Car problems, house problems, immigration problems.

DR Sunset

It was a short romance with Dominican Republic.  She wined and dined us ... then once we tied the knot she showed her true colors ... and they weren't all sun drenched beach sunsets!





Immigration Problems
(For anyone considering coming to DR - there is a lot of confusion over the immigration process.  If you plan on staying long-term and you can afford an immigration lawyer, get one!  There is a wide range in prices from $800 to $2,500+ US per person. So shop around and ask for references.  It is painful to go through the process without guidance as there are a lot of conflicting stories.)

Soon after arriving in the country we realized that, unlike what we had been told, it was no longer possible to apply for residency within the country. That advice was a few years outdated. So less than 2 months after we arrived in DR we had to fly home and spend 4 weeks in Canada getting paperwork for our 1 year Visa.  Arrggghhhh!

"It's not too bad to be in Canada you complainer!" you say? Well ... not only do I want you to quit reading right now but you also don't realize that in the West Coast time-zone I have to get up at 2:30 am to start my teaching job.  At least in DR I can get up at 5:30 am.

So back to the story ... We contacted the Dominican Embassy and fulfilled all their requirements. How pleased we were to get the Visa stamped in our passport and be on our way back to DR only 4 days after submitting the last of the paperwork to the Embassy. According to the Embassy we had completed all that we needed to do and we were now able to enjoy a year within the country.

HAH!!!!

Soon after getting back in daily routines of online teaching and fruitful yet sweaty ministry, we were advised to go see the local Immigration office as there might be a "hiccup". That perhaps the embassy had misinformed us about the complete process. "NOOOOOOOOoooooooo!!!!"

Well it turns out that the embassy was wrong. There was a process that we needed to complete within the DR that we had not been informed about AND they had sent us down with the wrong papers. Some of those papers we needed to get in person back in Canada. Well we tried talking to a few immigration lawyers to see if there was a way around it but their fees of $2000 - $2500 per person were too much for us to consider paying, especially knowing we had other documentation expenses in Canada yet to pay.  Even a trip to the Haitian boarder to extend our time was to no avail. The law had changed a few days earlier and we couldn't get an extension without paying a fine.

Restaurant near Haiti

The silver lining was finding a nice restaurant on the way back.

To get around the cost we paid for a 'one time consultation' with a lawyer to see if we could just use the documents the Embassy had sent us with. "No. Sorry." was the answer.  We didn't even get free coffee! Well that was money poorly spent.

At this point we were facing other challenges too and we were seriously considering leaving the country to serve elsewhere.  Although we had seen Jehovah's direction for moving to the DR we knew our limited resources would go a lot farther forwarding kingdom interests in another country with clear immigration requirements. We were very discouraged.  It was only because of the encouraging visit of dear friends from Canada that we started to see some light again in the immigration "pit of despair" (thank you very much Kevin and Nicole!)

Samana

They dragged us against our will, kicking and screaming (okay, maybe I took a few creative liberties on that last sentence) for a 3 day mini-vacation in Samaná before we returned to Canada.

Kevin & Nicole monkey fun

Along the way we stopped at Troy's favorite place - the Monkey Jungle.

In Samana we found the answer to our prayers.  We were wallowing in despair, drowning it with double cappuccinos, eggs and bacon at Frenchie's Restaurant when 2 sisters passed by and Kevin couldn't help but chase them down, interrupt their lunch and introduce our group.

Samana breakfast

In the ensuing conversation they mentioned there was a sister who is an immigration lawyer who just happened to be around the corner selling jewelry to cruise ship passenger on the scenic harbor front.  They took us to meet her and she gave us more free advice standing under a blue vendor's awning ocean side than we received in a paid half hour appointment at a stuffy, rather musty smelling lawyer's office. Literally, her advice saved us from needing a 3rd return trip to Canada as she informed us of some requirements that we had never heard.  Again, Jehovah and our brothers came to our rescue.

Ottawa coffee break

A few days later we were back on a plane to Canada for a stay of little more than 2 weeks, but now we had hope.  We opted to fly to Ottawa and stay with friends. This was a good/bad trade-off. It has a much better timezone for teaching (4:30 am start) but us West Coaster now living in the DR are way too wimpy for the Eastern Canada winter weather! First stop, VV Boutique for touques (that's beanies for the Aussies) scarves, sweaters and gloves. We borrowed some coats and we even braved a few days in the ministry while we were there.

