Andy in South America

Hey everyone

Just to let you know what is happening the next few weeks. Monday I am off to Bernabé in the afternoon to visit the three houses, and then I am spending a day in each of the houses on the 23rd, 24th and 26th. I am probably going to spend Christmas night and day with Louis and Maribel’s church in Alpacoma.

Then, on the 27th until the 5th I am in Beni with Bernabé. This is their annual camp which I have had the privilege of being invited to. 

During this time please pray that God would be moving in the hearts of the young people going (27 in total) and that they would also have great fun. Please pray too that we would get permision to take them to Brasil for the day (and that I would get permision too!) as none of them have papers due to their background as street children.

Please also pray that I would make some great friends amongst the staff going and also with the staff I meet in the houses, and also amongst the young people too.

Please note that during my time in Beni I will not be contactable, and also that the Latin Link office in Reading is closed during the holiday from the evening of 24th December to the morning of 5th January.

Bendiciones y feliz Navidad!

Andy

Hey everyone

Just a quick note to say today I received my visa de objeto determinado. Praise God! Please continue to pray as I now have until 16th January to apply for my missionary visa.

Feliz Navidad!

Bendiciones

Andy

Hey everyone!

Thought I would just comment on the latest BBC report on the political tension in Bolivia (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7776022.stm). I have to be honest this report has really over-reacted at the situation here and although it does highlight the significance of the vote in January it seems to be raising and highlighting the levels of potential violence to a stupid level.

Everyone I seem to have spoken to here in La Paz is fairly confident the constitution should go through with little disruption and little violence!

Oh the joys of western journalism on South American countries!

Bendiciones!

Andy

Hey guys!

Okay so today we received the letter from Cochabamba and so at 2:30 I found myself waiting outside Migration for them to reopen after lunch. Managed to be the first person waiting at the first desk and he looked at my papers and this time signed to accept them!!! He then sent me to another desk to pay…. and then another to fill in more forms…… and then another to receive an receipt for all my papers and my passport.

To cut a very long story short – this time they have accepted all my paperwork and have it all for two days and so on Friday I have to return in the afternoon to hopefully pick-up my passport with visa as well!!! Please pray there would be no more hiccups and that on Friday I would receive my visa.

Please also pray as I continue to collect the seemingly unending pile of paperwork for my residencia temporal misionero visa – I will have until the 19th January to sort this with Christmas and New Year in between – there is a chance I will have to pull out of the Bernabé camp to facilitate this but a decision won{t be made for a few more days.

Bendiones

Andy

Hey everyone

Okay so Monday started off really badly. We got hold of the organisation in Cochabamba and they wanted me to get one of three certificates, the only one that was viable was my Interpol certificate, before they would write the letter I needed. Seemed a bit silly but we started to get this sorted and managed to confirm this would take ten to fifteen working days….. well over my visa deadline = Problem!

We spent the day sorting the Interpol out and getting all the paperwork together so that this morning that all went into the Interpol office, and at the same time praying that they might be able to speed the process up. Not possible – although all the various offices we went to yesterday including National Police were so nice and helpful!

However at the same time, Maribel phoned the office in Cochabamba another time to try and get them to write the letter without any of these certificates (as we had spoken to a lawyer to confirm we did not need any of these for this letter legally), and they agreed to write it as long as they received a letter from Maribel as team secretary confirming I didn’t have a criminal record (the fact that LL do this as part of the application process…..). 

So….. at this moment a fax is on its way to Cochabamba and then they should be getting me the letter to La Paz by tomorrow morning, which means we might still be able to beat the deadline. Please pray the letter would arrive – joys of Bolivian mail! – and also that when I go to Migration tomorrow they would agree I have every thing I need. 

Bendiciones

Andy

Howdy everyone.

So the plan of attack for tomorrow (sorry watching too many war films at the moment and been reading Tom Clancy – only book I can find in English!!!).

Maribel will be phoning Cochabamba tomorrow morning. Please pray that we actually get in contact with them tomorrow and that the letter would arrive at the latest Tuesday morning. So we can get the visa by the end of Tuesday. If not we are liable to fines and if they want to be really strict they can ask me to leave the country.

At the moment we are not quite sure what is going on and why!

Please pray for tomorrow as I am off to Bernabe to meet the staff and some of the children – please pray for my language and also that I would be able to leave the visa problems at the door (or with God?!) and focus on what is happening.

Also thank God that He is reminding me of the passion he has given me for these children – every time I see a street child it is like a dose of arsenic (not that I have ever taken arsenic – but I doubt it´s much fun!). Yesterday in particular I spoke with a kid who said he was fourteen, but looking at him he was probably no more than twelve. He was so malnourished and struggling a lot and the statistics are not in his favour. I went away utterly heart-broken by it, but equally frustrated by it all.

Also please pray for finances as this is now costing more and more each day as I need new documents which need legalising.

Please be praying

Bendiciones

Andy

Okay so still not got hold of the person we need to in Cochabamba so please be praying as the clock is ticking faster each day!

Bendiciones

Andy

Hey everyone….

Okay, so yesterday we spent the afternoon chasing papers from one office to another to another, and being bounced back from Migration every time. The end result is I still don’t have my visa with four working days left before I start paying fines and risk worse……

The latest is we need a letter from the parent organisation of Bernabe – which sounds easy apart from the fact that their office is in Cochabamba……. fun…. also at the moment everyone is in meetings so we are unable to speak to their legal bod!

Please pray that we would receive the letter here on Monday and that afterwards we would be able to get the visa no problem.

Please also pray for sleep and rest for me as this is really taking its toll on me at the moment.

Bendiciones!

Andy

Hey guys

Instead of keeping sending emails going to use this to keep you all updated about my visa. Okay, so today I am off to visit a lawyer to get the additional paperwork certified and then I am back off to Migration to try and get this change of purpose visa (only for a month though). Please do be praying – especially between 2pm and 4pm local time (6pm and 8pm UK time).

Bendiciones

Andy

Hi guys

You can now find my December prayer update on the Prayer Newsletters page.

Enjoy!

Bendiciones

Andy