Marty: Home, Sweet Home?

No Place to Call Home

Have you ever considered what it would be like to not have a home? I don't mean a house - a physical shelter in which we live. I'm talking about a homeland. That place where we claim our earthly citizenship. For me, my homeland is the United States. I am the son of two US citizens, so my citizenship in the US was automatic. Many people today become 'naturalized' US citizens by following the steps outlined in our laws.

But what if you were told today that you were no longer considered a citizen in your 'homeland'? That, even though you were born in the country in which you live, your citizenship there is being taken away?

This is the plight of thousands of descendents of Haitian immigrants born in the Dominican Republic since 1929, following a Dominican court ruling in September. Deportations of citizens of Haitian descent have already begun, sometimes improperly, due to police not understanding the ruling completely.

Many of the people who fall into this group are those we will be working with in the DR. We'll be working in villages, or bateys, inhabited by descendents of Haitian immigrants, brought over to work in the sugar cane fields. People who are recognized as citizens of neither the Dominican Republic - where most of them were born - nor of Haiti.

In a positive move, the Dominican government has agreed to resume talks with Haiti over the ruling, mediated by Venezuela. Please pray for a positive outcome of these talks.

Vexed by Visas

With tomorrow being January 1st, we have just less than four months until our intended departure time for the DR. One thing we'll need, since we plan to be there for an extended time, is visas. Lisa has been researching this topic, and it gets complicated. Initially, we were planning to apply for a residency visa. However, Lisa was told by someone at the DR Embassy that residency visas are no longer being granted to missionaries. She was advised to apply for a business visa. This visa is valid for one year, and is renewable. One requirement is that we have to leave the country every two months, however, there is apparently no minimum time that we must be out of the country.

We have heard a few stories of missionaries who have encountered much difficulty in obtaining their visas. We can, fortunately, learn from some of what they have experienced. Please specifically pray for minimal difficulty in obtaining our visas, as we will formally begin the process in January.

Good News!

Thanks to efforts from Least of These board members and Jessica, you may now donate to our support fund online! Navigate to our blog site servinghopedr.blogspot.com, and you'll see a gold 'Donate' button near the top of the page, on the right side. When you click that button, you'll be taken to a secure PayPal site where you can submit a one-time or recurring donation. Donations submitted via this link go directly to a Least of These Ministries account for our support.

Our thanks to each one of you for your prayers, words of encouragement, and financial support, as we continue toward embarking on this incredible journey! May God bless you and your families abundantly in 2014!