Ottawa friends

 Ottawa was the better choice for other reasons too. That way we would be able to go personally to the embassy and other government offices to work things out. We also got to enjoy the loving hospitality of new found friends. What a loving, warm brotherhood to which we belong. How wonderfully Jehovah cares for us through the kindnesses of our brothers. Thanks so much to our new family in Ottawa - Nikki, Denise, Arthur and Matt. 

After 2+ weeks and many dollars we were back on a plane returning to DR. A week later we finally made the trek to Santo Domingo for visiting the Immigration offices. While there we enjoyed the warm hospitality of Ruby, Laura and Marron, former Puerto Plateños (thank you very much sisters).

Arriving at the offices early the next day we hurried through 3 or 4 processes only to sit and wait, and wait and wait and wait ... While there we met another Witness family of 3 who had been to immigration 7 times trying to get their Visas approved. That was a shadow of things to come. After 3 hours waiting we got the call.  One of the documents from Canada had the wrong month for my birthday. Thanks to that error that piece of paper currently valued at $150 US will likely end up costing us $400 US once it is replaced.

So here we sit, determined to continue, yet battered and bruised by a needlessly confusing gauntlet of incompetence and misinformation. By ourselves this would be impossible, but with Jehovah's help all things are possible! We will endure.

House Problems
We were handed a gift on a silver platter.  When Rachel was having a hard time in Bolivia and we needed an option that would be emotionally and physically possible we had a furnished apartment waiting for us.  All we needed to do was board a plane and arrive with our clothes.  It has been like refreshing waters to our soul. Thanks to Kevin and Celina who helped arrange it for us and did so much when we arrived.

But gradually we realized that although this was a nice stepping off point it was not really a long-term solution. The center of town is convenient for shopping and walking to the Kingdom Hall, but us country bumpkins like a more rural life. The noise during Christmas celebrations was not heard but was felt. Neighbors are too close.  We were now ready to think long-term as we had invested so much into immigration, furniture and a vehicle. So we started looking for a long-term home.  Over the course of weeks we viewed 15 possible future homes.  Finally we had enough information to make a choice.

We contacted the rental agent and let him know we wanted the apartment. He urged us to get down there with the money immediately because someone else was interested.  We were there within minutes. He shuffled in 20 minutes later looking dejected and said; "Lo siento, it's already rented."

Disappointed we went to choice number two.  As we drove up we saw another rental agent showing it to an interested person. Even choice two was evaporating. "why?" we thought.  "Why isn't anything working out?"

Later that day, though, we get a phone call that a brother's house was now available.  It was everything we ever wanted but would never have imagined we would get. Jehovah and our brothers were truly kind to us again.


Car Problems
Here in the DR cars are expensive.  We bought a little 2003 Diahatsu Terios, a jeepita. The brother who sold it to us gave us a good price, but nonetheless cars here are expensive.  In Canada we might have paid $2,500 dollars for this car.  In DR it cost $6000.  Then on our first weekend with the car I had a talk scheduled in a neighboring city. A third of the way into the journey the engine overheated and blew the head gasket.  The brother had warned me that it had heating issues but I hadn't been paying close enough attention to the gauges as I was preoccupied protecting us from the rather suicidal manner everyone drives here to which I wasn't accustomed.

Thanks to the dear brothers, Dave and Kevin, who came and dragged the carcass of my car back to the mechanics where Kevin wrangled a deal and got us a motor with only 100,000 km and a refurbished radiator for $1000 US including installation.

The Conclusion of the Matter
 Through all of the problems we see that Jehovah was beside us all of the way.  We didn't always see it at the time, but he never left us on our own. He helped us learn patience and endurance but he gave us even more than we ever thought.

Dinner with the Pioneers

In the end we had the opportunity to get to know some of our wonderful and kind brothers even better, we have online work that is a gift, we live in a beautiful country where there is a fruitful ministry, we have nice home even if only for a short while, we now have a car with a very reliable engine and we're almost fully immigrated residents.

What lies ahead?  Uncertainty!  But we need not be afraid.