Up Tempo[rary]

I'm a legal temporary resident of the Dominican for another year. My annual residency renewal appointment in Santo Domingo was last week and shockingly coincided with TWO other missionary friends/colleagues: Tirzah and the Fritzlers. Both had extra errands to run, but I still decided it wasn't worth driving separately, so Tirzah picked me up at 6 am. Grimacing as I got in, she asked me if I was OK. I was not. My whole body hurt from a hike two days prior, and I'd woken up with an [unrelated] sore throat; my tonsils were SO swollen. A tellingly uncharacteristic car nap made the last stretch of the drive go by quickly.

Immigration office selfie. 

Not every residency trip is hunky dory. Part of what became an unnecessarily long day was self-inflicted - stops at a baking supply store and Krispy Kreme - whereas other, out of our control delays were potentially avoidable. We made the most of a 2-hour midday wait by having lunch in the Colonial Zone and visiting my favorite art gallery. No day that includes even a short stroll through the charming, historic old city can be ALL bad. 

The perfect excuse to try Curcio's pizza by the slice. I'd been walking by it for months and thinking it looked and smelled heavenly. 

My throat felt better as the day (and later, week) wore on; thanks for asking. Something was definitely making the rounds of Cerro Alto, but I'm in denial that I was ever really sick - just toeing the line while successfully warding off the worst of the crud.

Tirzah & I walked out with our new cards just before 4 pm and made it back to our neighborhood by 8ish (for comparison's sake, I was home by 11:45 am last year). Thanks be to God for the ability to legitimately live and serve in the DR for 365 more days and for this annual reminder that all believers are merely pilgrims here on earth; our true residence is in heaven, where we will someday live eternally. 

Until next time, blessings in Christ!