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Practical matters

Van: Verified.

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

Cero!

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.

Verificentro Ixtapaluca - November 2012

Visa adventures (and other adventures) continue!

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Yes, we’re still working on those visas.

Paperwork. Gotta love it.

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. 😉

When did November get so Busy?

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I’ve wanted to post here, but haven’t been able to.  So I thought I’d stop by tonight to at least let you know I’ve been thinking about you all! 🙂

I don’t know when November became so busy – it seems like everything is “due” this month.  And I haven’t made a lot of progress crossing the right things of my list.  Which means the last half of the month will be as crazy as the first.

But aside from all the business, Shari and I have been sick.  Shari had an ear infection starting late last month – which seems like it may be gone now.  But then we got some other bug, and it’s a nasty one.

Actually, Thursday night I was sicker than I’ve been in a long time.  I was actually quite concerned, and starting to imagine doctor’s visits and medications and hospitals.

However, although I was feeling pretty rotten today, it seems like the whatever-it-is is progressing and starting to go away.  So Lord willing we’ll be feeling better soon.

Making Fruit Pizza at the Baking Class

That is to say, we’ve been in survival mode for the last couple of weeks.

On the practical side, I’ve been trying to get some things done – like paying a bill (forgot to bring it with me – twice), getting our van verified (No-go.  They told me to get a tune-up and come back.), and get our visas (our lawyer tells us the laws are changing again, and we should wait for a call before we mail the rest of our documents).

But it hasn’t been all bad.  Shari had a good baking class this week, with a lot of new women.  Our Bible study on Tuesday was on evangelism, and I think we had a really good discussion.  And we’ve been able to have some other good conversations with some other people.  Oh yes, in spite of it all, there has been a lot going on!

Next week we’ll be going on a retreat – on the Gulf of Mexico.  I know, we’re really suffering. 😉 It should be about 7°C or more warmer there than it is here, which will be nice.  We’re looking forward to spending some time with friends there.

And to conclude our report on the week – a shot from Hannah and Nathanael’s swimming class:

Swimming Class November 2012

Haven’t seen a newsletter for a while?

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We send out our quarterly newsletter – well, four a times a year, obviously.  It’s called Notes from the Cottrills.

Notes from the Cottrills - August 2012

If you used to get it, but haven’t seen it for a long time, it may be that your address has changed – and we (shame on us) are still sending it to an old address!

Sorry about that.

Our last newsletter was sent in the summer, and it looked something like what you see here.  It was all about Hannah and Nathanael and their school days.  So if you don’t recognize it – you probably didn’t get it!

If you want to change your information, simply fill out the form on this page.  You can even change your email address (if it has changed).

Sending our newsletter also reminds us to pray for you!  So be sure to sign up if you want to be a part of the work here in Mexico! 🙂

Ethan, Documents, Study

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Today.  Stuff just keeps happening.

Today we got to “see” our nephew Ethan for the first time – all the way from Nairobi – via Skype!  Here’s a snapshot of the little fella and his Mom.  He was 5 days old.

Amy and Ethan

Today I sent some documents to our lawyer, as we continue to work on our visas.  I sent her 51 papers – yes, 51.  (Not including photos of us)  May the arrive safely and be accepted by the powers that be!  What a looooooong process . . .

Today I have a Bible study.  In just a few minutes, actually – I’m just about to head out the door.

This week’s study is How can I understand the Bible? and next week’s is How can I study the Bible?  Trying to boil down those topics to something useful has been quite the experience.  We’ll see how it goes tonight as we talk about some basic principles and try them out on some passages.

That’s not all, but that’s some of what’s going on today.  But not time to write more!  Today was painful, difficult, blessed and challenging.  And tomorrow is coming fast.

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