News from the Hughes

Faster Your Seat Belts…. It’s Going To Be A Bumpy Ride!

We’re still trying to get into a steady routine of Spanish Classes, Meetings, Personal Study in English and Spanish, Field Service, and supporting both the South Congregation and Padcaya Group (1 hour away).  Not to mention we still have to work 3 days per week. Being so busy is really challenging, but it's also helping us to make friends fast and immerse us in our new life here.

The process of applying for our one-year residency has been really involved and time-consuming, but had been going really smooth (UP TILL NOW)!  The day that we go to Immigration to apply for our one-year residency, we are told that just the day before, a new law was passed whereby you can no longer apply for residency in Bolivia.  The only exceptions are if you have Bolivian family, work for a company in Bolivia, or have come for specialized health care – WHAT THE WHAT?

The law has just been passed, so the lady at Immigration, who we are told is usually really nice, has now turned into this stressed out, grumpy, and frustrated woman.  Not only does this change affect us, it affects a lot of the Need Greaters.  It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been here -- 1, 2, 3 years, unless you have already gotten your permanent residency (which most of us haven’t), we are told that you can no longer get a Residency Visa.  We are asked to come back next week (which we do) – only to be told they still can’t help us – come back again next week.  Our Specific Purpose Visa, which is good for 30 days while you request residency, has now expired.  They can’t give us an extension today, but maybe next week.  Talk about being frustrated.  But what can you do in Satan’s whacky world?  We just keep doing what we came here to do. 

Up until now, I’ve been scared about going with the girls to preach in the mountains because it’s a 12-hour preaching day walking across a lot of rugged terrain. But, after the experience at Immigration and knowing that any day we might be kicked out of Bolivia, I decide I’m going.  So, today we spend the day preaching in the mountains of Padcaya. It takes us 1 hour to get there, and then sometimes another 20 to 40 minutes to reach nearby towns. Tarija is dry and so the mountains remind you of the Rockies or even some parts of Mexico.  There are cactus and thorn bushes everywhere. 

As we travel down the dusty road to find houses, it’s nothing to see cows and sheep just walking along -- even in town. At one point I go around the corner to get to a house and come face to face with 3 large pigs who are taking a nice leisurely stroll through town. At another house we knock on the door, and two chickens pop out on the veranda – that one did scare me!  The girls even saw a monkey. But in just one day of preaching, I get 6 return visits where I read a scripture (because of my limited Spanish I only read 1 scripture but most of the friends will read 2-4), and place literature – AND THAT WAS JUST ME!   

As the day goes on, I see a bull in the distance and of course, being a city girl, I’m excited, I get out of the car to get a picture, waiting for him to get closer and just as I’m ready to get that up close and personal shot, I hear Aubri’s voice and others telling me to get back into the car. He’s gotten close really fast, and I suddenly notice he’s huge, has these really big horns, and at any minute he could charge at me, and so I quickly jump back into the car.  So, instead of getting a cool picture I only got this one from the safety of the car.

But what makes the day so nice is the response of those in the territory.  The whole day is just filled with meeting and talking to really nice people who are respectful of our message – even the teenagers.  For me personally, I’ve never experienced anything like this before, and I come home tired, but realizing “I DID IT, AND IT WAS REALLY FUN!”

In such a short time, we’ve made some really good friends here (both Bolivian and non-Bolivian), and while it’s still hard sometimes not being around our dear friends in Good Ole’ Indy and other parts of the U.S., we think about all of you and hope you think about us.  

Oh yeah, and the next time we go back to the Immigration office, they give us a 90-day extension on our visa, and because Aubri and I have jobs in the States, they are now going to let us get a one-year visa.  But, we’re still not sure how the change will affect other Need Greaters.  For those of you that were coming to Bolivia next year, the government is supposed to be releasing additional information on December 4th that should give you more options for getting a Residency in Bolivia.  I'll keep you posted. Until Next Time – Love The Hughes Family