Over the weekend, I was speaking with a fellow missionary who works with Child Evangelism Fellowship in Mexico. The point we discussed was that sometimes in ministry, it involves just doing paperwork, which can be very time-consuming. For him, it was figuring out how to obtain a new vehicle donated to the ministry from the United States and transport it to his home in Central Mexico. It is easier said than done. Do you import the car? Do you pay the $2500 to import it? 

       We are in the same process when it comes to getting Gee's Mexican passport. We have tried multiple times to get it. Last Friday was another attempt. We arrived at our appointment at 8:50 AM. We handed over all the necessary paperwork. They went over it. Then said we should sit down and wait to have our name called. So we waited for two hours. Gee did pretty well for a 6-year-old who was just supposed to sit there.  We tried to keep entertained. They finally called his name. We thought this would be the last step, taking his photo and fingerprints. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The office worker informed us that everything appears to be in order, except for one document. Because Gee is not yet in school, we have a doctor's form that verifies he has attended to Gee over the last year and a half since arriving in Tecate. Well, one phrase in the document was not what they "needed". What it stated was that Gee had been attended to by the clinic, but it should have specified that the doctor had seen him personally. So, because it didn't say exactly what they wanted. We have to schedule another appointment. This office is only two hours away one way. So no biggie. Just stay in the car and drive another four hours this week.
       This was our fifth attempt at getting his passport. The last one we tried was that his adoption decree paperwork was more than six months old. That is no big deal. You just need to have your lawyer visit the local office, obtain a current copy of the paperwork, and then send it back to you. It only takes 3 weeks to get that done. So, as you can see, these things take time. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and drive 4 hours and sit in an office for three or four hours. This is just one aspect of life in a different country. 

         I guess, as an American white guy living in Tecate, Mexico, I fit some sort of profile of a "missionary". At least the gas station attendant who was pumping my gas assumed so. He asked me if I was a missionary. I said, "Yes". He then asked me if I spoke Spanish. I would hope so since he is speaking to me in Spanish in Mexico (but this is a border town, so there is no guarantee). He started off saying that he got saved in a US prison. He then said he was having problems with his marriage, and he is separated from his wife. What advice would you give? I asked him first if he was attending a church in Tecate. He said he was, so that is good. Faith comes from hearing, hearing the words of Jesus. Romans 10:17. Then I said, 'You need to take responsibility for your sin.' He said he is trying to do that. We continued to talk for a few minutes while five of my kids in the van with me, stopped talking amongst themselves and listened to our conversation. He asked me to please pray for him and his marriage. Jose Luis is his name. I asked him if I could pray right then, so he said yes. So I prayed for this fellow believer, who was asking God for help in restoring his marriage. What a privilege it is to help raise someone up in this moment and know that God is at work in the lives of those around us. May it be a challenge to be more sensitive to God using us where we are, even while filling up the tank at a gas station. 

We are getting ready for Kristy to move out when she gets married next month. They will be living in a studio apartment for a few months. Then, the plan is for them to move back to the Bible institute into an on-campus apartment. But in the meantime, the apartment they are moving into needs to be cleaned. The owners have used it for storage and have not cleaned it for some time. As the saying goes, many hands make light work, we brought the first load of things over with Kristy, Brenda, Kianna, Bryan, Levi, and me. We got it all cleaned out, swept, and mopped in less than two hours. It's incredible how much you can accomplish with so many people. We will have to do some more rearranging, as only one side of the apartment has power outlets. This is what you get in Mexico. It will be a lovely spot for George and Kristy. They will need some sort of air conditioner or swamp cooler for the days it gets hot. The highs lately have been in the mid-80s, which is bearable during the nighttime. We'll see how it goes when the temperatures get up into the 100s soon. 

It will be strange not to have Kristy living in our house. It has been over 6 years since she has lived with us. We are proud of the woman she has become. She is growing in her knowledge of who Jesus is and wants to live for him. She has even mentioned wanting to attend the bible school after she finishes her degree in linguistics. What will God do in this new couple? Please pray for our family as we continue to prepare for their wedding in July. 

So we have a praise report. When adopting kids within Mexico, there are various hoops you have to jump through. It is not one decree from a judge. We have found that every step is difficult. For example, we went to Ensenada to try to get Gee and Brenda's Mexican passports. They are required to obtain them to initiate any type of visa or citizenship application in the United States. So, when we arrived with all the necessary paperwork, they informed us that because Brenda's birth certificate does not have two last names on it, she cannot get a Mexican passport. In Mexico, you are required to have both your father's and your mother's last names. So Levi, who was born in Guadalajara, is named Levi Andrew Joseph Clark Clark. So what can we do? It was a judge who ordered Brenda to have a new birth certificate done. Do we go back to the original office that issued her birth certificate? The lady suggested we go to Mexicali because it is a different office. The one in Ensenada is only a branch of the one in Tijuana. Tijuana is a huge city, so the office there has a lot of people and longer wait times. 

So, we made our way to one of the two offices in Mexicali, a 2-hour drive east of us. We arrived at the office with all the paperwork necessary. We made a payment to the bank for a 6-year passport. The gentleman from the office said we needed to come back tomorrow. We felt good about it. They hadn't said no. The next day, there was no mention of Brenda only having one last name. Only they couldn't proceed because they needed a copy of the adoption decree that was less than 6 months old. The one we had was a little over two years old. So, we headed back home and waited for our lawyer to obtain a current copy of the adoption. So we went back to Mexicali to the main office. Brenda turned in the paperwork. We waited, but again they said we had to come back tomorrow. We aren't holding our breath, but we started making plans for what to do next if they do not give Brenda her passport. We were talking about heading back to Jalisco and trying to accomplish it there. However, that requires a plane trip and other expenses, which would be costly. We decided to jump over that bridge when we get there. So we asked Sam, our nephew, who is dating Brenda, if he would drive her the next day. Sit in the car for 4 hours with your girlfriend, why not? So with eager anticipation, we waited to see if they would issue her the passport. They issued her the passport!!! This means we can begin the process of obtaining a visa or citizenship for her in the US. It is just one step we need to accomplish so our whole family can travel within the US. 
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Now, if we can complete Erick and Bryan's adoptions, Lord willing, this will happen soon. 

I will try to update this more frequently. I think one difficulty is that I find life gets "normal" and kind of boring. Maybe it is just me, not sure what would be interesting about my life as a husband/dad/missionary/pastor? With this in mind, I will strive not to be long-winded, a tendency I often struggle with, especially when discussing spiritual matters. Preaching, for example, there is always more that can be said. The skill is knowing how to convey the point and explain it in various ways without being repetitive. 

One piece of news is that we have finally bought some chickens. We stopped having them when life was a bit crazy, having more kids in the home. We needed to have less to do when you are trying to raise 10 kids. After moving to Tecate almost two years ago, we decided to get some chickens after we were gifted a coop and hutch. There is a familiarity to it. We did not get a rooster this time around. We will be having visitors over the coming month, with Kristy and George's wedding in July. It is one less noise that could wake you up early. 

We have 16 hens. They are very social, so you can pick up any one of them. We are getting at least 10 eggs a day. This is enough for our family if we don't have eggs for breakfast every day. Gee and Erick have rubber shoe so they don't track chicken poop around the house. They really enjoy collecting the eggs for now. We shall see in a couple of months if they still like doing that.