Thursday, July 10, 2008

Prayer Request

So tell me if this doesn`t sound like a heavy enough workload...
Mon-Fri: 11ish hour workdays
Sat: 7ish hour workday
Sun: work one Sunday/month, about 8ish hours
The work includes: Driving to 28 clients´ houses (14 on Saturdays) to find out why they have not been making payments on their loan and to somehow convince them they need to start paying. Then head to the office for a couple of hours to capture all the data on the day´s work and print out what to do the next day.
This has netted us just enough to pay our bills.

That has been my dear husband´s schedule since we got married (well, for a few months before then too.)

On Tuesday, they had a staff meeting. The workload increased significantly, starting immediately. By significantly, I mean they have to make 35 visits/day Mon-Fri - a 25% increase. Saturday´s workload doubled from 14 to 28 visits. And for the rest of the month they are expected to work every single Sunday - 35 visits.

You may ask, as my husband´s coworkers did, if the increased workload equals more pay. The answer is no. You may also ask if they will be given more gasoline money (they have been receiving enough to pay for about 2/3 of the gas they actually use in a month). Again, the answer is no. So basically, my poor husband is going to put in the equivalent of an extra week to 10 days worth of work this month, and we will have less money when the month ends (because we will have to pay for all that extra gas ourselves - I`m not sure we even have the money to do that).
They were told these changes are definite for this month - there are no promises of what next month will look like.

Are you feeling our need for a breakthrough on the job front? We aren`t looking for a huge salary or anything, just enough to pay our bills with a new baby on the way and have a little bit to set aside for emergencies and such. We aren`t saying he should only work 40 hours a week, but it would be nice if he had more than 3 Sunday`s a month to rest (oh wait, he doesn`t even have that any more!). And having a boss that wasn`t constantly questioning his work ethic and integrity would be nice. One who was actually somewhat encouraging would be a huge blessing.

While I am asking for prayer, I officially entered the 3rd trimester this month, and so the decision about the how and why of the birth needs to be made pretty soon. You see, we can go to the government run hospitals and pay little to nothing (which fits our budget perfectly) - but they are generally overcrowded and understaffed, I would be expected to stay in a bed once admitted (no birth friendly position changing allowed here, nor walking), at least 3 women are put to a room, and my husband is not allowed in the room with me. An even bigger deal when you realize the language issues that could arise. (We are going to ask if the language issue would get my husband in the room with me, but it doesn`t look too likely.)

There are private hospitals, but the cost would be close to 2 months wages.

What I would really like is to have a home birth with an experienced midwife. Unfortunately, that is not common here and it is next to impossible to find midwives. The only one I have found has a prior commitment that takes her out of town every Thursday to Saturday (as in, half of the week), every week, all through September and October. And even if/when we find one, it costs a little more than a month`s wages.

So please pray for wisdom and open doors and peace in both of these major areas of our lives right now. Thanks for helping us in this way. I appreciate your friendships!

3 comments:

Inkling said...

That is HUGE. I'll be praying for a major miracle, for it looks like you guys really need it. The job thing boggles my mind. I honestly don't know how you guys do it. How I wish I could send a midwife your way! I even did a big search, and pretty much came up empty. But I will pray that there is some option that enables your husband to be with you. While all the other things are important like birthing positions and walking, having your husband there is more important than anything. I'll be praying!

OTRgirl said...

That's awful! The scary thing is that it almost sounds like he would have to quit this job to even have the time to find another one... I'll pray the Lord show you both where the opportunities are and how to make it work. For divine appointments and enough peace of mind not to miss them.

OTRgirl said...

Hey, I was going to email this to you, but I keep forgetting to do it once I get home.

This may just be me, but I thought of it while praying for you guys. I saw you with a set of resumes with a really great photo of H in professional garb attached to each. Basically, he doesn't have time to look for work and maintain the job he has now. The thought was of you being his forerunner and going around to find out who is hiring and dropping off his resume.