Where has the time flown. . . I'll work to update you all on what new developments have been happening briefly, then get to the subject of today's post.
We did hear, due to my regular contacting by telephone, from our Visa Facilitator in Quito that our applications for the Pensioner's Visa have been approved! This means that the FBI Criminal Background Check requirement has been waived by the abogado at the Ministario de Relaciones Exteriores in Quito. The emails from our FBI approved Channeler, National Background Check, Inc. (NBCI) were accepted as sufficient. They had our names, identifying information, a statement that the quality of the fingerprints was poor and no positive identification could be made, and had the NBCI employee's name, title, and contact information listed. I had hoped and prayed that good sense in this matter would prevail. . . and the verbal word from our Facilitator Joseph Guznay was good to hear.
Now to get that approval in writing and receive the actual pensionado Visas and Cedula cards. It has been about two weeks and still no word from our abogado law firm in Cuenca or Joseph. I need to follow up on this, of course. . . important item to take care of.
Just got back from Quito (by intercity bus - air fare is too expensive on our budget) from a visit to the US Embassy in Quito. Social Security seems to have mailed our SSA 1099 Forms for our tax preparing and filing purposes - June 15 is the US expat automatic extension/deadline - to our previous address. So I had to visit the Embassy in person as emailing the required documents were too large in their pdf format. Time consuming - trip up is one day, a day at the Embassy, and then a day for the trip back - but it had to be done. Never been to a foreign US Embassy before. Worth a future post down the road.
And Carolyn Anne fell down by accident in the middle of a busy street in the El Centro of Cuenca. That was last Thursday. All is well presently. She suffered a dislocated left arm at the shoulder, as well as what turned out days later to be a large bruise on the side of her body below the chest. Intense pain from the dislocation that subsided very well when the trauma doctor reset the arm back into the shoulder. Healing from the injuries should be in another five weeks time. She's wearing a cotton sling for her injured arm so it can rest and recuperate.
*** *** ***
Many of you are familiar with the story of the Woman at the Well, told in John 4:1-45. While there are not that many similarities between this Samaritan woman and the sixteen year old Cuencano youth I met on the intercity bus traveling from Quito to Cuenca yesterday, one thing stood out: this young person was thirsty, both literally and spiritually. (I ended up giving him the water remaining in my last one liter water bottle, which he really appreciated).
Ecuadorians are in general more apt to begin a friendly conversation with a stranger, even an extranjero like me. As the questions developed, they became more spiritual and relational focused. Like the Woman at the Well, however, Damien's questions were not focused where they needed to be: on the person and work of Jesus Christ.
To help focus his many questions about the world, religion, Roman Catholicism, and world religions, I kept asking him the same question: "Who do you say that I am?" - Jesus Christ in Matthew 16:15 He, of course, didn't have an answer. "Read and study the Gospel of John," I advised him. "Ask questions. Don't stop asking questions. There are answers for you, and they are found in the Bible."
It didn't hurt that God serendipitiously provided a bilingual Ecuadorian young man to sit next to Damien during much of the two hours of the last distance from Quito to Cuenca. He ended up voluntarily providing translation for me to Damien, doing this for well over an hour and a half. Stephen, too, was struggling in his faith with problems and challenges, but told me he was a follower of Christ nevertheless. This allowed me to be even more adept and precise in the kind of responses and questions I asked of Damien - and in an honest evaluation, Stephen told me I can communicate in Spanish, but I can use more work in improving my speaking skills. He was glad to be of service to us.
On my own, after Stephen left, I let Damien know that he wasn't trash - he was indeed precious in the sight of God and loved by Him. And, of course, not to give up on the path he was on. Searching is a good thing if you are searching for truth, for Jesus Himself declared He was "The Truth" (John 14:6).
To be sure, Damien is not totally clear on a lot of things. He says he does not believe in the Bible. He mentioned Ghandi and other world religious influences in his many comments. He wants to know if God cares about and is involved with Ecuadorians. (I said yes. . . one way to know God was actively listening to the cries of Ecuadorians was to know the fact that God sent me to Ecuador.) He is without mother and father, but does go to school and even learns English there. An apparent orphan. I let him know he could contact me by email or telephone, and gave him my contact information. He brightened up on receiving it, but then said he was too busy with school to email me. We did, nevertheless, share some supportive moments where he clearly got that he was loved by me. Thumbs up signs, smiles, and a real sense of relief on his face that he had been appropriately listened to. Maybe the first time in a long time that had happened to him.
He knew of Fundacion Hogar in El Centro, and I told him if he had more questions, people there would be happy to help him there - they are friends of ours. No money for a camera, but he let me know he would have enjoyed taking a photo of me. He was so entirely respectful of me to the point of placing my bags in the taxi for me. . . and we said our good byes as I was driven home.
Please pray for Damien that he finds the Peace that passes all understanding, and that he hungers to truly know the One True and Living God that loves him better than even I could do. He admits to being angry with injustices suffered in his life. . . so please pray for his ability to forgive those who may have wronged him.
*This* is what my wife and I signed up for when we answered God's Call to live in Ecuador. The hunger and thirst for what is Right and True is alive and well in Ecuador, and they need our continued prayers. Please join us in that, won't you?
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Gringo Churches. . . and Gringos and Churches
Heads up to our faithful readers: no new developments regarding our FBI Criminal Background Check reports already submitted to our FBI approved Channeler. I'll be checking on that situation hopefully later today.
So much I've learned, so little time to write about it all. . . (sigh)
Today's focus will be on Gringos and churches. Or, if you will, extranjeros y Iglesias, especialmente las Iglesias de los extranjeros. That is to say, foreigners and churches, especially expat churches.
The church - the Bride of Christ - is called out of the world, but still presently in the world. In, but not of, as the Apostle John so wisely put it. The expat church in a foreign country (like Ecuador is to us in our case) is a double dose of that spiritual and relational reality: in a new country, with a different language, culture, set of customs, and geography, but not of the things that make up that country. We are, instead, as the Apostle Peter so aptly illustrates, aliens and strangers - extranjeros - to this present world. We long for our True Home and country, Heaven, as the writer of Hebrews reminds us.
Now, presently speaking here in Ecuador, or in any country around the world, there is no perfect church, experientially speaking. That's because we practically speaking are all sinners and still sin, and have imperfectness in our thoughts, perceptions, and actions. We all miss the mark presently. By God's marvelous Grace, however, He sees is positionally as fully sanctified, pure and holy, and thus perfect. We don't deserve such a gift, but we may humbly receive it and claim it as ours according to what God has promised in His word, the Bible.
We likewise are not presently perfect. We still sin, fall short of the high and perfect standard that God alone in Jesus Christ is able to perform. May God be merciful to us, sinners. . . saved by His evergreen and rich Grace afforded us by the price paid at the Cross.
All that said, I have been looking for a church - indigenous and Ecuadorian or expat and North American to begin teaching English, whether paid or volunteer. Never mind that among the secular community(ies) present here in Cuenca there are abundant opportunities to teach English - ESL, or English as a Second Language as a volunteer. Iglesia Verbo Cristiana, our current church home, is in its Arco Language Institute service arm not yet set to hire any new ESL teachers until July at the earliest, I have been informed this past Friday. So it may be appropriate to begin by volunteering elsewhere in the meantime.
I have enjoyed these past several weeks a Men's Breakfast sponsored by and for Cuenca Christian Church, an expat English speaking church, and have gotten to know some of the men that attend. I seem to be the only one that attends that is not a Sunday morning worshipper of that congregation, yet I am still welcome. Thanks, my brothers in Christ for that. Anyways, it became known to me through one of the attendees of that Men's Breakfast that a new ministry in the El Centro of Cuenca is in need of volunteer ESL teachers to converse and spend time with the local population that comes in on written schedule (trying to pair up willing volunteers with those who wish assistance in a coordinated way). I had some time this past Saturday morning to give, and so off I went with one of the men to find this hole-in-the-wall place on a very busy main street in the thick of El Centro.
I enjoyed my time with my friend and a 79 year old grandmother who just wanted to learn English in order to converse and understand her Gringo neighbors. . . God Bless her in her efforts at such an advanced age! Afterwards, I had some unstructured time with the founder of the ministry who is from the United States, who did quite a bit of talking. . . and talking. . . and talking.
I don't get the sense I was truly listened to, which reminded me of other places and other times in the US when this same thing happened. The common thread here is the Signs and Wonders movement, which places emphasis on experience, imho, versus really truly understanding what the Bible is all about in its true context, and naturally, what God is all about. . . His Divine purposes and plans for humankind, and for us each individually.
I believe God is grieved when fellow Believers don't agree when they should, and be guided together in the Scriptures with the Holy Spirit guiding them into all Truth. My host was right, however, in saying that "if you get Doctrine (teaching) right, you get everything else right." Problem is, his Doctrine does not line up or agree with my Doctrine. . . what I would term the Essentials of the Christian faith. What I would die for rather than recant in order to live longer on this transitory sphere called Earth (witness the beheadings of Christian believers from Egypt by ISIS in Libya lately).
