Practical matters

14 February 2013

Visas: Another Step

Jim Mexico, Practical matters, Prayer and Praise 3

After three visits to the Mexican Consulate this week, I have finished what I came to Calgary to do! I have the document I need to bring back to Mexico so that I can ask for the visa that I want to get there!

And if you found that confusing, maybe I should leave it at that and not try to explain any more.

Anyway, the people at the consulate were very nice and I’m glad to finally have some good news to report. 🙂

I have a few more errands to do tomorrow, then I’m looking forward to a prayer meeting on Saturday and I’m very excited to be preaching on Sunday. If you’re in the Calgary area, I would love to see you on Sunday – I’ll be at Cremona Country Fellowship.

And thanks to so many who were praying that our visa-goal for the week would be reached! Another step in the right direction! Praise the Lord!

11 February 2013

Volcanoes and Visas

Jim Practical matters, Prayer and Praise 3

It was a beautiful day yesterday as I flew to Calgary. Flying out we had this wonderful view of our two favourite volcanoes, Ixta and Popo.

I’m in Calgary to apply for a visa for Mexico. If you want to hear the long story, listen to this podcast.

We would appreciate your prayers. The situation is as complex and confusing as ever. Phone calls and emails have been buzzing around between me, our lawyer, the consulate, and consular services in Mexico City. I’m not sure if this is clarifying things or not – but in a few days I should know if I’ve been able to successfully apply.

Thanks!

7 January 2013

Paying the Water Bill

Jim Mexico, Practical matters 0

We don’t often do things the typical way, nor at the typical time. And usually that pays off – shorter lines, discounts…

Today, however, I went to pay our water bill for 2013. If you pay early enough in the year, you get a discount. In addition, this was the first day after the Christmas holidays.

I went to the door where you usually go in to pay, and was sent to the back parking lot. They had set up a canopy, and about 150-200 chairs. They gave me a number, and I was directed to one of the chairs. There were about 100 people in front of me.

Every once in a while they led 20 or 30 people to the front, and we all wound our way through the chairs to find a new seat. Everyone was mildly amused.

In the end, they were very efficient. They must have gone through the line at a rate of about 30 seconds per person. Now we’ve paid for our water for 2013. Now, if only we can actually get a regular flow of water into the house…

Water company line up
People in line

3 December 2012

Note to Donors (whom we appreciate!)

Jim Practical matters 0

A reminder from our head office in Ontario, Canada! Yes, we are with

Yes, CAM International of Canada partners with Camino Global in the USA. And yes, CAM International of Canada is aiming to change its name.

But it’s still CAM International of Canada.

What does this mean?

It means that if you want to give financially to our ministry, and you’re writing a cheque to CAM International of Canada in $CA, you must make sure the name is right. If your cheque says “Camino Global”, CAM International of Canada can’t cash it! They’ll have to send your cheque back to you.

If you’re giving to Camino Global (in the US, in $US), then you can go ahead and make out a check to Camino Global. We appreciate US donations, and yes, you can donate to our account through the US office!

But for those who want to donate to our ministry through the Canadian office – please make sure your cheques (if you’re using cheques) say CAM International of Canada.

Note: Yes, the original plan was to change the name of CAM International of Canada this past spring. But the realities of paperwork and legal process have meant – a lot of complications! But don’t worry – we’ll keep you informed.

Meanwhile – thanks so much for your gifts that make this work possible! 😉

29 November 2012

Van: Verified.

Jim Mexico, Practical matters 9

Our van is verified. Talk about making a long story short.

Every six months our van needs verification. If we don’t get it, we are severely limited in when we can drive it. Normally this means visiting Verificentro, having the van emissions tested, and getting the sticker. We want a “Cero” (Zero) sticker, which means we can drive any time of the day or week.

This time it involved 6 visits on six different days, many conversations, and many hours of waiting. I’m certainly glad I didn’t wait until the end of the month for my first visit!

I was waiting today (and taking the picture below), and I was as prepared as I thought I could be. But in a complex situation there are so many things that could go wrong – in the end, it’s so obviously God’s choice to answer or prayers or not. So thank you to those who were praying about this. It’s another one of those “small” things that quickly eats up a lot of time and energy.

In other news, we were charged about $100 that we felt was an unjust charge. Yesterday we finally heard that we wouldn’t have to pay it – two bits of good news for you!

On the visa front, things remain as complicated as ever. We had some more conversations with the lawyer this week, and it’s looking now that it will be several weeks or more likely months before anything is resolved. Not only has the system changed, it may change significantly again as our new president takes office.

So we’re trying to decide what the next step will be!

But again, God is in control. So we look to Him and wait for His plan in this matter.

23 November 2012

Visa adventures (and other adventures) continue!

Jim Mexico, Practical matters 1

Yes, we’re still working on those visas.

We talked to our lawyer tonight, and it sounds like the law is rather in a state of flux. The impression that I get is that the visas laws are changing, and different people are saying different things, and no one is totally sure what the law is. In addition, a new president is about to be sworn in – and who knows what he’ll do!

So basically it looks like a lot of the work we’ve done over the past few months simply no longer applies. We’re looking at a totally new system. If only everyone could agree on what it is.

So, we’ll be waiting a bit while she tries to get the details figured out.

In other paperwork issues of the day, we’ve been trying to get our van verified. Verification is what allows us to drive (in Mexico City) every day. If we didn’t have it, we would be restricted to certain days and certain hours of the day.

Well, after three visits to our beloved Verificentro (the third long wait was today), we still don’t have our verification. So we’ll be trying again tomorrow.

Who says bureaucracy in Mexico is complicated? Oh… maybe that was me. 😉

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