The Chronicles of the Apostrophe

"This will be something we look back on one day and laugh about," responded Javier to my aggravation over a missed apostrophe in my last name, O'Connor. 

You see, here in Peru you must have a legal wedding before you can have the religious (traditional) wedding ceremony. The legal ceremony consists of the laws of marriage being stated, the exchanging of vows and rings, and the signing of the marriage certificate. It would be similar to going to the courthouse to receive your marriage license in the States but on a much larger scale. Most couples do the legal ceremony just days before the religious wedding.

However, as a foreigner things are a bit different. You see, there are 2 documents you are supposed to get in your home country to bring to Peru for the legal ceremony. The first is a letter stating that you are not married and have never been married (or in some cases a letter proving that you are divorced and legally eligible for marriage). The second is a birth certificate. Both documents are to have an apostille.To make things more complicated, the couple must marry within 60 days of the date marked on the documents.

For Javier and I that meant that upon returning to Peru we'd have about a month and a half to legally be married even though our traditional ceremony isn't until July. And We worked so hard to get everything in order to take the the town hall, and we were denied because my birth certificate wasn't written with an apostrophe in my last name.

After a trip to the US Embassy, I spent the evening writing an affidavit claiming that I am the same person with or without the apostrophe in my last name. I received a scanned copy of the original birth certificate issued at birth which included an apostrophe, and I made copies of all of my documents. We realized my driver's license also does not have an apostrophe which we thought would benefit us in the process. Javier spent hours carefully translating the affidavit into Spanish, and we took it to the US Embassy to be signed and sealed. In talking with the lawyer at the US Embassy I was promised that this is a procedure they do often and that it is an acceptable way of verifying the legality of my birth certificate since the US Embassy cannot issue a birth certificate.

We were so relieved to have the documents in hand, and we returned to the town hall only to be denied again. The man in charge of the district where I live wasn't willing to accept the affidavit. He claimed that I could have asked any friend of mine to sign and seal it, and he demanded a birth certificate with an apostrophe or that I change all of my documents to be without. 

So I spent hours on the phone with my mother and the State of Indiana Health Department. I was told it would be impossible to put an apostrophe in my name because the software they use doesn't allow extra characters. I talked to another lady who seemed willing to help, but after 15 minutes on hold, I hung up. I called the next morning and talked to a very helpful lady who was able to do just what I needed. 

Finally, 2 weeks later, we think we have everything sorted out. Now we are waiting for the birth certificate to arrive with the apostille, so that we can have the document translated and finally be legally married in Peru, hopefully before the date on the letter stating that I am single"expires" in the early part of March. 

I never knew an apostrophe was so important. In the States it doesn't seem to matter if it is there or not - credit cards, driver's license, etc. However, here in Peru they seem to think that I am two different people. One person has an apostrophe in her last name and the other person does not.

I just hope that Javier is right that this will be something we laugh about one day. Right now the joke in the midst of all the wedding planning is, "...if we get married" not because we don't want to, but legally at this point it is impossible. 

God is testing our patience and perserverance. He is testing our love for one another and our willingness to do whatever it takes to be together. God has a plan for this, and while we don't understand why this happened, we know that at the end of it all we will get to spend the rest of our lives together. And eventually I'll change my last name, so hopefully there are no more errors of forgotten apostrophes. 

And I'll leave you with a few pictures from the proposal just for fun.

 151 days until the wedding!

Sometimes I Wonder...

Update blog: I've had it on my to-do list for quite some time. Actually it was something I meant to do before I ever went home for Christmas, and it never got done. Today after arriving home from my 2nd day at school, I decided tonight would be a "me" night. I don't get quiet evenings just for me much anymore. I am usually with Javier 4-5 evenings a week and the other days I try to catch up with friends or take care of necessary tasks like cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, etc.

So here I sit in front of the open windows, listening to the sounds of the outdoors and enjoying the breeze the ceiling fan provides. (Sorry friends who are buried in snow.)

My last blog update was 6 months ago! I'm sorry blogging world that you haven't been as informed about my time here in Peru. Life got busy second semester last year, I flew home the night school ended, had a whirlwind of a trip in the States and Canada, and now I find myself back in Peru. I've been here about two weeks, and it's been quite the adventure - organizing legal paperwork, visitors from America, planning a wedding, a day trip north of Lima, pool party and hanging out at the children's home, and now school is starting.

Now let me get to the meat of what I have on my mind tonight...

Some days I wonder why God brought me to Peru, so far from my family and my closest friends. I wonder why I gave up teaching in an amazing school with great colleagues and a church which felt like family. But then I remind myself, that this was my dream. Being here in Peru (a Spanish speaking country) was a calling I felt as a 13 year old sitting in my first Spanish class.  If I weren't here I wouldn't be marrying my best friend and I probably wouldn't speak Spanish quite as well, not to mention other things, too. Some days are hard, some days I want to give up and move home, but I know that God brought me here for a purpose, so I will push through, I will try to smile, and I will continue to seek God's plan for my life each and every day.

Javier and I joke that he had to travel to 60+ countries and then back home to Peru in order to meet the perfect girl for him. I never imagined when I met him in 2009 that 4 years later he would become my boyfriend. Add a year and a few months and now he is my fiance. I guess if this is what God's purpose in bringing me to Peru was, then I can't complain.

Peru is home now, yet Indiana is home, too. There are still days and  probably always will be days that I miss my family, my friends, and my life in Indiana.  Recently, I miss teaching at New Paris Elementary. Being back home and visiting my friends at school made me miss it; I was jealous of the resources, the classroom decor, and the overall friendly atmosphere. I fear I have lost my passion, I miss having a class full of children that felt like a second family.

As the school year begins, I must constantly remind myself that no matter what happens, this is the means God used to bring me to this great country, so I must rejoice. I need to stop dragging my feet and hanging my head. Instead, I need to walk proclaiming the good things the Lord has done and be thankful because He is faithful and good.

Please pray for me, my colleagues and our students as we begin the 2015 school year.

Please pray for Javier and I as we continue to sort through paperwork issues in order to be married here in Peru.

And lastly, please pray for the children's home as they have faced many staff changes already this year.

I made it a goal when I returned to Peru to try to update my blog twice a month. Let's see how well I can do with that!

Blessings to each one of you!