Insisting that his ministry is going to raise the dead? Recounting several unsubstantiated instances of alleged miracles/healings? No proof. Please be reasonable and produce the people and the testimonies - verifiable, please - to back up the claims. It's one thing to say it, but it's another thing to produce it, imho. "I am now balanced in my ministry," says my host. Yeah. Having the icing of the cake before the Essentials of the Faith - the main meal - is hardly balanced.
Yes, he's got relationships forming and people dropping into his storefront ministry. I understand the concept and the practice. And it's neat to have local Cuencanos and Cuencanas come by for the Engish conversations and readings - and sometimes in the Bible, too! I wanna support this kind of English learning friendship ministry. But I noticed I wasn't listened to - respected - by the main guy who started the place.
I am torn. I am saddened.
I dunno what decision I will make about where to teach English for the interim at the moment. I am presently leaning against returning to this particular place to volunteer my English teaching skills.
I wish the True Church - all those who truly are in Jesus by Faith alone - would be more united. Ecuador, like a lot of Latin America, has a "Wild West" mentality where anything and everything goes.
Please pray for God's Wisdom in how to proceed given my teaching gifts and skills.
So much I've learned, so little time to write about it all. . . (sigh)
Today's focus will be on Gringos and churches. Or, if you will, extranjeros y Iglesias, especialmente las Iglesias de los extranjeros. That is to say, foreigners and churches, especially expat churches.
The church - the Bride of Christ - is called out of the world, but still presently in the world. In, but not of, as the Apostle John so wisely put it. The expat church in a foreign country (like Ecuador is to us in our case) is a double dose of that spiritual and relational reality: in a new country, with a different language, culture, set of customs, and geography, but not of the things that make up that country. We are, instead, as the Apostle Peter so aptly illustrates, aliens and strangers - extranjeros - to this present world. We long for our True Home and country, Heaven, as the writer of Hebrews reminds us.
Now, presently speaking here in Ecuador, or in any country around the world, there is no perfect church, experientially speaking. That's because we practically speaking are all sinners and still sin, and have imperfectness in our thoughts, perceptions, and actions. We all miss the mark presently. By God's marvelous Grace, however, He sees is positionally as fully sanctified, pure and holy, and thus perfect. We don't deserve such a gift, but we may humbly receive it and claim it as ours according to what God has promised in His word, the Bible.
We likewise are not presently perfect. We still sin, fall short of the high and perfect standard that God alone in Jesus Christ is able to perform. May God be merciful to us, sinners. . . saved by His evergreen and rich Grace afforded us by the price paid at the Cross.
All that said, I have been looking for a church - indigenous and Ecuadorian or expat and North American to begin teaching English, whether paid or volunteer. Never mind that among the secular community(ies) present here in Cuenca there are abundant opportunities to teach English - ESL, or English as a Second Language as a volunteer. Iglesia Verbo Cristiana, our current church home, is in its Arco Language Institute service arm not yet set to hire any new ESL teachers until July at the earliest, I have been informed this past Friday. So it may be appropriate to begin by volunteering elsewhere in the meantime.
I have enjoyed these past several weeks a Men's Breakfast sponsored by and for Cuenca Christian Church, an expat English speaking church, and have gotten to know some of the men that attend. I seem to be the only one that attends that is not a Sunday morning worshipper of that congregation, yet I am still welcome. Thanks, my brothers in Christ for that. Anyways, it became known to me through one of the attendees of that Men's Breakfast that a new ministry in the El Centro of Cuenca is in need of volunteer ESL teachers to converse and spend time with the local population that comes in on written schedule (trying to pair up willing volunteers with those who wish assistance in a coordinated way). I had some time this past Saturday morning to give, and so off I went with one of the men to find this hole-in-the-wall place on a very busy main street in the thick of El Centro.
I enjoyed my time with my friend and a 79 year old grandmother who just wanted to learn English in order to converse and understand her Gringo neighbors. . . God Bless her in her efforts at such an advanced age! Afterwards, I had some unstructured time with the founder of the ministry who is from the United States, who did quite a bit of talking. . . and talking. . . and talking.
I don't get the sense I was truly listened to, which reminded me of other places and other times in the US when this same thing happened. The common thread here is the Signs and Wonders movement, which places emphasis on experience, imho, versus really truly understanding what the Bible is all about in its true context, and naturally, what God is all about. . . His Divine purposes and plans for humankind, and for us each individually.
I believe God is grieved when fellow Believers don't agree when they should, and be guided together in the Scriptures with the Holy Spirit guiding them into all Truth. My host was right, however, in saying that "if you get Doctrine (teaching) right, you get everything else right." Problem is, his Doctrine does not line up or agree with my Doctrine. . . what I would term the Essentials of the Christian faith. What I would die for rather than recant in order to live longer on this transitory sphere called Earth (witness the beheadings of Christian believers from Egypt by ISIS in Libya lately).
Insisting that his ministry is going to raise the dead? Recounting several unsubstantiated instances of alleged miracles/healings? No proof. Please be reasonable and produce the people and the testimonies - verifiable, please - to back up the claims. It's one thing to say it, but it's another thing to produce it, imho. "I am now balanced in my ministry," says my host. Yeah. Having the icing of the cake before the Essentials of the Faith - the main meal - is hardly balanced.
Yes, he's got relationships forming and people dropping into his storefront ministry. I understand the concept and the practice. And it's neat to have local Cuencanos and Cuencanas come by for the Engish conversations and readings - and sometimes in the Bible, too! I wanna support this kind of English learning friendship ministry. But I noticed I wasn't listened to - respected - by the main guy who started the place.
I am torn. I am saddened.
I dunno what decision I will make about where to teach English for the interim at the moment. I am presently leaning against returning to this particular place to volunteer my English teaching skills.
I wish the True Church - all those who truly are in Jesus by Faith alone - would be more united. Ecuador, like a lot of Latin America, has a "Wild West" mentality where anything and everything goes.
Please pray for God's Wisdom in how to proceed given my teaching gifts and skills.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Pasando la prueba/Passing the test
We are now hopefully at the final stages of getting our Indefinite Pensionado Visas. Here's the latest in this long adventure to acquire permanent residency in Ecuador.
The week of March 29 to April 4 was spent in large part traveling from Cuenca to Quito and return beginning with a flight with LAN Airlines - a first for us in country and just 45 minutes from takeoff to touchdown, getting an airport taxi to our Hostal in the Antigua/Historical sector of Quito, and getting to our appointment at Ministario de Relaciones Exteriores the next day. We met our Visa facilitator from our abogado office, Coloaustro in Cuenca, Joseph Guznay who as it turns out was a former employee of the Ministario office in Quito, making him well versed in knowing each employee there by name and face, as well as knowing the procedures of the Ministario office. He speaks fluent English and Spanish, and even - as it turns out - has his own Facebook page! He put us at ease in that very busy office and took care of matters, submitting our official documents so laboriously assembled to date and getting the necessary to date portion of the Visa fee paid. Our Cedula photos were also taken, which we were told would be appropriate looking - not making us out to look like criminals - and we were done with the submission.
Except for one thing: Ministario still insists there is a requirement - new since December, 2014 - for a FBI Criminal Background Check as well as the (in our case) State of California DOJ Criminal Background Check Report, which we have already obtained and apostilled. We submitted a previous FBI report request last Fall, and it resulted in a negative result for the both of us. Age and work performed (such as teaching by using chalk, which is abrasive to fingers, and nursing by using equipment that similarly wears down the fingers) works to reduce the ability to get good fingerprint identifications. Despite this, and despite the fact that each state report contains information that is sent to the FBI by the States anyway, Ministario still insists on this requirement being met. Hence the title of this post: Passing the Test.
Joseph Guznay, a Quito based Visa facilitator that works on behalf of several law firms and facilitators throughout Ecuador, and probably one of the two most knowledgeable people in Ecuador helping Visa applicants of late - the other is a woman who is based in Guayaquil - has an inside perspective on how it is to be played out, however. Simply stated, it's do what Ministario asks us to do - get the FBI Background Check performed. If we pass it (and of course have the US State Department in Washington, D.C. apostille the documents), great and wonderful! We get our indefinite Visas and Cedulas. If we do not - which is quite likely in our situation - don't sweat it. Simply consult with Joseph and Ministario for how to proceed. If they say to resubmit a new FBI Check application, do it. At some point sooner rather than later - most likely sooner - Ministario will say we have done our part to the best of our ability, and with Joseph's ministrations and negotiation abilities, will grant us our Visas and Cedula cards. So it's not about getting a positive FBI check result - it's about going through the motions and process of doing what Ministario is asking for.
I wish more expats in and moving to Ecuador would get that last part through their heads: one lady here in Cuenca posted on a Facebook group that they have tried and failed several times with the FBI check process, and their Tourist Visa six month extension is running out. She is under the impression they actually have to move out of Ecuador. To be conservative about it, yes, I can see that. But practically speaking, she should have had a well versed attorney or facilitator like Joseph Guznay working for her. The situation in her case cries out for a merciful end, and a granting of the Visa.
##### ##### #####
Here's the steps needed to get the FBI Criminal Background Check submitted, while in Ecuador. They are more time consuming and difficult than if one was in their home country of the United States, which I will try to elaborate on in the hopes it may help others down the road as well as give a perspective on "what do those two do all day? They sure don't communicate much lately." Here goes. . .
