New Supporting Church
In October, we visited Weiser Christian Church (outside of Boise) for the first time. We really enjoyed our weekend with them and getting to know everyone there. They recently notified us that they are going to become monthly partners with us starting in 2019! We are very excited to add a 7th supporting church! What a gift it is to gain another partner in ministry.
Christmas Parties
Back in March when we went to South Africa, we bought some necessary supplies for the Christmas parties we knew would be hosted in December for our women's groups while we were still stateside. We rarely give free gifts and items to anyone in Zimbabwe, since our philosophy is self-sustainability, not dependability. This is also often easier said than done when we have the means and the needs are so great and so many. Having said that, we do give gifts for new births, gifts on the last day VBS ceremonies, and at our yearly Christmas parties. We like to lavish practical gifts such as clothes, socks, underwear, soap, etc. But, we also give gifts that we feel will help the ladies in their different areas of need such as scissors for the Tuesday ladies who make knitted, crocheted and sewn items, or calculators for the Wednesday ladies who started their own small businesses the start of the year. We also provide a big Christmas meal which in Zimbabwe is always chicken and rice. They also get some form of dessert as well, like cake, cupcakes or ice cream. This year Janeece was gracious enough to plan the whole event herself - 2 different Christmas parties with the 2 ladies' groups. She made the meals (with Elizabeth's help), prepared all the gifts and parcels and they had a time of prayer, sharing testimonies, worship, fellowship, feasting, and receiving gifts.
Janeece with Wednesday ladies
Citizenship
I, Yolanda, have been a green card holder ever since we got married back in 2013. The green card has been a blessing in being able to travel back and forth between the US and Zimbabwe, BUT it still has it's limitations and some which are quite costly, I'll explain more about that in a minute.
It has been part of Zimbabwe's constitution since 2013 that dual citizenship is allowed; however, no one has been able to actually apply for this dual citizenship until about a year ago with the leadership changeover. We had no intention of pursuing American citizenship for me because I had no desire to give up my Zimbabwean citizenship. This is the only reason Andrew is allowed to be living in the country and receive a spousal resident permit, so for obvious reasons this was never a feasible option for us. However, since we personally know of people who have received their dual citizenship we began looking into our new options and how this may benefit us. After much research, many phone calls to embassies, consulates, immigration officers, etc., we decided the best option would be to move forward in seeking American citizenship, this year. We also consulted with our board and received their blessing during this process.
Therefore, after hours of preparation with files and folders full of paperwork and documentation we started the process. We were able to send our application and many documents back to the US in May with our forwarding agent who had come to visit us. We had to have fingerprinting done in the capital city (Harare) at the American embassy beforehand as well. The rigorous screening process and amount of paperwork required makes it shocking that anyone is able to actually complete American citizenship. The process is grueling and the cost is huge, a cost that started 5 years ago when we first began this process with the first step of garnering a green card.
Once stateside in August, we watched carefully as my paperwork moved up the chain of command. Then we finally received an email that said we would not even get an interview before September 2019. This was not an option for us. We had bought tickets for a return to Zimbabwe in January 2019 and returning within the same year would be incredibly costly but not attending the meeting would be considered abandonment of the process and automatic removal of my green card and possibly 5 year ban for returning to the US - again, not an option. We prayed hard and believed that God would make a way. Long story short, God worked His miracle and we were able to get an interview date for the end of November when we planned to be back in the Chicago area. To prepare for the interview I had to have copies of all of documents we had already sent in, along with studying over a hundred questions on American history, judiciary system, g0vernment system, economic system, wars, movements, constitutional amendments, etc. During the interview I had a brief English test, answered many questions, did my oral test and answered yes to all the questions related to the oath when one becomes an American.
Finally I was approved and had a date set for the citizenship ceremony! I have only 45 days to be out of the country after receiving my naturalization certificate. We knew this in advance and planned the ceremony accordingly with our return flight. This is all due to how we were able to apply now with working for an American non-profit organization outside of the country, i.e. JM2Z. We also needed to be back in Zimbabwe no later than mid-January for Andrew's Zimbabwean permit which means he can only be out of Zim for no more than 6 months - everything had to line up, all the dates and the amount of time each of us spent outside of the other country.
