September 28th, 2009

Oh man! Where to begin. I’ve been computer-less for 3 weeks! I feel like so much has happened but it would take hourssss to type. So I will try and touch on the important stuff only ☺

Here we go.

If you read my last blog on the 7th you may remember me anticipating driving to Santo Domingo the following day to pick up our boat that was shipped from Miami. Well, the person who we were supposed to ride with ended up going to the states for a “quick trip”. We were told that he would be back on Wednesday and we would get the boat then. So in our minds we had NO problem waiting a day longer, after all he had a cousin who has worked in customs for 22 years who would help us get it clear with no problem. He was doing us a huge favor so we could handle a day delay. Well Wednesday goes by, no word from him. Thursday goes by, still no call. Friday and Saturday pass… still M.I.A. By this point we are calling his wife and trying to figure out where he is and when he is coming back! She hadn’t heard a word, so obviously we start getting worried. Not to mention the shipping company called and informed us that if we kept our boat at their warehouse for a day longer that we would be fined and taxed “more than we would ever be able to pay”. This is when we decide that we can’t wait around on this guy and we have to just do it ourselves!

So we called a friend in Punta Cana and asked him if he knew ANYONE in the Capitol who would be able to help us and translate for us for a day. He hooked us up with a friend and next thing we knew we were on a gua-gua (a bus) headed to the Capitol. This was an adventure! We had no clue where we were going, whom we were meeting up with, where we were sleeping, and how to get the boat home. We just knew we had no choice but to go!

We didn’t arrive in the capitol until 8:30 that night. This city was surprisingly big, 3 million people! Our friends, friend picked us up at the station and we treated him to dinner at OUTBACK (finally, some AMERICAN food!) and revealed our sticky situation and unveiled our desperation for some aide! We told him how the guy we had planned to work under (until we were able to get our own permits and licensing to be independent…) was starting to be shady with us. He was giving us the “run around”, increasing the percentage that he would take from our flights, and not revealing how to begin the paperwork to get our own permits. This guy apparently had a heart for our situation and was determined to help us. At the end of our dinner he took us around the old historic town and then he dropped us off at a hotel that he made reservations for us at. He told us to be ready early because we were going to figure all this out tomorrow.

By this point we were floored that someone, who wasn’t even a Christian, would be so willing to help us, people he didn’t even know! It made me wonder if I would be so willing to help and serve someone that I didn’t even know! I hope so!

(Quick side note: Some of you may think we are crazy at how trusting we are with strangers, but I must tell you that when trav and I both got to the hotel that night that we were admitted that we were being super alert. We took note of every building we passed, every feature of his face, etc. I guess after watching the movie “Taken”, we don’t want to be naïve.)

So anyways, the next morning this guy picked us up, and let me just tell you… this day was the most productive day we have had since we had been there! We went to the Secretary of Tourism office, got all the paperwork to get our tourists license. We went to the Aviation Department to get the paperwork for our flying permits. We also went to the Business registration office and registered our business name as Kingdom Flyers. We were amazed at all the connections this guy had and how much information we were able to obtain. Forever our situation all seemed so blurry to us. Like we couldn’t find the puzzle pieces to put together. Now, we have all the knowledge and we know which direction to walk in!

As soon as we got back to Punta Cana we met with an attorney to start an L.L.C., and our business will be completely legal within a month! Hallelujah!

So once again, just when I get worried and wonder what in the world is going on, the Lord reigns supreme in my life. I thought it was tragic that the guy went MIA and showed up late, but at the end of the day it was the biggest blessing. Now we can be independent in roughly 2 months, where as before he was saying it would take two years.

Oh I love it! ☺

(sorry for how scattered this post was, I'm trying to not make it bulky but theres so much to tell!)

Love yall!
D&T