(1) Print out FBI FD-258 forms from the Internet. The forms are easy to find, but without a printer with ink cartridges, requires the use of someone else's printer. We used our law firm's printer, necessitating a trip there.
Time spent: 2 hours on Monday, April 6th. Cost: None.
(2) Locate/get directions for the local Law Enforcement Agency appropriate to our fingerprinting needs here in Ecuador. in our case, we found that (and confirmed by our law firm's assistant, Javier) that the Policia Nacional is the agency that we should deal with, specifically the unit known as Criminalistica. *Where* in Cuenca is their location, however? I researched and found that they were on a street I hadn't heard of before, in a sector of Cuenca - southwest - I hadn't been to before, with no street address number or streets intersecting nearby. A mystery. Javier found out where, and how to get there. We were to meet him at Coloaustro law firm this past Thursday, April 9th to take a taxi to Criminalistica to have the fingerprints taken on the newly printed forms. We did so, and that took the better part of the afternoon.
Cost of taxi and color copies of our passports (again): $15. Time in waiting to get task done: Monday, April 6 through Thursday, April 9.
(3) Send FBI FD-258 documents (we made two sets so in case one fails, we have another that may be processed for free) to our FBI Channeler of choice, National Background Check, Inc. (NCBI) of Columbus, Ohio. Easier said than done. We had to fill in the FBI FD-258 form(s), already partially filled out to have approval by Criminalistica's use. Had to run a block down the street one block to our local Internet Café and 10 cents a minute International telephone kiosk to call NCBI to clarify how to fill in the FBI FD 258 forms. Then had to return there yet again to copy the NBCI application forms. Then had to run to Iglesia Verbo Cristiana's Arco Institute where Carolyn Anne was taking her Spanish class to get her signature on the NBCI application form. Home to check over all the paperwork. . . everything filled out correctly and completely? Then on to FedEx in Cuenca via taxi to get to their office hopefully before they close for almuerzo, which I later found out at their office is from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM (FedEx's Internet site for Ecuador didn't mention that). Made it at 12:40 and filled out the shipping form and dropped it all into a FedEx envelope (from the USA - all words in English) and dealt with the clerks there, especially Sonia and her 10 year old daughter, Victoria by speaking Spanish only the whole time. I know I made a few new friends by being an extranjero who was willing to use the native language of Ecuador! Got several smiles too. . . Thank you Lord for showing the way and helping me do Your Will among these people you love. Your strength is surely made perfect in weakness.
Time involved: morning of Monday, April 13th. Cost involved: $95 x 2 (applications) = $190 for the NCBI FBI Background Checks, plus $53 (cash only) at FedEx for the shipping, Next Day Air arriving in Ohio, USA Wednesday. So $243 total this day.
Total Costs, Steps 1 - 3: $258
Total Time, Steps 1 - 3: one calendar week
Total Costs/Quito Trip:
Taxi to CUE Airport $3.50
LAN Airlines CUE to UIO $181
Taxi to Hostal in Quito $30 (no change from chofer - my bad)
Hostal lodging $150/3 nights
Food/beverages 7 + 13 + 21 + 11 + 9 = $61
Taxi around town/sightseeing @Mitad del Mundo 5 + 33 + 3.50 + 7 + 14 = $ 62.50
Express Sucre intercity bus Terminal Terrestre sur/Quitumbe - Terminal Terrestre/Cuenca $20
Total Costs/Quito Trip: $508
Total Costs, Steps 1 - 3: $258
TOTAL COSTS TO DATE: $766
As you can see, there is a time and, especially financial expense involved with getting a Visa here in Ecuador for retiree pensionados like us jubilados. When Jesus said to Count the Cost, he wasn't joking!
So we have finally submitted the dreaded FBI Criminal Background Check application forms to the appropriate people in the USA per Ministario's requirements. Will we Pass the Test? Will we have to repeat the application process and spend additional time and expense to do so? Will we finally get our Pensioner's Visas? Our facilitator in Quito, Joseph Guznay, says we will. . . all a matter of time.
Meanwhile, Brethren, pray for us.
The week of March 29 to April 4 was spent in large part traveling from Cuenca to Quito and return beginning with a flight with LAN Airlines - a first for us in country and just 45 minutes from takeoff to touchdown, getting an airport taxi to our Hostal in the Antigua/Historical sector of Quito, and getting to our appointment at Ministario de Relaciones Exteriores the next day. We met our Visa facilitator from our abogado office, Coloaustro in Cuenca, Joseph Guznay who as it turns out was a former employee of the Ministario office in Quito, making him well versed in knowing each employee there by name and face, as well as knowing the procedures of the Ministario office. He speaks fluent English and Spanish, and even - as it turns out - has his own Facebook page! He put us at ease in that very busy office and took care of matters, submitting our official documents so laboriously assembled to date and getting the necessary to date portion of the Visa fee paid. Our Cedula photos were also taken, which we were told would be appropriate looking - not making us out to look like criminals - and we were done with the submission.
Except for one thing: Ministario still insists there is a requirement - new since December, 2014 - for a FBI Criminal Background Check as well as the (in our case) State of California DOJ Criminal Background Check Report, which we have already obtained and apostilled. We submitted a previous FBI report request last Fall, and it resulted in a negative result for the both of us. Age and work performed (such as teaching by using chalk, which is abrasive to fingers, and nursing by using equipment that similarly wears down the fingers) works to reduce the ability to get good fingerprint identifications. Despite this, and despite the fact that each state report contains information that is sent to the FBI by the States anyway, Ministario still insists on this requirement being met. Hence the title of this post: Passing the Test.
Joseph Guznay, a Quito based Visa facilitator that works on behalf of several law firms and facilitators throughout Ecuador, and probably one of the two most knowledgeable people in Ecuador helping Visa applicants of late - the other is a woman who is based in Guayaquil - has an inside perspective on how it is to be played out, however. Simply stated, it's do what Ministario asks us to do - get the FBI Background Check performed. If we pass it (and of course have the US State Department in Washington, D.C. apostille the documents), great and wonderful! We get our indefinite Visas and Cedulas. If we do not - which is quite likely in our situation - don't sweat it. Simply consult with Joseph and Ministario for how to proceed. If they say to resubmit a new FBI Check application, do it. At some point sooner rather than later - most likely sooner - Ministario will say we have done our part to the best of our ability, and with Joseph's ministrations and negotiation abilities, will grant us our Visas and Cedula cards. So it's not about getting a positive FBI check result - it's about going through the motions and process of doing what Ministario is asking for.
I wish more expats in and moving to Ecuador would get that last part through their heads: one lady here in Cuenca posted on a Facebook group that they have tried and failed several times with the FBI check process, and their Tourist Visa six month extension is running out. She is under the impression they actually have to move out of Ecuador. To be conservative about it, yes, I can see that. But practically speaking, she should have had a well versed attorney or facilitator like Joseph Guznay working for her. The situation in her case cries out for a merciful end, and a granting of the Visa.
##### ##### #####
Here's the steps needed to get the FBI Criminal Background Check submitted, while in Ecuador. They are more time consuming and difficult than if one was in their home country of the United States, which I will try to elaborate on in the hopes it may help others down the road as well as give a perspective on "what do those two do all day? They sure don't communicate much lately." Here goes. . .
(1) Print out FBI FD-258 forms from the Internet. The forms are easy to find, but without a printer with ink cartridges, requires the use of someone else's printer. We used our law firm's printer, necessitating a trip there.
Time spent: 2 hours on Monday, April 6th. Cost: None.
(2) Locate/get directions for the local Law Enforcement Agency appropriate to our fingerprinting needs here in Ecuador. in our case, we found that (and confirmed by our law firm's assistant, Javier) that the Policia Nacional is the agency that we should deal with, specifically the unit known as Criminalistica. *Where* in Cuenca is their location, however? I researched and found that they were on a street I hadn't heard of before, in a sector of Cuenca - southwest - I hadn't been to before, with no street address number or streets intersecting nearby. A mystery. Javier found out where, and how to get there. We were to meet him at Coloaustro law firm this past Thursday, April 9th to take a taxi to Criminalistica to have the fingerprints taken on the newly printed forms. We did so, and that took the better part of the afternoon.
Cost of taxi and color copies of our passports (again): $15. Time in waiting to get task done: Monday, April 6 through Thursday, April 9.
(3) Send FBI FD-258 documents (we made two sets so in case one fails, we have another that may be processed for free) to our FBI Channeler of choice, National Background Check, Inc. (NCBI) of Columbus, Ohio. Easier said than done. We had to fill in the FBI FD-258 form(s), already partially filled out to have approval by Criminalistica's use. Had to run a block down the street one block to our local Internet Café and 10 cents a minute International telephone kiosk to call NCBI to clarify how to fill in the FBI FD 258 forms. Then had to return there yet again to copy the NBCI application forms. Then had to run to Iglesia Verbo Cristiana's Arco Institute where Carolyn Anne was taking her Spanish class to get her signature on the NBCI application form. Home to check over all the paperwork. . . everything filled out correctly and completely? Then on to FedEx in Cuenca via taxi to get to their office hopefully before they close for almuerzo, which I later found out at their office is from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM (FedEx's Internet site for Ecuador didn't mention that). Made it at 12:40 and filled out the shipping form and dropped it all into a FedEx envelope (from the USA - all words in English) and dealt with the clerks there, especially Sonia and her 10 year old daughter, Victoria by speaking Spanish only the whole time. I know I made a few new friends by being an extranjero who was willing to use the native language of Ecuador! Got several smiles too. . . Thank you Lord for showing the way and helping me do Your Will among these people you love. Your strength is surely made perfect in weakness.
