My, my, my… where do I begin. Let’s rewind back to October 2016. This was when TJ and I seriously started planning our move to the Dominican Republic. We wrote a letter to the Dominican Branch Office expressing our desire to serve in the country. In the letter we included our Theocratic background along with questions we had about everyday living. They soon responded informing us that assistance was needed in the Russian field with the Bavaro, DR Congregation or the Sosua, DR Group. They also provided practical information such as cost of living, immigration information and health care resources. After many prayers, we decided Sosua was the best option for us. Although I had been in the Russian congregation for 7 years prior to marriage, we figured being part of a group that was attached to an English congregation would be ideal. This would give TJ time to learn the language and allow us to get acclimated to our new lifestyle. We also noticed that Sosua was not far from Puerto Plata where we had visited before. The next step was consolidating our material possessions. We decided to rent out our condo in Chicago and advertised it as fully furnished. This helped provide us with additional income while helping us cut ties with a lot of household items. The rest of our possessions were put in storage with family and friends. In November, we applied for residency with the Dominican Consulate in Chicago (http://dominicanrepublic-consulategeneral-chicago.com/en/). While we awaited their response, we listed our condo for rent and prayed that all would work out well. I must admit, this process was somewhat stressful. Mainly because not many people are looking to rent in the month of December (Chicago winters, need I say more?). Thankfully come January, we found a tenant willing to lease for 6 months. Things seemed to be headed in the right direction – until we were not approved for our visa. We kept having to provide new information over and over again, costing us a lot of time and money. We were so thankful that our dear friends opened up their home to us while we waited for our paperwork to be complete. Not to mention their positive attitudes! We were showered with untitled goodbye parties where friends offered loving words of encouragement. Our anticipation turned from one month to three months. Thoughts of doubt entered our minds – ‘Is this what Jehovah wanted? Do we have his blessing? Are we making the right decision?’. But we did not give up! We continued with our plans by selling both of our cars, putting in our letters of resignation with our employers and completing our TESOL certifications. In the end, we were told be the Dominican Embassy that we did not qualify for residency. We were devastated. However, we later learned that we did qualify for a missionary visa which could later be changed to residency. Unfortunately, having already gone through an application process, we were required to wait 6 months before reapplying. What would we do?? After many prayers, we decided to move forward with our trip. The brothers from the local congregation notified us that even though our tourist card would only be legal for 30 days, there was a provision available that allowed us to “exit” at the airport for a small fee. This provision was available for 6 months – the exact amount of time we needed. The morning of April 6, 2017 we grabbed all 8 (yes, 8) suitcases and headed to Midway Airport. After many hugs and tears it was time to say goodbye – goodbye Chicago, hello Dominican Republic!

Agape,

The Johnsons