Eddy's Visa

This is a blog post that I have been thinking about for a while and I have been putting off. I'm not sure why, probably because it is a topic that I don't even like thinking about. Eddy's visa. I have mentioned things in passing in other posts, but have not specifically explained what the situation is. I will start with explaining the basics, because most of you are probably like I was 2 years ago, in that you don't have any personal experience with immigration laws, or if you do, not immigration laws for someone from a 3rd world country.

(Side note: The purpose of this post is not to state any political opinion about immigration or immigration laws. The purpose is just to share the personal experience of my husband and to ask for prayers. I am also not an expert on immigration or immigration law. What I state in this post is the information that has been given to me by people who have been through it themselves or by lawyers that we have spoken to.  Also, in this post I am talking about our attempts to get Eddy a visitor visa, not a spousal visa or anything else of the sort.)

A Little Bit of Background/Common Misconceptions

The first major misconception that I have come across in talking to Americans about Eddy's situation is that these are Dominican laws that are keeping Eddy from traveling to the US. That is incorrect. I, as an American residing here in the DR, have to abide by and work within Dominican immigration laws in order to live here. Eddy, as a Dominican, wanting to visit the US, has to abide by and work within American immigration laws in order to travel there.

The second misconception is that you only need a visa if you want to live or work in the United States. That is also not true. Even to just visit, Eddy needs a visitor visa. You may think that something like that would be easy to get. Also not true, not in the Dominican Republic. Why? because they believe that once you get to the United States, you will not leave again. That you will stay and live there illegally. When trying to get a visitor visa, the most important thing is to try to prove that you will come back to the DR that you will not stay in the US. Why do they think you will stay? Probably because so many people have done just that. Because of this, I understand why the laws are what they are, but it is still frustrating when you (or your husband) are being honest and don't have any intent on staying, and really do just want to visit.

Misconception number three: Now that Eddy and I are married, getting a visa for him to visit should be much easier. I wish. Having read the previous paragraph, you may have already connected the dots on this one. In case you haven't, let me tell you that being married to an American does not help when trying to convince the American officials that you will not stay in the US to live. In fact, in their minds, the risk of that is much greater. There is an assumption that any non-American who is married to an American has the goal of living in the United States. Now that we are married, it is actually more difficult to get a visitor visa.

We have been placed here in the DR permanently by our mission organization. We do not know how long God will continue to call us to serve him here or when He will lead us somewhere else. However, if Eddy receives a visitor visa, we will only be visiting. We will definitely be coming back to continue our work here in the DR.

Why do we want Eddy to visit the United States?

First and most importantly: ministry purposes. Our mission organization has invited us to the North American Conference in June. This would be a great opportunity for us to build relationships with other missionaries, for the leaders of the mission organization to meet and get to know Eddy, and for us to learn and grow as missionaries and leaders. Also, we have been invited by our supporting churches to present about our ministry as well. It is very important that these churches meet and get to know Eddy and for us to represent our ministry together. This summer we will also need to be working on raising our personal support. Having Eddy in the states with me would help tremendously with that as well.

As you can see from reading about our situation, the chances of Eddy getting a visa are slim to none. It is a very long shot. We learned this the hard way last summer when we tried and failed to get him a visitor visa. However, the reason that we are trying again is because our chances of getting a visa for him have improved because of these invitations from our mission organization and support churches. Also, our mission organization can attest to the fact that we are placed here in the DR and will be returning.

Secondly: family and personal reasons. It would mean so much to my family to have Eddy home with me this summer. He is a part of our family and he should be there for family celebrations and family camping trips and just to experience everyday life for a little while. Also, on a very personal level, I just really want my husband to come with me to the United States. I do not want to be separated from him for six weeks in the first year of our marriage. I do not want to go and present to all of these churches by myself. I want him to experience family night. I want him to be at Sunday dinner. I want him to meet my grandma and my aunts and uncles and cousins. I want him to see the house that I grew up in and hear all of the stories that go along with it. I want him to see me with my family in a relaxed setting. I want him to come with me to my home church. And most of all, I want him to know me in a way that he can only know me by seeing for himself and experiencing the place where I grew up and became the person that he fell in love with and married. I have learned so much about Eddy by watching him with his family and hearing all of his childhood stories, (seeing where he used to play baseball with his friends as a kid, where he used to go swimming in the creek and always got in trouble.) I want him to learn about me in the same way.

Our God is an Awesome God

I stated before that our chances have improved because of the letters of invitation, but the odds are still very slim. However, we know that when it comes to God, the odds don't matter. We could have the best odds, it could be that 99% chance that we will get the visa, and if it is not God's will, we won't get it. We could have a 1% chance of getting the visa (which is closer to reality) and if it's God's will that Eddy go to the states this summer, he will get it. God is bigger than immigration laws. He is in control and what He wills to happen is what will happen.

Revelations 3:7b-8 "These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. ⁸ I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name."

On May 7, we have our appointment at the American consulate. On that day God will reveal, in regards to this particular door, if he will open it, or close it. The desire of our hearts, for all the reasons listed above, is that Eddy receives this visa. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated.

