Immigrating

Immigration is a tale as old as time. Ever since Terah was instructed to leave his homeland (Gen 11:31), a divine calling reiterated to his son, Abraham (Gen 12:1), individuals, families, even entire people groups have practiced the movement of picking up and resettling in a foreign land. This practice has since been performed throughout history for a number of different reasons, including but not limited to safety, freedom, work and well-being, and of course divine calling. It is good, and even provided for and protected in Leviticus (19:33-34).

Today Jake and I took a trip to not one, but two, different Immigration offices, and on the drive home I started pondering the challenges of immigration.

Long story, very much shortened, Jake and I are in process of obtaining our 5 year Honduran residency cards. A process started back in September. We were finally granted approval November 18th and had in hand an official document, our Resolution, December 3rd. With this Resolution, we presented to Immigration in La Ceiba on December 4th. Unfortunately the system in La Ceiba was down and they could not enroll us for residency. We took care of paying what was needed at the bank and getting the appropriate copies of everything on that day anyways so we would be ready when notified. A kind immigration officer actually gave me his WhatsApp number and for the last three weeks I have been checking about the system getting fixed. Until last Friday, I sent my typical message inquiring as to the status of things. But instead of the usual "still waiting" response, I got a recommendation that we go to Tela instead. Yesterday, I solicited advice from multiple different individuals in our community here. Phone calls and investigations were made. Turns out our Resolutions expire after 30 days! Thankfully since we had paid the fees on Dec 4th, they were willing to grant us a 5 day extension. But with the upcoming holidays, the offices were going to be closed; in addition, with the upcoming probable change in government, everything pending under the old regimen would most likely get "lost." Therefore, "go tomorrow" was the very very strong recommendation. We borrowed a vehicle. I moved some OR cases around, and discussed coverage with Dr. Jeff. And this morning 06:00 we were on the road. Standing in line at immigration in La Ceiba at 08:00 to sign more papers and get the thumbs up. Back on the road again 08:30am. Found immigration in Tela on our first try (even google couldn't find the office!) Minor panic as the system crashes in Tela in the middle of our processing. But by 12:00 we had slips of paper in hand with our carnet numbers and ready to head back East again. We ran a few errands in La Ceiba as we passed through again on the way home, and drove through the Hospital gate just after 17:00.

So a long day, and plenty of hours on the road to ponder things... like Immigration. And how difficult it is. Across the globe, it is difficult. All of the Honduran immigration officers that we have worked with have been very kind and helpful. It's just the system, the process. When did it become so difficult? We have missionary friends that wait months for visas to clear allowing them to enter their new countries. Thankfully with Honduras we could immediately enter under a tourist visa and then start the residency process once already here. (We are also up to the line with our tourist visa set to expire in a couple weeks!). This all made me wonder if satan himself, years ago, set about creating road blocks limiting the spread of the Gospel. If he could stop the movement of those sharing the Gospel, could he keep those in the dark... perpetually in the dark. Yes, I know, perhaps a bit out there and down the lane of Spiritual Warfare, but then again, is it really?

Remember your immigrant neighbors this holiday season!

Leviticus 19:33-34 ³³ “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. ³⁴ You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Much Love.