#32 my story

The Alabama team had a block party for the baby dorm. A team from Springdale, Arkansas arrived. The teams made bracelets and puff balls with the girls. Movie & popcorn for the younger children. Cupcakes and crafts for the teenage girls in Esperanza down. A large group from Kansas City stopped by for the afternoon and had activities for the kids. We are so blessed.

There was a missionary whom we met at church. He was finishing up his mission life and returning to the states. He told me one day that I needed to go to immigration to understand the process of getting your passports updated. He was adopting a baby and had to pick up her passport so he asked me to ride among with him.

Immigration was a building that covered a city block in downtown Guatemala City. It had 27 windows numbered from one to 27. Twenty-seven was where you finished the process and received the passport. He had done the paper work more that 3 months prior to that day and was certain he would get the baby’s passport.

When he handed the gentleman at window 27 the paper with the number for receiving the passport the man said “It still is not ready”. My missionary friend went berserk and started telling the gentleman that he and his coworkers were ignorant and incompetent.

With a large smile the immigration official asked if he could see my friend’s paper work again at which time he tore the paper in half and told my friend to return to window 0ne and begin the process again.

My friend was correct in that I learned a lot about government officials. I vowed at that moment that I would forever be respectful and kind to any official I had to do business with.

The missionary friend had to leave Guatemala with his family but not with the baby he was adopting. Dottie and I would end up with the baby for nearly two years before the couple could take her to the states.