Our Last VISA Trip!

We received our temporary Honduran residency cards just before we left on our last trip back to the States!  For anyone who  hasn't heard, unless you are a Honduran citizen or have some form of permanent residency, you are not allowed to stay in Honduras for more than 90 days without leaving the country.  The residency process can be expensive, overwhelming, frustrating and can sometimes take years to complete.  But being forced to leave the country on a regular basis is just as bad or, in our opinions, worse.

The process went smoothly for the most part.  We are very happy and impressed with our Honduran lawyer and as much as we enjoy visiting friends and relatives back in the States, we are very happy not to have to make very disruptive, exhausting and expensive trips back to the U.S. anymore. 

The trip also gave us a chance to finish up Aliyah's early vaccinations. Here she is with her pediatrician just as happy as can be - before her shots!

It was springtime in Chicago. Everything was green, unlike hot and dry Honduras, and for us, most days were cold - a few days reached the 90's, but many more were in the low 60's!  That's more like the dead of winter where we live now!  

While we were back, Jim, Abby's dad, let Rimas practice moving dirt around with the tractor - skills that can be very handy down here in Honduras.  It takes a lot of practice and technique and definitely a bit different than flying an airplane. 

Rimas thinks this is much more his speed.

Below are just a few more pictures of some of the people we saw, though not nearly all of them. 

We apologize to anyone who wanted their picture on our blog and didn't get one.