BOXES for Boxing Day!

BOXES!, originally uploaded by A Family On A Mission.

The Box saga is over! We are so happy to say that we finally have all of our boxes. As our last post revealed, we were going to have to hire a customs agent at the airport to take out our boxes after hearing from the lawyer that he had found them. As the kids had started back to school, Travis headed alone to figure out what we could do next. As the boxes were in my name, I hurried downtown to get a power of attorney signed so that Travis wouldn't get there and they tell him that he couldn't claim the boxes. So after he got the power of attorney he headed to Quito to hire a customs agent.
We had been given a name of a well known agent who has worked with the customs for many years so Travis went to talk with him. Travis went early Monday morning and came home Wednesday night. During that time there were many different problems with getting the boxes. One of the main problems is that the paperwork that came with the boxes was not at the airport customs. They were at the original post office that we had gone to the time we all went to Quito. So Travis ended up going back to this post office to pick up the paperwork. Unfortunately he went twice as they discovered that only two boxes had the paperwork with that post office. Travis also had to go to another post office to get the last box's paperwork. With all of that done there wasn't anything else for him to do and there wasn't a for sure date as to when we would be able to get our boxes. So he came back to Cuenca without the boxes and a possible time frame of getting the boxes before Christmas.
Later and after about three phone calls we were told that there might be another hitch to getting our boxes so we thought that we actually wouldn't get them because of a problem with our id's. After a few more calls we found out that this wasn't actually a problem and that they finally had the boxes. All we had to do was pay the customs agent fees, the storage fees for the boxes and the fee to send us our boxes. We were so excited that we would get them before Christmas. We rushed to get it all done but we never heard back from the secretary of the agent and we worried about what was to happen as it was already Friday and Christmas was on Sunday. We also knew that the customs office wouldn't be open the next week. So frustrated that we hadn't heard about when our boxes were to arrive, we tried to move on to the Christmas celebrations. Then Monday morning, Travis thought he'd try one more time to call the secretary and see when we'd be able to expect our boxes. She told us that she had already sent them to us and forgot to call to tell us when they would be here. So Friday afternoon our boxes were sent to Cuenca and we technically we could of got our boxes before Christmas.
However, we find it quite humorous and fitting that we got our three boxes on Canadian Boxing Day! Needless to say, we rushed to the airport the moment we heard the boxes were there and grabbed our boxes. That day was almost like another Christmas morning getting to see all the things that we thought might be lost forever. The kids were excited to get a few extra toys we had packed and we were glad to have some of the trinkets that we got from Brazil to remember our time there. The best thing of it all was getting our books and Travis' notes from his Masters degree that he really needed to be able to prepare classes for CEDI this year. We are so thankful that nothing was taken from our boxes even though there were many months and opportunities for those who came in contact with them. And we are thankful to those who kept us and these boxes in their prayers. God does answer prayers, even simple ones like getting belongings after six months of waiting! So now we can enjoy the other things in life and the work here and not have to worry any more about what else is needed to get our boxes! We are so thankful that this process is over and that we got the positive outcome that we had been looking for! Boxes for Boxing Day!