Moving Update

Plans to make the move to the Dominican Republic around the end of August kept getting delayed, pushed out by two more weeks, delayed again by another paper...until finally we thought we had everything set to be cleared by the end of October - two months later than our original plans!

"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." (NLT)

Overview: 

I left ND the last part of September and, at the time, plans were to be in MI for a few weeks (til around mid-October) then fly out from here once our temporary residency visas went through. Literally 2 days after getting to my parents' place, I got a call from the wonderful Mr. and Mrs. Everett (my bosses) telling me that such and such had come up with this certain paper which we needed that we hadn't gotten yet and due to that, we'd be delayed another few weeks (til the end of October). By then, I'd gotten used to hearing that, so I found it a little humorous and was actually kinda happy for the extra time because it meant I'd get to make a short trip to TX, connect with a few extra people, etc. We even booked flights for October 29th with certain plans that all the paperwork would be through by then. 

Until Monday, a week ago. 

Update:

A week ago, I got a call from Mrs. Everett telling me her brain is about to explode, after which she proceeded to fill me in on a conversation she'd had with the Domincan Consulate in Chicago. Evidently, we didn't qualify for temporary residency visas due to inefficient personal financial solvency and needed to apply for a business visa instead. The paperwork is almost as in depth, but the visa in itself restricts us more once we are on the ground in the DR. All that aside, we were still one paper short for this visa. The paper was one our DR lawyer needed to get from the Ministry of Labor and, at that point, we had no idea how long it would take. 

Understandably, all three of us were frustrated. Mr. Everett spoke with the pastor we're connected with in the DR and he promised to personally call our lawyer to talk over specifics and have her email us. No email came. I emailed her again - still no reply. This  went on for a few days.

Friday afternoon, I got another call from Mr. Everett - with news of another change of plans but thankfully, this time, in our favor. He spoke with our pastor contact again who gave us a clearer picture as to why all these complications have come our way. The DR government overhauled their immigration policies last year, which we already knew. What we didn't know is that the policies are still being sorted out and the ability to stay in the DR indefinitely on a 30-day tourist visa still stands (a small monthly fee does apply. Eventually, though, if the change of policies are enforced, anyone in the country with the 30-day visa will need to leave the country every 30 days). Another policy we didn't know is that even though all the registration paperwork for our organization is cleared, the government doesn't issue business visas until the organization is already up and running.  

In that light, we have decided to put aside all the paperwork for any additional visas right now, and just head down to start looking for housing/land, staff, etc. In a few months, once we have the basics in place, we'll re-evaluate the need for applying for additional visas above and beyond the tourist visa. 

We would have changed our tickets to leave this week if possible! Because of previously made plans, we won't be able to leave until October 27th, but we're all ok with that and have complete peace and confidence that there has been a reason for the 2-month wait filled with constant delays, even with the frustrations that came with it.

October 27th!! I always debate a little bit on how excited to sound when I tell people that we have a definite moving date, because I have enjoyed all the extra time and memories this summer. But once you've spent a whole summer not staying in one place for longer than 6 weeks at a time, you'll understand how ready I am to finally be in one area, working one job for an extended period of time! Thankfully, my job consists of tons of mulit-tasking and we'll be traveling to different places in the DR for setup purposes, so I won't get bored very quickly ;) 

When I step back and take a look at this summer, I know I've truly enjoyed it. Nothing about working several jobs and traveling a lot has been out of my comfort zone - I thoroughly enjoy those things and definitely am not done with it! The strain came from the not-knowing. The lesson for this goal-driven, detail-loving, constantly-planning gal has been constantly learning how to trust God even when I don't see the end result. 

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. 

Proverbs 16:9