Over the last few days, we have felt
the hand of our good Lord active as we have juggled classes and activities,
covered for absent teachers, and gathered documents to file in protest of
INRA’s decision to declare all of our land property of the state. Thank you so
much for your prayers.
Through a set of providential recommendations, Jerry found a
good lawyer who is a former INRA employee and an expert on land issues. He was
very kind and sympathetic and charged us less than $100 to write a memorandum,
give counsel, and revise a portfolio of evidence to contest INRA’s decision.
The deadline to file was Wednesday. Some of the papers we needed to present
were letters of certification from the community of Yata, the mayor of
Guayaramerin, and the district office of education, all of which took time and
a lot of running around.
Meanwhile, we filled in for Jerry’s classes, and at the
beginning of every period, I prayed with the students.
“Oh Lord, please give Jerry special wisdom and efficiency as
he works to get all of the needed documents in time! Give him special grace in
the eyes of the government officials!” we prayed.
My grandma wrote to me, and encouraged us to trust God no
matter what. “He will give you the grace you need for this trial.” She then
told me about two other mission schools, one in Mongolia and the other in
Thailand that were both recently shut down by the government. The school in
Thailand was given only a few days to vacate, and they only made it because of
their alumni who showed up to help.
By Wednesday afternoon Jerry had everything together, but
still needed to go through the portfolio with the lawyer to make sure
everything was impeccable. Meanwhile, the INRA official waited patiently.
Office closing time came and went, and still the official waited. Finally he
got tired of waiting.
“You guys finish up and leave me the folders here and I will
sign them in the morning” he promised. Jerry and the lawyer continued working
until after 11 o’clock that night. The next morning I went with Jerry to the
office. We wanted to see the papers signed with our own eyes, and make sure
that the portfolio of originals would be sent to the central offices in
Trinidad. Before leaving, we picked two big papayas, one for the lawyer and one
for the official. The lawyer was especially impressed that the fruit was grown
at the school, and made sure the official knew it.
“I never do this” the
official explained as he signed and stamped each folder of documents. “But I
believe you are doing good work at your school and I want to help you out.”
Praise the Lord for direct answers to prayer! As Jerry
continued to converse with the official, it turned out he even has relatives
who are currently students with us! We truly thank God for His mercy.
The story, however, is far from over. We don’t know yet if
the authorities in Trinidad will accept our appeal. If not, we can try again at
the national level in La Paz. That appeal process has already been started as
well just in case. We appreciate your continued prayers. We were also thankful
to discover that even if our appeals are rejected, the order to confiscate our
land will not go into effect until next year, so we would at least be able to
finish this school year and have a chance to vacate the land without undue
pressure.