Time involved: morning of Monday, April 13th. Cost involved: $95 x 2 (applications) = $190 for the NCBI FBI Background Checks, plus $53 (cash only) at FedEx for the shipping, Next Day Air arriving in Ohio, USA Wednesday. So $243 total this day.
Total Costs, Steps 1 - 3: $258
Total Time, Steps 1 - 3: one calendar week
Total Costs/Quito Trip:
Taxi to CUE Airport $3.50
LAN Airlines CUE to UIO $181
Taxi to Hostal in Quito $30 (no change from chofer - my bad)
Hostal lodging $150/3 nights
Food/beverages 7 + 13 + 21 + 11 + 9 = $61
Taxi around town/sightseeing @Mitad del Mundo 5 + 33 + 3.50 + 7 + 14 = $ 62.50
Express Sucre intercity bus Terminal Terrestre sur/Quitumbe - Terminal Terrestre/Cuenca $20
Total Costs/Quito Trip: $508
Total Costs, Steps 1 - 3: $258
TOTAL COSTS TO DATE: $766
As you can see, there is a time and, especially financial expense involved with getting a Visa here in Ecuador for retiree pensionados like us jubilados. When Jesus said to Count the Cost, he wasn't joking!
So we have finally submitted the dreaded FBI Criminal Background Check application forms to the appropriate people in the USA per Ministario's requirements. Will we Pass the Test? Will we have to repeat the application process and spend additional time and expense to do so? Will we finally get our Pensioner's Visas? Our facilitator in Quito, Joseph Guznay, says we will. . . all a matter of time.
Meanwhile, Brethren, pray for us.
Friday, March 27, 2015
Suffering for Jesus in Cuenca
Our Pastor Pat Tanner at our "sending" church, Grace Chapel in Lancaster, California is the author of the above title, not your humble scribe. We have in the past months explored to some length just what that phrase means. . . suffering for Jesus in (name the location). Cuenca, Ecuador is much more exotic and mysterious perhaps than say, Ventura, California from a North American perspective. Besides, we live in Cuenca now. Hence the title of today's post.
You can suffer for Jesus in the Antelope Valley of California. . . a little. You might get jeered at behind your back for identifying with Him out of earshot, or be reviled in local current event forums on the 'Net. You probably won't lose your job, your residence, your car, or your family over your relationship with the Living Lord of the Universe.
Meanwhile, in places like Syria, Iraq, and Iran just to name a few more obvious choices in the news lately, you may lose not only those abovementioned items, but your very life! ISIS takes few if any prisoners, it seems.
Cuenca, our current "duty station" if you will, leans much more in the direction of our previous home in Palmdale in the Antelope Valley than (ahem) the Middle East. Hard to suffer for Jesus in our expat living situation here. We have no job to lose, our Social Security pensions keep coming every month (thank God for ATMs and Debit Cards from our USA based Credit Union), our landlady adores us, we have no car, taking the bus (Yes! We have been learning the Cuenca Transit bus routes and have been reaping the savings over the taxi fares . . . only 25 cents for a bus ride, half that for Seniors/Disabled), taxi and walking when and where appropriate. We are our own immediate family, and our extended family in the USA largely stays in touch with us thus far.
So, no real suffering for Jesus in Cuenca, right? Wrong! I've heard testimonies from some of our new friends who are brothers (and sisters) in Christ about - and I am translating from the Spanish - "leaving the family religion and going to a strange church." Because family ties have traditionally been strong here in Ecuador, these kind of comments from parents and siblings and other relatives sting . . . familial pressure is to stay within the accepted Roman Catholic tradition. Maybe ostracism is not directly done in full, but there are definitely strained relations due to one's decision to follow Jesus Christ and be Born Again.
This is one reason why Iglesia Verbo Cristiana has the "Iglesia en Hogar" house churches/home Bible studies and fellowships. To one that is in strained relationships with authority figures like an abuelito (grandfather), the prayer support and friendships offered there are invaluable. Still, Verbo has maybe 25 per cent of its attendance attending them from what I can see. Not too much different from North American Evangelical churches, but for different reasons. The biggest reason for the gap between church attendance in Sunday worship services and attending a house church meeting is due to not catching the vision of being a totally committed disciple of Jesus Christ, going with the cultural flow of letting the clergy do the work like one sees attitudinally in the North American church. But I digress.
How are we suffering for Jesus in Cuenca? In some less obvious but yet very real ways we are indeed doing just that as we continue to begin our forays in serving the Cuencanos among us in His name, teaching ESL and nursing at Fundacion Hogar in the El Centro of Cuenca.
Here's an example: this week, Carolyn Anne got a hankering for chili con carne like we might make at home in Palmdale (or buy in the can at Costco or Winco). One small problem: where's the chili powder? As Ecuador has been controlling its exports more and more in the past few months in order to live within its declining oil producing revenues, curtailing many imports, items like chili powder that used to be at Coral and Supermaxi are no longer there.
Another item I miss is picante sauce in a 64 ounce plastic bottle. Coral has a similar size plastic bottle of "salsa picante" but, as I soon found out, picante sauce in Ecuador is *HOT!* We'll have to water it down with tomato sauce (more expensive here than in the US gram for gram) and see if we can use it up on some chicken tacos, chips or something.
Try to find a green pepper in the produce section like in the States. Fat chance . . . It's easy to find hot peppers like chili peppers, though and there appears to be more than one variety of them at Coral. I did find a yellow pepper that had some green to it. Wonder what that will taste like? We will find out!
Last year, Supermaxi had Campbell's canned soups available on the shelves. At $2 or more a can, it was pricey, but something you could get if you had a hankering for food from the States. No more. Economic belt tightening, not to mention a "luxury tax" just instituted this month of up to 45 per cent put and end to that. Buy Ecuadorian and help the country live within its means. . . we are doing that.
Oh, and back to the chili con carne topic: I tried in vain to find a kidney bean section among the multiplicitude of the beans found at my local Mall del Rio Coral. Not anywhere to be found. I picked up a bean called "chile frijol" which is decidedly *not* a kidney bean, but is red colored and appears to be used in the *one* offering of chili con carne I find at Supermaxi lately, the Facundo brand. After soaking these beans for 24 hours, they appear to be soaked through, ready to be cooked and added to Carolyn Anne's crockpot concoction of ground beef, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and a bit of "picante" hot sauce added. This is not North American style chili con carne, but it will have to do. It did have good taste, though when it's all said and done. More expensive ingredients than in the States. I'd say with the ground beef used at $8, canned tomatoes at $2, Tomato puree at $3 (partially used bottle), and "chile frijol" beans at $3 a package, this crockpot took around $15 to $20 of ingredients. Not cheap by US standards.
You want to know who is undergoing real suffering, economically speaking, in Latin America right now? Venezuela. Latest report states that due to the country putting all its eggs in one source of income - oil (95 per cent of foreign income according to Credit Suisse and Bloomberg sources) - and the downward worldwide price spiral, the average citizen now cannot find milk, flour, and toilet paper in the stores. Venezuelans are leaving the country for other more stable countries, including Ecuador. Even the Ecuadorians are leaving Venezuela. A 40 per cent drop in National Income, and a 93 per cent risk of defaulting on its debts has driven the Venezuelan economy to its knees, and currently suffers the world's highest inflation rate - 63 per cent - amid hard currency shortages. Hyperinflation could be in its future if there is no course correction by its leaders, or no price upswing in the price of oil. Pray for Venezuela and its people, and for wisdom for its leaders post Hugo Chavez, please.
You can suffer for Jesus in the Antelope Valley of California. . . a little. You might get jeered at behind your back for identifying with Him out of earshot, or be reviled in local current event forums on the 'Net. You probably won't lose your job, your residence, your car, or your family over your relationship with the Living Lord of the Universe.
Meanwhile, in places like Syria, Iraq, and Iran just to name a few more obvious choices in the news lately, you may lose not only those abovementioned items, but your very life! ISIS takes few if any prisoners, it seems.
Cuenca, our current "duty station" if you will, leans much more in the direction of our previous home in Palmdale in the Antelope Valley than (ahem) the Middle East. Hard to suffer for Jesus in our expat living situation here. We have no job to lose, our Social Security pensions keep coming every month (thank God for ATMs and Debit Cards from our USA based Credit Union), our landlady adores us, we have no car, taking the bus (Yes! We have been learning the Cuenca Transit bus routes and have been reaping the savings over the taxi fares . . . only 25 cents for a bus ride, half that for Seniors/Disabled), taxi and walking when and where appropriate. We are our own immediate family, and our extended family in the USA largely stays in touch with us thus far.
