Just a quick update for you today. Many of you know that I’ve been working on getting a permanent visa since the beginning of the year.
Today I went to the other side of Mexico City to do the last bit of work I need to do (hopefully!) for the visa – fingerprints and signatures.
They say that the visa will be ready in about two weeks. So — here’s hoping!
Ain’t bureaucracy fun?
As some of you know, I’m in the process of getting my permanent visa for Mexico. Well, good news! The paperwork is almost ready, and next week – Lord willing – I will be able to go to do the finger-printing-and-document-signing to finish the process.
So – we’re very thankful!
The theory is that once I have all my paperwork, I will actually be able to get license plates for our van. As you may recall, we haven’t been able to drive the van since late January, due to the paperwork complications. So yes, it will be nice to have the van again, especially before the teams start coming! (We actually had a couple of teams in March, and it did make things compicated!)
Anyway, just wanted to give you a bit of an update. Still no visa, still no van – but I’m hoping that in a week or two, after a long line or two, I’ll have some more concrete news for you. 🙂
So far this week has been dominated by paperwork. But every once in a while, that’s just the way it has to be.
Most of it has been a matter of getting documents together for my visa process. That has meant a lot of emailing, printing, signing, packages being sent here and there, talks on the phone, visits to banks to take out money and pay this and that.
In fact, this morning I visited 6 bank machines before I found one that (sort of) worked.
No calls from the licence plate place yet, but it’s kind of irrelevant at the moment, because I don’t have the documents I would need – they’re all tied up in the visa process now.
In spite of some issues, I think the paperwork is ready to be submitted, and we can pray that the process will be finished quickly! Then we can get back to the licence plates, and have a bit of a reprieve before the rest of the family starts their visa paperwork in later in the year.
Seriously, if you don’t want another update on our quest to get licence plates, just move along.
You’re still here? It’s a short story anyway. I went today for my fourth visit to the applicable office, and spoke to four people there, including one new person who took some of the paperwork that I had brought, made some copies, and took my phone number. “We’ll call you in one to two weeks.”
So, what else could I do but walk home.
One to two weeks may be optimistic, depending on where our visa paperwork is at by then, so – the bottom line is, we will continue to have no vehicle to drive for a while.
As always, these things are a part of God’s good plan, as frustrating as they may seem at the time. And I look forward to having some time in which I’m not waiting in line yet again at the same place!
Yesterday I joined the long line, almost an hour before opening time. Within a couple of hours, I had reached the front door, and Mayra joined me.
Before actually getting into the line to request the plates, we talked to the man at the information desk. He looked at our papers, and told us that we could use a couple copies. Also, we needed to go to a stationary store, get a magical form, fill it out, and the magical form would allow us to get the plates.
So, playing a little real-life Frogger, we dashed across the highway, got the magical form, dashed back across, filled it out, and were permitted to take a number and join the indoor line, where we could wait in cushy seats.
Finally we spoke to the man with the power, who shuffled through our paperwork and entered the information about the van into the computer.
Hmmmmm…. can’t give you plates today. You see…. [a) excuse about the computer system] and [b) excuse about personnel available today]. But come back Thursday, and everything will be rainbows, tulips and unicorns.
So we left – me, feeling very bad for Mayra who had spent all this time on a process that wasn’t hers – to no avail.
So – what can I say? Tomorrow is another day …
I must say, I haven’t been this sick (with non-migraine related symptoms – although now I have those too!) for a long time. Which, strangely enough, is something to be very thankful for. Ah, it’s just a cold or some kind of a bug, but a nasty one.
On top of that, Shari and I had the bad sense to both get sick at the same time. Silly us.
Anyway, it is rather frustrating when you’re still trying to catch up after being away. But when I’m not in bed (which I’ve had to be more than usual), I try to follow the wise advice hidden under this Coke cap. Where in English it would say “Please try again” (why, thank you for the kind invitation!), in Spanish it says “sigue Participando” – keep on participating.
Yesterday I managed to lead our morning service (I was actually doing worse health-wise than I thought I would be, but God was gracious). Other than the fogginess of the man leading, it was a good service. We’re going to run out of chairs one day soon – a good problem to have.
Tomorrow, Lord willing, I’m going to go again to the license-plate-getting-place (I’ve gone over there a few times now) to hopefully complete the paperwork (with the help of our friend Mayra – I need the extra help because of our visa status, as I mentioned before), so we’ll see how that goes.
Other than all the other normal things, I’m trying to DRINK LOTS and get the rest I need. Bad bug, begone!