The Illegal Immigrant!

Well things are still progressing here in Malawi...ITS NOVEMBER!! Crazy!!!

Today I am just going to share the 3 main things that are weighing heavily on my heart right now that you can be praying for...

My Work Permit/Visa: Well I bet the title of this post caught your eye and you are wondering what it is all about! Well it is true! I was an illegal immigrant!!! When I arrived in Malawi I was under the impression that I was given 3 months to live here before having to have my work permit. Apparently I was only given 30 days! So my travelers visa expired on Sept. 25th! Oops! I visited the Malawian immigration office this past Monday which is where I found all of this out. The Malawian immigration officers at the airport really need to do a better job explaining things when you arrive. How was I supposed to know a little scribble-scratch on my passport stamp meant 30 days?! But it did and the officer at the immigration office questioned me harshly as to why it was expired! The whole process was a little scary because they had every right to deport me! I got shuffled along to the big boss and was questioned again. I explained why I was here and for how long I was planning on staying. Finally he granted me an extension on my visa if I payed an extension fee. So I am legal until November 25th. He also gave me the papers I need for my work permit. So I have to have all of those filled out and turned in before the 25th otherwise I will be arrested! And he made sure to stress the arrested part will all seriousness! Oh boy! So I am very nervous about getting all of this paper work together and getting it turned in on time because you never know what problems you are going to run into in Malawi! Please be praying that I am able to get all of the paperwork together and find a time to get to the immigration office again without running into any major problems.

My Perspectives Paper: Before leaving for Malawi I took a week-long perspectives class at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary called "Perspectives on the World Christian Movement". I managed to finish all of the homework before the class actually started (as I left 3 days after the class was over) so I wouldn't have to worry about it while I was here in Malawi. The only thing I have left to finish is the final paper which is due on Nov 22. I have made arrangements to stay in the city where there is internet for my research but some JTW meeting rescheduling is shuffling that date around. Paper writing isn't my strong suite and I have a very limited amount of time so please be praying that I would be able to get it done. Also that I would enjoy doing my research and learning about my topic.

Feeding Program Meetings: This past week we were supposed to meet with the feeding program committee as well as the 15 village chiefs to discuss some of our program specifics, most importantly the land for the cultivation program. There have been 3 scheduled meetings before this that no one showed up to. The meeting was supposed to take place this past Wednesday but again no one showed up. We rescheduled for Friday sending out personal letters to all of the chiefs and again none of them showed up!!!! I had suggested just driving our JTW truck around and picking each one of them up to get them to the meeting but I was told that would be considered very rude in Malawian culture. I AM VERY FRUSTRATED!!! Coming from a culture where people show up early for meetings so that they start on time waiting for meetings that start 3 hours late is already hard enough. Now the people are not even showing up! As the rains are quickly approaching we need to get all of our land in order so we can plant. We can't do this though without being given the land by the chiefs. And we can't get the land from the chiefs if they don't show up! Grrrr...I am still having a very hard time adjusting to working in this kind of Malawian culture and feel very helpless as to know what to do to try to solve these problems as everything I suggest seems to get shot down. Pray that the meet happens this week and we can get our land in order in time to plant.

Other Prayer Request:
-Family back home
-JTW relations-improved communication & organization
-That I would stay healthy while feeling a bit stressed