So, no real suffering for Jesus in Cuenca, right? Wrong! I've heard testimonies from some of our new friends who are brothers (and sisters) in Christ about - and I am translating from the Spanish - "leaving the family religion and going to a strange church." Because family ties have traditionally been strong here in Ecuador, these kind of comments from parents and siblings and other relatives sting . . . familial pressure is to stay within the accepted Roman Catholic tradition. Maybe ostracism is not directly done in full, but there are definitely strained relations due to one's decision to follow Jesus Christ and be Born Again.
This is one reason why Iglesia Verbo Cristiana has the "Iglesia en Hogar" house churches/home Bible studies and fellowships. To one that is in strained relationships with authority figures like an abuelito (grandfather), the prayer support and friendships offered there are invaluable. Still, Verbo has maybe 25 per cent of its attendance attending them from what I can see. Not too much different from North American Evangelical churches, but for different reasons. The biggest reason for the gap between church attendance in Sunday worship services and attending a house church meeting is due to not catching the vision of being a totally committed disciple of Jesus Christ, going with the cultural flow of letting the clergy do the work like one sees attitudinally in the North American church. But I digress.
How are we suffering for Jesus in Cuenca? In some less obvious but yet very real ways we are indeed doing just that as we continue to begin our forays in serving the Cuencanos among us in His name, teaching ESL and nursing at Fundacion Hogar in the El Centro of Cuenca.
Here's an example: this week, Carolyn Anne got a hankering for chili con carne like we might make at home in Palmdale (or buy in the can at Costco or Winco). One small problem: where's the chili powder? As Ecuador has been controlling its exports more and more in the past few months in order to live within its declining oil producing revenues, curtailing many imports, items like chili powder that used to be at Coral and Supermaxi are no longer there.
Another item I miss is picante sauce in a 64 ounce plastic bottle. Coral has a similar size plastic bottle of "salsa picante" but, as I soon found out, picante sauce in Ecuador is *HOT!* We'll have to water it down with tomato sauce (more expensive here than in the US gram for gram) and see if we can use it up on some chicken tacos, chips or something.
Try to find a green pepper in the produce section like in the States. Fat chance . . . It's easy to find hot peppers like chili peppers, though and there appears to be more than one variety of them at Coral. I did find a yellow pepper that had some green to it. Wonder what that will taste like? We will find out!
Last year, Supermaxi had Campbell's canned soups available on the shelves. At $2 or more a can, it was pricey, but something you could get if you had a hankering for food from the States. No more. Economic belt tightening, not to mention a "luxury tax" just instituted this month of up to 45 per cent put and end to that. Buy Ecuadorian and help the country live within its means. . . we are doing that.
Oh, and back to the chili con carne topic: I tried in vain to find a kidney bean section among the multiplicitude of the beans found at my local Mall del Rio Coral. Not anywhere to be found. I picked up a bean called "chile frijol" which is decidedly *not* a kidney bean, but is red colored and appears to be used in the *one* offering of chili con carne I find at Supermaxi lately, the Facundo brand. After soaking these beans for 24 hours, they appear to be soaked through, ready to be cooked and added to Carolyn Anne's crockpot concoction of ground beef, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and a bit of "picante" hot sauce added. This is not North American style chili con carne, but it will have to do. It did have good taste, though when it's all said and done. More expensive ingredients than in the States. I'd say with the ground beef used at $8, canned tomatoes at $2, Tomato puree at $3 (partially used bottle), and "chile frijol" beans at $3 a package, this crockpot took around $15 to $20 of ingredients. Not cheap by US standards.
You want to know who is undergoing real suffering, economically speaking, in Latin America right now? Venezuela. Latest report states that due to the country putting all its eggs in one source of income - oil (95 per cent of foreign income according to Credit Suisse and Bloomberg sources) - and the downward worldwide price spiral, the average citizen now cannot find milk, flour, and toilet paper in the stores. Venezuelans are leaving the country for other more stable countries, including Ecuador. Even the Ecuadorians are leaving Venezuela. A 40 per cent drop in National Income, and a 93 per cent risk of defaulting on its debts has driven the Venezuelan economy to its knees, and currently suffers the world's highest inflation rate - 63 per cent - amid hard currency shortages. Hyperinflation could be in its future if there is no course correction by its leaders, or no price upswing in the price of oil. Pray for Venezuela and its people, and for wisdom for its leaders post Hugo Chavez, please.
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Beginning a Volunteer Adventure
Yesterday, Friday, we had a wonderful visit at Fundacion Hogar in the El Centro of Cuenca with our new friend Chio, who is the Director of the medical clinic there. It was our first visit to El Centro in the non tourist dominated area north of Gran Columbia (think Sierra Highway if you want to know the role Gran Columbia plays in the street system in Cuenca and are from where we came from, the Antelope Valley). No English language signs for the tiendas and cafes, a quieter vibe in the morning than in the more familiar part of El Centro, and definitely no Gringos in sight! We took a taxi to our appointment and the chofer immediately remarked in Spanish, "not as much traffic here - I like that!" You see, in a 450+ year old city which Cuenca's El Centro is, with one way streets narrower than in the tourist sections of San Francisco, California, and with the Tranvia subway under construction in El Centro beginning next week, it gets old driving in a street system designed for pre Columbian times.
Upon arriving at the clinic, we met the morning DJ of Iglesia Verbo Cristiana's Radio Familia 96.9 FM radio station studio - they broadcast uplifting Christ centered positive programming from this location in Cuenca 24 hours a day, and have for over a decade. Something different and clean in the air, as Jack French of the SOS radio network based in Las Vegas, Nevada used to always say. She is a friend we have seen while attending the worship services at Verbo. Nice to see welcoming friends!
We went upstairs to the secretary's office and met both Chio, the Director, and one of Verbo's Elders, Boris. Boris was there to provide the bilingual translation, though Chio, who we met previously the week before at Verbo, has some English speaking and understanding abilities. I did not have to translate this time! We had also met Boris two weeks ago in the course of visiting the Verbo church office when we were seeking a dogsitter (now obtained courtesy of Chio).
The conversation was rather short and decidedly informal between Chio and Carolyn Anne. Yes, the clinic could use her training and abilities. !!! They would provide a lab coat, etc. for her time as a volunteer so she would be recognized as part of the staff. Comfortable and appropriate clothes are the dress code - no need to buy clothes while a volunteer nurse in the medical clinic. She would start in the next few weeks assisting the efforts of Taylor University students currently here in Cuenca in one of the "Medical Brigades" held six times a year to help the poor and underprivileged here in Cuenca. And again, no need to have any particular knowledge of Spanish - other staff and/or volunteers would assist in translations between her and the patients. All good stuff, indeed!
At the moment, we are a bit confused on the reporting date in April, but that will be easy to confirm later since we have Chio's telephone number at home. We're happy to have Carolyn Anne begin her Cuenca volunteer adventure, finally!
As for me and my application to teach English as a Second Language at the Arco Institute at Iglesia Verbo Cristiana . . . it's still here waiting for me to have some time to fill it out. No worries . . . it'll get done soon.
Back to Boris for a moment: it turns out he is the one behind the Clinica Medica getting started. A humble man, but one with vision from God on how things could be for Verbo and the citizens of Cuenca.
Unlike a typical job interview, he concluded our time with what is really needed as one volunteers in the medical clinic setting at Fundacion Hogar: a loving heart - love transcends all linguistic boundaries. The cultural kindness of offering a friendly !Buenos Dias! to all one comes in contact with, followed with a hug, is both desired . . . and right up Carolyn Anne's alley so to speak - it's her style. These small niceties coupled with the medical help provided help soften people's hearts to be open to the Good News of Jesus Christ - that is, the Gospel. In the case of the Medical Brigades, a Gospel presentation is also provided to patients and family. A good number of people have come to know the Lord and attend Verbo now because of these Medical Brigades, to cite but one example. Exciting. . . and definitely a new adventure as we explore the direction the Lord desires for the both of us.
In terms of vision for Iglesia Verbo, Boris understands that all Believers in Jesus Christ who have truly been Born Again have Spiritual Gifts. They are to be used to edify, build up, and grow the church and thus the Kingdom of God. All Believers are to use their Gifts in service to the church body and to the community at large outside its doors, and not just a select few such as Pastors and church leaders - the great error known in the New Testament known as Gnosticism. He gets it!
I'd love to sit down with Boris for a while and pick his brain on topics related to Servant Leadership and Christian Formation . . . that may take some doing. Boris has a job besides his Elder duties and is not paid for his pastoral role in Verbo. He also serves as the pastor of the Verbo church in nearby Azogues. Neat guy to know, but he keeps a full schedule. Of course, the busy, focused, yielded person of God also gets things done - and that describes Boris in a nutshell I think.
I know I have been rather stingy in supplying only my words to these posts these many months. Considering the breakneck speed we have been traveling in making so many changes to our lives, I hope you may understand. Once I get a table for the desktop computer, get the printer working again, and get caught up that way I should be able to have time to download photos of our past trip to Cuenca last year as well as provide new photos of what we are seeing now. Please stay tuned!
