May 10
I travel to Juarez and spend the night at the Mission Ministries team center in the Colonia. I am here to get Visa’s for two of our students, Blanca and Anahi. We plan on bringing them to the U.S. in July to meet their sponsors and spend some immersion time learning English. We have an appointment on Tuesday the 12th, but a lot of organizing to do first.
May 11
I got up early this morning and decided to attend church at Pastor Jesus’ church. There were about 30 people there. He has a loyal flock. Susie taught the kids class. I could understand about half of the sermon. So I am making some progress on my Spanish.
After church, I went over to Susie and Leo’s and we mapped out strategy for the Visa appointments on Tuesday. We went over the list of all the documents we need. Susie arranged to have the parent of Anahi and Blanca meet us on Monday morning to get some things notarized.
Susie told me that Martha had her baby last month. She has stayed on school. Martha’s mother has been taking care of the baby. Martha will graduate in June with Anahi and Blanca. I am disappointed Martha won’t be coming to the U.S., but am glad she will graduate.
Anahi and Blanca are both applying to college at Universidad Autonoma de Cuidad Juarez. They took a test last month for entry. They are to find out on the 18th if they are accepted. This is exciting news, that they have taken the initiative here. Blanca now wants to be a doctor.
I dropped by Operation Amigo today, alias the Canadian School. (See photo at right) I met the founders Al and Miriam Carruthers. Very nice people. They have 385 kids I their school. I mentioned we might want to get involved in scholarships. We are going to have dinner tomorrow night and discuss.
Joel stopped by this afternoon. He is going to accompany us on our visa trip tomorrow and on Tuesday. He just got his visa and is optimistic that the girls will too.
May 12
Morning devotions with a team of folks from Colorado. They are here to build two houses with Mission Ministries. After a great breakfast, I met the families of Anahi and Blanca at Susie’s house. We were off to downtown Juarez.
First stop was BanaMex. We needed to pay the 1450 pesos (appr. $140) per girl for the visa application fee. This is non-refundable even if we are rejected. We quickly were helped and had our receipts.
Next we had to find a Notary to verify the signatures of the parents on permission to leave the U.S. The Notary we tried had an alarm sounding in the building the whole time we were there. The Notary was not in and wouldn’t be for several hours. We were directed to another Notary in an office overlooking the Rio Grande. We could see El Paso from here. My cell phone switched to the U.S. AT&T network from the Mexican network. That is how close we were.
They were very professional and one hour and $105 later, we had the notarized letters of permission. This rounded out all the documents we needed. Most I had written or filled out prior to the trip. We were now ready for our Tuesday visa appointments. To celebrate I took the whole crew to Wendy’s for lunch. Blanca and Anahi each ordered the Baconator combo!
Late in the afternoon, I attended our English class for the students. Joel, our English teacher, had me administer a verbal test he had devised for the kids. I would ask the question, in English, “what am I doing?” From a list of verbs on the board, the kids had to answer. For instance I would take a pencil from the table and say “What am I doing?” The student would answer, “You are taking the pencil from the table.” They actually did quite well with verbs like speak, take, open, close and put. I think Joel is making good progress with the kids by making them be ready for tests and actually grading and ranking them. Samuel seems to be the best.
To test Samuel, I took a folding chair, held it by the back and pushed the seat open with my foot while asking, “What am I doing?” He quickly said “You are opening the chair with your foot.” Joel tells me Samuel is our star English student.
After class, I had dinner with Carruthers and discussed their school. It is an amazing operation. 385 kids with a staff of 28. All the kids are on scholarship with each family paying a little according to their ability. Kids rage from pre-kindergarten to 10th grade. Over the next 2 years they will add the top two grades as their kids advance. They have an agreement with a local Juarez University that the kids can goal to school there for free after graduation.
The school director is a local woman who hires al the teachers, also local. They showed me photos of their impressive looking faculty. They have a fulltime English teacher, a music program and feed the kids lunch every day.
I asked them how we could help. They said as the school grows, they are worried about meeting payroll. Their donor base is god but always comes up a little short. I asked how much they need to sponsor children. $20 per month for grade school, $25 for secondary (middle school) and $40 for high school. This is less than the cost of our kids in the JCEP. They might need to add some amount for overhead as well as the school grows.
They would be willing to pair children with sponsors similar to how we do with JCEP. I told them how we do our kids website and they were excited. I think there is more opportunity to explore here.
May 13, 2008
Today was the big day at the consulate. Anahi, Blanca, Joel and I arrived at 9:45 for our 10 am appointment. We waited in line to get checked in and were able to have both girls have the appointment together. Next we were off to the photo area. Waiting in line again, we got the girls photos taken. Then it was off to digital fingerprinting. Joel and I took a seat while the girls waited. They finished with this around 11 am. We were given the number 1147 and sat down to wait. The number being served was 1033. There must have been 1000 people waiting.
At 4:30 PM, our number was finally called. Finally our interview. But no, we waited inside in a queue with two other families ahead of us. When we finally made it to the interview, it was with a very nice American woman. She was very thorough in checking all our documents and asking me questions in English and then verifying them in Spanish with the girls. My heart sank when she asked for a medical authorization for Blanca. Since she is seventeen, she would not be allowed to give consent for medical procedures.
