This morning while I was running on a trail along a river here in Puyo, I found myself thinking, "What are we doing here?" In Honduras, we had a goal of improving our Spanish and for the most part, it was a success. But when we came to Ecuador, our "goal" was not as obvious. We have thought about several things that we want to do and certainly there are needs that we can help with, but to be plainly honest our "ministry" at this point is best understood in these verses:
Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake...
-1st Peter 2:13
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
-1st Timothy 2:1-3
Beginning the process to change our visas, renting a house, obtaining legal/notarized rent contract, learning how and where to pay the water bill, learning how and where to pay the electric bill, setting up and paying for phone and internet service, obtaining the proper, legal, notarized documents to process our visa, purchasing a vehicle, obtaining legal documents for ownership of vehicle, obtaining a driver's license, correcting proper, legal, notarized documents to process our visa, having a baby (Noah), obtaining legal Ecuadorian citizenship for Noah, visiting the US Embassy to obtain US citizenship for Noah, setting an appointment to revisit the US Embassy to obtain US citizenship for Noah, attending a driver's education course so that I can take the driver's license test, recorrecting proper, legal, notarized documents to process our visa since the law changed as of 3 weeks ago (yes, it does not matter that we were in the middle of the process), being the proud parents of a card-carrying Ecuadorian citizen!
Are we still working to improve our Spanish communication? Yes, but we could still be more dedicated to our studies. Are we continuing to look for more opportunities to share the wonderful news of salvation? Yes, but we could certainly be doing more. Is there more that we would like to be doing? Of course! Are we caring for our children and family physically, mentally, and spiritually? Yes, but there is always room for more growth.
Do we sometimes get frustrated that our current outward "ministry" is simply submitting to the government's whims? Yes, but that does seem to be both important and urgent at this point in our life. So if you talk with me on the phone and if the conversation turns to what we are doing, don't be surprised if I simply quote to you 1st Peter 2:13!
Enjoy!
Taylor
P.S. - We return to Quito in a week to (Lord willing) finalize our recorrected documents and apply for new visas, and to apply for US citizenship for Noah.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Happy 4 Weeks, Noah!
Monday, August 6, 2012
Adventures in Quito
We recently planned a trip to Quito to bring our friend A. Lassiter (writer of the Monkey Reserve guest post) back to the airport so that she could return home. We had a wonderful, yet squished ride from Puyo to Quito on Saturday with 3 adults, 4 children, and 1 baby in a car seat crammed into our Toyota Hilux, which really only seats 5 adults. Sunday morning, A.L. and I headed to the airport at 4:09 AM. Our (the Hollingsworth's) plan was to enjoy the morning meetings with our friends in Quito then return to Puyo in the afternoon.
During a break between the meetings, we began talking about our visa paperwork. The conclusion of the discussion was that Alesha and I agreed to remain in Quito to process some needed documents. You must understand that processing these same documents from Puyo may take between 2 - 6 weeks, whereas in Quito, the capitol, we could have them processed the same day. Since our visas expire at the end of August, giving us just 4 more weeks, we decided to bite the extra expense (downtime from work) and get our documentation done.
I spent all day on Monday running between the office of our visa lawyer, to the notary, to arranging appointments with others whom I needed a signature from, and by the end of the day I had finished none of the two things that I set out to do: 1) notarize a rent contract that shows I have a dwelling place; 2) register Noah as an Ecuadorian citizen.
So we decided to stay yet another day. Since I was unable to accomplish the two items on my list from Monday, I decided to aim for 3 items on Tuesday! In the morning, I met with the needed persons, obtained my notarized documents (through much standing around and waiting on my part), talked with the visa lawyer, and I still had time to bring home some lunch for the family! We had a semi-relaxed lunch, packed up the truck and headed out to the American Embassy to get info about obtaining a birth certificate and passport for Noah, and then to the Ecuadorian Civil Registry office where I *almost* had all of the needed paperwork - in fact, I did have everything that they needed, except they wanted the only original copy of our marriage license, but I could not give it to them because I needed it to change our visas...bummer.
Though I was not able to "finish" the other two items, I now know what I need to do about them. I have someone working to get a legal copy of the marriage license, and we are making an appointment for the American Embassy to process Noah's documents. I was so happy by the end of the day, that we stopped at one of our favorite parks in Quito, La Carolina, to play around for a while before heading back to Puyo.