In the meantime, I found a couple of YouTube videos on the topic at hand - Cuenca, Iglesia Verbo Cristiana, and Fundacion Hogar and the medical clinic. Both of these are several years old, and so some of the information is not the most current. Cuenca now has a population of over 500,000 and Verbo has attendance of about 2,000 on Sundays. Both are by current longtime Verbo church leaders/pastors. Enjoy the sights of Cuenca and Ecuador while you gain an appreciation for the work at hand for medical volunteers here in Cuenca.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlzpxhNAbQA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_mcDU59z9w
Upon arriving at the clinic, we met the morning DJ of Iglesia Verbo Cristiana's Radio Familia 96.9 FM radio station studio - they broadcast uplifting Christ centered positive programming from this location in Cuenca 24 hours a day, and have for over a decade. Something different and clean in the air, as Jack French of the SOS radio network based in Las Vegas, Nevada used to always say. She is a friend we have seen while attending the worship services at Verbo. Nice to see welcoming friends!
We went upstairs to the secretary's office and met both Chio, the Director, and one of Verbo's Elders, Boris. Boris was there to provide the bilingual translation, though Chio, who we met previously the week before at Verbo, has some English speaking and understanding abilities. I did not have to translate this time! We had also met Boris two weeks ago in the course of visiting the Verbo church office when we were seeking a dogsitter (now obtained courtesy of Chio).
The conversation was rather short and decidedly informal between Chio and Carolyn Anne. Yes, the clinic could use her training and abilities. !!! They would provide a lab coat, etc. for her time as a volunteer so she would be recognized as part of the staff. Comfortable and appropriate clothes are the dress code - no need to buy clothes while a volunteer nurse in the medical clinic. She would start in the next few weeks assisting the efforts of Taylor University students currently here in Cuenca in one of the "Medical Brigades" held six times a year to help the poor and underprivileged here in Cuenca. And again, no need to have any particular knowledge of Spanish - other staff and/or volunteers would assist in translations between her and the patients. All good stuff, indeed!
At the moment, we are a bit confused on the reporting date in April, but that will be easy to confirm later since we have Chio's telephone number at home. We're happy to have Carolyn Anne begin her Cuenca volunteer adventure, finally!
As for me and my application to teach English as a Second Language at the Arco Institute at Iglesia Verbo Cristiana . . . it's still here waiting for me to have some time to fill it out. No worries . . . it'll get done soon.
Back to Boris for a moment: it turns out he is the one behind the Clinica Medica getting started. A humble man, but one with vision from God on how things could be for Verbo and the citizens of Cuenca.
Unlike a typical job interview, he concluded our time with what is really needed as one volunteers in the medical clinic setting at Fundacion Hogar: a loving heart - love transcends all linguistic boundaries. The cultural kindness of offering a friendly !Buenos Dias! to all one comes in contact with, followed with a hug, is both desired . . . and right up Carolyn Anne's alley so to speak - it's her style. These small niceties coupled with the medical help provided help soften people's hearts to be open to the Good News of Jesus Christ - that is, the Gospel. In the case of the Medical Brigades, a Gospel presentation is also provided to patients and family. A good number of people have come to know the Lord and attend Verbo now because of these Medical Brigades, to cite but one example. Exciting. . . and definitely a new adventure as we explore the direction the Lord desires for the both of us.
In terms of vision for Iglesia Verbo, Boris understands that all Believers in Jesus Christ who have truly been Born Again have Spiritual Gifts. They are to be used to edify, build up, and grow the church and thus the Kingdom of God. All Believers are to use their Gifts in service to the church body and to the community at large outside its doors, and not just a select few such as Pastors and church leaders - the great error known in the New Testament known as Gnosticism. He gets it!
I'd love to sit down with Boris for a while and pick his brain on topics related to Servant Leadership and Christian Formation . . . that may take some doing. Boris has a job besides his Elder duties and is not paid for his pastoral role in Verbo. He also serves as the pastor of the Verbo church in nearby Azogues. Neat guy to know, but he keeps a full schedule. Of course, the busy, focused, yielded person of God also gets things done - and that describes Boris in a nutshell I think.
I know I have been rather stingy in supplying only my words to these posts these many months. Considering the breakneck speed we have been traveling in making so many changes to our lives, I hope you may understand. Once I get a table for the desktop computer, get the printer working again, and get caught up that way I should be able to have time to download photos of our past trip to Cuenca last year as well as provide new photos of what we are seeing now. Please stay tuned!
In the meantime, I found a couple of YouTube videos on the topic at hand - Cuenca, Iglesia Verbo Cristiana, and Fundacion Hogar and the medical clinic. Both of these are several years old, and so some of the information is not the most current. Cuenca now has a population of over 500,000 and Verbo has attendance of about 2,000 on Sundays. Both are by current longtime Verbo church leaders/pastors. Enjoy the sights of Cuenca and Ecuador while you gain an appreciation for the work at hand for medical volunteers here in Cuenca.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlzpxhNAbQA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_mcDU59z9w
Monday, March 16, 2015
Putting it All Together
Lots of good news to share with our family and friends! Old news first, then the new stuff.
We - hopefully - are done visiting the Cuenca Ministario de Relaciones Exteriores office. Saw them today with our legal assistant, Javier, and paid the final $8 to the Ministario office for. . . I still don't know for certain, but I'm guessing we are now in the computer based information system the Ministario office has up and running. We have a couple of documents received from them today (per person) which we need to safeguard and bring with us to Quito when it comes time for us to travel there to finally obtain our Indefinite Visas and Cedulas, Pensioner's version.
We will according to Javier visit folks in an associated law firm in Quito who work in association with our law firm here in Cuenca, Coloaustro. They will be with us when we go to the Ministario office, and assist us in the obtaining of the sought after Visas and Cedulas. The timetable for that is in the next two to four weeks according to Javier. We will wait for Coloaustro to give us a call on when we need to travel north to Quito. . . and hang loose so to speak until then. Looking good so far. We know we will get our photos taken for the Visas/Cedulas then. . . hope the photos turn out better than what the Cuenca office did with our visages. I for one don't want to look like a criminal getting a mug shot or something like that! We will get our fingerprints taken for our Cedula cards too. Good luck on that one folks. . . they can have 'em, but it's hard to read 'em! You know we will be cooperative, of course. . . and thankful to God for getting us to this important milestone.
We now have a dogsitter for our pet Chihuahua while we travel to Quito on business. Courtesy of Pastor Fernando of Iglesia Verbo Cristiana who is bilingual, we have a connection to a lady veterinarian and her student veterinarian daughter who have agreed to do the dogsitting at their house - with the added benefit of a fenced in green lawn backyard, which the little guy hasn't had in freedom since we sold our house in Palmdale months ago. I imagine he will be supremely delighted to run around a yard free for the first time in months - a real treat! All for a very reasonable price which the dogsitter services at GringoTree.com cannot match. . . not even close! So we know we are getting the local's pricing on the deal, and not being Gringo gouged. Thank you Lord, for folks like Chio and her daughter Carolina who are fair and willing to help us in our time of need. Another definite answer to prayer.
On to new news: meanwhile, Carolyn Anne has started a beginner's Spanish class last Wednesday. Hitting the basics, and with the help of an Internet site I found called Butterfly Spanish on Youtube, covering the Spanish alphabet and sounds with numbers the first week here at home. The class is taught at Iglesia Verbo by Laura, a church member, and Carolyn Anne is the only student enrolled. One on one instruction for $8.50 an hour! Two hours a day, three days (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) a week. We can financially handle that for the time being.
There is not a critical need for the class, but Carolyn Anne was set on getting formal instruction from someone other than - ahem - her loving husband. Getting another perspective on learning Spanish for a time is fine for now. In time she will realize that perfection - in this case perfect native Spanish fluency - is not a worthwhile goal for an expat. What is worthwhile is joining local conversation groups that speak both languages for free - no charge except for the restaurant food/beverage costs. There's several here in Cuenca she can participate in. All in due time.
For my part, while we were getting Carolyn Anne enrolled at the Arco Language Institute offered at Iglesia Verbo Cristiana, I picked up an application to be an English as a Second Language teacher. I don't have a Curriculum Vitae like so many other retired (or not) expats, but I do have my lifetime of experience teaching in the classroom, a good many years of them teaching some very difficult students in various K - 12 pubic school districts in my home state of California as well as Colorado for a short while. They are not demanding I supply a professional C.V., but do want at minimum a resume. That I can type up on my desktop computer, then send as an email attachment and get it printed on someone else's printer - don't have the printer working just yet still. The pay is not huge at $10 an hour, but not out of line for what happens here in Latin America either. Hours would be either six or eight hours a week, which would fit the US Social Security rules for what an expat receiving SSDI is allowed to make (45 hours of work a month). An extra $200 to $300 a month income would be helpful, but not the reason why we came here to retire. We came here to enlarge the Kingdom of God, and make the name of Jesus Christ famous!
Back to Carolyn Anne again: the very same person who has volunteered to care for our dog while we obtain our Indefinite Visas and Cedulas in Quito is also a volunteer coordinator for Iglesia Verbo's medical clinic located in El Centro here in Cuenca. Connect, connect, connect. . . and, as I reminded my wife in Chio's presence, you don't have to speak a word of Spanish to volunteer at the clinic. You just have to have a willing servant's heart! So Carolyn Anne is going to add volunteering at the clinic to her schedule probably next week. As with the Taylor University (Upland, Indiana) students already volunteering and ministering there at the medical clinic, there are people there who can translate for you on behalf of the patients and yourself. It's not an obstacle from serving if you only speak English.
