In Process!

The words, "In Process," have never sounded so sweet. After our appointment at Immigration on Tuesday, plus a little more work from our lawyer, Juan Edgar, later in the week, to re-authenticate our paperwork and re-submit it (part of the normal procedure--actually we would have had to go back in Feb. for an appointment to re-authenticate if he hadn't done it himself!), we are OFFICIAL!! We will not have our cedulas (like a soc. security card/number) until our paperwork receives final approval, which could take anywhere from a couple of months to a couple of years. . .but until then we are free to stay in the country and have residency rights--or at least some; we'll keep you updated. The biggest thing is that we don't have to leave every 3 months on a tourist visa. This will obviously save us lots of time and money!

A few impressions of our experience with La Migración. :) First of all, let me say that I'm sure the immigration office does have a system of organization. It has to. However, I cannot say how it was organized. We basically went into this huge partially-partitioned room with desks lining 2 walls and crowds of people sitting on chairs. Some of the desks had signs above them indicating who could be helped where, but not all. The section we went to (with Juan Edgar) was for lawyers with appointments only. This was the only section that had plexiglass in front of the desks (not sure why). Anyway, it made it a little hard to communicate with the lady behind it, and of course everyone's meeting was public. We waited for about an hour (not too bad, actually) for our appointment. Then J.E. and the Licensiada behind the glass exchanged, stamped, signed and organized all the papers. A couple of times Jeff had to run outside for some timbres, which are stamps that the lawyers stick on your paperwork to make it official (it shows you've paid the right amount, among other things.) The best part about the timbres was the place Jeff bought them. It was a little portable booth outside the gate of the Immigration campus with a hand-painted sign. Besides the timbres, they also sell snacks, drinks and cigarettes! Nothing like government, is there?!

Thank you for praying with us through all of this! Please pray now that nothing will get in the way of our final approval and that it will happen quickly. We also need to figure out the best way to advise our team, as well as future staff, about residency/visas, etc. So much fun. Pray that we would be able to learn the system quickly and be wise in all of this!