Have you ever started a year out thinking it was going to be great, and then things decided to go sour? Thank goodness we have a God who is bigger than all these issues Satan keeps throwing in our path! I started the year in a cast on my wrist. If you've never broken a bone, you simply can't imagine what a pain in the neck it is to do anything you would normally do without thinking. I found myself washing dishes a whole lot less (I dislike doing them anyway!) fixing things to eat that didn't require the motion of rolling my wrist, and showering with a trash bag on my arm. Oooh...do you know how hard it is to put deodorant on without using both hands? Drove me crazy!
So we were muddling along with my cast, and I had about 7 days to go before it came off. We had been working with our immigration lawyer to get our residence visa applications complete and in process before our 90 day stamp expired. In Guatemala, and I'm sure in other countries too, you come in on a tourist visa and you get a certain length of time. For Guatemala, it's 90 days. Before that 90 days expires, you have to go to Migracion and get a second stamp for another 90 days. Before that second stamp expires, you either have your visa application filed with Migracion, or...you leave the country. We thought everything was a go. Background checks, (fingerprints were $110 a piece!) marriage license, birth certificates, the application, translations, the works. This is a process that had we known what we were walking into, we would have gotten all the paperwork from the States before we left! Mainly because the paperwork has to be certified by the State you are from, as well as the nearest Guatemalan consulate. Yeah. The applications go to Migracion, and 5 days before our stamp expires, I got an email. Seems that Migracion took exception to a misdemeanor Bill got 22 years ago. Didn't matter that he hadn't been in any kind of trouble since...they saw the word guilty on it, and refused his application. The lawyer told us that since the application wasn't accepted, we needed to leave Guatemala for at least 48 hours. We started scrambling. Checked out flights, bus trips, you name it. Because we don't own a vehicle here, we couldn't drive to Mexico or Belize. We had to go another way. Bill is totally not a fan of long bus rides, and it looked like the shortest trip was at least 12 hours. So we bought tickets to Orlando, FL. No Disney, no Universal, just us going to Orlando to get out of the country. Did I tell you that AC is virtually non existent in Panama? Hot, humid Panama? Yes, we went to Orlando by way of Panama! We didn't have time to leave the airport and sightsee, but what I saw from the plane showed that Panama is a beautiful country!
We spent 4 days in Orlando. While we were there, we met with staff at Missionary Ventures, our sending organization; we went to a CMA (Christian Motorcyclists Assn.) meeting, went to a missions fair at First Baptist Orlando, had dinner with MVI friends twice, and went to church in Tampa. All in all, a fast and furious 4 days. We are back, and settling back into the routine of school every morning and studying every afternoon. I will get this, I swear I will!
Now we need to find a lawyer to help us get Bill's misdemeanor expunged from his record. He is eligible, and since it's been 22 years, it shouldn't be an issue. But in order for that to happen, papers have to be filed, and the courts recommend that a lawyer do that to ensure it's all done correctly the first time. Time is important in this case!
We are trying to raise funds to pay for Spanish school at this time. Any and all donations will be accepted and greatly appreciated. You can go here and make an online donation. Fill in your information, click the box for "field coordinator" and put "the Rileys" in the blank. If you want to mail a donation, send it to: Missionary Ventures, International, 5144 S Orange Ave, Orlando, FL 32809. Put a note in saying that your donation is preferenced for the ministry of the Rileys.
God Bless y'all, and please keep praying for us!
Lisa