We're getting where we hoped we would be, hopefully, by the Grace of God! Please pray with us for Jesus to be made manifest in us, that the Cuencanos would see Him, not us. . . and therefore Glorify God for all He has given them through us as willing servants. This is an exciting chapter in our lives. We don't want to miss out on what God has in store for us!
We - hopefully - are done visiting the Cuenca Ministario de Relaciones Exteriores office. Saw them today with our legal assistant, Javier, and paid the final $8 to the Ministario office for. . . I still don't know for certain, but I'm guessing we are now in the computer based information system the Ministario office has up and running. We have a couple of documents received from them today (per person) which we need to safeguard and bring with us to Quito when it comes time for us to travel there to finally obtain our Indefinite Visas and Cedulas, Pensioner's version.
We will according to Javier visit folks in an associated law firm in Quito who work in association with our law firm here in Cuenca, Coloaustro. They will be with us when we go to the Ministario office, and assist us in the obtaining of the sought after Visas and Cedulas. The timetable for that is in the next two to four weeks according to Javier. We will wait for Coloaustro to give us a call on when we need to travel north to Quito. . . and hang loose so to speak until then. Looking good so far. We know we will get our photos taken for the Visas/Cedulas then. . . hope the photos turn out better than what the Cuenca office did with our visages. I for one don't want to look like a criminal getting a mug shot or something like that! We will get our fingerprints taken for our Cedula cards too. Good luck on that one folks. . . they can have 'em, but it's hard to read 'em! You know we will be cooperative, of course. . . and thankful to God for getting us to this important milestone.
We now have a dogsitter for our pet Chihuahua while we travel to Quito on business. Courtesy of Pastor Fernando of Iglesia Verbo Cristiana who is bilingual, we have a connection to a lady veterinarian and her student veterinarian daughter who have agreed to do the dogsitting at their house - with the added benefit of a fenced in green lawn backyard, which the little guy hasn't had in freedom since we sold our house in Palmdale months ago. I imagine he will be supremely delighted to run around a yard free for the first time in months - a real treat! All for a very reasonable price which the dogsitter services at GringoTree.com cannot match. . . not even close! So we know we are getting the local's pricing on the deal, and not being Gringo gouged. Thank you Lord, for folks like Chio and her daughter Carolina who are fair and willing to help us in our time of need. Another definite answer to prayer.
On to new news: meanwhile, Carolyn Anne has started a beginner's Spanish class last Wednesday. Hitting the basics, and with the help of an Internet site I found called Butterfly Spanish on Youtube, covering the Spanish alphabet and sounds with numbers the first week here at home. The class is taught at Iglesia Verbo by Laura, a church member, and Carolyn Anne is the only student enrolled. One on one instruction for $8.50 an hour! Two hours a day, three days (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) a week. We can financially handle that for the time being.
There is not a critical need for the class, but Carolyn Anne was set on getting formal instruction from someone other than - ahem - her loving husband. Getting another perspective on learning Spanish for a time is fine for now. In time she will realize that perfection - in this case perfect native Spanish fluency - is not a worthwhile goal for an expat. What is worthwhile is joining local conversation groups that speak both languages for free - no charge except for the restaurant food/beverage costs. There's several here in Cuenca she can participate in. All in due time.
For my part, while we were getting Carolyn Anne enrolled at the Arco Language Institute offered at Iglesia Verbo Cristiana, I picked up an application to be an English as a Second Language teacher. I don't have a Curriculum Vitae like so many other retired (or not) expats, but I do have my lifetime of experience teaching in the classroom, a good many years of them teaching some very difficult students in various K - 12 pubic school districts in my home state of California as well as Colorado for a short while. They are not demanding I supply a professional C.V., but do want at minimum a resume. That I can type up on my desktop computer, then send as an email attachment and get it printed on someone else's printer - don't have the printer working just yet still. The pay is not huge at $10 an hour, but not out of line for what happens here in Latin America either. Hours would be either six or eight hours a week, which would fit the US Social Security rules for what an expat receiving SSDI is allowed to make (45 hours of work a month). An extra $200 to $300 a month income would be helpful, but not the reason why we came here to retire. We came here to enlarge the Kingdom of God, and make the name of Jesus Christ famous!
Back to Carolyn Anne again: the very same person who has volunteered to care for our dog while we obtain our Indefinite Visas and Cedulas in Quito is also a volunteer coordinator for Iglesia Verbo's medical clinic located in El Centro here in Cuenca. Connect, connect, connect. . . and, as I reminded my wife in Chio's presence, you don't have to speak a word of Spanish to volunteer at the clinic. You just have to have a willing servant's heart! So Carolyn Anne is going to add volunteering at the clinic to her schedule probably next week. As with the Taylor University (Upland, Indiana) students already volunteering and ministering there at the medical clinic, there are people there who can translate for you on behalf of the patients and yourself. It's not an obstacle from serving if you only speak English.
We're getting where we hoped we would be, hopefully, by the Grace of God! Please pray with us for Jesus to be made manifest in us, that the Cuencanos would see Him, not us. . . and therefore Glorify God for all He has given them through us as willing servants. This is an exciting chapter in our lives. We don't want to miss out on what God has in store for us!
Sunday, March 8, 2015
!Funcionarios del Gobierno, Doctores, y Taxistas, Oh, Mi! (Government Officials, Doctors, and Taxi Drivers, Oh, My!)
Definitely time for an update. . . and some good news. You can tell by the title of this post above that we have been, with God's great help of course and your prayers, that we have been - ahem - "Slaying the Giants." We have. . . and in a foreign land, with a very different culture and language, you have to do it with all the energy and attention you can bear. What looked like a few weeks ago like the proverbial "lions and tigers and bears" are just. . . life's little challenges, and indeed victories.
Continuing the Wizard of Oz metaphor and imagery, let's discuss first the obtaining the "broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West" - I just love the Frances Gumm/Judy Garland/Wizard of Oz (1939 classic American film) connections as I recount this story - it actually fits rather well! The "broomstick" in our case, of course, is the granting of our 9-I pensionado retiree Visas, and Cedula cards.
We had to go - according to our abogados at Coloaustro law firm to the Cuenca office of the Ministario de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana. If that office's name suggests in your mind the phrase "Immigration Office" like what the INS (now ICE) is in the US, you've got it - functionally - right! These people are worse at times than DMV examiners. Thankfully, at the Cuenca office, there are no longer any long lines in the morning like there used to be a year or so ago, and they have a walk up appointment system in place. Enough chairs to sit in, too.
Why we had to go to that office remained a mystery to us until we had a chat with Dr. Cardenas. According to the Ministario office, our T-3 tourist Visas - the kind you have that last a total of 90 days in a 365 day period and are stamped into your USA passport - were going to expire before the Ministario office in Quito would be able to issue our Indefinite 9-I Visas (that last bit of info not released to the Cuenca Ministario office, but held close to the vest by our law firm). So a 180 day extension of our tourist Visas were in order. Oh, Joy.
Off we went, with Javier the legal assistant, and Merci the bilingual office receptionist, to the Ministario office. Three blocks - actual blocks - away from the Coloaustro office. We went on a Thursday morning, and all the available appointments were taken up for the day. We had to return Friday morning at the beginning of the day. . . 8:30 AM, which is considered early in Ecuador.
That Friday, after waiting over two hours, we got to see a real bruja of a woman, Francia. (No, I'm not gonna translate the word for you. Make your own inferences.) We were told (she told poor Javier in rapid fire Spanish) that the dates on our Social Security pension letters were too old, and that we needed to obtain FBI Criminal Background checks in addition to our State of California DOJ ones already supplied and apostilled. !!! The dates on our documents were well before the Ministario changed the rules (late December, 2014 according to a more reliable source). Our hands are so old and worn it's difficult if not impossible to get the black ink fingerprints that will read properly for the FBI.
She had Javier type up two letters for us stating that we were deficient in these two areas . . . given to her, of course. After a mistake made - gotta state both deficiencies, not just the one - the instrangient official was satisfied by the letters, and now we could obtain our Visa extensions. Saturday. No more time in the office was available, apparently.
Saturday we waited three hours that morning to see the official, who granted us an appointment to come back for the actual Visa extension the next Friday (this last Friday). This last Friday, we finally got the documentation for our 180 day Visa extensions, had them typed up, photos taken by their camera (DMV style. . . that's all I'm gonna say about that!) and placed into a page in our USA Passports. Whew! And we're not even to our final granting of our Indefinite pensioner's Visas yet! Patience, as always, is the key.
Ahead in the wings. . . a trip to Quito for the Indefinite 9-I Visas after we finalize one final small step in our Visa extensions. Cost of that last small step: $4 (so $8 for a couple). Cost of the Indefinite Visa for a married couple (good job by Javier in getting the best price per the regulations for us): $310. Ouch! But it had to get done, we found out.
