of the year, so please pray that the
paperwork and funds come through. You can always give donations online at our
website: heartfortheneedy.org, or you can mail a check donation to: 35 E Animas
Village Lane, Durango, CO, 81301.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support, and thank
you for letting us be open and honest about how this process can be difficult. But
with GOD, EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE!