I finally received a letter for the date of my ceremony so we planned accordingly to go to Chicago. My best friend, and fellow board member, was visiting from California and would be in attendance as well. My father-in-law had taken off work and we all moved around our schedules for this event. We spent the morning of the 6th of December at the immigration office downtown Chicago, but right before the ceremony started I was called aside and told unfortunately I would not be receiving my certificate of naturalization today because of an error on their part. My certificate had not been printed and there was no time to get one made before the ceremony began. At this time, family and friends were filing into the small auditorium for the event. I stopped my family and friends and began the process of retrieving my green card and travel document that I had earlier handed in. We were all upset, but after working with red-tape and bureaucracy in many different countries - Zimbabwe, South Africa, etc, we knew that flexibility was required and that frustration would change nothing. We left licking our wounds and went out for breakfast as a family instead. A couple days later we received our new ceremony date for the 19th.
It has been part of Zimbabwe's constitution since 2013 that dual citizenship is allowed; however, no one has been able to actually apply for this dual citizenship until about a year ago with the leadership changeover. We had no intention of pursuing American citizenship for me because I had no desire to give up my Zimbabwean citizenship. This is the only reason Andrew is allowed to be living in the country and receive a spousal resident permit, so for obvious reasons this was never a feasible option for us. However, since we personally know of people who have received their dual citizenship we began looking into our new options and how this may benefit us. After much research, many phone calls to embassies, consulates, immigration officers, etc., we decided the best option would be to move forward in seeking American citizenship, this year. We also consulted with our board and received their blessing during this process.
Therefore, after hours of preparation with files and folders full of paperwork and documentation we started the process. We were able to send our application and many documents back to the US in May with our forwarding agent who had come to visit us. We had to have fingerprinting done in the capital city (Harare) at the American embassy beforehand as well. The rigorous screening process and amount of paperwork required makes it shocking that anyone is able to actually complete American citizenship. The process is grueling and the cost is huge, a cost that started 5 years ago when we first began this process with the first step of garnering a green card.
Once stateside in August, we watched carefully as my paperwork moved up the chain of command. Then we finally received an email that said we would not even get an interview before September 2019. This was not an option for us. We had bought tickets for a return to Zimbabwe in January 2019 and returning within the same year would be incredibly costly but not attending the meeting would be considered abandonment of the process and automatic removal of my green card and possibly 5 year ban for returning to the US - again, not an option. We prayed hard and believed that God would make a way. Long story short, God worked His miracle and we were able to get an interview date for the end of November when we planned to be back in the Chicago area. To prepare for the interview I had to have copies of all of documents we had already sent in, along with studying over a hundred questions on American history, judiciary system, g0vernment system, economic system, wars, movements, constitutional amendments, etc. During the interview I had a brief English test, answered many questions, did my oral test and answered yes to all the questions related to the oath when one becomes an American.
Finally I was approved and had a date set for the citizenship ceremony! I have only 45 days to be out of the country after receiving my naturalization certificate. We knew this in advance and planned the ceremony accordingly with our return flight. This is all due to how we were able to apply now with working for an American non-profit organization outside of the country, i.e. JM2Z. We also needed to be back in Zimbabwe no later than mid-January for Andrew's Zimbabwean permit which means he can only be out of Zim for no more than 6 months - everything had to line up, all the dates and the amount of time each of us spent outside of the other country.
I finally received a letter for the date of my ceremony so we planned accordingly to go to Chicago. My best friend, and fellow board member, was visiting from California and would be in attendance as well. My father-in-law had taken off work and we all moved around our schedules for this event. We spent the morning of the 6th of December at the immigration office downtown Chicago, but right before the ceremony started I was called aside and told unfortunately I would not be receiving my certificate of naturalization today because of an error on their part. My certificate had not been printed and there was no time to get one made before the ceremony began. At this time, family and friends were filing into the small auditorium for the event. I stopped my family and friends and began the process of retrieving my green card and travel document that I had earlier handed in. We were all upset, but after working with red-tape and bureaucracy in many different countries - Zimbabwe, South Africa, etc, we knew that flexibility was required and that frustration would change nothing. We left licking our wounds and went out for breakfast as a family instead. A couple days later we received our new ceremony date for the 19th.
With certificate of naturalization
Yesterday, we were up early once again and made the trek to downtown Chicago for my naturalization ceremony. In attendance were 131 people who would officially become American citizens. From these 131 people, 38 different countries were represented. The room was packed and once the family and friends filed in, it was standing room only. The schedule of events began and after singing the national anthem, reciting the oath of allegiance with our right hands raised and reciting the pledge of allegiance, facing the American flag with our right hand over our hearts, all 131 one of us were officially American citizens, with all the rights and privileges given to you (if you are American).
