Bendiciones desde Oaxaca City!
God has been working greatly in our lives this last month! Several of our prayer requests have been answered…thank you all so much for praying! Also, a BIG thank you to those who continue to send in financial support! There were a couple times recently when we were down to our last few pesos (literally 7 pesos…about $.60), with a few things left in the fridge, and we were boiling water to drink, when a gift would come in. It is so awesome to see how God blesses us through those that love us, and who care about our dreams for the people of Oaxaca.
We were able to work out all of the paperwork requirements for my Visa status change, and applied last Monday for what’s called an FM-3. The FM-3 allows me to live/work in Mexico for 365 days before it needs to be renewed. It costs around $250, and usually takes (according to a few co-workers) anywhere from 2-9 months to get. The amazing thing in my case is that I am sitting here writing this email, WITH THE FM-3 IN MY POCKET! It took a week! In fact, it took us less than an hour to apply last Monday, and we were able to pick it up today! What a blessing from God! Now I will be able to stay until November 2008, before having to renew it again. Thank you all for praying for this specifically. Now we just have to work out the permit for the Jeep so it can stay as long as I have the FM-3. We were told that we might have to travel 7 hours away (to the Istmo) in order to renew our vehicle permit.
About 4 weeks ago, I began working for a local language school called Harmon Hall. I have been training for the last 4 weeks (non-paid) and have recently started teaching (paid). I look at this job as several opportunities. 1. It allowed me to apply for the FM-3. 2. It will help out with the finances, since our support is lower than our budget. 3. It will allow me to meet many people, from all walks of life, so that relationships might develop, and maybe eventually I will have a chance to share Christ! The job doesn’t pay much, around $5.00/hour (with an average of 25 hours/week), but it will help buy groceries and pay for the bus to and from town (thank God for $.35 bus fares!), and I have already been approached on the streets by students who want to say hi…I even had a taxi stop me this morning. It turned out that it was a student of mine, a young man named Carlos who just wanted to say hi and that he would see me tonight.
Lily has been keeping busy with her counseling appointments. She has around 7-8 a week, and has been praying that God would send more people her way. She also has been leading a women’s Bible study on Wednesday nights with a group of Catholic women who are tired of religion, who are seeking more out of life than just “living”. She continues to develop her relationship with Eva (from the Sierra Mountains) and hopes that they will be able to get together with more of her friends sometime soon. With the holidays coming up, we hope to be able to have some of our friends join us for Thanksgiving dinner, or maybe even a Christmas dinner.
Our prayer requests this month:
1. That God would continue to put people in our “paths” that would be open to the Message that we bring. That we would be able to develop deep relationships with people.
2. That God would continue to use Lily in her counseling of others. That the people she works with would be more open, and that God would heal and restore broken lives.
3. For continued good health for both of us. Oaxaca can be a rough place to live at times.
4. That God would give us grace as we work out the vehicle permit, and that we will be able to do that here in Oaxaca City.
5. For continued grace as I work at Harmon Hall, and that great relationships would come about because of this job.
6. For continued financial support, even an increase in support, so that we can invest more in the lives of those around us.
7. For protection on our lives, house, Jeep as we serve here in Oaxaca.
Thank you all for your prayers, financial support, and for thinking about us every now and then. We love you all, and can’t wait until we can see you again! We think about you often, and thank God that we are able to be a part of your lives.
Until next month! God Bless you and have a Happy Thanksgiving!!
Love,
Derek y Lily
Tags: FM-3, Immigration
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