So we are back here waiting to hear back from the visa lawyer about our visa status.
Enjoy!
Taylor
P.S. - For anyone who thinks that the hassle of a process is any easier in the U.S., I suggest that you talk with a non-US citizen to see what they had to go through to get to live in the States long-term.
During a break between the meetings, we began talking about our visa paperwork. The conclusion of the discussion was that Alesha and I agreed to remain in Quito to process some needed documents. You must understand that processing these same documents from Puyo may take between 2 - 6 weeks, whereas in Quito, the capitol, we could have them processed the same day. Since our visas expire at the end of August, giving us just 4 more weeks, we decided to bite the extra expense (downtime from work) and get our documentation done.
I spent all day on Monday running between the office of our visa lawyer, to the notary, to arranging appointments with others whom I needed a signature from, and by the end of the day I had finished none of the two things that I set out to do: 1) notarize a rent contract that shows I have a dwelling place; 2) register Noah as an Ecuadorian citizen.
So we decided to stay yet another day. Since I was unable to accomplish the two items on my list from Monday, I decided to aim for 3 items on Tuesday! In the morning, I met with the needed persons, obtained my notarized documents (through much standing around and waiting on my part), talked with the visa lawyer, and I still had time to bring home some lunch for the family! We had a semi-relaxed lunch, packed up the truck and headed out to the American Embassy to get info about obtaining a birth certificate and passport for Noah, and then to the Ecuadorian Civil Registry office where I *almost* had all of the needed paperwork - in fact, I did have everything that they needed, except they wanted the only original copy of our marriage license, but I could not give it to them because I needed it to change our visas...bummer.
Though I was not able to "finish" the other two items, I now know what I need to do about them. I have someone working to get a legal copy of the marriage license, and we are making an appointment for the American Embassy to process Noah's documents. I was so happy by the end of the day, that we stopped at one of our favorite parks in Quito, La Carolina, to play around for a while before heading back to Puyo.
So we are back here waiting to hear back from the visa lawyer about our visa status.
Enjoy!
Taylor
P.S. - For anyone who thinks that the hassle of a process is any easier in the U.S., I suggest that you talk with a non-US citizen to see what they had to go through to get to live in the States long-term.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Monkey Reserve (GUEST POST)
Hello! Abigail L. visiting the Hollingsworth's in Puyo, Ecuador and guest writing a blog post for you all. :-)
While waiting for baby Noah to make his arrival (see previous blog post for details) we visited the local monkey reserve. You may recall that Taylor posted a while back that they had seen the monkeys outside the reserve and planned to return later for the full experience.
Before even entering the reserve a monkey observed us parking and unloading. He seemed much less interested in us than we were in him as we snapped pictures.
Nate felt very unsure about these primates and needed much reassuring from his papa that everything was okay.
Which it was. Until a monkey got up close and personal!
Glory, Levi and Dan enjoyed walking around and seeing the birds and turtles in addition to the monkeys, some of which were in enclosures and some which were free to roam. Nate remained cautious after his previous traumatic experience and closed his eyes whenever anything was too close for comfort.
We walked on rough pathways through the jungle area and took pleasure in God's handiwork.
Overall, we had a fun morning seeing God's creatures and His creation. And if YOU come visit Puyo, I'm sure the Hollingsworth's would be happy to take you to see the monkey reserve as well. :-)
While waiting for baby Noah to make his arrival (see previous blog post for details) we visited the local monkey reserve. You may recall that Taylor posted a while back that they had seen the monkeys outside the reserve and planned to return later for the full experience.
Before even entering the reserve a monkey observed us parking and unloading. He seemed much less interested in us than we were in him as we snapped pictures.
Nate felt very unsure about these primates and needed much reassuring from his papa that everything was okay.
Which it was. Until a monkey got up close and personal!
Glory, Levi and Dan enjoyed walking around and seeing the birds and turtles in addition to the monkeys, some of which were in enclosures and some which were free to roam. Nate remained cautious after his previous traumatic experience and closed his eyes whenever anything was too close for comfort.
We walked on rough pathways through the jungle area and took pleasure in God's handiwork.
Overall, we had a fun morning seeing God's creatures and His creation. And if YOU come visit Puyo, I'm sure the Hollingsworth's would be happy to take you to see the monkey reserve as well. :-)
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