A lot of good things have happened here in Bolivia. Our chief pilot, Jeff, has returned along with two more missionaries, D.J. and his wife Jodie. D.J. is a pilot and Jodie is a teacher. They have been a blessing, since there are three girls who share the cooking duties right now, leaving Min some time to hang out with me :)
Jeff is also the manager of our building projects here, and so a lot more is happening on the grounds here. We are submitting plans to the local government for our property and paying taxes on all the houses. Once they are approved, we will not have to worry about the government putting roads through our houses, land, etc.
We have a machine for making cinderblocks and are getting it running with the right mix of sand, rocks, concrete and water to make blocks for building houses. Supposedly we can make 1000 blocks a day with it. The blocks take 6 days to cure, and then we can use them to build. Another project far to the north wants to use the block machine as well, and they will tow it up there and use it. Until then, we are going to make as many blocks as we can and have them ready for construction projects here.
One of our pilots, Steve, is getting married this November. His house is the next to be built, and I´m sure he´d like it if it were finished for him and his wife to move into when they return after the wedding. This will be one of our main projects in the coming months.
Jeff is working on getting permission for our planes to fly, which involves getting them imported so they become Bolivian airplanes. Normally, this costs 30% of the airplane´s Bolivian value, and this has been a major obstacle for us for the last few months. However, God has provided another way. The government in La Paz, Bolivia is so interested in having our planes flying and doing the work we do, that they are willing to write whatever laws we need (within reason, I´m sure) to get our planes flying. So far we´ve asked for free importation of the airplanes (as they will be used only for humanitarian work).
Another requirement will be that our pilots need to be Bolivian residents with Bolivian pilots licenses to fly these planes. I´ve heard from 4 different people here that doing paperwork in Bolivia is very difficult, especially if you´re American. There´s always another stamp you need, or another certified document, or the person you need to sign you off is arguing with you, telling you that you can´t do what you are filing paperwork to do. I talked to a pilot who ¨convalidated¨ his American commercial pilot´s license so that he could use it in Bolivia to work as a pilot. They did it, and put a restriction on it that he could not work for money... which is the only reason most people get a commercial pilots license! This was very frustrating for him. Jeff is going to work with the government in La Paz to make it possible for our pilots to obtain residency and licenses without roadblocks.
After talking with David, my parents, Min´s parents, and reflection in prayer, we believe God is leading us to come back here and work as missionaries. Jeff said he and the others would be glad to have us on the team, and I am happy about that. It also simplifies our plans, since now we can leave our belongings here when we go to visit the U.S. this September, and we can start on our paperwork for Bolivian residency.
My tourist visa has run out, and I am now racking up a fine of $3 per day that I will need to pay when I leave the country. This was the plan, and I was saving $200 to pay my way out of the country in September. This was the only option I knew we had at the time in order to help out here until September. Now we are putting that money toward our paperwork to become Bolivian residents. This will cost us a total of $600 each, is what I am told. To start out, we are applying for a work visa for $80 each. This will allow us to be in the country for 30 days or more to apply for residency. Residency can take 3 months or more, but we can ¨pause¨ the process by withdrawing our passports. This we will do when we come visit the U.S. in September. We intend to visit family, apply for Min´s U.S. citizenship (she is here as a Filipino), and attend her brother´s wedding. It stresses me out a little to imagine how we are going to do all of these things quickly and return here, especially since some of it costs money we don´t have yet. However, our experience so far and the experience of others here is that God finds a way every time, and we can count on Him to lead us through.
We are leaving this Tuesday on a bus to the Argentina-Boliva border to exit the country and apply for our work visas. We will take the bus in the evening and arrive in the morning. Apparently the buses are really nice, even better than a commercial airline inside. We´ll try to get some sleep on the way, and file our paperwork during Wednesday. Wednesday or Thursday night we´ll return here, Lord willing. We need to, because we´ve been given the opportunity to play music for the reception at a Menonite wedding on Friday. There are several Menonite colonies in Bolivia, and near Santa Cruz. Hopefully this experience will allow us to meet some of them and make friends.
Please pray for us, that all goes well with our travels and work visa applications. Please pray for D.J. and Jodie as they plan to travel to Guyana and work there for a while. Finally, please pray that Jesus will come soon and that we all will be ready!
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