Philippians 4:6-7 "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

We know that above all, God's will will be done. If we receive the visa that day, we will know that it was only because of God and may He receive all of the glory. If we are denied the visa that day, we will be disappointed, but we will know that it was in God's hands and that everything that happens is for the good of those that love Him. Over the next couple of weeks I will memorize Philippians 4:6-7 and I will pray over and over again that He helps us not to be anxious and that He gives us the peace that surpasses all understanding.

I would like to invite all of you to join us in prayer for this situation. Please join us in "letting our requests be made known to God" and pray that God may grant Eddy this visa. But more than that, please also pray that God would provide peace and acceptance of the decision (no matter what it is)not just for me and Eddy but also for my family, his family, our church members, the school staff, friends, ministry supporters, and everyone else who will also be touched or effected by it.

Thank you all for your love and support and your prayers.

FYI

I  started this blog when I moved to the Dominican Republic in order to keep my family and friends informed on what was happening in my life.  Since then, it has grown to be more than that, and I am so happy that so many new people have started following it and enjoy reading it.   In it I write about my personal journey.   I do sometimes update with information and pictures of the school and church, but for the most part I write about how God is working in my life and how being a part of the ministry here has helped me grow and change. 

There are many things that happen in this ministry that I don't write about, including church and school activities and people and groups that come to visit and help.  I may not write about these things because I don't have a lot of extra time that week, or because I wasn't effected in a personal way, or sometimes because I was effected in a personal way but have chosen to keep some parts of my life private.  I write about the things that I feel led to write about.

Since this is my personal blog and not the offical blog of Pathway to Jesus School, my focus is not to make sure to include everything that happens in the ministry and there are some things that get left out.  If you are a supporter of Pathway to Jesus School and want to make sure that you do not miss hearing about everything that is happening, we do have an offical email newsletter that goes out monthly.  If you would like your email address to be added to receive these newletters each month you can email me at Carrie.bea1982@yahoo.com and I will add you to the list.

Thank you all for your support and your prayers and for taking the time to read all about what God is doing in His ministry here in the DR as well as in the life of one of His children.

Before and After



Before: front of school



before: office and bathroom



before: back of building



after: front of building



after: office and bathrooms



after: back of building



school seal



mural on the outside of the security wall



inside the kindergarten classroom



inside the 1st grade classroom



inside the 2nd grade classroom



preschool hallway



preschool hallway



kindergarten alphabet

The team also built the other side of the security wall and poured the columns.  They painted alphabets in the 1st and 2nd grade classrooms.  They painted the upstairs classrooms white, and they cleaned and painted the walls in the walkway at the church.  They also drew a mural on the inside of the security wall to be painted at a later date. 

high school

A few weeks ago, our fourth work team for the year came down to visit.  A team of students and teachers from Illiana Christian High School.  This is the third year that they have come down on their spring break.  I enjoy every team that comes down here to work, each one is special in its own way and all of them help me feel like I have a piece of home here in the DR for a short time, but the Illiana teams have a unique effect on me.  I graduated from Illiana, and when the teams come from Illiana each year, it is more than having a piece of home here, it is like having a piece of my youth brought down as well.  Most of the other teams that have come down have people on them that I either know personally, or who know people that I know.  Friends of friend, friends of cousins etc.  But all of these people are connections to my adult life.  When Illiana comes down it's different because the people that I know personally, and the people that we know mutually, are almost all teachers that were at Illiana when I was there as well.  The connections that are made are to my youth.

Also, the students that come down bring me back even more.  It turns out that kids at Illiana haven't changed all that much in the last 12 years since I graduated.   As I get to know the kids and see their friendships and the way that they joke around and relate to each other, they are just like the kids that I knew all those years ago.  I find myself thinking about how I would have fit into a group like this, which of them I would have been friends with.  I also think about who I was when I was a teenager, how much I have changed, and how much I haven't changed.  I think about the fact that had you told me 12 years ago, when I was finishing my senior year at Illiana that down the road I would be a missionary in the Dominican Republic, married to a Dominican, speaking Spanish and receiving work teams from Illiana, I never would have believed it.  I had no idea what God had planned for me.  It's also exciting for me to know that these kids also have no idea what God has planned for them, and I am so excited for them to discover what that is.

Having not had the chance yet to bring Eddy back to the United States, the Illiana group is also one of the few ways that I have of sharing a little bit of my past with my husband.  He hasn't seen the house that I grew up in, he hasn't gone to my home church with me, he hasn't had Sunday dinner with my family, he hasn't even met most of my aunts and uncles and cousins.  But when Illiana comes down, I get to have a week of remembering and sharing stories with him about my past and what I was like as a teenager.

This year, the team came down when we were also on Spring Break, therefore, we had a lot of time to spend with them.  I had so much fun with them and they got so much work done.  The school went through a complete transformation in the week that they were here.  I also have not laughed as much as I did that week in a long time.  They were an exceptional group and I hope to see all of them again soon, either here or back in the states.