Immediate Needs 

 God continues to answer your prayers, but keep praying, please.

“Continue to pray for Kenya.”

Kenyan elections were a month ago.  The results escalated into a nationwide killing spree.  Never before in the history of Kenya was there such a large scale “ethnic cleansing.” Because of our proximity to Kenya’s border and because many of my students and their families live in the troubled areas of Kenya, we asked you to pray for Kenya.  A week has now passed and the news from Kenya tells us Kenya and its leadership are doing all they can to re-establish peace (especially among the tribes).  My students have visited us, and they tell us their families are all right.  The major problem now is food to eat.  So pray for Kenya to receive food.

“Continue to pray for our new residence/work status.”

As of yesterday, February 15, and a seventh trip to the Tanzania Immigration Authorities in Moshi, the money has been paid for a new residence/work status.  So we are praying to have that permit/status in our hands in two weeks.  Continue to pray.  Your prayers have helped us.

We are on the road to becoming Tanzanian legalized volunteers of Called to Serve, and we are here to serve and to minister to all Tanzanians.  We thank you for your prayers.  You know how prayers are answered.  We now look back and we can see His hand on us.  December 10, 2007 Called to Serve was registered in Tanzania.  On the same day, December 10, 2007, we were told our immigration status was only for being a lecturer.   We could do nothing else.  Anywhere else.

That is the only reason we were allowed to live in Tanzania.  Immigration said to us, “We have no idea how you have done anything you have done, since you have been here.  We will not discuss it.”

On January 16, 2008 I was arrested and taken to the immigration office.  When I was allowed to go to my house for my papers, Barbara returned with me and with everything portable, that we thought we might need, because we feared immediate deportation and we had done nothing.

When we told immigration that we did not know, they said, “Ignorance of the law does not change the law.  You should have known.”  We paid money, which immigration required and they told us, “This is your penalty.  This is your punishment.” 

We have only a shillings bank account, here in Arusha.  The bank closes daily at 3:00 P.M. 

At 2:45 P.M. I was dismissed because they would not take a check.   I had to go to the bank, get the money, go to a Bureau of Exchange, because it had to be paid in American cash, and the immigration office (we had been there since 9:00 A.M. after being arrested at 8:30 A.M.) closed at 3:30 P.M.  A heavy thunderstorm came up.  Our passports were locked in the immigration offices.   I was making my frantic trip to the bank and to the bureau of exchange.  The immigration office closed.   Barbara, who was not allowed to go with me, sat on a porch in the severe storm, alone, because all had left.  They had not allowed us to leave the office for lunch.  I returned to an empty building, a wife caught in a storm and orders from Immigration officers not to be later than 8:00 A.M. the next morning to pay for “Temporary Status” and to reapply for another residence/work status to work with Called to Serve. 

The next day, we were told we would have to go eight (8) hours to Dar es Salaam and there was no guarantee as to how many days it would take.

If it were longer than the two months, we may be penalized again and have to start all over.

Your prayers were answered when a national friend directed us to Moshi, where we went and, as unethical as it sounds, a bribe was paid for someone to go to Dar for us.

(An Aside: Can you imagine spending a least a week in Dar es Salaam, with no place we knew of to stay, and no means of transportation?   We didn’t even know where the immigration office was and there was no guarantee we would see anybody.   So we paid.  We had another friend advise us to go to still someone else, who said, “They cannot do this to you.  If they do not do what they have said, and for which you have paid, come back to see me, but wait.  It should work now.  You have gone through the worse.”)

Confined to the house, for nearly four weeks, because the “temporary permit” allows us to do nothing.  We can only live here.  That is why I asked you to pray. 

Calls from concerned students, and visits from those same students have helped.    I have seen more people I did not even know, who have said, “We will help.  We do not want to lose you all or Called to Serve.”  Offers of help have come from as far north as Longido.

Telephone calls every other day to the immigration office and visits made to those same offices (sometimes twice a week) since January 16, made yesterday seem like a blessing.  We feel when we paid for the new status that we will have new residence permits soon.

Every two years the status has to be renewed, but we feel the worse is over.  From now on, renewal will be easier.  Thank you for your prayers.  Keep praying.