We immediately left the ceremony and started the process for me to get an American passport just in time before we leave in a little under a month.
I can officially say I am an African-American in every sense of the word (please do NOT take offense by my words). I am a very proud African and now I am also a very proud American - what a blessing to be both, a privilege not given to many. I know how very blessed I am and I know how many strive for this "dream." We do not choose where we are born, but when given the opportunity to be a part of your born country AND a part of the leading free nation in the world, one cannot take that for granted. I truly feel this is a gift.
We wanted to share with you some of the reasons why we chose to pursue this option now:
All these options made it a rather easy decision for us.
We want to be VERY clear on what this decision does NOT mean:
- we will NOT be moving back to the US anytime soon
- this will NOT change the work we do in Zimbabwe
- this does NOT affect the mission of JM2Z
We are committed to long-term service in Zimbabwe, for as long as we believe God has called us to do the ministry of JM2Z. However, we are also open and sensitive to the Lord's leading and never want to be stubborn about what WE WANT, but rather to what HE WANTS. Right now, we believe, with complete certainty that His will for us is to be in Zimbabwe serving through JM2Z, and we plan to be ministering there for many more years to come.
We immediately left the ceremony and started the process for me to get an American passport just in time before we leave in a little under a month.
I can officially say I am an African-American in every sense of the word (please do NOT take offense by my words). I am a very proud African and now I am also a very proud American - what a blessing to be both, a privilege not given to many. I know how very blessed I am and I know how many strive for this "dream." We do not choose where we are born, but when given the opportunity to be a part of your born country AND a part of the leading free nation in the world, one cannot take that for granted. I truly feel this is a gift.
We wanted to share with you some of the reasons why we chose to pursue this option now:
- perfect timing
- this past year was the first time that dual citizenship has been approved in Zimbabwe so we needed to take advantage of this opportunity now, while we still could
- saves money
- to be out of the US for 2 years at a time on a green card, I have to apply for a special permit which costs nearly $700, every single time; now we don't need to pay this and have to option to be out of the country as long or short as we need to be for JM2Z
- a US passport allows me the opportunity to enter many countries visa free; every short stopover in the UK to visit my mom on our way back to the US costs us well over $100 for the visa each time
- ease
- no more visa paperwork, no more long lines in airports upon entry, no more renewals or forms of any kind to be in the US
All these options made it a rather easy decision for us.
We want to be VERY clear on what this decision does NOT mean:
- we will NOT be moving back to the US anytime soon
- this will NOT change the work we do in Zimbabwe
- this does NOT affect the mission of JM2Z
We are committed to long-term service in Zimbabwe, for as long as we believe God has called us to do the ministry of JM2Z. However, we are also open and sensitive to the Lord's leading and never want to be stubborn about what WE WANT, but rather to what HE WANTS. Right now, we believe, with complete certainty that His will for us is to be in Zimbabwe serving through JM2Z, and we plan to be ministering there for many more years to come.
Janeece meeting with the Tuesday group
Items for Prayer
Prayer Praises:
- US citizenship approval and naturalization accomplished
- time spent with my (Yolanda) best friend
- a smooth process for oral surgery (Yolanda's wisdom teeth removed) and so far a good recovery
- enough money saved to afford the oral surgery
- multiple opportunities with family
- the $600 increased monthly funding we've been able to raise these past few months
Prayer Requests:
- continued good health for our last few weeks in the US
- lots of intentional blessed time with family
- minimal stress as we prepare for our transition back to Zimbabwe
- smooth process of packing as we decide what makes the cut to take back with us
- travel mercies
- peace and contentment for Janeece (our missionary relief worker) as she spends the holidays away from her family while filling in for us in Zimbabwe
- increased funding, we are still about $1400 short of our monthly goal
- US citizenship approval and naturalization accomplished
- time spent with my (Yolanda) best friend
- a smooth process for oral surgery (Yolanda's wisdom teeth removed) and so far a good recovery
- enough money saved to afford the oral surgery
- multiple opportunities with family
- the $600 increased monthly funding we've been able to raise these past few months
Prayer Requests:
- continued good health for our last few weeks in the US
- lots of intentional blessed time with family
- minimal stress as we prepare for our transition back to Zimbabwe
- smooth process of packing as we decide what makes the cut to take back with us
- travel mercies
- peace and contentment for Janeece (our missionary relief worker) as she spends the holidays away from her family while filling in for us in Zimbabwe
- increased funding, we are still about $1400 short of our monthly goal
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