The lady approved Anahi, but not Blanca. We will have to return on Thursday with a notarized medical guardian letter from Blanca’s mom.
Still it is a victory. Anahi is approved and our caseworker assures us that the letter would be all we need for Blanca. Then both girls will get their visas on Friday.
As we returned home to the Colonia, the girls peppered me with questions in Spanish. Will we see the ocean? Where will we live? What kind of restaurants are there? They are very excited.
Then in the evening I was blessed with one of my fondest Juarez memories yet. Anahi’s mom, Tomasa, cooked dinner for me and six of our students. Blanca, Anahi, Margarita, Samuel, David ad Claudia. Susie picked them all up and joined us as well as Anahi’s father Luis and Anahi’s sister. What a feast. I had mentioned how much I like mole sauce. So we had chicken mole, chile rellenos and some of the best tortillas and refried beans I had ever tasted.
What a fun evening sitting around and telling stories. Answering questions about the U.S. and laughing. I re-quized the kids on their career aspirations. David and Samuel want to be lawyers. Anahi, Blanca and Claudia want to be doctors. Margarita wants to be a Science teacher.
After dinner, they all prayed for me and all our friends in California that support them. It was a special moment.
May 14, 2008
Back to the notary for the medical authorization. Bertha (Blanca’s Mom) cheerfully agreed to come along at 8:15, after working until 1 AM at the Phillips maquiladora the night before. She makes ballasts for fluorescent lights. It is a good job in Juarez. Folks usually make about $10 per shift.
Joel, Bertha and I found our way back to the notary. $50 later we had the needed letter. I drop them off and decide how to spend the remainder of my day.
I check in at the Canadian school trying to find the Carruthers for a tour. They aren’t there, but I get a nice tour from the principal of the high school. It is a very impressive operation. Right now they just have the 10th grade. They will add the other two grades over the next two years as the kids graduate to the next level. The kids seem happy. The school is well stocked with desks, equipment and computers. The principal is sharp and in charge. I like the fact that the locals run the school on a day-to-day basis. Al & Miriam, encourage this.
Later I double back and get the tour of the middle school with Miriam. Grades seven through nine are hosted here. I see several of our JCEP kids here including Claudia, Margarita and Moises. The kids are excited because they are throwing a party for the teachers that day on “teacher” day. They school has a nice gymnasium which the kids have decorated. They have cakes ready for the teachers. All the kids look sharp in their matching uniforms.
At five o'clock, i get to attend Joel's "beginner" English class. There are 15 students in here, including 4 new JCEP kids for next year. Perla, Angel, Arcadia and Karla. I sit in the back next to Karla (See photo) and am impressed with how Joel engages each student and comes into the class with an organized plan. Our new students all know their stuff.
In the evening, the Missions Ministries team throws a party for the workers and their families. It is a joyous affair with 3 jumpy houses, pizza and most treasured of all – ice cream. This is a big deal for the families. Everyone comes dressed up. The funds come from donations from teams that come down to build houses. Jeff collects them in lieu of tips. It is a special evening.
May 15, 2008
Having extended my stay an extra day, we head back to the consulate again. This time we have Bertha, Blanca, Joel and myself. Having been told we had to wait an extra day after approval to get the stamps, we don’t bring Anahi.
We arrive at 8:15 and are told to wait in line again like before. After passing security, I talk the guard into letting us skip the next line to get a number. Having been assured by our caseworker that we would not have to wait again, we sit down for the anticipated short wait. Two and a half hours later our number comes up.
We head to the window and are not happy to see a different caseworker. The young man tells us that our person is not in today. He checks the computer for notes and then proceeds to ask all the same questions we answered the previous day. He asks for the proofs of permission for both girls and I remind him Anahi is already approved and that all Blanca needed was the medical permission. He finally relents and says we have everything we need and the visas are approved. He asks where Anahi’s passport is and I explain we were told we had to wait a day to get the stamps. He says, no, we could have gotten them right then.
Will he give Blanca hers since she is here? No, they have to be done at the same time since they are on the same case number. We will have to come back tomorrow. I decide that rather than blowing my top, I will be thankful for the approval. I ask him to write on our appointment slip for the next day that we are approved. He obliges. I ask him his name in case we have problems, and he demurs, pointing to a pamphlet labeled U.S. Constitution, he says that is his name. A bit confused, we leave.
Now I am faced with the same decision of whether to extend my stay another day. I decide to let Joel handle it the next day. He promises to call me immediately the next day and let me know what happens. “No problem” he optimistically assures me.
After dropping Blanca and Bertha off, I thank Joel and head for the airport. I can’t help but think I should stay. But it sure is nice to see Pat at the airport when I arrive back in San Jose.
May 16, 2008
I have trouble working all day, knowing Joel is probably waiting in line and being treated condescendingly by the consulate folks the next day. Noon rolls by, 2 pm and my heart sinks thinking they didn’t get the visas. I try Joel’s cell, but I have the wrong number. I call Anahi’s mom and she tells me they will be back at 12:30. Which was 2 plus hours previous. Must be my Spanish misunderstanding what she says.
Finally, after 3, Joel calls and says they got the stamps. The girls have a one-year visa and can go on the trip! We are all so excited. God has blessed again.
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