I contacted a couple of dogsitters here in Cuenca to see what could be done to have someone watch our pet Chihuahua. It seems many dogsitters are booked up weeks in advance, which may pose a problem for us, who must travel on the spur of the moment to get to Quito for our Indefinite Visas. Will check Iglesia Verbo Cristiana and see if we can find a volunteer. A small but important detail, so please pray. Thanks!
*** *** ***
On the Doctor front: once I got to see a different - and Spanish speaking one at that - cardiologist (my bilingual cardiologist was away on a conference in Washington, DC, btw) I was declared in condition to be prescribed Tenormin (atenolol) to regulate the heartbeat. Once I got a chance to finally see Dr. Quizhpe again, he similarly agreed that I was on the proper medication, and that I didn't have to see him again for three months, provided no other changes happen. Then four months before a successive visit. Doing well with the heart and heartbeat, thank God . . . though I remain officially in A Fib condition. It's regulated by the prescription medications now, and that's all there is to it.
Hitting a plateau in the losing weight front at the moment, but not adding any back. It's been time to rest after all this lawyer and Visa and Doctor visit stuff. We have been talking about walking to a restaurant far enough away from us to make it a good walk - to El Centro for the San Sebas café - to get that weight loss going again. A walk to Panesa on Remigio Crespo Toral wouldn't be out of the question either, but that walk is flat terrain, unlike the hill walk up past the Rio Tomebamba to San Sebas. Total weight loss since moving to Cuenca: 15 pounds. Total weight loss while in Cuenca in 2014 and 2015: 35 pounds. Total weight loss since I married my wife: 57 pounds. FYI and Praise God! I feel better, too.
### ### ###
Ah, now for a tidbit or two on the local chofers, or taxi drivers here in Cuenca: my wife has been going to El Centro on her own - and Praise God, not getting lost - for some meetings that would benefit her with local expats. She reported a couple of taxi drivers lately charged her $2.50 for what I know to be a $1.50 to $2.00 ride, depending on travel time (the taxis are all metered here in Cuenca now, unlike last year). !!! I told her in no uncertain terms to refrain from doing that. If necessary, get me to see the taxi driver and we would have a real long talk. . . in Spanish, of course! I hate having my wife taken advantage like that. Of course, any self respecting driver will just scoot along and get the next fare instead of having a discussion on their business ethics. Initial reports are my wife is getting them to behave better on the apparent price gouging that took place.
I myself had a driver run his cab without the meter running. I saw the red "ERROR" message on his meter on my last run into El Centro yesterday, and immediately and firmly requested he get his meter fixed. . . or I was going out of his taxi without paying him. *That* got his attention, so he immediately parked and finagled with his paper receipt machine located at the left knee of the driver, and got the new roll of paper installed correctly. The meter then read *BIENVENIDOS* as it normally does, and he profusely apologized. . . then and when I paid him at the end of the trip. He knew better, and so did I. I let him know I had *never* seen a driver run without a working meter before this year, unlike last year when meters were not in place in the taxis. . . in my good Spanish, of course. He understood me quite well. You simply have to politely yet firmly stand for what is right, or you get walked on in this Latin machismo Culture.
Continuing the Wizard of Oz metaphor and imagery, let's discuss first the obtaining the "broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West" - I just love the Frances Gumm/Judy Garland/Wizard of Oz (1939 classic American film) connections as I recount this story - it actually fits rather well! The "broomstick" in our case, of course, is the granting of our 9-I pensionado retiree Visas, and Cedula cards.
We had to go - according to our abogados at Coloaustro law firm to the Cuenca office of the Ministario de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana. If that office's name suggests in your mind the phrase "Immigration Office" like what the INS (now ICE) is in the US, you've got it - functionally - right! These people are worse at times than DMV examiners. Thankfully, at the Cuenca office, there are no longer any long lines in the morning like there used to be a year or so ago, and they have a walk up appointment system in place. Enough chairs to sit in, too.
Why we had to go to that office remained a mystery to us until we had a chat with Dr. Cardenas. According to the Ministario office, our T-3 tourist Visas - the kind you have that last a total of 90 days in a 365 day period and are stamped into your USA passport - were going to expire before the Ministario office in Quito would be able to issue our Indefinite 9-I Visas (that last bit of info not released to the Cuenca Ministario office, but held close to the vest by our law firm). So a 180 day extension of our tourist Visas were in order. Oh, Joy.
Off we went, with Javier the legal assistant, and Merci the bilingual office receptionist, to the Ministario office. Three blocks - actual blocks - away from the Coloaustro office. We went on a Thursday morning, and all the available appointments were taken up for the day. We had to return Friday morning at the beginning of the day. . . 8:30 AM, which is considered early in Ecuador.
That Friday, after waiting over two hours, we got to see a real bruja of a woman, Francia. (No, I'm not gonna translate the word for you. Make your own inferences.) We were told (she told poor Javier in rapid fire Spanish) that the dates on our Social Security pension letters were too old, and that we needed to obtain FBI Criminal Background checks in addition to our State of California DOJ ones already supplied and apostilled. !!! The dates on our documents were well before the Ministario changed the rules (late December, 2014 according to a more reliable source). Our hands are so old and worn it's difficult if not impossible to get the black ink fingerprints that will read properly for the FBI.
She had Javier type up two letters for us stating that we were deficient in these two areas . . . given to her, of course. After a mistake made - gotta state both deficiencies, not just the one - the instrangient official was satisfied by the letters, and now we could obtain our Visa extensions. Saturday. No more time in the office was available, apparently.
Saturday we waited three hours that morning to see the official, who granted us an appointment to come back for the actual Visa extension the next Friday (this last Friday). This last Friday, we finally got the documentation for our 180 day Visa extensions, had them typed up, photos taken by their camera (DMV style. . . that's all I'm gonna say about that!) and placed into a page in our USA Passports. Whew! And we're not even to our final granting of our Indefinite pensioner's Visas yet! Patience, as always, is the key.
Ahead in the wings. . . a trip to Quito for the Indefinite 9-I Visas after we finalize one final small step in our Visa extensions. Cost of that last small step: $4 (so $8 for a couple). Cost of the Indefinite Visa for a married couple (good job by Javier in getting the best price per the regulations for us): $310. Ouch! But it had to get done, we found out.
I contacted a couple of dogsitters here in Cuenca to see what could be done to have someone watch our pet Chihuahua. It seems many dogsitters are booked up weeks in advance, which may pose a problem for us, who must travel on the spur of the moment to get to Quito for our Indefinite Visas. Will check Iglesia Verbo Cristiana and see if we can find a volunteer. A small but important detail, so please pray. Thanks!
*** *** ***
On the Doctor front: once I got to see a different - and Spanish speaking one at that - cardiologist (my bilingual cardiologist was away on a conference in Washington, DC, btw) I was declared in condition to be prescribed Tenormin (atenolol) to regulate the heartbeat. Once I got a chance to finally see Dr. Quizhpe again, he similarly agreed that I was on the proper medication, and that I didn't have to see him again for three months, provided no other changes happen. Then four months before a successive visit. Doing well with the heart and heartbeat, thank God . . . though I remain officially in A Fib condition. It's regulated by the prescription medications now, and that's all there is to it.
Hitting a plateau in the losing weight front at the moment, but not adding any back. It's been time to rest after all this lawyer and Visa and Doctor visit stuff. We have been talking about walking to a restaurant far enough away from us to make it a good walk - to El Centro for the San Sebas café - to get that weight loss going again. A walk to Panesa on Remigio Crespo Toral wouldn't be out of the question either, but that walk is flat terrain, unlike the hill walk up past the Rio Tomebamba to San Sebas. Total weight loss since moving to Cuenca: 15 pounds. Total weight loss while in Cuenca in 2014 and 2015: 35 pounds. Total weight loss since I married my wife: 57 pounds. FYI and Praise God! I feel better, too.
### ### ###
Ah, now for a tidbit or two on the local chofers, or taxi drivers here in Cuenca: my wife has been going to El Centro on her own - and Praise God, not getting lost - for some meetings that would benefit her with local expats. She reported a couple of taxi drivers lately charged her $2.50 for what I know to be a $1.50 to $2.00 ride, depending on travel time (the taxis are all metered here in Cuenca now, unlike last year). !!! I told her in no uncertain terms to refrain from doing that. If necessary, get me to see the taxi driver and we would have a real long talk. . . in Spanish, of course! I hate having my wife taken advantage like that. Of course, any self respecting driver will just scoot along and get the next fare instead of having a discussion on their business ethics. Initial reports are my wife is getting them to behave better on the apparent price gouging that took place.
I myself had a driver run his cab without the meter running. I saw the red "ERROR" message on his meter on my last run into El Centro yesterday, and immediately and firmly requested he get his meter fixed. . . or I was going out of his taxi without paying him. *That* got his attention, so he immediately parked and finagled with his paper receipt machine located at the left knee of the driver, and got the new roll of paper installed correctly. The meter then read *BIENVENIDOS* as it normally does, and he profusely apologized. . . then and when I paid him at the end of the trip. He knew better, and so did I. I let him know I had *never* seen a driver run without a working meter before this year, unlike last year when meters were not in place in the taxis. . . in my good Spanish, of course. He understood me quite well. You simply have to politely yet firmly stand for what is right, or you get walked on in this Latin machismo Culture.
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