Mexico Update

Originalist · #1 06-29-2013, 01:16 PM

MEXICO UPDATE/// Greetings to all. We have been here for 11 days now. We're just starting to get our feet wet.

About 6 hours after crossing the border, we came across a roadblock set up by the ¨Federales¨. They claimed our two young daughters´entry papers were not correct. We explained that those were the papers issued to us at the border by Mexican customs. They replied that it was our responsibility to know whether or not Mexican officials had made a mistake. They then said that they suspected that our girls were not really ours , but that we had abducted them, and that they could be taken away from us for as long as 8 months. My 7 year old , who is fluent in Spanish ,began to cry, which is what they wanted. We showed them the girls´birth certificates and passports. They said those would not be considered as evidence that our claims were true. Thankfully, my wife´s nephew had met us on the road and negotiated a ¨settlement¨, if you catch my drift.

Thank God for the ministry opportunities we have had. Last week we ministered in a home cell group of about 30 people. Tonight we've been invited to minister at a married couples fellowship. We have all had bouts of sickness, starting with the kids, then my wife, and now me. I still feel pretty weak and lost 5 pounds in 3 days. Our "tent making" is also underway. I worked this week with my brother in law in his fruit distributorship. What an operation!! I work from 6 am til 10 am, and then again from 3 pm til 8 pm. He has a rented work space and loading dock in a huge, wholesale farmers market. Literally hundreds of loading bays bustling with activity. Hundreds of semis in and out 24 hrs a day. The quality of the produce is unreal. Tito deals mainly in mangos, strawberries, and guavas. He employs around 20 people.
We do have some obstacles, but nothing too great for our God. My car needs a repair, and much of the money we brought is being held in deposit by the Mexican government. A new law was recently instituted that we knew nothing about. It seems people were bringing in cars from the USA and selling them under the table, thus robbing the government here of tariff revenue. Making people leave a deposit is a way to make sure the government gets a cut in case someone decides to sell their car while here. Please help us pray that God would supply necessary funds to make the car road worthy for the trip home. Your prayers are greatly appreciated.

Pressing-On · #2 06-29-2013, 03:02 PM

Wow, that just fans the flames of anger for us in Texas. Praying for you all.

Jermyn Davidson · #3 06-29-2013, 05:43 PM

I hope that the Lord blesses your work and all those who help you.

JudoSam · #4 07-06-2013, 09:53 AM

as to your "settlement" issue, i hate to say it, but this probably wont be the only time you have to do that.

when i was in university my spanish professor told us about a church trip he was leading through central america. they were stopped at the guatamalan boarder and told there was a problem with their paperwork and could not enter the country. my professor knew exactly what was going on, as he had spent a large part of his adult life traveling through these countries. he spoke fluent spanish, and said something to the effect of, "we were told that if there was a problem, we could pay a paperwork fee at the boarder". the boarder agent started to agree with this, and then another church member heard this and decided to step in to the conversation.

he started playing lawyer ball with the boarder guard, stating that they were perfectly within the law, and their passports were adequate to enter as tourists. my professor kept saying that they needed to pay a processing fee for their paperwork to be fixed at the boarder, and the other guy kept saying they were trying to extort them.

long story short, they wound up paying 3 times the bribe they would have had to pay if the guy had kept his mouth shut.

god bless your trip and your family. i'm sure you will be able to do many amazing things in the name of jesus.

Originalist · #5 07-10-2013, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JudoSam

as to your "settlement" issue, i hate to say it, but this probably wont be the only time you have to do that.

when i was in university my spanish professor told us about a church trip he was leading through central america. they were stopped at the guatamalan boarder and told there was a problem with their paperwork and could not enter the country. my professor knew exactly what was going on, as he had spent a large part of his adult life traveling through these countries. he spoke fluent spanish, and said something to the effect of, "we were told that if there was a problem, we could pay a paperwork fee at the boarder". the boarder agent started to agree with this, and then another church member heard this and decided to step in to the conversation.

he started playing lawyer ball with the boarder guard, stating that they were perfectly within the law, and their passports were adequate to enter as tourists. my professor kept saying that they needed to pay a processing fee for their paperwork to be fixed at the boarder, and the other guy kept saying they were trying to extort them.

long story short, they wound up paying 3 times the bribe they would have had to pay if the guy had kept his mouth shut.

god bless your trip and your family. i'm sure you will be able to do many amazing things in the name of jesus.

Amazing story! Thanks for your prayers.