Another teaching possibility
We're cautiously excited about a teaching possiblity that has suddenly materialized. This past Sunday we visited a new church and while we were there I met Manat, a man who is in charge of the English program at a small private school. He seemed interested in what we are trying to do and offered to help get me a job that would include a work permit. At the time I wasn't sure if he was just being polite or if he was really intending to follow through with this. However, he called me right away on Monday morning and set up a meeting with the school administrator. As it stands now, they are interested in having me work for the school as a "special teacher" assisting them with their English program. They are not requiring me to work full-time (which would be really nice given our other team-related responsibilities) and it seems like a good chance for me to get some teaching experience and develop relationships in that context.
Manat is going to be checking with the appropriate government departments to determine what requirements the school and I need to meet in order to qualify for the work permit. He told me that since he rarely attends the church where we met on Sunday (and it was our first time) he is taking that as a sign that God is leading us into this. We are praying that if that's true Manat would receive a favorable response to his inquiries about the work permit.
We still have a few more months on our current visa and I want to continue checking into other options, but the time is rapidly approaching when we will need to have a longer-term plan in place.
Thanks for your prayers for us, Manat, and the labor department officials involved in making this decision.
-Tom